Redneck truck bed trailer

bdg848

WKR
Joined
May 6, 2019
Messages
300
I have a Silverado with 297k miles, ugly rust, missing tailgate, and has been sitting unused for almost a year. Not worth much, maybe $1-1,200 I dunno. It has a topper on it though and the bed is in okay-ish shape. I'm kicking around the idea of removing the cab, gutting equipment underneath the bed and turning the bed and topper into a trailer which we could sleep in while camping or on our upland hunts. It would also go on one or two big game hunts per year on rough forest service roads but nothing "off road", Just base camp style.

I have a '10 Nissan Pathfinder, the older R51 not the newer crossovers version, to pull it with. Has anyone done one of these and what do you pull it with? I know it will be heavier than a purpose built "overland" camper trailer but I am not in the market for a multi thousand dollar trailer. My needs are much more basic. I would think that it would automatically be better on rough roads than a Lowes or Home Depot utility trailer just by nature of being pick up truck height, pick up tires, springs, etc. I would love to hear how they pull, weight, etc. I wonder how it compares in weight to the surplus military trailers that everyone seems to love, although those are not very cheap anymore either. Where do you think the truck bed trailer conversion stands on the scale of "budget" options?

My wife and I currently sleep in the SUV with the seats down but we haven't been using kennels for the dogs and it was already too tight of a fit and now with a kid, it's not practical at all. I want to start keeping the dogs in crash rated dog kennels or metal dog box, haul a large chuck box/galley for cooking, and a couple of coolers. Then I will need a roomy, unencumbered sleeping area for the three of us. With the truck bed trailer the dog kennels would go in the back of the SUV so we could take them to the field and not have to drag the trailer around. The truck bed w/ topper would just be for sleeping and I would just leave it at the camp site while hunting.

The other option is sell the junky truck to pay for the above mentioned Lowes or Home Depot trailer and mount the dog boxes, chuck box, and coolers to it and leave the SUV open for sleeping in. This is less convenient because I would have to pull the trailer with dogs to every spot I want to hunt and would require removing and replacing the kids car seat daily to put the seats down for sleeping (kid's seat mostly applicable to camping trips, not as much to hunting trips.) I think the utility trailer would be fine for the camping and upland hunting trips but I feel like it would fall apart on some of the forest service roads. I imagine I would have to upgrade the tires, axle, and springs at least, yeah?

A final option which fills the same roll as the truck bed conversion, is building a teardrop style camper on the home depot utility trailer but the diy plywood teardrops seem so flimsy to me and I would still have to replace the axle and springs anyway.

I don't know that I'm interested in a Coleman pop up style camper because I possibly still need to upgrade for use on forest service roads, and often times we stop at truck stops over night and laying the SUV seats down or a climbing into a small hard side "camper" of some sort is much more practical and discreet than popping a popup tent trailer in their parking lot lol.

I really am intrigued by the idea of turning the spare truck into a camper but want to hear some other opinions and hear from people who have done it since that route is a one way road. Attached is my inspiration for the truck bed trailer. What do you guys think? Maybe I am totally missing some serious pros or cons to these options or an option I haven't though of.

Edit- the potential donor truck is a standard cab, 8' bed if that makes a difference.
 

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bdg848

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Well, no one seems interested but anyway...After thinking about it, I think this build would be too heavy and honestly would be a bit too in depth for me although it sure looks cool. Now, I'm planning on selling the truck and buying a regular old 5x8 utility trailer and making a micro camper that slides onto it. I'm gonna keep the truck topper and see if I can fashion it into a roof since it's sturdy, waterproof, nice windows pre installed, and best of all, I already own it. I'll upgrade the axle, suspension, and tires as I can.
 

Titan_Bow

WKR
Joined
Dec 10, 2015
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Colorado
any idea how much it would weigh? I have an M101a2 army trailer that I use for camping, and pulling it up I-70 or up in to the Snowies or Bighorns is a little annoying with my 4Runner (Xterra previous to that). I do find for week long trips, or 4 day family camp-outs, its nice having the room to bring a really nice camp. If you can keep the weight down, it would be useful. I'd imagine you would need some decent welding skills and tools to really do it right though.
 

gwtravis

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 17, 2016
Messages
119
Location
Carrizo Springs, TX
It sounds like a bootleg redneck mobile mansion. It could be pretty cool or whatever the opposite might be. I think you should build it.
 

gwtravis

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 17, 2016
Messages
119
Location
Carrizo Springs, TX
btw i have an a frame toy hauler pop up and its great. it has the usual travel trailer problems but its cool anyway. I’d recommend an a frame pop up if you can find a good deal.
 

Like2hunt

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 24, 2021
Messages
197
We have a trailer just like the one you have in that picture except without the topper and tool box. I think my grandpa, his friend and my dad made it before he died out of a old Ford truck they had. Mine and my dads half tons trucks can pull it no problem and you can load those suckers down. Me and my roping buddy used a trailer like that that he has the other day to haul a big ol load of firewood no problem the other day. I think his is off a old Chevy.
 
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bdg848

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May 6, 2019
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Here are two ideas I mocked up real quick. I like 'Trailer 1' the best because the overhang creates a 2'x5' sleep area for a child or just a nice storage area without losing any of the sleeping area for people on the bottom. That would be great as long as that overhang doesn't put too much weight on the trailer tongue while hauling.

I like 'door 1' the best also because it offers the largest entry way but it involves removing the standard glass lift door from the topper and filling that gap and the entire rear of the trailer with a single wall and I don't know how good of a seal that wall would make around the topper where the glass had been. 'Door 2' would be a lot easier to make and offer a tight seal from the outside but the entry way is significantly smaller.

Of course I have named the redneck truck topper camper the 'Pheasant Peasant' which aptly describes my situation.
 

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Joined
Oct 20, 2018
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613
Location
Montana
I would go with trailer 2. The fabrication would be a lot simpler. The basic design could easily be repaired in a parking lot or in a camp ground if need be. The over hang on trailer 1 I'm assuming would be less so. As far as the door, I would take the time and effort to build the one you really want. I know for me, I would get tired of the other design and then just end up re-doing it later.

Whatever design you choose, I hope you post a build thread. I'd like to see the progress and how it turns out. 👍
 
Joined
May 3, 2020
Messages
542
Well, no one seems interested but anyway...After thinking about it, I think this build would be too heavy and honestly would be a bit too in depth for me although it sure looks cool. Now, I'm planning on selling the truck and buying a regular old 5x8 utility trailer and making a micro camper that slides onto it. I'm gonna keep the truck topper and see if I can fashion it into a roof since it's sturdy, waterproof, nice windows pre installed, and best of all, I already own it. I'll upgrade the axle, suspension, and tires as I can.
Another way to go could be to sell the truck and buy a small enclosed cargo trailer. I’ve seen some turned into pretty nice campers. I’ve been thinking about getting one myself. I have a travel trailer, but for hunting trips it would work out better for me. I figure gear can go in totes, plenty of room for coolers and just use cots. With decent tires it’d be good for dirt roads, plus when the trip is over it’s a useful trailer for hauling stuff.
 

Marmots

Lil-Rokslider
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Sep 15, 2018
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298
Location
Idaho
The money you could get for the truck could buy you a military surplus trailer. They are nice for towing off-road because they are purpose-built for it. The 1.2k you could get for your truck will buy an M101a2 trailer, on the bigger and fancier end.
 
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bdg848

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May 6, 2019
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The money you could get for the truck could buy you a military surplus trailer. They are nice for towing off-road because they are purpose-built for it. The 1.2k you could get for your truck will buy an M101a2 trailer, on the bigger and fancier end.
I looked at the Military trailers and like them but the ones I see are a located between 900 miles away on the east coast or 7,000 miles away in Guam haha.
 
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bdg848

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May 6, 2019
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Another way to go could be to sell the truck and buy a small enclosed cargo trailer. I’ve seen some turned into pretty nice campers. I’ve been thinking about getting one myself. I have a travel trailer, but for hunting trips it would work out better for me. I figure gear can go in totes, plenty of room for coolers and just use cots. With decent tires it’d be good for dirt roads, plus when the trip is over it’s a useful trailer for hauling stuff.
I think those are really good options and I was looking at them initially but the ones I was looking at are about 2-3x as much as a utility trailer with the same weight capacity. Then I would still need to add windows etc. Another guy mentioned getting a used one which could work pretty well, I just haven't found one at a price I was willing to pay.
 
Joined
Feb 22, 2021
Messages
377
Location
Georgia
I’d look into the utility trailer build idea. Overland trailers have gotten way expensive. I got lucky and found a killer deal on a Pack Mule trailer last Summer. I was about to buy and convert a utility trailer until I found that one.
 
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
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2,638
Add a topper lifter to it and double the room

 
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