Off-road Camper “Quarter Wide” Trailer Build Using Harbor Freight Frame

[nU7OuxIx]

No, I haven’t started another yet. I wish!

I came to the realization that the size of camper my family needs is bigger than the Jeep can handle. We want something that we can stand up in, has a toilet, space to hang out when it’s raining; all of that is hard to achieve for a family of 5 and still keep it small enough for a wrangler to tow.
If I end up building another one for the Jeep, it would be something that pop-ups to meet the above criteria. The Opus 4 has always caught my eye.

I have a family of 4; 2 adults, 2 younger kids and a large dog. I'm not exactly sure if there's anything for you that checks all the boxes. I've looked, and haven't been able to find anything. Mostly because everything that meets it is over the jeep's tow limit.

Right now I have an overland style box trailer for storage and a rooftop tent on top. The only thing I don't like about it is the rain. Never had a leak in the RTT, but it is not fun when rain is in the forecast. I've been thinking about getting a teardrop style and put a RTT on top for the kids. This way, I stay dry and the kids are just above us. Then I see what you have and think maybe it won't work.

Another alternative is getting a second Wrangler so that we each have a Wrangler and a teardrop. Downside to that is it's quite a bit of money, then every trip costs double for gas.

Sorry, don't have an answer, but just more things to think about. I would love to have a stand up trailer, place to stay dry, and a shower and toilet, but I just don't think the Wrangler can do that. As for the opus, it's definitely interesting. I personally don't like inflator system. I feel like if it rained, things would get soaked when folding it up unless you let it dry out first.

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[Will]

As for the opus, it's definitely interesting. I personally don't like inflator system. I feel like if it rained, things would get soaked when folding it up unless you let it dry out first.

Oh I would love to have an Opus. Big enough and has all the bells and whistles. I would have one already if it wasn’t for the price point. I just can’t justify that much money at the moment. We camp 8-10 times a year if we’re lucky.

If you pack up any pop-up camper/roof top tent, ground tent when it’s wet, you do need to let it air out once you get home. But they do test their products pretty hard. I wouldn’t be scared of the rain in an Opus.

 

[Hd088]

MAIDEN VOYAGE! We hooked her up and drug her down the road for the first time this past weekend. She rides well. It was a little bouncy at first but I chalked that up to tire pressure and no load. I am guessing that right now the whole thing weighs 700-800 lbs. I'll need to find some scales once I get all the accessories on here. I dropped the tire pressure from 30 to 15 and that did not change the tire shape at all. It did remove a little bit of the bounce. And when I say "bounce" I mean that I could tell there was a slight up and down motion that I could see in the rearview. My wife could not pick it up at all. So maybe I have high expectations for this little thing that still has Harbor Freight leaf springs with bushings only in the front eyes. I may end up having to replace the springs but at the moment I think the light-duty spring rate is going to be just fine as long as she doesn't get too heavy. This was an exciting day. It's been a lot of work! I started the build in February 2021 so it took about 3 months to get to this point working on it when I could.

I love love love love this so much I wish I could build one or I would love to buy one for my jeep JLU

 

[Hd088]

Thought I would share my experience with converting a utility trailer into an off-road camper/adventure trailer as those are becoming quite popular and EXPENSIVE!

Here is the current condition:

This thing started its life as a used, folding utility trailer from Harbor Freight. We love camping but it would take an entire day to pack all of my wife's glamping "necessities" into the Jeep. So the plan was to leave all of our stuff in bins on the trailer, then just hook up and ride out whenever we felt like camping.

This is essentially what I got, used from a friend: Harbor Freight Folding Utility Trailer

Once I got it home I realized that it was going to need a lot of work. There was some decent rust on parts of the frame so I spent an afternoon grinding that off and hitting it with Rustoleum.

The next part I blame @thrasher for because he hooked me up with a lightly used spare from his JLUR as well as his rooftop tent. I got to thinking that 33s and a RTT would fit this little thing nicely. Then I started convincing my wife that our family NEEDED this little trailer to be capable enough to follow the Jeep and to sleep the two of us, our three small kids, and a dog, and still be small enough to fit in the garage and act as a storage box for all of our camping gear. And that's how it started.

These Quick Strip discs for an angle grinder are where it's at for removing rust or old coatings. They won't damage the substrate or get gummed up as easily as a flap disc or griding stone. But they don't last very long either.

I love love this camp trailer looking to build mine I'm wondering u have any link on back door ? Very helpful

Thought I would share my experience with converting a utility trailer into an off-road camper/adventure trailer as those are becoming quite popular and EXPENSIVE!

Here is the current condition:

This thing started its life as a used, folding utility trailer from Harbor Freight. We love camping but it would take an entire day to pack all of my wife's glamping "necessities" into the Jeep. So the plan was to leave all of our stuff in bins on the trailer, then just hook up and ride out whenever we felt like camping.

This is essentially what I got, used from a friend: Harbor Freight Folding Utility Trailer

Once I got it home I realized that it was going to need a lot of work. There was some decent rust on parts of the frame so I spent an afternoon grinding that off and hitting it with Rustoleum.

The next part I blame @thrasher for because he hooked me up with a lightly used spare from his JLUR as well as his rooftop tent. I got to thinking that 33s and a RTT would fit this little thing nicely. Then I started convincing my wife that our family NEEDED this little trailer to be capable enough to follow the Jeep and to sleep the two of us, our three small kids, and a dog, and still be small enough to fit in the garage and act as a storage box for all of our camping gear. And that's how it started.

These Quick Strip discs for an angle grinder are where it's at for removing rust or old coatings. They won't damage the substrate or get gummed up as easily as a flap disc or griding stone. But they don't last very long either.

I love love this camp trailer looking to build mine I'm wondering u have any link on back door ?

 

[JPXR]

I have a family of 4; 2 adults, 2 younger kids and a large dog. I'm not exactly sure if there's anything for you that checks all the boxes. I've looked, and haven't been able to find anything. Mostly because everything that meets it is over the jeep's tow limit.

Right now I have an overland style box trailer for storage and a rooftop tent on top. The only thing I don't like about it is the rain. Never had a leak in the RTT, but it is not fun when rain is in the forecast. I've been thinking about getting a teardrop style and put a RTT on top for the kids. This way, I stay dry and the kids are just above us. Then I see what you have and think maybe it won't work.

Another alternative is getting a second Wrangler so that we each have a Wrangler and a teardrop. Downside to that is it's quite a bit of money, then every trip costs double for gas.

Sorry, don't have an answer, but just more things to think about. I would love to have a stand up trailer, place to stay dry, and a shower and toilet, but I just don't think the Wrangler can do that. As for the opus, it's definitely interesting. I personally don't like inflator system. I feel like if it rained, things would get soaked when folding it up unless you let it dry out first.

Take a look at popups. I know I wasn’t a fan of them, but once we went from 5 of us to adding a dog we needed more room in the Jeep where our camping gear went.

I found this popup used for really cheap and really happy with it. I don’t fill the water tank or use the water heater. Basically we sleep in it, eat/play games if it rains, and a nice place to haul our people stuff. It’s also has ac. They do make them with a toilet but we just you the campgrounds. I might add something outside in the future.

Ours is a Viking 2108st which is the same as a clipper 108. Both are from Forrest river.

 

[Will]

I love love this camp trailer looking to build mine I'm wondering u have any link on back door ? Very helpful

I don’t own this trailer anymore. I miss it and will likely be starting another build this year.

The back door is 3/4” plywood, skinned in aluminum. The hinges are from a JL swing gate. The latch is cam style bar latch:

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Do...MI5t2byOLRhAMVm1VHAR1TuwR4EAQYASABEgKBKvD_BwE

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