Tent trailer/overland trailer

[Marlin]

I finally finished putting together my Lifetime Sahara tent trailer. I will say, of all the DIY kits I have ever purchased, this is by far the nicest. High quality, great packaging and spot on directions.

It is extremely tight, nothing like a Harbor Freight trailer. I still need to set the tent up on it and waterproof the seams and treat it with permethrin spray.
I will add a deep cycle battery with inverter and solar. I am going to set the tent up with LED 12V lighting, red and white, red for night and white for general purpose lighting.
I picked up a set of Kelty aluminum tent poles on Ebay awhile back, those will replace the shorter fiberglass poles it came with. The primary support poles are already aluminum.
I am going to add a little 10 gallon RV water tank and pump over the axle for a convenient water supply if needed.
I have still have a set of 4 brand new 30" AT tires on 16" VX rims in my shed, so I am looking at getting some adapters and putting a pair on the trailer. That will raise it way up off the ground and make it overland friendly. Need to order one of those fancy tongue adapters that allows the trailer to flex behind the VX without binding on the hitch ball. That will be later.
I bought the deluxe kit, so it came with the ramp/bed extenders and the spare kit, which I probably won't need for long. Overall, I am very pleased with the product, some great design plans! It is obvious that some folks spent a lot of time on it. I wish it had a 3500lb axle with brakes, but that is a fairly easy and inexpensive mod to do later if I need to.
I will post some pics tomorrow with it set up.
I researched all the options, the jumping jack, lifetime, some of the really pricey tent trailers, and this was by far the most economical and practical option. Lifetime does not make the older jumping jack anymore, I tried to get one, no bueno. The new jumping jacks are much smaller and $6K. I paid 2700 for mine including shipping and the extras.

[pbkid]

very nice, definitely dig the concept.

[Marlin]

They have been around awhile and you very rarely see them used, so folks must hold on to them. Been watching CL within a 500 mile radius of me and my parents in Ohio, no luck.
For what the family and I do, this is perfect for us. Frequent cross country moves, wheeling, it should be a cure all.

[Triathlete]

I would like one of these (option d) but the price is a bit high ($10k)...come on lottery!

[yellowgizmo99]

Chris call me about the adapters tomorrow.

[Marlin]

Sweet, will do.

[JAMAS]

I would like one of these (option d) but the price is a bit high ($10k)...come on lottery!

Those look sweet! I want one now too.

[Marlin]

Those look sweet! I want one now too.

There are better ones than those out there for less. There is one that is a sealed unit, floats and they will build it with matching wheels and tires to go with tow rig. They focus on Jeeps, but they do FJs and what not. Can't remember the brand, came across it during my EXTENSIVE research.

[Marlin]

Got it all set up today in the rain. Took me about 30 minutes reading the directions step by step. Pretty sure I can do it again in <15 by myself.
I was trying to figure out how the tent weighs 80lbs, now I understand why. It is not like a cheap coleman tent. The material is more like a backpack cordura type, but no quite that thick. The tub is similar to a raft, a woven rubber, not like the cheap tarp material conventional tents are made of.
I am more than pleased with it. Although, the zippers are a bit lacking. They need to have bigger teeth, and the the door needs to have a hinge. We have a coleman that uses fiberglass poles as a hinge to keep the door stiff, it would add a lot to the tent and would not cost much more. If you are already spending 3K on a tent, whats another 20 bucks?
I did swap out the fiberglass wing poles with the nice Kelty aluminum poles I had. That was a good improvement in the long run, fiberglass and cold weather do not go well together. Only fiberglass left is the awning poles, and they are fairly short and thin, not worried about those since they are not structural and do not have much bend to them.
I should have wheel adapters in a week or two, then need to figure out how to get the VX wheels to fit on there Need to measure my gate as well and make sure it will fit with the wider tires, it may end up parked in my driveway, which I really do not want to do.

