Lightweight Overlanding Camper/trailers ideal for BRONCO

[NVCowboy]

I’m torn at the moment!

I’m about to salvage some 6061 aluminum, enough to frame one sturdy adventure trailer but I‘m torn over the burden of owning and storing it.

And even though I love building things it would still be a chore.

I’ll never buy one, but the odds of falling into this type of material again would likely never happen.

To build or not build??

Check out teardrops and tiny trailers website. They got a lot of homebuilt stuff on the site.

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[71Br0nc]

I have a M1102 light weight aluminum military trailer that’s supposed to be pulled behind the military hummer. My truck was built last week and hopefully it will be home within a month. Two-door badlands Sasquatch package.
i’m curious to find out how unlevel the trailer will ride behind the Bronco on 35’s when the trailer sits on 37’s….

There are very few stock vehicles that will tow a stock M1102 straight. A simple raised hitch of 6-12" (adjustable) will do. it is critical for safety and use of the surge brakes to tow the trailer level.

The challenge with the trailer (12-PIn) need to convert to 4 or 7-PIN
The challenge with the Bronco (spare tire) need to remove the spare tire or use an hitch extender, which drops the tongue capacity in half.

Happy towing!

 

[Gabby]

Damn, that thing costs as much as a Bronco.

Airstreams do be like that. The only people I knew who bought then new were the 3Ps (pilots, programers and physicians).

 

[Gabby]

I'm using the old military M416 4x6 foot trailer as a general guideline for the chassis dimensions and building what I want up from there. I'll take my work laptop home one of these weekends and draw it up in CAD. Should be able to get all the materials cut and shaped myself. Already talked to one of our welders about handling that end of things. He does alright work I suppose.

And people wonder why welders unions never need to strike. You can't get that level of quality out of CNC (Boeing, Mac, and Paccar have all tried). Plus you can't bribe a computer with cakes and brownies like you can a human welder

 

[C00TER]

There are very few stock vehicles that will tow a stock M1102 straight. A simple raised hitch of 6-12" (adjustable) will do. it is critical for safety and use of the surge brakes to tow the trailer level.

The challenge with the trailer (12-PIn) need to convert to 4 or 7-PIN
The challenge with the Bronco (spare tire) need to remove the spare tire or use an hitch extender, which drops the tongue capacity in half.

Happy towing!

I have the converter and the raised pintle hitch. But maybe I’ll have swap the tires to 35 to achieve a level ride with a Sasquatch Bronco.
I’ll find out when the truck gets here
Thanks for the tips

 

[menikmati]

My other choice would be TAXA Tiger Moth. TAXA is made in Houston where I live and super engineered. Their other two models, Cricket and Mantis, are a little bit too heavy in my opinion.

We have a TAXA Tiger Moth and have been very happy with it! There are obvious downsides: no onboard water, stove, toilet, etc. - but we've found good solutions for each of these things and haven't worried about any integrated systems failing along the way. The TAXA Cricket does look interesting, though!

 

[menikmati]

Question: are these more common with 4 pole flat connectors or 7 pole round? The overland trailers I mean. I know a lot of the regular travel trailers are round.
Our Bronco did not come with tow capability, but I have the 4 pole OE kit to add still have to find a hitch. I cannot seem to find a “kit” or an easy way to add a 7 pole. I know there was a write up, but it seemed like a process.

Overland trailers are more likely to have a 7-pole connector, as it allows power to run back to the trailer while towing, thus charging any batteries that are on your trailer. A trailer brake controller is another feature of the 7-pole connector, but many trailers now include a brake controller on the trailer instead of the tow vehicle, which means you don't need that circuit.

The 4-pole connectors basically only control the trailer lights.

My Bronco did not include a tow package, so I had a local 4x4 shop install a 7-pole + 4-pole connector that looks factory. Everything is connected except the trailer brake controller, which is spooled for future use in case I want to add one on the vehicle side.

 

[Rjacks258]

Overland trailers are more likely to have a 7-pole connector, as it allows power to run back to the trailer while towing, thus charging any batteries that are on your trailer. A trailer brake controller is another feature of the 7-pole connector, but many trailers now include a brake controller on the trailer instead of the tow vehicle, which means you don't need that circuit.

The 4-pole connectors basically only control the trailer lights.

