Off-Road ready Upgrades and mods

WilliamA

Hey all,
Now that I have the big upgrades mostly finished on my generator mount and Propane tank finished, I want to attack some of the less than, optimum off-road stuff. I don't take my trailer out and drag it through swamps or boulder fields, but I do take it out in the woods and desert for occasional off tarmac trips and it is only marginally capable of that sort of work. I'm planning to do a few upgrades to the hitch and suspension to make it a bit more capable.
First, I want to add the Torflex #9 lift kit to get the wheels down out of the fenders and provide a bit more clearance for my Jeep spare so I can delete my trailer spare and save some weight. Deleting my trailer spare is not a super high priority, but it would save an additional #60 lbs or so and that saves in the mpg department. I am one of the minority here that actually likes the spare tire mounting location so that's not an issue for me. The stock spare tire mount is well thought out and well-designed. I like it and would only delete the spare to save weight. Off-roading with the spare isn't an issue for me.
Articulation of the hitch is another area that I've been mulling over. The ball hitch is fine and plenty strong for tarmac duty but I've already run up against the maximum angle of the ball hitch and doing so repeatedly will risk cracks and stress of the A-frame hitch on the trailer side. I have considered putting on one of the articulating hitch assemblies such as the "Lock N Roll" hitch:
https://www.etrailer.com/A-Frame-Trailer-Coupler/Lock-N-Roll/336TS504.html
or a more traditional ring and pintle design but am still doing the research on both. A bit of research on the Lock N Roll unit has shown some problems with wear and noise problems with hard use (which I don't plan to do) but the traditional pintle and ring design offers the capability of using the hitch with conventional ball trailers should I need to. I also pull borrowed trailers often for yardwork etc and don't want to limit myself to what I can easily hook onto. I've been casting about for a reliable person to do the welding and have found a guy that can do the work and is local.
I also want to address the landing leg problem. My Jeep spare is close to the jack and makes it difficult to open the rear door on the Jeep so I'm looking for something to fix that problem. I have pretty much decided to get one of these:
https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Jack/Ultimate-Jack/322-RDJ-2K.html
I've been looking at it for awhile now and just haven't gotten around to picking one up. I'm actually quite surprised that it hasn't come up here before. It's a no-brainer way to solve a number of height, dragging, adjustability problems for reasonable cash.
That's the sum of my current plans. Now, I just need to win the lottery and get to work.

WilliamA

LuckyJ

I have solve my jack problem for about an hour of my time and sracp piece of steel. But I do own a welder and I also made the tongue extension prior to that. But the extension multi axe hitch was more money.

WilliamA

Hi all,
I have been moving forward with some upgrades to make my T@G a bit more offroad ready and user friendly. I ordered the axle spacer kit and am waiting for that to come in the mail. In the meantime, I wanted to put some roof lights on the front of the roof basket for hooking up, unhooking and etc. I've gotten tired of the flashlight-in-mouth technique I've been using for hooking up and decided it's time to get civilized. I put three lights on the roof rack (I had them "in stock") and ran the wiring down to a set of switches I put in the side of my toolbox. It's working very well and should make it much easier and safer to hook up at night.

Here's the switch set I planted in the side of the box. Assuming the weather ever warms up enough to get the glue on the weather strip to adhere, I'll trim the weatherstrip back to the switch plate. The front (left in photo) switch controls all three top-lights. The rear switch is my backup light switch that I installed and wrote about previously. Basically, when in the down position, the backup lights work off the TV, coming on when it's in reverse. In the up position, they come on regardless of whether the TV is connected or not. That's proven to be handy for working around the galley at night.

Lights mounted up.

Lights turned on.

I can also disable the onboard external switches by switching the battery disconnect to off. I have to make a small flip-up cover for the switches but will get to that.
Yes, the roof vent still opens all the way and is perfectly functional.

I also retired the cheesy urban-only FM antenna in favor of a 4' CB/FM antenna mounted higher on the rig. The FM antenna worked well most of the time but in the woods far from a signal it just didn't do the job. My rudimentary tests with this one show a huge improvement in reception where there is little FM penetration (like for example, where I live now in the hollow). Yesterday, I picked up stations that I could not get before the switch.


