Lease Utility Trailer

[Fargus]

I had been planning a lease trailer build for quite some time now, but couldn't find the right donor trailer. A couple months back, a TBH'er posted an old Sportsman boat trailer and I knew I found my donor.

What I wanted is something small for the lease to pull behind the 4wheeler or Jeep that I could load corn, kids, dead animals, gut buckets and whatever else within reason.

When I picked it this trailer up I knew I was gonna have my hands full. There was quite a bit of flaky rust all over this thing.

[Fargus]

I started out by removing any and all unnecessary parts and pieces. As well as getting parts I was keeping out of the way.

[Fargus]

Next I sectioned the axle and crossmembers. Several of the trails on the lease are pretty narrow so I was going for an overall width of 4.5'.

[Fargus]

After putting the axle back under the frame I started adding the side rails and tailgate. As you can see from the pile of debris, this thing was a mess.

I figured since I had the winch already, why not re-purpose for dragging the bigger pigs up into the bed or if my wife is hunting alone then she'll be able to load without too much of an issue.

[Fargus]

Next up was the plywood sides and expanded metal for the gate as well as the gear/tool box up front.

[Fargus]

Tomorrow I will be adding a ladder rack and fitting the floor. After it is all mocked up I will pull all of the wood off and sandblast the frame, shoot with some self etching and then add some color. Probably going with OD green frame and wheels with tan plywood.

[EastTexasTiger]

this is awesome. in for updates

[archeryking]

Wow, Looks Awesome so far!!!

[Fargus]

Quick update:

I added the ladder rack and the floor. The ladder rack is removable so it can be taken off when we aren't using it. The other day I pulled it home from my buddy's shop so I could do the blasting. I am pleased to say that it pulled very well even empty at 70mph. Unfortunately my sandblasting has been put on hold due to the continuous rain we have had since I had gotten all the fab work finished up. Looks like it MIGHT be Sunday afternoon or possibly Monday before I get a chance to do the blasting.

[Keith]

Looks good so far. Question, is the axel far enough back? It looks like it is closer to the front of the cargo area than the back of the cargo area. I'm sure you know this, but you want at least 60% of the weight in front of the axel. Otherwise it can road walk/sway severely at highway speeds.

[Fargus]

Looks good so far. Question, is the axel far enough back? It looks like it is closer to the front of the cargo area than the back of the cargo area. I'm sure you know this, but you want at least 60% of the weight in front of the axel. Otherwise it can road walk/sway severely at highway speeds.

Yea, it's a little forward on the bed of the trailer, but the tool box, winch and winch post offset that. It's already been tested at highway speeds and pulled great. I admit I was a tad nervous heading out of the yard, but 5 minutes down the road I knew I was good. That being said, this trailer isn't meant to see any highway time. It'll be pulled up onto my flatbed trailer by my 4wheeler and transported to the lease where it will live out it's remaining days.

[Tmag]

I was looking at axle placement also until I saw the weight added to the front, looks like you got her balanced nicely.

Great job.

[Mw1388]

Nice

[Fargus]

All finished and painted up. I went ahead and caulked the plywood that makes up the walls of the storage bin. Hopefully it will keep the tools and such inside semi-dry.

[Buck Shot]

Cool idea! Were you able to re-use the winch?