Enclosed Trailer Build, toy hauler, camper, etc. |
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Ol' Unreliable
Member Joined: 25 Sep. 2016 Location: CO Springs CO Status: Offline Points: 4226 |
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Unless you're pulling a trailer and then you gotta turn around?
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There's a reason it's called Ol' Unreliable
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Rick G
Member Joined: 17 May 2015 Location: Amarillo, TX Status: Offline Points: 1467 |
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Certain kind of trailers. Here are some of the restrictions, in case anyone is heading that way.
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binthere
Member Joined: 29 Nov. 2010 Location: Cherryville B.C Status: Offline Points: 707 |
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Rick G
Now that you have had the trailer out with all the added metal, how does it compare for towing, and did the changes make a difference to the gas mileage? More wind resistance or not? Just curious, as I used to have an open that I pulled with my 1/2 ton, and now I have a little larger covered trailer that I'm pulling with the same truck but haven't made a long trip yet. |
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chuck
1953 CJ3B "a fistfull of dollars" 1949 willys jeepster "a few dollars more" and a few other retirement toys |
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Rick G
Member Joined: 17 May 2015 Location: Amarillo, TX Status: Offline Points: 1467 |
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Binthere, I did notice a little gas mileage loss. Before I enclosed the trailer, I got about 12-13 mpg with the jeep and 4 wheeler and gear. On this trip, I went almost 4K miles, of which, about 3300 miles were pulling this trailer. Going uphill towards the Continental Divide (about 500 miles or so), I got between 8 and 10 mpg. The rest of the trip I got 10-12 mpg. Here's my trip meter and avg mpg for the entire trip. I'm pulling this trailer with a 1/2 ton, crew cab, long bed 4WD Silverado with a 5.3L V8. It was a little under-powered a couple of times, but I'm not unhappy with it's performance. The last 1500 miles (all pulling the trailer, Colfax CA to Amarillo) I averaged 10.5 mpg. As far as wind resistance is concerned, I think the chiseled, v-nose is the only way to go. I never felt like I was pulling a barn or anything big. Most of the time, I didn't even notice it was back there. It certainly isn't like pulling the open utility trailer, but I never once felt like I was fighting the trailer with the steering wheel. Once, I pulled this trailer (before I enclosed it) with a couple of tons of cultured stone, cement, mortar, and other building materials (about 300 miles) and that felt about the same as the enclosed trailer with the jeep and gear inside. It felt the same because it weighed about the same, not because of wind resistance. I'm guessing with the additional weight of enclosing it, the jeep, and the gear, I was between 5,000 and 5,500lbs. I think extending the tongue 3' was also a significant improvement. Out of fear of trailer sway and fish tailing (and the uncertainty of increased wind resistance), I put a sway bar on the tongue. I'll post some pics of that pretty soon, but I highly recommend these even with open utility trailers! That and the trailer brakes are two of my favorite mods to this trailer. Wish I had them years ago. All my future trailers will have them. Most of the time, i didn't have the sway bar tightened down very tight. This trailer pulls like a dream. No complaints whatsoever. I knew it would cause some mpg loss, but the security and ability to camp out of it certainly makes up for the loss. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I am very pleased with the trailer. |
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binthere
Member Joined: 29 Nov. 2010 Location: Cherryville B.C Status: Offline Points: 707 |
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Thanks Rick.
That's about where I'm at. I'm running a 2008 1500 with a 4.8 litre. I was averaging between 12.5 to 14.5 miles per UK gallon with the open deck 16 footer. It was a long pull from Leaker's heading west from Billings to Bozeman especially with the temperature around 30C or 90F. On the long pulls it would get to about 110 degrees C and as soon as we hit down hill would cool right down. I guess I'll just have to bee careful on the first run with the covered!
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chuck
1953 CJ3B "a fistfull of dollars" 1949 willys jeepster "a few dollars more" and a few other retirement toys |
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tumbleweed
Member Joined: 31 Jan. 2011 Location: Bedford, Texas Status: Offline Points: 651 |
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Hey Rick,
Did you finish the trailer build? George
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49 CJ3A - Smokey
53 Willys Wagon - Wylie |
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Rick G
Member Joined: 17 May 2015 Location: Amarillo, TX Status: Offline Points: 1467 |
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George, I haven't finished the trailer build yet, but it is fully functional as a haul trailer. I've gotten sidetracked with lots of other little jobs here and there. I'm going to try to do a little bit on the interior next week, prior to the FCT. I may post a couple of update pictures before I leave. I'll just have to see how the schedule goes.
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tumbleweed
Member Joined: 31 Jan. 2011 Location: Bedford, Texas Status: Offline Points: 651 |
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Hey Rick,
Just had some extra time and was wondering if you have completed your trailer? Hope you guys are doing well and Merry Christmas - hope to see you in 2018 Are you planning on attending FCT or BHR? George
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49 CJ3A - Smokey
53 Willys Wagon - Wylie |
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Millennium falcon
Member Joined: 20 Sep. 2016 Location: Central PA Status: Offline Points: 1521 |
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Rick, what an awesome project! You are ambitious! It turned out great.
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Rick G
Member Joined: 17 May 2015 Location: Amarillo, TX Status: Offline Points: 1467 |
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George, I haven’t done anymore to it since this summer. I think this thread is up-to-date as far as the progress goes. I’m going to be pretty busy this winter rebuilding Gus’ transmission, transfer case, and some motor work. I don’t know if I’ll get back to this build before the summer runs. If I do, I’ll definitely keep y’all updated here. We are planning on the FCT, but probably won’t make the BHR, because Im planning on the Rubicon again. Merry Christmas to y’all as well!
Thx, falcon. It was a bigger job than I thought it would be. But then, every project I undertake turns out that way.
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42rocker
Member Joined: 28 Oct. 2020 Location: Tampa area, Fla Status: Offline Points: 130 |
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Hope that you can get the pics back up that have been lost.
Love to see final pics of this trailer. THANKS for sharing. Stay Safe Later 42rocker |
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