I went to a truckstop and got a cable that has the CB plug on one end and the Motorola plug on the other. Works perfectly.

WilliamA

WilliamA

Hmmmm...... It just occurred to me that my T@G is starting to look more like the spaceship the kids built in the movie: "Explorers". Not sure what that says about me but then, I've never been much of a slave to fashion.
Now I'm responding to me on my own posts. Some intervention may be in order here....

WilliamA

BBsGarage

As long as it doesn't start looking like Ecto-1 your good!

LuckyJ

@WilliamA

Nice work, but aren't you getting blinded by the trailer light when you back up to it?

BlueBomber

On my 2016 Jeep JK I have two small round lights mounted in the rear bumper. When the switch is 'off' they work with reverse lights and when it is 'on' they are forced on regardless of gear position. I also have two small cube lights mounted on top of the third brake light for brighter/long distance lightning on a locking switch I can't accidently press easily and blind people behind me. I also have a cube light on each side of the Jeep in front of the rear view mirrors facing to the side, one on a left switch and one on a right switch, so at any time I can have light independently on all four sides. Has made turning into dark places and scoping out sites super easy.

WilliamA

Hey all,
We're still battling snowstorms around here so work outside has been spotty at best. I got my axle spacer kit (#9 axle. 2 5/8") from E-trailer and decided to get it installed before the weekend trip. We have an art show in St Paul, Mn this weekend and will use the trailer as the hotel.
As to the install, I've done one before on my LG so I knew what to expect. I did have to wrangle the brake wiring and side light wiring harness but it was otherwise a straightforward setup. I only have my Jeep jack so there was a bit of creative block use. The wheel backspacing means you have to pay close attention to axle centering! There's (maybe) 1/4" of clearance between the trailer body and the inside of the tire. My trailer showed some evidence of off-camber rubbing so I think I will need to either get some wheel spacers or different wheels. I don't like wheel spacers but don't see much choice. It's a squeeze.
Here's the new lift. It doesn't look like much in the photos but its high. My tongue jack barely has the reach to get the trailer off the ball without blocking under the landing wheel.


More later. Lots to discuss...
WilliamA

LuckyJ

@WilliamA
Nice work.
About the tire rubbing and wheel spacer, NuCamp are aware that their are issues with some of the outback T@G. I have send them pics of my outer walls tore rubbing and told me that some of the earlier axle were not wide enough and the send me wheel spacer free of charge. I do not like them either, but until I go with a wheel change that I have here on hand, I will use them.

LuckyJ

Btw, I showed this to my dealer before contacting NuCamp and they were pushing that on me, off road driving and wider tire. Do, they came with the trailer. And if wheel bend in off camber situation, then wheel alignment should also be off and give a bad wear to the tire. We are talking about flexiride axle here, not moving leaf spring.

WilliamA

Lucky,
Yeah, it's not any problem other than just plain too little room. There's less than 1/4" between the tire and body. I worked hard to get the axle centered and that's all there is. Any flexing of the axle or a bit of wood behind the tire and it will rub. I am going to have to do something soon. The tire barely misses the wire for the fender clearance lights. How thick are the NuCamp spacers?
WilliamA

LuckyJ

@WilliamA this is what they have send me. 3/4" universal aluminium spacers. Have not put them on yet' got them this winter, but have not looked behing the wheel since we came back from our Nova-scotia trip. Hope all is good.

WilliamA

Lucky,
I'll have to pick up a couple of those. 3/4" would be about perfect. Save me buying new wheels and I hate the spacers that just slip on the studs. Makes the studs too short in my humble opinion. I would use them but would want to add longer studs..
Thanks!
WilliamA

LuckyJ

@WilliamA said:
Lucky,
I'll have to pick up a couple of those. 3/4" would be about perfect. Save me buying new wheels and I hate the spacers that just slip on the studs. Makes the studs too short in my humble opinion. I would use them but would want to add longer studs..
Thanks!
WilliamA

Like I said, I have no clue how the fit, the picture was taken this morning. And will be for the next couple of weeks. But like I said, just email them with a pic of the rubbing, and they should send them to you.

