Thread: No.5 Camper trailer build

Good work there Nick. Yes it was an ex RAAF trailer. Apparently never been used when I bought it. Good as new, no dents at all.

Here is a few pictures of my No5 trailer camper trailer build.

https://ozrob.smugmug.com/Army-Campe...DSCN0571-M.jpg

https://ozrob.smugmug.com/Army-Campe...DSCN0570-M.jpg

Yes the trailer is now my off road camper,
https://ozrob.smugmug.com/Army-Campe...DSCN0563-M.jpg

Drifta DSOB Tail gate Kitchen installed

https://ozrob.smugmug.com/Army-Campe...DSCN0565-M.jpg

Enough room to mount a Jerry Can for water
https://ozrob.smugmug.com/Army-Campe...DSCN0573-M.jpg

Had to cut the inner guards to make the kitchen fit
https://ozrob.smugmug.com/Army-Campe...DSCN0567-M.jpg

Modified wheel arches for the wider axle
https://ozrob.smugmug.com/Army-Campe...DSCN0575-M.jpg

Cutting the axle was quite easy as it is hollow in the middle,after cutting the axle, the axle is 48 mm thick but being hollow I welded a length of 1/2" pipe down the middle making the axle 120 mm wider then welded a length of 48 mm pipe over the top so it is just as strong.
https://ozrob.smugmug.com/Army-Campe...DSCN0576-M.jpg
Lots of work to make the tailgate, cut the inner guards to fit the kitchen, make the frame for the roof top tent, make the axle 120 mm wider to match the track of the defender and make wider wheel arches.
I am quite happy with the end result after spending many weekends cutting, grinding welding and painting.
Many thanks to Drifta for the ideas....they sell a similar trailer for $7K after all the work I did I understand why.

Ozrob. U might have made a mistake telling you've done perry much exactly what I want to do. ☺ I might be picking your brains for dimensions and pictures.

Sent from my SM-A300Y using AULRO mobile app

Originally Posted by debruiser

Ozrob. U might have made a mistake telling you've done perry much exactly what I want to do. ☺ I might be picking your brains for dimensions and pictures.

Sent from my SM-A300Y using AULRO mobile app

For sure mate, happy to take more photos, PM me if you like.
The top of the roof top tent frame is 600 mm above the top of the trailer body. 600 mm is enough clearance for me as I am not tall 170 cm, if you are taller you may need to make the frame height taller or get some block of wood under the wheels.
To fit the kitchen in I had to cut the inner guards, they were originally 430 mm from the edge of the tray now they are 460 mm, the Drifta DSOB needs 450 mm clearance.
The axle track was increased by 120 mm.
The only additional thing i need to fit are stabilizer legs on each corner they need to be able to be extended to 780 mm, so that I can set the trailer up without having the vehicle still attached.

gooday nick. got your pm.. i dont have many pics but ill load a couple to give you an idea as to my set up. the whole rack can be removed if i choose but havnt had the need really. it survived a few corrugations last week no worries. the roof camper is a slightly wider version than most but out of pure luck the rack i had built before the rtc came along was wide enough by 2cm either side.

the mattress supplied took a little getting used to as it is very dense 75mm thick. that plus a sleeping bag and one wool blanket and two pillows saw the roof almost to hard to close. let alone have the ladder in there as well. hence the ladder on the rear of the trailer.

for simplicity i added a tap to the water can on the front of the trailer. best thing ever.

other than that ive kept it simple. just used plastic boxes inside to carry all of our gear. one note is you need to be aware of the gap between top of trailer and bottom of tent capsule as this limits the size of boxes you can get in the trailer. i can easily get a milk crate in but my gas fridge wont go in.. compromise between being top heavy for larger gap or lower for better towing but less gap.

the capsule weighs in at 97kgs. the trailer with all the gear inside travelled extremely well behind the landy as long as you keep it front heavy by around 40kg on the drawbar hitch. i use a pintle hitch for what its worth.

fuel economy dropped from 10 lt per hundred to 12 litres per hundred. at a steady 90kph on the highways

ill add a few pics after i send this as dinner is served.

cheers

pics attached... i hope

Originally Posted by cactus

gooday nick. got your pm.. i dont have many pics but ill load a couple to give you an idea as to my set up. the whole rack can be removed if i choose but havnt had the need really. it survived a few corrugations last week no worries. the roof camper is a slightly wider version than most but out of pure luck the rack i had built before the rtc came along was wide enough by 2cm either side.

the mattress supplied took a little getting used to as it is very dense 75mm thick. that plus a sleeping bag and one wool blanket and two pillows saw the roof almost to hard to close. let alone have the ladder in there as well. hence the ladder on the rear of the trailer.

for simplicity i added a tap to the water can on the front of the trailer. best thing ever.

other than that ive kept it simple. just used plastic boxes inside to carry all of our gear. one note is you need to be aware of the gap between top of trailer and bottom of tent capsule as this limits the size of boxes you can get in the trailer. i can easily get a milk crate in but my gas fridge wont go in.. compromise between being top heavy for larger gap or lower for better towing but less gap.

the capsule weighs in at 97kgs. the trailer with all the gear inside travelled extremely well behind the landy as long as you keep it front heavy by around 40kg on the drawbar hitch. i use a pintle hitch for what its worth.

fuel economy dropped from 10 lt per hundred to 12 litres per hundred. at a steady 90kph on the highways

ill add a few pics after i send this as dinner is served.

cheers

Thanks for that Cactus. I've got a Airtop RTT AirTop roof top tent | Autohome Official AirTop roof tent It's a great tent, with all the features you mention but I've never had issues with closing it. Always has a couple pillows, sleeping bags, sheets and the ladder in it when I close it up. I love it - like my own little motel room

So you just cut the canvas where your 'roof bars' come up through?

I've been battling with whole how high to make the tent - like you mention, the higher you go the easier it is to load/unload but worse towing. I have about 100mm above the top of the canvas stick or 400mm above the side of the trailer. Hopefully this is an ok compromise. I'm still working on the roof bars though.

My trailer has been converted to a 50mm ball with override brakes. Currently the front of the trailer rides too low, I've got to sort something out to get it sitting more level....

gooday nick

the canvas im still thinking about, thats the one that came with the trailer from auctions so is quite thin and tattered. i can get a new one off ebay made quite local to me for 320 i think but i would need to have the holes cut into it and hemmed properly. then velcro tabs to stop the flapping whilst driving. i have also thought of putting zippers in to make access easier... hard to describe but maybe in about 6 inchs from either end to up near the centre bar that holds the tarp up.. same on other side. might need some light framework to hold things in place. i imagine another couple of hundred to get it how i want. that makes the tarp more expensive than the whole trailer.
my other thought was to make a light weight steel frame replicating the tarp shape and covering that with sheet alloy. bit like a tradesman canopy i guess. it could possibly have canvas glued to the outer skin to keep with original looks and the whole thing could be removed like the roof racks. i could make that myself for less than canvas work.

always thinking .