What's new
By:
Filters

Incredibly Slow (& Cheap) Toy Hauler Build

Brecklin

Brecklin

Red Skull Member
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
634
Messages
393
Loc
Appleton WI
I picked up this 20ft 7K enclosed trailer for super cheap...it's a 2020 model that I scored for $1500. The front corner was smashed, hence the price tag. I still feel I got a deal though.

My fiancee loves wheeling with me in the Samurai, but after a bear tried coming into our tent, she refuses to camp in anything other than a camper.

I'm about $500 into this for parts to repair the smashed corner. Between yesterday and today I removed most of the damaged supports and aluminum sheeting.

One thing I did notice, whoever built this trailer was a fucking hack. I'm far from on the fab level as some on this site, but I'd be ashamed of myself if my end product looked like what I'm finding as I dig in to this thing. There'd be no way I'd feel comfortable selling something with this poor level of craftsmanship. Anyway...

The plan is to get it fixed and then do a simple set of cupboards and a countertop with storage cabinets underneath, up in the front V area. I'd like to mount beds that swing down off the walls, redo all the paneling and insulate behind them, add lighting (indoor and outdoor), and figure out what else I can do easily and cheaply to make it more enjoyable for camping.

It'll still be just an enclosed car trailer, never a camper, but I'd like to make it a little nicer for spending a weekend in.

I'll update as I make progress. If you guys have any cool ideas, let me know. My creativity sucks..
 

Attachments

  • 20220402_101747.jpg
    20220402_101747.jpg
    3 MB · Views: 232
  • 20220402_101728.jpg
    20220402_101728.jpg
    2.6 MB · Views: 51
  • 20220402_101713.jpg
    20220402_101713.jpg
    3.7 MB · Views: 55
  • 20220402_101757.jpg
    20220402_101757.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 63
  • 20220612_125515.jpg
    20220612_125515.jpg
    1.5 MB · Views: 63
  • 20220612_125526.jpg
    20220612_125526.jpg
    1.5 MB · Views: 55
This is just one example of the hack job that I'm finding underneath the exterior paneling
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20220613-192916_Snapchat.jpg
    Screenshot_20220613-192916_Snapchat.jpg
    933.7 KB · Views: 96
a buddy has a 16' by 8' wide enclosed that he camps in. he uses it to haul quads and his gf's RZR. We took it to the dunes a few years ago for a guy's trip and it was nice to camp in and not be in tents. it was Oct and pretty cold. When you close that door it's fawking dark! I would suggest putting in a RV window in the door and maybe another on the opposite side so you can get some light/ventilation in it. He added roof AC to his and you can hang meat in the fucker. :laughing: it's a fairly small space and an electric space heater kept it nice and toasty in there.




For the price you gave for it I could overlook the shoddy welds.. :smokin:
 
so i am looking this as a great possibility, my biggest concern is my 2019 f150 pulling it. weight no worries just the fact it is a parachute the shape of shoe box. what truck you pulling it with.
 
chaplinfj60 said:
so i am looking this as a great possibility, my biggest concern is my 2019 f150 pulling it. weight no worries just the fact it is a parachute the shape of shoe box. what truck you pulling it with.
Click to expand...
Ecoboost? Send it, your biggest issue will be rear suspension stability...use a WD hitch, or bags/timbrens
 
I pulled my buddy's 8x16' enclosed with my 3/4 ton Ram Cummins. it wasn't the weight of it. it was the fucking brick shape. pulled pretty easy up to 55 or so. about 70-75 it was like the tires were half flat. lol

***his is a square nose though
 
Last weekend I had planned on knocking out a good portion of the wall upright replacement, but we had some ternadas go through Wednesday night and we were without power until Sunday.

Spent yesterday morning and this morning getting the uprights in. I should be about ready to put aluminum sheeting back on the outside now.

You can see where I cut and spliced in new angle pieces that the uprights land on. The bottom I cut at the tongue, so the new piece is welded to the tongue and trailer corner. The top I cut in the middle of an upright, giving it a good spot to be welded to.
 

Attachments

  • 20220625_125740.jpg
    20220625_125740.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 24
  • 20220625_125746.jpg
    20220625_125746.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 24
  • 20220625_125756.jpg
    20220625_125756.jpg
    1.9 MB · Views: 25
  • 20220625_125801.jpg
    20220625_125801.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 27
The roof is all one sheet. Rather than replacing the whole thing, I'm going to cut it at the second roof bow and overlap the new piece 6". I'll caulk the shit out of the overlap and rivet the 2 piece together at the overlap, and then screw both of them to that second roof bow. Anyone have a better idea?
 

Attachments

  • 20220625_125823.jpg
    20220625_125823.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 15
A 6" lap is more than enough. Really, 2 inches would be fine. Stagger your rivets every 3/4". One row should be 1/4-1/2" away from the exposed edge, the other row should be the same distance in from the underneath edge. Lap the new over the old so it'll shed water as you go down the road. If you want to get really fancy pop into a roofing supply house and ask for a tube of 'water cutoff' to put in the seam, then caulk or coating of your choice over the top and all of the rivets


IMG_20211116_081513.jpg
 
Anybody know what kind of sealant/cock they use on the seams? It's hard as a mother fucker and gray in color. It was an absolute caulk sucker to remove, I'd like to use the same shit as I imagine it works great at keeping moisture out.
 
chaplinfj60 said:
so i am looking this as a great possibility, my biggest concern is my 2019 f150 pulling it. weight no worries just the fact it is a parachute the shape of shoe box. what truck you pulling it with.
Click to expand...

You'll be fine, just prepare for a big hit on fuel. My father in law has a 26x8 and gets like 9mpg in his 17 dually 6.7 psd.

