Venter camping trailer build

[Andreasjsn]

Hello forum members,

So my family got expanded to 4 with twins this year and our whole camping setup needs to change to fit our new needs. Previously we camped and overlanded easily with everything fitting in a Jimny. With that chapter closed we have a X-trail and a 6ft venter now. We have 3 camping trips this December, and I want to convert the venter in a camping trailer, that can still be functional for normal use.

Basically the idea is to build an extension with some doors.

I saw this image on Pinterest, and have a similar idea.


So I have a couple of questions.

I'm planning on using connect-it, as I am not a welder, and I'm not planning on lots of gravel driving, so the this should work well with my application. Which size would work best, I'm leaning towards 38mm connect-it as the lid fits on the body of the trailer nicely with the trailer body being 40mm, I think 25mm can also work well if you build on the outside parameter. Any reason not to use 25mm? 38mm obviously cost a lot more, and weights a lot more, and this being a venter with GVM of 700kg, weight is an factor. But now I'm leaning towards 25mm....

Where is the best place to buy aluminium vastrap/checkered plates? I live in Pretoria east.
Which thickness aluminium plates should I go for? 1.5mm? 2mm? 3mm?

How does one fit the lid to the extension, as it is a flat vertical extension, where the normal body hinge extrudes. Do you just add spacers?

I will post updates and photos of the build here. Any other suggestions and things I need to take into consideration is welcome.

[WillieJimny]

That's actually pretty cool.

We are a family of 5 of which Swambo lite is 18 months old.

I have reverted to a 2m box trailer where I just chuck everything in including a small deep freeze.

[Kish2604]

That is a lovely conversion by the owner of that trailer.... from what i can make out, the owner made the extension cage out of steel square bar which is seen in white. Then he framed the top with a Connect-it system which it looks like the lid is attached to it.

In your case, i dont see an issue with using connect-it for the entire frame, with the caveat that you dont load a roof rack on the lid. Then aluminum will start showing some weakness with time and movement. If you need to load the trailer lid, then do as the pic shows, build a steel frame, mount it to the existing body and fit the lid on top. You should have no issues with the existing hinges.

[Paul#25]

I buy my aluminum from Aluminum Alloys in Spartan between Edenvale and Kempton Park. They have the best prices in the area. You can check if they have a branch closer to you. Their telephone number 011 392 5622 or 011 392 7659.
You could use thinner 1mm aluminum sheet for the sides and then thicker 3mm for the work tops. Unless you want the cross hatch pattern of the treadplate, I'd suggest you get normal flat sheets.
25mm square tube should be more than strong enough for this application. You can buy the drilling jig for rivets when you buy the corner pieces.

[Andre N]

OP, a bit of a cross town slog for you.

But Non-Ferrous Metals in Pretoria West will have all the materials you need.

They can even cut the Alu plate for you to size.
Their Alu-Tube sizes is just just too small for the Connect-Its
However, I still use their Alu tubing due to the pricing.
The Connect-Its just need some additional persuasion by manner of a dead blow hammer to go in the tube.

[petewill]

I bought my aluminium square tubing and Connect-It from Miazey in Silverton.

[Andreasjsn]

That is a lovely conversion by the owner of that trailer.... from what i can make out, the owner made the extension cage out of steel square bar which is seen in white. Then he framed the top with a Connect-it system which it looks like the lid is attached to it.

In your case, i dont see an issue with using connect-it for the entire frame, with the caveat that you dont load a roof rack on the lid. Then aluminum will start showing some weakness with time and movement. If you need to load the trailer lid, then do as the pic shows, build a steel frame, mount it to the existing body and fit the lid on top. You should have no issues with the existing hinges.

Thanks, yes Connect-it has powder coated 25mm steel squared tubing. I'm intending to use these and not the aluminium squared tubing.

[CraigWatt]

There are light weight connect its which are hollow and wouldn't be suitable for this application.

Make sure you get the heavy duty ones which are solid, and put in a good size rivet in each one.

4x4 Direct is probably the best place to get them.

[Nutsman]

Interesting - will be following your progress

Maizey plastics sell the PROPER solid Connect-It

[Andreasjsn]

So, back last year after starting this thread a friend and myself drew up plans and started building the trailers (we have the same requirements, so decided to build two identical trailers in one go). So this post is way overdue as we have already done 4 camping trips with the trailer. So lets start at the beginning. I bought a nice 2004 Venter as my base.



First upgrade, new tyres and bearings as the current tyres were dated 2004 and was full of cracks.

And then the work started, we drew a 3D model in SketchUp of what we wanted, but this changed so much as we started building and seeing issues with the design


First step was build the frame for the extension. We opted for the 25mm powder coted connect-it steel tubing with the heavy duty connect-it connectors.




The next step was to measure and order the vastrap plates. We wanted to build the frame first before ordering, as a small mistake on the frame can cause the plates to not fit. Each trailer required one 2500 x 1250 sheet. This allowed for all the panels and an extra panel to make the back door a double panel for extra strength.


Once we had the aluminium sheets we started with the assembly. We used closed pop rivets and silicon to fit the sheets to the frame.


The next step was to fit the side door with hinges. We opted for a door that opens downwards, as this will provide table space to make coffee or food on.




So here we ran into an issue that we saw coming. The lids overshoot is too much and the back door and side door cannot open if the lid is closed. Joh we brainstormed for a solution and ended up going to chamberlains in walking from aisle to aisle. We ended up with electrical conduit. I know, this sounds terrible, but we did not want to lift the lid by much, and the 16mm x 25mm was the perfect solution, it is cheap, and only lifts the roof by the amount we needed, and is the same width as our squared tubing.


