Topic: Loaded down with trail gear.

[FourbangerYJ]

So you can bring even more junk.  

Ya Buddy! 

The idea was me the Mrs.and 2 kids would go, or 2 kids and me. But that does not seem to be in the works. The Mrs. likes the day trip thing maybe every 5 years. And so far I can't talk my son in to going even a day run.  My daughter loves to go!

[Jeffy]

Ya Buddy! 

The idea was me the Mrs.and 2 kids would go, or 2 kids and me. But that does not seem to be in the works. The Mrs. likes the day trip thing maybe every 5 years. And so far I can't talk my son in to going even a day run.  My daughter loves to go!

Time to sell the YJ and buy a SJ.  More of everything, including comfort.

[FourbangerYJ]

Time to sell the YJ and buy a SJ.  More of everything, including comfort.

I'd rather sell the kids 
My buddy has 2 FSJ's he is going to try sell them and get a JK. He is tired of working on it all the time to keep it running.
I would like a CJ 8 or a 6 or a LJ, or a older 4 runner. But that is not going to happen.

[Jeffy]

I'd rather sell the kids 
My buddy has 2 FSJ's he is going to try sell them and get a JK. He is tired of working on it all the time to keep it running.
I would like a CJ 8 or a 6 or a LJ, or a older 4 runner. But that is not going to happen.

Well, that's usually because no one kept on top of the maintenance.  I'd want to swap out the engine for a 5.7L and a 4L60e or a 4L80E.  As for room, I think the JK would be a downgrade.  SJ's have room galore.  For the price of a JK he could probably build a nice SJ with a completely new drive/powertrain/axles.

CJ-6 isn't going to give you that much more room as they are narrower.  If you're going to go CJ-8 you might as well just extend your YJ and put a CJ-8 tub on it.

Still, you carry way too much stuff.  These guy's are going practically naked in comparison.  http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/   

[FourbangerYJ]

Well, that's usually because no one kept on top of the maintenance.  I'd want to swap out the engine for a 5.7L and a 4L60e or a 4L80E.  As for room, I think the JK would be a downgrade.  SJ's have room galore.  For the price of a JK he could probably build a nice SJ with a completely new drive/powertrain/axles.

CJ-6 isn't going to give you that much more room as they are narrower.  If you're going to go CJ-8 you might as well just extend your YJ and put a CJ-8 tub on it.

Still, you carry way too much stuff.  These guy's are going practically naked in comparison.  http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/   

Well Kris has had a black cloud over him just about everyday I have known him. It's always something! I blame him for the rain we had on the Dusy last year. 
He was on the fence last year with rebuilding the 360 or swapping in a 5.3 setup. He went with the 360 rebuild. He has good axles. One has a 14B/HPD44. The other has a HP44 and 9 inch.

I guess you can tell I was never a 2 wheeler kind of guy Hats off to those that are and make it work. 

[jagular7]

.....snip.....
I have been wanting to build a trail trailer for years. In fact I started buy parts for it. But after thinking about how often it would be used I stopped the project. I would have only used it once or twice. It's still something I would like to do but not right now.

Find a pwc trailer, find a vehicle (truck/minivan) rear axle with leafs or something to use as an axle with larger tires, put that under it. Put plywood down and hold downs on it and your done. Fill it to the brim with your camping/trailride gear and pull it around for a few days just on the streets. Give a pull through a day ride trail. Its rather cheap to put together with a lot of friends stuff laying around. The initial cost of a boxed pwc trailer should be returnable if this doesn't work for you. The rear axle will be bigger than what you really need but its just a test to get a feel.
It doesn't have to be anything fancy.

Or how about finding a cheap small pickup bed trailer off CL. (Seen them for $150 or cheaper) Remove the outer skin panels to make it look better for a Jeep trailer (they are just a cover), configure a wheelwell over the tires, put all your stuff in it and give that a pull for a couple of days. 

[FourbangerYJ]

I'd rather start from scratch. I already have most everything I need. Well with exception of the steel. I have my drawings all laid out. I could pick up the steel little by little until I get enough. I would like this to happen someday. It would be a great project! It's kept me up many a night thinking about it!
It would be something along these lines http://www.milspecoffroad.com/

But like I said earlier. It would only be used once or twice then it would sit forever. Maybe if my son wants to go on the multi-day trips but for now I can't get him to go on the 1 day trips.
I could borrow a trailer from someone in town. He has a M101 I think on 35's.

[jagular7]

Ok, that's fine. It was more of a test to get a feel if that would work for you. You can spend the time and effort to put a trailer together for your purposes.

How about a TJ body tub? There is one in KC for $300. The owner replaced the tub after an accident and didn't go through his insurance. It has a few wrinkles but still altogether as a tub.



And I've picked up a M416 from my buddy that moved. The packers wouldn't move it and he didn't have a vehicle to pull it as well. All his vehicles already was pulling some kind of trailer.

[FourbangerYJ]

I have seen a number of trailer builds using a TJ/YJ/Sami tubs. It seems to me starting from scratch would be a lot less work. Plus I could make it narrower than a Jeep tub. The plan would be to make it fairly small. The extra weight of a Jeep tub is also a concern. The do look cool, but I like the look of the Milspec trailer better.
Plus with the closing of trails and seasonal use limitations the Forest Service is implementing I don't see a big demand for a trailer. Seems like in a few years there won't be anywhere to go, let alone a need for a trailer to haul gear around in.

[jagular7]

Then I guess invest in some land, open up an orv private park, provide great campground amentities, have some 900 acres to wheel in the trails, etc. Lots of these opening up across the eastern and central parts of US. Always hear about them.

Its one of the reasons I picked up a toter, put a camper type of thing on the back, tow a 18' flatbed trailer, and pull the TJ around with it. I've put together couple of gear haulers for the Jeep in the past. Got to a point where they were too big for the stuff I needed or thought I needed to camp. The wheeling was based on a central camp and not like what you do. But that was several (ok 10) years ago. Since my kids are of mid-teenage years now, and I haven't been camping in a decade (lol), I put together a little luggage trailer 2-3 yrs ago. It uses a basic HF 40x49 trailer, 12" wheels, a 17cuft yard dump bed and its painted military colors to pull behind the Jeep when necessary. It basically hauled 1-2 night camping or a hotel/overnight bags.

Only thing I could think to help in your situation is the gear and tools. Lighten it up. Think what you can do with pre-maintenance on items, replace/fix what you need to in the driveway and go wheel it. Do you need all your tools or do others carry similar items and components with them. Take inventory between everyone and see about sharing the carrying of supplies. Usually, you probably wheel with friends with similar equipped vehicles. So parts and tool sharing is an easy thing to do.

[FourbangerYJ]

Every time I drive by a big tract of land for sale I think what it would take to make a OHV park out of it.
To my knowledge there are no private OHV parks in Ca, or most of the Western States. More of a mid-west,east coast thing.

I always post trip my Jeep by crawling under and making sure nothing has been beaten or banged around. I check the U bolts a few times a year. Grease everything that will take grease. When in doubt fix or replace whatever before the next trip. I hate to wrench on the trail. I'd rather wheel than turn wrenches.