My Bronco did not include a tow package, so I had a local 4x4 shop install a 7-pole + 4-pole connector that looks factory. Everything is connected except the trailer brake controller, which is spooled for future use in case I want to add one on the vehicle side.

Appreciate the info. Although I do know the difference and what each wire is for. I was just wondering if I was going to need to wire in a 7-pole. I did purchase the 4-pole kit. Now I need to find a 7-pole diagram.
Your install looks clean. I have to source the parts. You don’t happen to have a list do you?

 

[mpeugeot]

I got a good anderson sway control and blue tooth brake controller and have no issue but mine is 4 door. It was stable enough I upgraded trailer to 2023 Nobo 19.2.

I just got the brake controller, and I have better hitch gear that should make it feel much less spicy. There was a few things that needed to be addressed, but I needed to get the trailer to the house first. A sway control bar is going to be a big improvement.

 

[Jdc]

The only people I knew who bought then new were the 3Ps (pilots, programers and physicians).

I've never heard anyone mention the 3Ps before .

 

[Gabby]

I've never heard anyone mention the 3Ps before .

I lived in Seattle... we had a lot of them.

 

[Beeswax]

Another less expensive but still great option is the Jumping Jack Trailer. A few different sizes available, 800-2200 pounds, and you can use it as more than just a camping trailer.

Ok that's pretty sick. Nice and lightweight too. The 4x6 seems like the perfect size to haul a mountain bike or dirt bike.

 

[menikmati]

Appreciate the info. Although I do know the difference and what each wire is for. I was just wondering if I was going to need to wire in a 7-pole. I did purchase the 4-pole kit. Now I need to find a 7-pole diagram.
Your install looks clean. I have to source the parts. You don’t happen to have a list do you?

These were all of the parts:
Curt Class III Receiver Hitch
Curt Vehicle Wiring Harness
Hopkins Trailer HItch Wiring Connector

 

[MyATV]

This trip makes me do some testing to see if can pull Ember 17FB???

I

I'm trying to do a deep-dive here, because that trailer (Wolf Pup) would be on my short list. The difference is I have 2-door Wildtrak with 16" shorter wheelbase.
Looking at the numbers for your 4-dr Badlands, I come up with:

Bronco:
6560 [scale] - 6120 [GVWR] = 440 (~7% over)

Combo:
10140 [scale] - 8780 [GCWR] = 1360 (~15% over)

Let me know if I'm in error in my analysis.
I'm trying to figure out how far I could push the limits on my 2-dr, which has lower GVWR than your 4-dr, but about the same GCWR - but also 16" shorter wheelbase.

Thanks for your real-world feedback. By the way - have you had the chance to put your new (heavier) trailer (no-bo 19) through its paces yet?

 

[mpeugeot]

I'm trying to do a deep-dive here, because that trailer (Wolf Pup) would be on my short list. The difference is I have 2-door Wildtrak with 16" shorter wheelbase.
Looking at the numbers for your 4-dr Badlands, I come up with:

Bronco:
6560 [scale] - 6120 [GVWR] = 440 (~7% over)

Combo:
10140 [scale] - 8780 [GCWR] = 1360 (~15% over)

Let me know if I'm in error in my analysis.
I'm trying to figure out how far I could push the limits on my 2-dr, which has lower GVWR than your 4-dr, but about the same GCWR - but also 16" shorter wheelbase.

Thanks for your real-world feedback. By the way - have you had the chance to put your new (heavier) trailer (no-bo 19) through its paces yet?

Here is my real world feedback, I am towing a 16 foot trailer, and depending on how fast you want to go, it's about the limit of what I want to tow with the 2 door. The trailer weighs around 2500# (It's a 2022 Sunset Park RV Sun-Lite 16BH). It wasn't confidence inspiring to tow, because it felt like it wanted to make the Bronco hunt back and forth in the lane. Now, I am sure that I can adjust things in such a way to make it feel better, but I had just picked up the trailer and had to go 365 miles before I could make serious adjustments.

On the upside, I never felt like I didn't have enough brakes (even without the trailer brakes - my trailer brake controller was delayed in shipping). I am willing to bet that adjusting the tongue height or using a load leveling hitch would have fixed any problems with it feeling more planted.

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