But I agree, they look good quality. I was just never a fan of spacers. As for the wheels, I already have them, got them with the LJ and the off set was putting the tires out of the fender flairs (I hate that). But they will look good on the T@G and the OEM T@G wheel will look good on the utility trailer built from the T@G axle ince I go with air bag.

ericmooreco

Hi William, sorry off topic, but what is the model number of your yakima roof rack ? I think you mentioned in other post that it came with it when you bought it. If you have that info, Id appreciate, thanks, Eric

Scotty49

We put a Yakima Load Warrior on our T@G Outback. I cut out a few bars to enable opening of the Fantastic Fan. We cover it with a screen from Home Depot when traveling with cargo in the basket. We have been very happy with this addition.

ericmooreco

my bad, I was interested in the roof rack which is below the cargo rack. I just bought a kayak, and was considering mounting the boat on the top t@g.

I spent some time on the yakima this evening, and came across this product.

I believe its what you have ?
https://www.yakima.com/60-tracks-w-capnut-hardware

By the way, your camper looks pretty awesome.

Verna

@ericmooreco that is what I have on the ARE shell on my truck, and it’s what the factory used for my spare tire on the rear of my T@B. It’s great. I like the locking feature as it always stays there

I have the bars pictured also, on the truck shell, with one bar that slides out to give me a place to lean the kayak on it, and then use the bar as a pivot point to get my fishing kayak on top of the truck shell. I couldn’t get the kayak on or off the truck any other way.

Note: I have this on my truck shell and rear of the T@B, not T@G.

WilliamA

Lucky,
Thanks for the info. I'll try emailing them.
Eric,
My roof basket is actually a Curt industries job. I cut the bars for the vent. The Curt basket is quite a bit larger than my Yakima basket and is a good bit taller as well. It's about half the price of the Yakima basket. The roof rack I have is the stock Outback piece...
WilliamA

WilliamA

Here is a better photo of the stance compared to my TV.

The new bumper gets the hitch further from the spare.

It's up there. I am in the weekend of my first post-upgrade test. So far so good. Just need to solve the backspacing issue before I head out to Moab in May.
WilliamA

LuckyJ

Is it me, or is your trailer more tilted toward the front with the new axle lift?

And curious, what backpacking issue?? Ok, never mind, from other post, I think you ment backspacing issue. Lol

WilliamA

Lucky,
Yeah...I need to adjust hitch height again. I need to come up about 2 inches at the ball. No worries. I have a box full of receivers to pick through.
Here's my rubbing issue pics:

I found some billet wheel spacers at Rocky Road and will order up a set when I get back from this freaking Art Show...sigh...
WilliamA

CampHub

WilliamA, just an FYI on the different tongue jack. I did the same mod, jeep back door still hits the generator cage . I changed it out for more ground clearance at the hitch by removing the guide opposite of the jack tube catch then you can remove the jack entirely. You will need to cut the welds of the jack mount rotate and re-weld. The catch will hit the generator mount otherwise. Great mods your sharing with the group!

LuckyJ

@CampHub said:

WilliamA, just an FYI on the different tongue jack. I did the same mod, jeep back door still hits the generator cage . I changed it out for more ground clearance at the hitch by removing the guide opposite of the jack tube catch then you can remove the jack entirely. You will need to cut the welds of the jack mount rotate and re-weld. The catch will hit the generator mount otherwise. Great mods your sharing with the group!

Some of us, go a little more extreme to get the required space to open our wrangler tail gate since it is your first post, you might not have seen it. But since the original pic, it trailer welded part was cut about 1 foot, since I can play with the extension part of it. But since I have the 2" tube all the way to the back (recovery point), the jack now seats on the side of the frame with reinfocement plates.

CampHub

LuckyJ That is a nicely done job. I did miss that earlier post. I like the way you added in sections on the tongue for different requirements.

LuckyJ

@CampHub thank.

My mod are on the tread Le Refuge. Some are here, some are still on the T@B forum from Nucamp. This forum was not available at the time.