Fwiw, I pulled my sil's ~35 foot travel trailer with our 15 2.7 ccsb(same wb as your truck) and it wasn't bad at all. Air bags would have made it even nicer.



OP, keep an eye on those tires and wheels. Those trailers should have never came with 3500lb axles, way to easy to overload. You might think about just throwing some 5200s under it.
 
Something like this was probably used. There is a few different brands / colors but for the most part they all seem the same. Dicor seems to be pretty popular for trailer / rv products. I have a few spots on my toy hauler roof I'm gonna re caulk with it. This one says it is for horizontal surfaces, they have another one for vertical surfaces.

 
YotaAtieToo said:
OP, keep an eye on those tires and wheels. Those trailers should have never came with 3500lb axles, way to easy to overload. You might think about just throwing some 5200s under it.
Click to expand...
Thats definitely a good suggestion! I only plan on hauling the Sami but the Sami, extra weight of camping shit, and the trailer itself is probably eating up the majority of that 7k rating. It's only got 6 ply tires on it right now (wtf) so at the least I'm going to 8s, or 10s if I can find them in this size.
J.Cole said:
Something like this was probably used. There is a few different brands / colors but for the most part they all seem the same. Dicor seems to be pretty popular for trailer / rv products. I have a few spots on my toy hauler roof I'm gonna re caulk with it. This one says it is for horizontal surfaces, they have another one for vertical surfaces.

Click to expand...
I just ordered the self leveling and non leveling tubes, I'll let you know how they work. Thanks for the link man.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
OP, keep an eye on those tires and wheels. Those trailers should have never came with 3500lb axles, way to easy to overload. You might think about just throwing some 5200s under it.
Click to expand...

Definitely. We had a trailer come into the shop this past week for an axle replacement. Sixteen foot trailer with dual 5000# axles (so we were told). Pulled the axle out and it turns out to be a 7000# axle and the fuckers still overloaded the damn thing!
 
PAToyota said:
Definitely. We had a trailer come into the shop this past week for an axle replacement. Sixteen foot trailer with dual 5000# axles (so we were told). Pulled the axle out and it turns out to be a 7000# axle and the fuckers still overloaded the damn thing!
Click to expand...

I've heard that 5200 and 7000s are the same except the brakes.
 
Picked up some 3/4" foam board insulation (R4), 1/4" plywood, and some new meats.

(5) 4x8 sheets of insulation was enough to cover the entire front section that I had removed the old wood for repairs. The plan is to remove the rest of the wood, insulate, and rehang the wood back in place. I'll also insulate and hang plywood on the ceiling.

I have collected a bunch of tongue and groove flooring after remodeling my house, so I plan on screwing that to the plywood walls in the front half, at least up to where the "sleeping/hang out" quarters are. I have no reason to do that other than I have the stuff and it'll look cool...maybe.

The tires are 205/75/15 Powerking Towmax in an 8 ply flavor. These were hands down the best trailer tires we sold in my time at the tire shop. I had a set on my car trailer for probably 10 years, wore them out without a single sign of dry rot. The set I replaced them with in 2017 are still looking like new. The tires on the enclosed now are 6 ply, not in bad shape as they are fairly new, so they'll become spares. I have a brand new set of 5 on 4.5 wheels I bought and never used, so I'll just throw them on those wheels and have 4 spares. :flipoff2:

I suppose I'll update when more progress is made. I did however throw the Sami in and take it for a ride on Sunday. It pulls so damn nice! At 75 you can definitely feel the parachute effect though. Maiden voyage will be the last weekend on the month down to the Badlands park in Indiana. We've got about 20 rigs heading down for my bachelor party. Come join if you feel inclined :smokin:
 

Attachments

  • 20220908_183830.jpg
    20220908_183830.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 21
  • 20220908_183519.jpg
    20220908_183519.jpg
    2.4 MB · Views: 23
  • 20220908_183212.jpg
    20220908_183212.jpg
    8.1 MB · Views: 20
  • 20220908_183205.jpg
    20220908_183205.jpg
    2.2 MB · Views: 23
You really going to unmount the old tires, mout the new tires on old wheels and old tires on new wheels? :flipoff2:

Otherwise, looks like a heck of a project.
 
Mounted the tires today after work, and look at this shit. This probably doesn't matter to the average person but come on, it looks like shit. I don't know how much this trailer sold for new, but something like this would have made me laugh and walk away from buying it off the lot. It took literally 10 seconds a side to cut off the end of the screws and makes it look 10x better. Also, it bothers me when people don't cut the tails off their zip ties. I know it doesn't hurt but it shows you don't give a fuck about the job you're doing.
 

Attachments

  • 20220909_143138.jpg
    20220909_143138.jpg
    7.7 MB · Views: 51
I am surprised you think so much of those tires, all 4 of mine broke belts in less than a year.

I think the RV industry calls them "blowmax":lmao:
 
Last edited:
CarterKraft said:
I am surprised you think so much of those tires, all 4 of mine broke belts in less than a year.

I think the RV industry calls them "blowmax":lmao:
Click to expand...
I don't even want to say it because I'll fuck myself by doing so, but I've never had a Towmax fail me. Trailer sits outside too. Sometimes it comes down to operator error?
YotaAtieToo said:
Sorry, but op obviously has very little trailer experience if all these little things are a surprise. All trailers are built like shit :laughing:
Click to expand...
I don't even know what year my 16' open deck car trailer is, early 2000 I think. It's definitely built better than this thing lol.
 
Brecklin said:
I don't even want to say it because I'll fuck myself by doing so, but I've never had a Towmax fail me. Trailer sits outside too. Sometimes it comes down to operator error?

I don't even know what year my 16' open deck car trailer is, early 2000 I think. It's definitely built better than this thing lol.
Click to expand...
Before Obama messed everything up! :flipoff2:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh