[rosewarrior_101]

I have been tinkering with the idea of developing a camper trailer along the lines of the adventure campers seen in the West.

It all started with buying a Xenon XT 4x4 back in Jan 2014. The concept of a truck was still relatively new in India and there were only two serious options available back then. The Xenon XT and the Scorpio Getaway. Comparing the two, it was a no-brainer to go for the Xenon XT with its muscular and seriously rugged off-road looks.

This purchase itself, was driven by a love for the outdoors, camping and living out in the wilds. Towards this end, I was helped out by a Decathlon Store opening up near my place of residence.

I ended up getting myself one two-man and one three man tent for my family. we also got ourselves inflatable air mattresses, camping sleeping bags, Tent lanterns over the next few months.

We did a few trips up into the himalayas. Pooh, Rampur Bushair offer good camping oppurtunities.

But, as we started to get into more details and the stuff we were looking to carry started to increase we need more space than the truck bed offered. Thats when we started to explore the options for a trailer. India does not have any trailer dealerships where I could go shopping. So I had to go out and do all my research online and adopt the DIY plans found there to indian materials. While, this was on, there was a need for a trailer as it is, as I needed to transport increasingly larger amounts of stuff around. I have three dogs, a German Shepherd Dog pair and a Labrador that also needed to be moved with me.

So in 2018, I picked up an old Army surplus trailer from one of the scrap dealers near Kolkata. The Xenon XT does not have a trailer hitch. So I had to design one which could be fixed to the ladder chassis of the Xenon XT to provide it the strength to pull the trailer. I took an army trailer hitch thats fitted on most army vehicles and had to design the mounting.

I had, back in 2015, added a platform bike rack carrying two bicycles to the rear of the Xenon and this trailer hitch had to be fitted in such a way that the tailboard of the truck body could continue to be opened as well as the bike racks could remain in use.

I had the services of a small roadside welding shop in Kankinanra, West Bengal, near Kolkata who was patient enough to bear with me and carry out all the designs that I was looking to fabricate.

So we ended up designing a unique hitch arrangement that worked around the tailboard opening, the bike racks remaining operational and the rear bumper with step also being still operational.

I will be posting the pics of these.

Once we had the trailer hitch ready, we had to get the trailer ready. I had to get the brake lining changed, the braking system, thankfully was still functional and only needed some greasing. The trailer was an open body trailer and since I needed it to haul luggage and stuff over long distances I wanted to have a covered trailer.

Next I started to develop an overhead cover for it. The entire assembly was ready in March 2018 just about in time for my move from Kolkata to Srinagar (J&K) a distance of approx 2100 kms by road with my dogs in my Xennon XT with the trailer hitched.

I had no problems driving down NH-2 from Kolkata to Gaya to Allahabad to Chandigarh to Udhampur to Srinagar, with night halts at each of these places. The stretch from Allahabad to Chandigarh was about 1100 kms, and it was a wonderful feeling to drive down the Yamuna Expressway with the Xenon fully loaded.

I reached Srinagar safely with no issues at all.

After a two year stay in Srinagar I was to move again and thats when I though it was time to upgrade the trailer once again. I had been online once again and further researched the trailers and the exact requirement what exactly I wanted.

I have now started the process to fabricate this trailer on the same old army trailer chasis.

I shall be setting these out in the succeeding blog posts.

[Tokengrip]

Looking forward to seeing your progress. I work in a filmmaking background and we generally used the hitch to tow cars on something we call an A frame. The ball hitch works best for us because it gives us maximum leeway on turns, as in the trailer is never restricted. Pic attached.

You can buy the male and female seperately and just fabricate the rest as per that spec. Not sure if this works in your case with the trailer arm but it's an interesting build and I can't wait to see it.

[rosewarrior_101]

I know its been some time since my initial post regarding the trailer project that I had started. Work commitments and a few hitches with the fabricators caused a delay that could not be avoided.

So as I had stated in in my previous post, I started with the old army trailer and was planning to build a Camper Trailer on the very same chasis. I made an exploratory trip initially to Mandi Dabwali in Haryana that is home to what are popularly called "Thar Modifiers". After some screening I decided to work with Rana Jeep Modifiers in Mandi Dabwali. I had left the trailer with him, sketched out what i wanted and gave him an advance.