[Marlin]

It has hooks in the ceiling for lights, pockets in the vertical portions leading to the sleeping platforms, as well as vents and extension cord ports. Very designed, even the vents have little stiff inserts to prop them open from the outside. Just can't believe how poor the zippers are

[Marlin]

Got some major work on the trailer done today.
I stained the wood deck, got all the carpet laid out, once the stain cures, I will mount the carpet. I have had good experience with the lowes gray outdoor carpet. I did an 18x12 slab with masonry screws in charleston. It has been there 4 years, no fading, no problems.

I also bought my 45watt solar set and a 114a/hr deep cycle battery. The solar set is on sale at HF for 150, comes with a controller, 2 led work lights (not very bright, but ok for a tent I suppose), 3 15watt panels, all the wiring, and a PVC frame that is actually pretty nice. The lights only draw 350ma each, so I could run both of them off the battery for well over 100 hours with no charge. They have fluorescent bulbs in them, may check on some brighter LED bulbs and swap them out. I also added a 750watt inverter, should be enough to run a fan, lights, charge a laptop etc...

And the cherry on top, a badass steel tongue box at Harbor Freight. It is definitely a diamond. 90 bucks with a coupon, solid steel, inset lid with piano hinge that is inside the box. It is VERY well made, fit the trailer perfectly.

Also got all the new tie downs on the trailer and started punching new holes/grommets for the tarp I got for it. Not sure how that portion is gonna work out. The tarp is the right size, but it needs to be tight to keep it from shredding. I am thinking maybe putting a truck bed cargo net over the tarp? Dunno yet.

My dad's company just finished tooling for a brand new designed electric jack. I will be getting one of the first off the line for "testing" in the field I will cut off the existing jack and replace it with the electric.

Next up, wheels and tires. Not sure if the VX wheels will work or not, the offset is way wrong and I would have to have some major spacers, may just find a set of steel 6x5.5 bolt pattern wheels with deep offset, maybe steal Tom's, and slap the tires I have in the shed on there. I need to order the max coupler from Kilby and fab/weld that up. Then she will be mostly overland ready. Still need to build a skid plate for the front/bottom to cover the water tank and protect the frame on the trail. Gotta look at the rear clearance and evaluate that as well. Will post up some pics tomorrow while I am treating the tent for bugs.

[Marlin]

Even more progress with assistance from my 7 yr old. The 6 yr old went to the hospital with strep...

We got the battery mounted up, installed the carpet.




These pics are pre-carpet...

[Marlin]

Coming along now, I think I am done with the exception of the lock n roll hitch. Ordering that today.

I finished up the box/electrical. I have 40 feet o retractable cord for the solar panels. That means I can park the trailer in the shade and put the panels elsewhere in the sun.
I also installed the new controller and 750 watt inverter.
The controller drops out the inverter at 12ish volts. That means I cannot completely kill the battery. I went with a smaller inverter on purpose. Think of it as an amp/hr fuse. In theory, I could max out that inverter and not kill the battery for 18-20hrs. I was originally going to mount it, then decided to strap that way I can take it out and use it someone else's vehicle or whatever. I stored the alligator clamp cords in there as well.
I added a drop light for inside the box. I also added a 25 foot 3 outlet extension cord, which is what the port on the side is for. Voila, self sustaining electricity!
I also got the tent treated for bugs. Setup the beds and sleeping arrangements. I wish UK single mattresses were available here. A twin is 34" wide, UK single is 29ish. Two thermarest pads will fit on side, which is what the boys will use, but I would rather not "rough" it if I don't have to

[Bulldoggie]

You tube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z0SEr9_jCc

[Marlin]

Lock n roll installed today, I got the new version (I believe it is the 500 series, so 5th rev?)
Pretty diesel build and design. Had to drill new half inch holes in trailer, but no problem otherwise. I got he vehicle side with the 2" drop or 2" lift option. As the trailer sits right now, will have to do a 2" drop, if I put the bigger tires, will have to do the 2" lift, but then I can't open the rear door with the trailer connected Shouldn't be much stored in the truck anyway.