My $800 jeep trailer
08-22-2013, 10:35 PM
#1
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Location: Edmonton
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My $800 jeep trailer
I just wanted to share my new trailer that has just gone on its first camping trip. I own a 2012 jku rubicon and I love it because its a jeep! But the sad thing is.. It's a jeep; we all know we can only pull 3500lbs or less. Usually if I even see a jeep pulling a travel trailer its a "pop up tent trailer" because they are light enough to be pulled by a jeep or a newer fibreglass ultra light weight unit. But I really wanted a trailer I could afford and pull over to side of the road and sit down for a quick bite to eat with my family without the hassle of popping the roof up. So in search of a cheap family friendly trailer I can take my wife kids and dog out. I came across a 1977 Coleman travelaire.
The ad of this trailer was listed for $550, the pictures were vague and barely showed anything of the trailer itself, a brief phone call to the owner of the trailer informed me that the trailer only weighed 2300lbs dry, this made me want to make my 2 hour drive to the little town where I would meet my first trailer project. At first, second, and third glance this trailer was... A piece of shit. But for $550? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life. I offered $400 and he accepted.
Now before I even moved the thing an inch I had already come to a crashing hault, none of the signal lights worked, I was clueless on how I would fix it so I contacted my brother in law who happens to be a master electrician. He had it fixed in half a day (needed new ground wires).
I brought the trailer home and realized I probably could have died, one of the tires was rotted so badly it could have burst on the highway at any minute, but the position that the trailer was in at site made it impossible to see the cracks with the shade.
Besides the near death experience I went inside to asses the damage:
Floor needed to go
Needed new paint
Needed cushions
Needed bed rails on bunks so kids won't fall
Needed new tires
Needed new seals around bearings
Needed new front window
Needed new door window
Needed new bug screens
Needed minor water proofing
Needed de odourizer
I got to work and most of the stuff was straight forward, but I struggled a lot and kept on messing up (mind you I'm 20 years old with no experience doing anything like this) but I was determined to make this acceptable. So with the help of many YouTube tutorials and kijiji for supplying second hand tools. I have finally finished.. The interior.. Which was a call for celebration by taking the family camping!
We had fun, if your wondering. And thanks for reading my story. Here's a list of what I spent on what approx.
Trailer $400
Cushions $150
Tires (used w/ 75% tread) $40
Tire chain $20
Paint $120
Windows $35 (plastic sheeting custom cut)
Misc. (sandpaper, caulking, light bulbs, air freshener) $35
Laminate (free from leftover renovations to my basement)
The ad of this trailer was listed for $550, the pictures were vague and barely showed anything of the trailer itself, a brief phone call to the owner of the trailer informed me that the trailer only weighed 2300lbs dry, this made me want to make my 2 hour drive to the little town where I would meet my first trailer project. At first, second, and third glance this trailer was... A piece of shit. But for $550? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life. I offered $400 and he accepted.
Now before I even moved the thing an inch I had already come to a crashing hault, none of the signal lights worked, I was clueless on how I would fix it so I contacted my brother in law who happens to be a master electrician. He had it fixed in half a day (needed new ground wires).
I brought the trailer home and realized I probably could have died, one of the tires was rotted so badly it could have burst on the highway at any minute, but the position that the trailer was in at site made it impossible to see the cracks with the shade.
Besides the near death experience I went inside to asses the damage:
Floor needed to go
Needed new paint
Needed cushions
Needed bed rails on bunks so kids won't fall
Needed new tires
Needed new seals around bearings
Needed new front window
Needed new door window
Needed new bug screens
Needed minor water proofing
Needed de odourizer
I got to work and most of the stuff was straight forward, but I struggled a lot and kept on messing up (mind you I'm 20 years old with no experience doing anything like this) but I was determined to make this acceptable. So with the help of many YouTube tutorials and kijiji for supplying second hand tools. I have finally finished.. The interior.. Which was a call for celebration by taking the family camping!
We had fun, if your wondering. And thanks for reading my story. Here's a list of what I spent on what approx.
Trailer $400
Cushions $150
Tires (used w/ 75% tread) $40
Tire chain $20
Paint $120
Windows $35 (plastic sheeting custom cut)
Misc. (sandpaper, caulking, light bulbs, air freshener) $35
Laminate (free from leftover renovations to my basement)
08-23-2013, 03:14 AM
#4
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Ottawa ON
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Thanks for sharing! Looked like a lot of work paid off in the end, the before and after pictures showed how much you had to get done! Should last you a long time and you'll get some great vacations out of it for sure!