Sad to say, the guy wasn't fair, kept procrastinating and finally after 4 months, I had to get the Police involved to get my money and the trailer back.

But, then I went back to a few guys I knew, who had gotten work done at Mandi Dabwali and I was recommended another person who seemed to have executed a few projects similar to what I was looking for.

Based on what i wanted and the basic chasis available to us we decided to have a complete new build from scratch.

I decided to go for a toy hauler kind of tandem axle trailer with a tip out bed. Something similar to https://intech.com/rv/models/flyer/discover/

We have decided on something like the pics I am attaching here.

[unoczar]

Originally Posted by rosewarrior_101

We have decided on something like the pics I am attaching here.

Here's a wild out of the box suggestion for your camper - weld a prefab container home thingy on top of the chassis you have with you.

May be a small portable cabin can fit on it and then modified outside and inside as per your needs. This will take out the major fabrication part.

Makes sense? or am I too much out of the box?

[SS80]

Originally Posted by rosewarrior_101

Attachment 2245002

Hi,
You need to modify the trailer to get the wheel arches within the whole floor area, which will maximise the space available to play with. Currently, the trailer looks too narrow to do any practical RV style modifications.

It's best to get someone with AUTOCAD knowledge to design a 2D and 3D layout (won't take more than a few hours for a skilled person) and then set out to do the actual modification job.

A lot of trial and error jobs can be avoided. Also, all you need is a

1. Inverter arc welder - 5000
2. Electrodes - 300/pack
3. 18guage 2" x2" hollow square pipes to make the chassy
4. Air compressor with HVLP Gun
5. You need to hunt for PVC sheets available to rivet or bolt them onto the frame you create.

All the best.

Anand (SS80)

[rosewarrior_101]

Originally Posted by unoczar

Here's a wild out of the box suggestion for your camper - weld a prefab container home thingy on top of the chassis you have with you.

May be a small portable cabin can fit on it and then modified outside and inside as per your needs. This will take out the major fabrication part.

Makes sense? or am I too much out of the box?

Thanks for the advice. I have already got the frame work built up. The initial work is done. Got it made from square channels. I was thinking of doing it with an Aluminium framework, but the initial cost of the body was working out quite costly and hence I had to go with the Iron framework.

This resulted in the overall weight of the trailer increasing which would have increased the tongue weight on the towing hook. So I have gone in for a tandem axle setup.

[rosewarrior_101]

Originally Posted by SS80

Hi,
You need to modify the trailer to get the wheel arches within the whole floor area, which will maximise the space available to play with. Currently, the trailer looks too narrow to do any practical RV style modifications.

It's best to get someone with AUTOCAD knowledge to design a 2D and 3D layout (won't take more than a few hours for a skilled person) and then set out to do the actual modification job.

A lot of trial and error jobs can be avoided. Also, all you need is a

1. Inverter arc welder - 5000
2. Electrodes - 300/pack
3. 18guage 2" x2" hollow square pipes to make the chassy
4. Air compressor with HVLP Gun
5. You need to hunt for PVC sheets available to rivet or bolt them onto the frame you create.

All the best.

Anand (SS80)

Yep, doing that. Have got the wheel arches within the floor area and created under floor storage between the wheels. The trailer will now have a floor plan of 3000mm x 1700mm.

Something like the pic here with underfloor storage.

The sides and roof shall be of steel sheet. Body being built similar to a bus body

[Amrik Singh]

IMO, the trailer comes with basic spring leaves that may be too harsh for the internal fixtures and build. See if you can install suitable shock absorbers considering the overall finished product weight.
Remember to include Socket and cables to extend Parking and Brake Lights to the rear end of the Trailer from the Towing Car. This should be detachable for 'as and when required' option.
The lower most may be designed to be Water Tank to keep centre of gravity low, but should be accessible for cleaning. A small water pump (for example Wiper Fluid Tank Pump) could be used to pump water up.
Do not forget to include Spare Wheel for the Trailer