DIY Trailer Build

In early 2020 we owned a 2019 Nucamp T@G XL teardrop. However, after a trip to the Ouachita NF, and some unfortunate damage to the camper, we decided we needed a more capable camping set up to get us farther off the beaten path. We sold the teardrop in the early weeks of the pandemic and had a pile of cash to burn! Enter our DIY pandemic build! We started with a used Carry-All 4’x6’ trailer. Typically these are sold at Lowes for around $500.00. I found one in Knoxville, TN for under $500.00 so we made a 6 hour overnight road trip to pick it up (we were dying to get out of the house).

Once we made it home with the trailer the teardown began. The first thing I did was remove the sketchy tent rack. I think we actually lost one of the crossbars on the the interstate on the way home. Once the rack was removed I removed the axle, tongue, expanded metal deck, then stripped all the crappy wiring and tossed it in the garbage. Once everything was stripped all I was left with was the basic frame of the trailer. I sanded the entire frame, primed and applied three coats of rattle can black. After the paint work was complete I sanded and stained pressure treated boards for the new cargo deck. Then I installed, what else …rock lights!

We decided in early May 2020 to do the Georgia Traverse at the end of July. It was time to kick the build into overdrive if we were to make our deadline. By the end of May the trailer was ready for a rooftop tent rack to mount my Darche 1600 Panorama to. I called Compact Camping Concepts (CCC) in Oregon for one of their “no weld” racks. I also spec’d a new 3500lb axle from them. Obviously the trailer will never come close to carrying 3500 lbs of cargo but the width of the axle was perfect for the Carry-All trailer frame. CCC did an ”axle flip” on the spring perches to give additional lift as well as provided wheel spacers to match the JK Rubicon lug pattern.

We completed the trailer build with just a few days to spare before our GA Traverse trip was to begin. However, we were still making small tweaks to the trailer all the way up to the hour we departed for Georgia. Yes, we were hitting the road without a ”dry run” camping outing prior to a 9 day, off-grid adventure. Yay us!

We made it through our 9 day adventure without any issues with the trailer. Each trip over the next several months we changed what we take with us, how we store our gear etc. Our set up is always evolving!

Below I have listed links to all the products that were used in this build as well as products used on our most recent modification to the trailer……SOLAR!

Tail Lights

Side Marker Lights

Trailer Connector

Tongue Jack Wheel

Trailer Axle Compact Camping Trailers