Next step was to fit the lid. This proofed to be a big challenge, as the hinges cannot fit flat on the extension. We ended up using Polycarbonate as spacers. This is not the most pretty solution, but it is very strong and works very well. We used the Polycarbonate spacers on the inside as well to add strength to the hinges. Interestingly, my 2004 venter only needed 1 spacer, where my friends 2018 needed 2 spacers. We then had to do the same with the front hinges on his trailer, where mine did not need a spacer.




Now, for the most difficult thing. installing the locks. We got pressure lever locks from furnlock, but this required us to cut squared shapes out of our brand new sheets of aluminium.




Finally we can do the back door. Noting to complicated here, but it was very time consuming.


Now that the back door is installed, we can add the shock lifts to open the lid.


Now that the extension is done, we added a shelf with some steel bar and angle iron support.

[Millie]

Hi what is the weight of the trailor is it not to heavy for the axle as the Venters/luggage trailors axle's normally make only provision for 200kg weight to be carried. That does not really worry me but my Venter's axle bend a few times when it was to heavily loaded and had to be straightened because the tires wear of on the inside.
Enjoy the trailor.

[Andreasjsn]

Hi what is the weight of the trailor is it not to heavy for the axle as the Venters/luggage trailors axle's normally make only provision for 200kg weight to be carried. That does not really worry me but my Venter's axle bend a few times when it was to heavily loaded and had to be straightened because the tires wear of on the inside.
Enjoy the trailor.

So the extension adds just over 50kg of weight. I am very pedantic about not overloading the trailer, so I have a spreadsheet where I weighed all our camping gear and then while I pack I mark the items that we take with. The heaviest was a 10 day trip to the KNP and we still had 85kg playing room left. On my sheet I have the extension as 75kg just to be extra cautious.



I will however keep an eagle eye on the axel.

[Millie]

Then you are fixed Andreas contrary to myself, if there is space and the wife want it in I will pack. Enjoy.

[renier_c]

Very nice!!!

[Emmie L]

Well done.

Are you going to paint it white to preserve the Venter look or did you intend it to be a two tone?

I love build threads. And how lovely that you got to do it alongside a friend.

Forgive my curiosity, but what mattress weighs 10kg?

Is the shelf inside irritating when you pack and have to assign spaces to things?

[Andreasjsn]

Well done.

Are you going to paint it white to preserve the Venter look or did you intend it to be a two tone?

I love build threads. And how lovely that you got to do it alongside a friend.

Forgive my curiosity, but what mattress weighs 10kg?

Is the shelf inside irritating when you pack and have to assign spaces to things?

About the 2 tone, I would really have liked to powder coat the aluminium white, but we were very time limited when we built the extension, both of us had 2 week camping trips planned for December, and we only started this project in the middle of November. The best way would have been to powder coat after drilling all the holes in the sheets, and then fitting it. At this stage I am not "lus" for the effort of drilling out all the pop rivets and reinstalling the sheets afterwards.... Maybe something I can down in a year or 2, but for now it is what it is, and honestly, I don't mind the look of it.

Then the mattress, contrary to popular opinion, SWAMBO and myself prefer a blow up mattress. So we have an intex double bed mattress that is 7 years old, and has done 4 to 5 camping trips a year without issues. However, I am aware that they have the tendency to get punctured and ruin your trip, so we have a brand new one as well as a backup. So the 10kg is the ammo box with both of them in it, as well as the electric/12v pump and a small handpump just to get it to the correct stiffness every night.

Packing under the shelf has not been an issue. Since the trailer has a tailgate and the door at the back it is easy to pack from there. So we pack our tents, gazebo, fold up tables, groundsheets and reflecto sheets under the shelve. On top of the shelve we pack our 4-6 tentco ammo boxes. Then all the rest in the open space that is not covered by the shelf. I am planning a drawer to pull out the 4 ammo boxes on top of the shelf.

[Andreasjsn]

After our first camp we had a good shakedown of everything. The first upgrade was to make the side door a table. We used some plywood to give the door some structure and then a cable to hold it up. We added some carabiners so that we can quickly disconnect the cables. However, 3 camping trips later and we have not had the need to disconnect it.






The next need that was identified was too get some power into the trailer.
I had an caravan plug paying around that I used to bring power into the trailer. I used the factory tiedown point to fit the connector under the trailer, and then routed the cable into the trailer with the factory wire that goes to the lights.






This allows us to run the fridge in the trailer and lock it when we are not at camp.


The next requirement was to get some light into the trailer. I started with a strip around the inside of the trailer, and then added some LEDs at the side door and in the lid. I am using a gate motor battery that I had laying around with a small charger. After our KNP trip in June I actually removed the strip light that runs around the inside of the frame, as it keeps on coming loose and we ended up only using the other 3 lights. These lights are properly bright and works very well.

[Emmie L]

I'm relieved to hear it's 2 mattresses and more. I can't imagine lugging around a 10kg mattress.

Thank you for sharing your clever innovation with us.

[Andreasjsn]

Some photo's of the trailer in action.

[Andreasjsn]

So what is next?

I would really like a drawer system for the 4 ammo boxes. Still need to do research on what runners would be the best, because it will be able to take a good 80kg's of weight when fully loaded.



Then there are some finishing touches that are needed, such as varnishing the shelf and door table, and some waterproofing issues that arose with the foam seals settling in, but nothing major.

Any other suggestions and ideas are welcome. I will continue to update this page as the trailer evolves.