Leroy's SIII/Defender Trailer STARTED!!

Well as always, I didn't get any where near as much done as I had hoped over the weekend, things got a bit hectic and in reality nothing got done. bit of a family crisis. so looks like the trailer wont be done in time for my camping trip but not really a big deal as I no longer have to lug everyone gear anyway :)

gives me some more time to clean things up and be a bit more professional about the whole job.

what I did get done was to straighten the trigg hitch that was no were near straight, trimmed the back door down and mount the hinges and latches, still need to do some rust repair and creative cutting on the door to fit with the lid/roof.

I did a rough trim down of the roof/lid need to be tidyd up and riveted together (going for rivets as it seems like the Land rover thing to do!, I have a solution for the width difference also, just need to trim a few bits of GAL i have and attach them and will work a treat to disperse water from the top over the edges of the trailer.

front mounting points are designed(well in my head) just need to trim the steel I have and weld them in place.

have decided I need to add some more supports to the center of the tub also, going to do this by way of some body lift blocks or the alike (those 50-60mm nylon blocks)

progress is slow and new deadline is Easter (which is a bit more reasonable haha!) as it will be the next 'big' camping trip after Australia day.

oh yeah, and was given a set of disco 1 16" steelies which i fitted my 7.5 R16's onto, so the trailer now has practically brand new tires :) (came off a cruiser to have alloys and mud tires fitted straight after purchase)

Bugger ya ! Does that mean you won't be buying my wheels now?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by VladTepes

Bugger ya ! Does that mean you won't be buying my wheels now?

---

how long till they will be off your 130?
I'm still interested in them (more so for a spare set for my 90 now though)

Mate they'll be off teh Defender as soon as the rims turn up and I can get up to the Sunny Coast to get the Maxxis tyres done. So.... ASAP but unsure when that will actually be !

Thought It may be time for a update, havent been on AULRO in a long time, things havent been going to well for me personaly or employment. but things are looking up so I may be able to get back to work on this little project soon!

Trailer is still in the same condition as the alst posted photo, ony differences I think are that the Rear door is trimmed to nearly fit with the roof, the roof front anc back halfes need to be joined (likely to be riveted together with sikaflex inbetween or something, dont know welcome to ideas)

I have edging that will attach under the sides of the roof to 'widen' it so it clips over the edges of the tub to keep the water out, still no toolbox for the draw bar, keeping an eye out for a cheap one still or may just build a ply one and waterproof it.

If I can get some time over the next few weeks I may be able to get it ready for registration.

Leroy.

getting ever so closer,

I have decided I will ditch the land rover roof idea in favour of a flat top, this is for a few reasons.
1. the roof is being a pest to put together
2. i am getting lazy and this build is dragging on too long
3. the land rover roof realy wasnt going to give me more usable space
4. it would make building the rear door harder, and when your metal skills are as limited as mine simple is best.

So left to do now:
1. source another rear door (the one I have been using for mock up is rusted to hell and no where near straight)
2. weld up the front mounts for the tub which are just sitting there curerntly
3. wire brush the chassis and give it a coat of primer and chassis black
4. prep,prime and paint the tub and new rear door (once sourced and trimmed to size)
5. register the damn thing!

to do after its registerd:
1. fit flat top roof (sheet of ply or sheet alloy on steel frame, undecided)
2. add front toolbox (need the money elsewhere right now)
3. plumb in diesel and water tanks (Uncle to make these for me out of alloy with left over sheets from the boat he built :) )
4. fit out the tub with a kitchen/draw system (likely ply wood)
5. upgrade to include brakes.

My game plan and my buget tells me that i should be able to be registerd in around a months time, and then the 'after registration' bits will come in drips and drabs as I need them/when the budget permits.

and to finish off two photos from when I was doing a little work on it the other weekend, the spare tire wll get mounted higher on the new door than it is in these photos, and the land rover roof will go (at least untill I can be stuffed to have somone else with more skill finish it for me)

Keep it up Leroy.

I was looking at using an LR roof as well, but cutting it down and re welding the gal didn't appeal to me, so I will be making a raised roof similar to the proper hardtop roof, but not as tall.

I intend to use a standard tailgate, but hinge it from the side utilising 2 of the standard catches and a custom hinge setup.

It's in my head, but not physically happening :p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by numpty

Keep it up Leroy.

I was looking at using an LR roof as well, but cutting it down and re welding the gal didn't appeal to me, so I will be making a raised roof similar to the proper hardtop roof, but not as tall.

I intend to use a standard tailgate, but hinge it from the side utilising 2 of the standard catches and a custom hinge setup.

It's in my head, but not physically happening :p

---

RE the tailgat:
I ended up cutting down the door and riveting and welding a bit of steel rhs across the top so it now hinges like a door but is level with the tub. I plan to add GAL edges to the door like the rest of the Tub has and then mvoe the spare wheel carrier up higher on the door as currently with a spare on it the tire is the lowest point on the rear!

RE the roof:
Im not 100% sure i understand what you mean about how you are going to do your roof, Im still deciding as to if I use a sheet of ply, or make a steel frame and sheet it, I have a few ideas, one of which is to turn my double dome swag into a sort of roof top tent that folds inhalf ontop of the roof, dont know yet. for now its a utility trailer though.

Trailer update (sorry no photos, will get them soon)
Trailer is registerd, chassis welding all finished up and the trailer chassis painted black, the tub is still the horid mustard colour for now, i used supercheap auto round LED trailer lights which seem to do the job and dont look too out of place, I need to source some cheap round LED reversing lights that will look okay in the factory spot on the SIII tub, but for now there is no reversing lights on it.

took it for a test drive up the road with a load of tires in it. tows well, so light I cant even feel it with 4 tires and steel wheels in it (off a D1) it tracks about 50mm off to one side though :( which is a result of my poor metal skils and bad measuring. . the axel is dead center to the springs and rear of the chassis, its the draw bar is off a tiny bit and then the hitch is mounted on an poposite angle to that to try and corect the misalignment best I can. . I will just have to live with it for now, ive run out of money long ago, once i have spare money maybe ill cut the drawbar off and re-do it and probably lengthan it at the same time but thats not any time soon (probably 2 years before ill waste my time doing it)

it seems fine under hard braking doesnt shoot otu sideways or anything.
its top heavy currently as i have not mounted the tanks underneath, but a hard swerve test and it wasn't too bad.

ive already loaded it with about 500kg or so of firewood ready for camping nextweekend, will see how well it tows fully loaded.

Leroy

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Leroy_Riding

RE the tailgat:
I ended up cutting down the door and riveting and welding a bit of steel rhs across the top so it now hinges like a door but is level with the tub. I plan to add GAL edges to the door like the rest of the Tub has and then mvoe the spare wheel carrier up higher on the door as currently with a spare on it the tire is the lowest point on the rear!

RE the roof:
Im not 100% sure i understand what you mean about how you are going to do your roof,
Leroy

---

What I mean is, I'll make 3 bows (25mm shs) with associated longitudinal bars which will be bolted on top of tub and then sheeted in 1mm aluminium. It will have a flat roof so therefore not being as tall as a standard LR rear.

Then I will fashion a top for the tailgate, replicating a rear door.

Ahh, I think I understand what you mean now.
Will be good to see how it turns out, chances are you will have a roof done before me.

Leroy