Redneck Chevy Pickup Bed Trailer

[OlYelr]

This project is more the result of some random parts lying around that happened to fall into place, than any great desire to have it, but after doing a little research, I found exactly what I want to build:





I also plan on using it though, so it will end up with a little more off-road capability than that one though.

I had a bed off a new clod body sitting on a shelf for a while now:



I also had an axial axle with no drive capability, made from leftover axle half parts from the 6x6 I built. I threw on some leaf springs I had sitting around:



Then took some 1/2" aluminum angle iron left over from another project, cut, bent and "fused" into the shape of a frame:



I say "fused" because I used this:



It's actually really easy to use, and works on aluminum, galvanized, brass, copper, and more.

Here is a mockup of what it will look like with a couple nasty old Pajero wheels and tires that should look very fitting on it:



I've got some styrene sheets I will use to make the front of the bed, and it should come together pretty easy. I think I'm just going to throw some scale junk in it for now, and call it a trailer. I may do a full drop bed at some point, but probably not now.

[onecleanjetta]

thats pretty freaking cool

[lowdog]

I got to keep an eye on this build,
way to go

[j0e]

hmmm... the axial axle is kinda wide.
i wonder if you would be better off just using some tubing and all thread.

[warriorsimi]

i think it looks freakin cool ,and the wide axles just makes it look like an offroad trailer.

[obijuan]

the one in your real pics is from a mid seventies 4x4.

[JavelinSST390]

Looks killer! You have No IDEA how many of those there are around here... even scarier is I've seen waaaaaay too many trucks that were still pretty nice (except for a grenaded engine or something) that were cut in half to make one of these...

There's a local contractor that has one that's made out of a '01 Super Duty, (one of his employees rolled it.) so High-lift beds are fair game, as well.

BTW, officially the OLDEST truck-box trailer I've ever seen that's still in use is one made from an early-30's Dodge... still has wood-spoke wheels on it and everything... really sad.

I would see about maybe making some straight axles, though, and eliminate the Knuckles and C's from the axial axle. Just use a piece of all-thread through the axle, then just use the wheels/hexes to keep the axle bearings in place. that would narrow it up just enough, I think, to make it look more "right".

Originally Posted by obijuan

the one in your real pics is from a mid seventies 4x4.

How in the hell did you know... oh, wait... the hole for the exposed gas filler and the six-lug wheels... good eyes man!

[obijuan]

probably even earlier because of the wheel style, 75 maybe.

[OlYelr]

Okay, I finally pulled this off the shelf recently to finish it up...

After mocking everything up, I decided the Axial axle did give up too much ground clearance, especially with the small tires I am running. :-( So, I went with the tube style axle, with threaded rod running through the middle, wheel to wheel.

I painted it up with some paints I had lying around, and here's what we have now:









I may drop the bed at some point, but I'm not too worried about it. I'm just going to throw some basic stuff in there and call it good. I still need to add the hitch itself but that's it. I'm just planning on using a ball connector. If for some reason that doesn't hold up, I'll fab up some sort of pintle style hitch.

[JayBastard]

That's really cool! I thought about building a stake rack trailer...Never got around to it. Maybe I will one of these days!

[notagain]

looks good. i like the paint.

[pantablo]

looks good. you should sand down the tires so they look bald.

[bigdodge88]

Trailor turned out great. I am building an offroad one for behind my JK and am planning on using the same type of "axle". Would you mind post more pics of how you connected the leaf springs to the tube?

Justin

[WrenchHead]

very nice work 4 sure. Fit and finish is spot on. Awsome idea and killer execution.Good job.

[caymin last]

Ingenious! Do you mind if I use your idea?
I have an old blackfoot back half laying around and just might try something like that.

[gstealer]

Thats trailer turned out great. Good job.

I have an old blackfoot back half laying around and just might try something like that.

Me too.

Would it look silly on the back of a Blackfoot truggy?

[OlYelr]

Thanks for the compliments guys, and no, I don't mind if others use the same idea.

As far as how I attached the leafs to the tube...

I took a small piece of Delrin, and using my Dremel, made a groove for the tube on one side, a perpendicular groove for the leaf on the other side, ran a short screw through the single hole in the leaf spring to hold it in place on the delrin block, and secured the block to the tube with a couple zip ties (I made grooves for the zip ties as well). It's really very secure, except that it is possible (with a fair amount of force) to slide the entire tube axle assembly side to side on the trailer. The friction of the 4 zip ties makes it pretty tight though, and you really have to push to get it to move. I'm not sure how much abuse the zip ties will take on the bottom of the axle, but I figure if/when I do wear through them on the rocks, they are cheap and easy to replace.

Here's a close up pictures of the assembly:

[bigdodge88]

Thanks, I appreciate it.
Justin

[OlYelr]

Amid all my other projects, I came across inspiration to finally finish this trailer. Not that any project is ever "done", but at least it has a hitch on it now so it is functional. Here are a couple pictures:





I have no idea what this body is from, but I love it. I picked it up off ebay as is. It is a toy grade plastic body, upgraded with quite a few scale accessories, a full interior (even has fuzzy dice), working headlights and taillights, opening tailgate, winch, etc. It actually has a cab high topper that came with it as well, and attached with little velcro pieces. It's mounted to a CC-01 chassis, and fits perfectly.

[andrwplsn]

dude that thing is dang sweet!!!