08-23-2013, 04:02 AM
#6
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: corona calif
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I just wanted to share my new trailer that has just gone on its first camping trip. I own a 2012 jku rubicon and I love it because its a jeep! But the sad thing is.. It's a jeep; we all know we can only pull 3500lbs or less. Usually if I even see a jeep pulling a travel trailer its a "pop up tent trailer" because they are light enough to be pulled by a jeep or a newer fibreglass ultra light weight unit. But I really wanted a trailer I could afford and pull over to side of the road and sit down for a quick bite to eat with my family without the hassle of popping the roof up. So in search of a cheap family friendly trailer I can take my wife kids and dog out. I came across a 1977 Coleman travelaire.
The ad of this trailer was listed for $550, the pictures were vague and barely showed anything of the trailer itself, a brief phone call to the owner of the trailer informed me that the trailer only weighed 2300lbs dry, this made me want to make my 2 hour drive to the little town where I would meet my first trailer project. At first, second, and third glance this trailer was... A piece of shit. But for $550? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life. I offered $400 and he accepted.
Now before I even moved the thing an inch I had already come to a crashing hault, none of the signal lights worked, I was clueless on how I would fix it so I contacted my brother in law who happens to be a master electrician. He had it fixed in half a day (needed new ground wires).
I brought the trailer home and realized I probably could have died, one of the tires was rotted so badly it could have burst on the highway at any minute, but the position that the trailer was in at site made it impossible to see the cracks with the shade.
Besides the near death experience I went inside to asses the damage:
Floor needed to go
Needed new paint
Needed cushions
Needed bed rails on bunks so kids won't fall
Needed new tires
Needed new seals around bearings
Needed new front window
Needed new door window
Needed new bug screens
Needed minor water proofing
Needed de odourizer
I got to work and most of the stuff was straight forward, but I struggled a lot and kept on messing up (mind you I'm 20 years old with no experience doing anything like this) but I was determined to make this acceptable. So with the help of many YouTube tutorials and kijiji for supplying second hand tools. I have finally finished.. The interior.. Which was a call for celebration by taking the family camping!
We had fun, if your wondering. And thanks for reading my story. Here's a list of what I spent on what approx.
Trailer $400
Cushions $150
Tires (used w/ 75% tread) $40
Tire chain $20
Paint $120
Windows $35 (plastic sheeting custom cut)
Misc. (sandpaper, caulking, light bulbs, air freshener) $35
Laminate (free from leftover renovations to my basement)
The ad of this trailer was listed for $550, the pictures were vague and barely showed anything of the trailer itself, a brief phone call to the owner of the trailer informed me that the trailer only weighed 2300lbs dry, this made me want to make my 2 hour drive to the little town where I would meet my first trailer project. At first, second, and third glance this trailer was... A piece of shit. But for $550? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life. I offered $400 and he accepted.
Now before I even moved the thing an inch I had already come to a crashing hault, none of the signal lights worked, I was clueless on how I would fix it so I contacted my brother in law who happens to be a master electrician. He had it fixed in half a day (needed new ground wires).
I brought the trailer home and realized I probably could have died, one of the tires was rotted so badly it could have burst on the highway at any minute, but the position that the trailer was in at site made it impossible to see the cracks with the shade.
Besides the near death experience I went inside to asses the damage:
Floor needed to go
Needed new paint
Needed cushions
Needed bed rails on bunks so kids won't fall
Needed new tires
Needed new seals around bearings
Needed new front window
Needed new door window
Needed new bug screens
Needed minor water proofing
Needed de odourizer
I got to work and most of the stuff was straight forward, but I struggled a lot and kept on messing up (mind you I'm 20 years old with no experience doing anything like this) but I was determined to make this acceptable. So with the help of many YouTube tutorials and kijiji for supplying second hand tools. I have finally finished.. The interior.. Which was a call for celebration by taking the family camping!
We had fun, if your wondering. And thanks for reading my story. Here's a list of what I spent on what approx.
Trailer $400
Cushions $150
Tires (used w/ 75% tread) $40
Tire chain $20
Paint $120
Windows $35 (plastic sheeting custom cut)
Misc. (sandpaper, caulking, light bulbs, air freshener) $35
Laminate (free from leftover renovations to my basement)
08-23-2013, 04:16 AM
#7
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Quinlan, TX
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Great job. I work in the trailer repair business, and you did a well done renovation. I know 95% of the electrical issues we come across are ground wires not grounded well or fuse is burnt out.
