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"Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak

Mickey21

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I know I had mentioned this before to some on the forum here and been excited to try out, but yesterday I finally got to try out my custom-built trailer. I built this trailer a few years ago when I was still in New Zealand. I live in both countries at times (my wife is from NZ). Anyways, some might get a kick out of this GM and Ford pairing. It's a story, so if you dont like stories, feel free to move past my thread or just skim the pictures.


To start the story where it started, in 2006, I bought a brand new 2006 Pontiac GTO in Torrid Red color. 400HP Factory Chevy SB muscle was fun. Along the way I would take the vehicle to drag racing fun events and enjoy all that was in that vehicle. In 2008 I moved to NZ from TX with my wife and 4-month-old and after arriving there, needed a vehicle. I sold my 2006 GTO to my brother who kept it in TX. When I got to NZ, I had loved my GTO so much, but needed something more truck like to of course being down-under(ish) I decided to go with the 4 door 2005 Holden Crewman (basically a 4 door GTO with a truck bed). Here seen just after I bought it, though cammed and upgraded to about 460HP at the wheels, it was no GTO, but great vehicle. Right hand drive of course.
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak 2005 Original Crewman Front
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak 2005 Original Crewman
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak 2005 Original Crewman Interior


Over time, I performed more upgrades and leveled the stance, lowered slightly, changed to some 19-inch alloys and wide low profile 255 front and 285 rear tires, and added custom paint to make it look like this. Fully repainted and with a lot of the body fully sanded and disassembled. I did a lot of the work myself but used a friend’s booth and curing to finish. These stripes and decals are all PAINTED under the clear and smoothed over since I somewhat hate vinyl stripes edges on a vehicle if I can avoid it. Metallic black stripes that match the factory paint codes for the GTO/Holden blacks. Pictures do not do it justice. Metallic painted striped should be the norm, because having them reflect objects in them is beautiful!
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak 2005 Upgraded Crewman

Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak 2005 Upgraded Crewman side

Interesting note here, the blue "SS" decal is a thin vinyl black base, then painted metallic blue factory paint and put into the clear layer coat and smoothed. Makes for perfect "decals" but in the paint. That trick is reversed on the tailgate. Worked very very well even though my friend said “it would never work right”. Over 10 years later it looks like the day I sprayed it (I know the guy I sold it to and still saw it from time to time).
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak 2005 Upgraded Crewman rear

Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak 2005 Upgraded Crewman rear 2

Anyways, my brother wanted to sell the 2006 GTO I sold him and I didnt want to lose the vehicle at that time, so I bought it back from him and sold the Crewman shown above while planning to make a "Split" Crewman. Basically I wanted to import my GTO, leave it Left Hand Drive with a special permit, and MAKE the back end part of the Crewman manually. I found the ute "bed" of the Holden Crewman Cross 8 (a more off-road centric version of the Crewman with true 4 wheel drive and large fender flares) for about $400 on an auction site and quickly snatched that up, though getting it back home in something was a bit or a mission, but accomplished.
I set out making the trailer which after about $6000 US dollars was complete. Some might say that is a lot, but try making a trailer, making it to last, and hand making it out of aluminum. Yeah, that was tough. But I was aiming for as close as my hands and sweat could get me to it looking like Holden (GM) would have shipped a trailer be. I wanted it car show quality to match since I took my car to a lot of car events around the country in NZ and it had to look like it was built well and for speed. I have had the trailer with my GTO up to 110mph down a lonely toll road in NZ for those that are curious and it was very well behaved. This trailer was not "built" in a garage, it was engineered. All the design was put into CAD and tolerances checked and triple checked. The aluminum top tonneau cover was engineered to support over 900lbs of weight at the center of the cover with cross bracing and lips to know it will take the strain of any load weight it might normally try to handle. The geometry of the wheel axle, leaf springs, and yes even struts are on this trailer for as close to road handling and ensured usage as I can get. Nothing was spared from the design as I could think up. Even the fuel filler door is going to be a potable water receptacle. I took a performance version of the exhaust from a late model Holden to put back in the factory exhaust location for the keen observers. Why an exhaust, well, for one it looks cool, two it adds weight balance, and three a future design is to implement the onboard gas generator which will plumb into the exhaust/muffler which is installed as well.

A lot of hand rolling and welding went into the fabrication of the trailer. And costs for brackets, steel for the framing, matching Pontiac GTO wheels with center caps, Hankook performance matching rated tires, the list kept going and going, not to mention factory color matching paint across the board and repainting the trim pieces to match the racing stripes. It was a true labor of love to complete a project I expected to have for a long time.



In it's final form shown below, it was putting down about 687HP to the ground as a fully forged and built 402CI Stroker (all motor) and attending drag racing and circuit racing tracks in NZ for years. Seen here, I had custom painted the vehicle to add some more classic racing lines and eventually got on the idea to build a trailer for attending drag events. Seen below the trailer is before the final paint to match, but after the wheels had been powder-coated to match the factory black with metallic fleck. I wanted a black to the wheels, but not matte black, this is more of a sparkling charcoal color I settled on to match the black stripes well, but show detail in the wheel patterns.
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak My 2006 GTO

Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak GTO Wedding Car


At the circuit race track just outside of Hamilton, NZ in this specific set of pictures. Also the location of some of the V8 SuperCars racing series testing and engineering. It was awesome to get some high speed racing time every once in a while seen here with me driving and my wife riding shotgun. Before I brought the GTO over, I would have the Crewman Ute around the track as well! That was odd having a “truck” pass cars with a lot more agility, but the Crewman had tons of speed.
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak GTO on circuit racing tracks


Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak GTO on circuit racing tracks2

Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak Crewman racing at Hampton Downs


Seen here during the frame mockup and build.

Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak 11214082_10207068566810833_5991920163055583786_n


Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak 11742887_10207068559330646_8823779840747313716_n




It took me about 2 years to complete the build from beginning to end. Of course not fully working on it every week, but took time to save the funds, find the parts, find the time, and move it along. After the first year, it was certified for on road usage and was registered as an on road usable trailer. So much labor to go from that somewhat unloved ute bed to what you see below. At this point it didn’t have the front custom storage bin area and aluminum hard tops. I had a soft tonneau cover for a little while using it for camping and get togethers.
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak 11866293_10207332899418983_7824085474410021235_n

Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak 11863288_10207332866978172_8366756994497447119_n

Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak 12116018_10207754785725877_8034420153866389596_n



Eventually I had the ability to finish the storage section up front and fabricate the top for the bed area. Then painted it to match the GTO stripes and all. Originally the fenders on the trailer were unpainted plastic, but I wanted all the trim to match the same blacks, so I painted the fenders and trim pieces (like the back bumper, etc) and added the strips on the back of the trailer. I considered stripes over the storage area, but ended up deciding not to match that portion. The storage area is painted to match the factory Torrid Red Pontiac color, but the hard top cover over the bed is powder coated to match the same red color, trust me, that was hard coating samples and adjusting it to the paint color. It is a near match of the same red and you cant really see the difference. The idea is the top is meant to be able to put stuff on top and transport it and I wanted it to be very durable. I have had as many as 6 people standing on top of that top to test it and it doesn’t really even flex. I coated the top edges of the bed and ute bed with liner which you can see is the picture just below.
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak IMG_20200117_084500



I imported the trailer back to TX after selling the GTO in NZ. Not knowing at the time I would ever get something like a Bronco or red for that matter, but I knew I would rather have the trailer then not and should be useful with whatever I was going to do. Here was the day I brought it back from the shipping company who brought it over in a container with other items I was moving from NZ. It rained the whole way from Houston, so it was quite dirty when we got home.
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak IMG_20200117_154849


Yes, the lighting is fully functional on the trailer, though my Ford Flex didn’t have wiring to operate the turn signals or the backup lights. But the license plate area is lit and the amber turn signals are there for future adjustments that make them work properly with a vehicle.
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak IMG_20200117_103112



A picture with some of the other Holden car club members cars on our way to a car show meetup. From left to right, my 2006 Pontiac GTO and custom trailer. A 2005 VZ Holden SS Ute 2 Door. An HSV 2006 VZ Holden GTO 2 Door in Brazen Orange. A 2002 Holden VX SS Commodore 4 Door.
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak IMG_20180729_092340



Later that day on our way back when we stopped for some late lunch. From front to rear (left to right), the 2006 HSV GTO seen above, the 2005 VZ Ute from above, my GTO and trailer, the 2002 Commodore from above, a 2015 VF Holden Commodore SSV, and lastly, I believe a 2001 HSV VX Clubsport iirc.

Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak HoldenCruise



After the trailer got here, I put in an order in July 13th, of 2020 (3 minutes after the reveal of the new Bronco). And of course I felt it would be nice to not have to change the paint color too much for the existing custom trailer, so I went with the Wildtrak and Race Red as my color. Seen here, my Ford “baby picture” of my Wildtrak being built. This was before it got any decals like the hood black Wildtrak decal and the side “mountain” decals that I thought might go nice with the trailer black trim pieces as well.
Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak MyBronco



About 3 weeks later my Bronco arrived at my dealer the Monday before Thanksgiving and home to me. It wasn’t till last week when I started making this thread to post today, that I got to take pictures with the trailer attached. Car was recently washed, but the trailer is very dusty from storage in the garage for over a year, and though it sat on jack stands, about 15 pounds light on air pressure per tire. The trailer ended up being a near perfect match to the Race Red color and I couldn’t be happier, no need to respray anything. In the garage lighting it looked darker, but once it had the same lighting conditions, the match is near as makes no difference perfect! Even my car buddy neighbors thought I resprayed the trailer to match, lol! In saying that, I intend to get an extra set of matching 17 inch Wildtrak wheels, and 35 inch tires, and make the whole thing a good pairing for some wilderness camping and getting out there. Took the trailer out for a big much needed wash and wax and get the tires working again.

Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak IMG_20211208_113217-001


Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak IMG_20211208_113150-001


Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak IMG_20211208_113207-001

Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak IMG_20211208_113911-001


Ford Bronco "Matching" custom overlanding trailer for my 2021 Race Red Wildtrak IMG_20211208_113915-001


I hope you got a kick out of seeing this project from beginning to end in some photos, a lot more detail, but feel free to ask questions, I will answer what I can remember. The trailer needs about a 2 inch drop to make it ride flat again, but I am thinking I will get an adjustable hitch because I will need to raise it back up once I get 35s on the rear to match. But for now, I am a happy chappy!
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DJ Starr

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That's great. Nice write up too!
 

Daktari

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looks great and fun story, thanks for sharing! I'd have no clue where to even begin to build something this nice, gonna look fantastic with the new wheels and tires!
 
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Mickey21

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Thank you everyone, yeah, looking forward to some changes to the tires and possibly wheels. Part of me would like to match the wheels and part of me wants to leave the wheels matching the trailer intent and just throw some 35s on it. Time will tell. Hopefully have it up in Moab for Xmas or early next year at the latest for some fun times.
 

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Shanefromperth

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Cool story, and from an Aussie viewpoint I see the funny side that that in your situation you have a Ford towing a Holden. 😎🤣

I found your story while googling Holden crewman Trailer to see if anyone had done this. I have a VY HSV MALOO and I want to build a trailer but dress it up to match my Maloo. - (for the Americans, think of a Corvette in a pickup GTO body with the corvette go faster bits.)

rhe trailer looks awesome. 😎
 

Roll Sound

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Cool story, and from an Aussie viewpoint I see the funny side that that in your situation you have a Ford towing a Holden. 😎🤣

I found your story while googling Holden crewman Trailer to see if anyone had done this. I have a VY HSV MALOO and I want to build a trailer but dress it up to match my Maloo. - (for the Americans, think of a Corvette in a pickup GTO body with the corvette go faster bits.)

rhe trailer looks awesome. 😎
Did you get a raptor order over there?
 

Shanefromperth

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I have put down a deposit with Ford, they will sell me one but it’s a long waiting list but I will need to get it converted to RHD as in the case with the LHD GTO I can apply for an exemption as a personal import, which I am working on now..
 
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Mickey21

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Cool story, and from an Aussie viewpoint I see the funny side that that in your situation you have a Ford towing a Holden. 😎🤣

I found your story while googling Holden crewman Trailer to see if anyone had done this. I have a VY HSV MALOO and I want to build a trailer but dress it up to match my Maloo. - (for the Americans, think of a Corvette in a pickup GTO body with the corvette go faster bits.)

rhe trailer looks awesome. 😎
Thanks yeah, heading back down to NZ next month for a while. Will probably order a Ranger Raptor 2022 for the new body style. Looking forward to it!

Yeah, the Ford towing a Holden gets a good laugh for those that know! Thanks for the kind words!
 
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Mickey21

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I have put down a deposit with Ford, they will sell me one but it’s a long waiting list but I will need to get it converted to RHD as in the case with the LHD GTO I can apply for an exemption as a personal import, which I am working on now..
Must be nice, NZ wont let me have an exemption for anything but a 2 door high HP coupe, which is how I got my Pontiac GTO down there and driving with LHD exemption.

Going to just do the 2022 Ranger Raptor which is pretty close to the Bronco, but not as pretty imo.
 

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Shanefromperth

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Must be nice, NZ wont let me have an exemption for anything but a 2 door high HP coupe, which is how I got my Pontiac GTO down there and driving with LHD exemption.

Going to just do the 2022 Ranger Raptor which is pretty close to the Bronco, but not as pretty imo.
I spoke to a car collector in Perth, who helped me write a nice patriotic letter to the government agencies so it would be allowed in. Australia helped in the Engineering side of the Bronco, and it should be allowed in to put on display as an historic vehicle to demonstrate Australian Engineering excellence. I’m other words I can have it but I got to put it in a museum and treat it like a car club car.
 
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Mickey21

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I spoke to a car collector in Perth, who helped me write a nice patriotic letter to the government agencies so it would be allowed in. Australia helped in the Engineering side of the Bronco, and it should be allowed in to put on display as an historic vehicle to demonstrate Australian Engineering excellence. I’m other words I can have it but I got to put it in a museum and treat it like a car club car.
Yeah, that I can do, bring it in as a specialty vehicle, but would be very limited to how many K's I can put on it each year being a show piece, or farm vehicle, which is another thing entirely.
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