Thread: time to create my vision of the ultimate off road camper

I have seen a 4wheel fully independent boat trailer for about a 5.5m plate alloy boat.
So rig weight would have to be up over the 1000kg.

They used premade independent aframe style links by sugarglider I think. It rode extremely well for a boat trailer to rip up the cape or over to the big gulf / NT rivers but the biggest issue with 4 wheel independent is it will most likely be non load sharing which may be an issue in real offroad conditions.

Will love to see your buildup though.

I have rough plans for my next offroad tinnie trailer to be indi suspended... I wondered if butchering some front macphersons from say a falcoon or whatever may be a neat way to go, compact and relatively well sorted bushing system. But when it all comes own to it front hilux springs will always be the strongest/ simplest/ most cost effective/ bullet proof spring option for a trailer in the 500-1000kg category.

Steve

You may want to talk to some insurance companies re insuring home made stuff. I recently registered and insured a new Jayco caravan and all the insurance companies I talked to all asked me to confirm the unit was not home made. I don't know whether they don't cover home made units or they require an engineers certificate or if they do cover, it comes at a premium?

Is the independent system whereby they utilise wishbone control arms and an inverted leaf above and between the two wishbones load sharing? I am guessing it would be if the central spring mount is a pivot, rather than fixed.

one of my concerns with tandem axle is the scurfing they do in tight turns, I would think in an off road situation that it will cause unnessary drag. I think single axle is far superior on campers, fitted up with good lght truck tyres you can go to a tare of 1450kg's with brakes of course. Thats a fair bit of camper and load.
cheers
blaze

IMHO your better off with a full axle and a single axle only.

ask dobbo, lokka + co about how well my tandem axle went on stocktons.

the single axle while being a slight threat to getting hung (which isnt really a problem as in order to get the trailer there you first have to drive somewhere with a vehicle which unless your in a D3 or similar has beam axles with a pumpkin that hangs lower than the trailer axle will) has many advantages.

its lighter to install if you use leaves and about the same if you go coils.
its easier to repair on the side of the road, you cant do the "install part of a tree to repair a broken spring" trick on a torsion bar/swingarm setup.
its easier to install and doesnt intrude in the trailer space or places you're likely to want to put tanks like (some) of the cheaper torsion bar systems.
the biggest benefit is.. its cheaper.

the downside apart from the afore mentioned hang up problem is that the beam axle limits your ability to center mount a large central water tank but IMHO thats mitigatable by putting in 2 or more independant smaller tanks and spreading them around.


If you can try to get a flotation class tyre for the trailer if your expecting to be on the sand or going near mud. yes they are a little wider but they have a different construction that makes them top notch in the sand.


best of luck and have fun.

7x4 is way to short for dual axles unless you plan on using mini wheels.

Agree with above - 4 wheels are not going to be as good as 2 for off road, there is some excellent points above.

AL-KOs "outback" spring sets go up to 1680kg on one axle – there are a lot of them bouncing to the cape and back, weak point is where the front spring bracket is welded to chassis, the springs and components usually out last the chassis, so it is up to the builder to unsure that is strong.

With independent you get more ground clearance but what for – as Dave point out, a basic trailer axle has more clearance than the diff on the 4WD and it will go through first... so it now comes down to strength.

Welding on my trailer starts tomorrow - might start a new thread, if anyone is interested to show what we (brother and I are building 2) are up to. Camper is based on 7 x 4 but will be slightly larger (2180 x 1260) internal and will transport a 4m tinnnie - we have CAD designed (read wife is engineer) the lot and have folded all the sheet metal ready for welding tomorrow. Body to be aluminium with the monster of all chassis in mild steel.

H

Originally Posted by harlie

Agree with above - 4 wheels are not going to be as good as 2 for off road, there is some excellent points above.

AL-KOs "outback" spring sets go up to 1680kg on one axle – there are a lot of them bouncing to the cape and back, weak point is where the front spring bracket is welded to chassis, the springs and components usually out last the chassis, so it is up to the builder to unsure that is strong.

With independent you get more ground clearance but what for – a basic trailer axle has more clearance than the diff on the 4WD and it will go through first... so it now comes down to strength.

Welding on my trailer starts tomorrow - might start a new thread, if anyone is interested to show what we (brother and I are building 2) are up to. Camper is based on 7 x 4 but will be slightly larger (2180 x 1260) internal and will transport a 4m tinnnie - we have CAD designed (read wife is engineer) the lot and have folded all the sheet metal ready for welding tomorrow. Body to be aluminium with the monster of all chassis in mild steel.

H

look forward to yur write up