WilliamA

Hey guys,
I keep getting hijacked by threads and missing updates! DOH!!! Thanks guys for the info! Camphub, that's the one I've been looking at. Nice work-around. I figured some work might be needed to squeeze it in there.
LuckyJ, any chance you can link to your T@B post? Can't seem to find it. I have been thinking about a variation on that same modification (running a stiffener back to the rear) and would like to have a better look at how you did it.
For the Jeep guys and gals, I haven't really had an issue with the tight quarters between the spare and tailgate. My Jeep is a softtop so I can access stuff by peeling up a side curtain. There's no "operational" interference so far as things coming into contact during tight-quarters maneuvering. I can live with the rear access, such as it is...

Lucky,
I don't mean to be a monster-shouter (Stephen King reference) but when you are traveling in the "lower north" (U.S.) you may want to run your safety chains back past the tongue extension to the trailer frame. The U.S. DOT is quite specific on the topic of safety chains and requires a chain to be attached past any hitch extension to the frame. The nice man in the big round hat with no sense of humor will be happy to point that out, and recommend a generous donation for the state patrol retirement fund. I appreciate and respect those guys (and gals) but it's true. They really don't have much of a sense of humor. Some states (IL.) are more zealous than others. Don't ask me how I know...
WilliamA

LuckyJ

@WilliamA
Here is the link.

http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/discussion/5367/le-refuge

If you do not find what you are looking for, let me know, I will tray to take more pics.

As for the safety chains, yep, I always tough about that, since I got my fisrt trailer made 22 years ago. Trailer had that extension, but so far, never got cited or noticed by anyone. And trailer was inspected in indiana for title, when I moved to Bremen for two years. The trailer as seen many states over thoses twenty 22 years.

But that does not mean that I was not lucky, with the law nor incident.

My tought is to make a center chain, that would connect from the trailer to the tongue location that would be lenght adjustable. On both, the trailer and the T@G. Trailer will be fab test bed.

WilliamA

Hey all,
I got out to the RV hawker today and picked up a front jack extension to replace the insipid wheel-O-death. For those of you who don't read my posts, I've removed the rear stabilizer jacks because they were too short anyway and I never used them, so I wanted to replace the wheel-of-fortune with a more stable platform. It's so awkward to be sleeping soundly and roll quietly into the river or lake, or off the cliff face. I hate that kind of "crisis before coffee" morning routine. Messes up my day. Since I've also lifted my trailer (Dexter #9 axle lift kit. 2 5/8" of lift) I wanted a more stable front leg for camping. I still use wheel chocks front and rear when camping but just wanted a more stable platform.

I picked up the Fastway "Flip" automatic Jack foot. I spent a lot of time pondering the pro's and con's of different designs and finally decided on this one as my favorite. It "self-folds" as you crank it up and locks solidly as you crank it down. Two features I really wanted. It also has a drilled hole for those of us who venture offroad that allows an additional spring pin to be installed as a safety. I don't think I'll need it but it's nice to know it's there just in case. I did have to drill a new hole 5/8" above the stock jack hole but it was a no-brainer.

For my next trick, I'm going to remove the ball hitch and weld on a pintle and ring hitch. I've purchased the parts and done the math. Now it's just a matter of getting time to do it. I'll post a thread when I get to it.

WilliamA

TomD

William A... Never thought about the ramifications of lifts etc. and the disruption of the original engineering throughout the vehicle.

WilliamA

Tom,
It's an easy thing to overlook. Lifts, tires, loading and racks have a huge impact on the way a trailer behaves. Not only does a lift change the center of gravity, but it exposes more roofline to wind loading. Wind load on the top of the trailer has exactly the same effect as adding that amount of weight. It pushes the top of the trailer back, unloading a proportionate amount of tongue weight. That added weight must go somewhere and ultimately finds its way to the axle and associated bits. If tongue weight is borderline to start with, it may "unload" enough at speed to become a problem. The same forces apply with inertial side loading. Every pound of weight put behind the axle becomes potentially double as the trailer sways while tracking around corners and in strong sidewind. All of these things must be considered, always. Changing one thing generally means changing three things. My ultra-cool offroad look has grown so that I'm now at 30 inches from the ground to the bottom of the side door. I can use the galley now without raking strips of skin from my knob but can no longer get in without a running start. It's time to start looking for a permanent step....
And will the circle
Be unbroken
bye and bye...

Think first....Load second....

WilliamA