Fender Modification And Max Coupler For Ground Clearance

We have been taking our trailer on a lot of off-road excursions with more to come... (hence why it is so dang dirty! Sorry about that)

The fenders hang down just a bit too low and can hit rocks, etc. when on the trails. Talking with Cary, he gave me the idea to modify our existing fenders rather than try to mount some aftermarket ones. I used a metal cutoff wheel on my angle grinder and took a couple inches of fender off the bottom, then a flapper wheel to clean the edges up nicely. It brings the fender in line with the frame of the body now. Not a ton of extra clearance but a couple inches will sure help. I am glad we can keep the classic Camp-Inn styling as well.

Before:



After (cleaned the fenders up at least!):

 

Wow! What is your tow vehicle? Suspension/tire mods?

 

Have a 2018 4Runner with a slight lift and we have some overland type trips planned this summer. (Hells Canyon, Owyhee and Steens areas).

We will be getting some sturdier tires on the teardrop which we will go up to a 15" wheel to open up our tire options. Will go with an A/T tire for sidewall stiffness / rock protection. The torsion axels on the trailer are pretty great for off-roading as it is and have decent ground clearance, so those will stay for now.

We just got a Max Coupler articulating hitch setup that I'll be installing this weekend for much better trailer articulation as well. That will require grinding off the welds on the existing trailer coupler to remove that and then installing the new coupler.

 

I'd never have noticed if I didn't see the before and after close. Nicely done!!!

 

Hells Canyon, Owyhee, Steens… and I’m still a little jealous of your past trip to the Alvord! These are all on my list, but a little further away both in miles and our current tow vehicle (Toyo Highlander).

I do hope you post a little more on the upcoming mods. It’s so cool that our trailers can do this, too…

 

Thanks! Yes, we absolutely love the 4Runner. They are amazing vehicles.

For wheels, we are planning on going with a 15 X 6" wide 5-114.30 with 0 offset. Think we are settled on these Vision Turbines. Think they would look good on the Camp Inn.
Discount Tire | Tires and Wheels for Sale | Online & In-Person

For tires, a 205/70/15
Thinking we will go with Yokohama Geolander A/T G015
All-Season Tires | Tires | Discount Tire

 

Decided to just go ahead and put the Max Coupler today! Turned out awesome. Very happy with it. Bit of a pain grinding through the welds to get the stock ball mount off, but made it work.

I need to replace my rubber propane tank gasket. It has decided it no longer wants to stay...

In process:

Cutting through the old welds


Grinding smooth and removing rust


Cleaned up and some paint for rust protection


Max Coupler mounted up


Connected to the 4Runner with the new receiving end on my hitch (replaces the ball)

 

Nicely done. Both jobs are far beyond my pay grade.

 

Another benefit of a coupler like this is that 90%, if not more, of opportunistic thieves will not have a mating receiver to steal the trailer. Most will just have a standard ball. Little bit of extra theft prevention is nice. Having a pin through connection like this also opens up some extra locking options. Heavy duty locking pins, etc.

 

wow

 

Hey CampInnGlampin, I think you made a brief appearance in a Blancolirio video on Youtube a couple of days. I was watching his video and almost fell off the couch when a Camp-Inn 550 pulled into the shot. It has fenders that have been trimmed and was being pulled by a white 4Runner. Location was Frenchglen OR.

Here is the link to the video:
The Camp-Inn appears at the 2:36 mark.

Is this you?

Cary

 

Holy crap! LOL that IS us!!! We were camping up there at Page Springs campground. The blue Tundra in the video is my good friend as well that was camping with us.

Small world!

 

That is awesome! So glad I figured out who it was like this. Your modification pictures here really was what made it jump out at me as to who it had to be. Plus, well, Oregon.

Looks like a cool area to adventure into.

Cary

 

Nice area to camp!
Didja make the switch to the spoked wheels and tires you mentioned a couple posts back?
or still on the chromes/moons?

"For wheels, we are planning on going with a 15 X 6" wide 5-114.30 with 0 offset. Think we are settled on these Vision Turbines. Think they would look good on the Camp Inn.
Discount Tire | Tires and Wheels for Sale | Online & In-Person

For tires, a 205/70/15
Thinking we will go with Yokohama Geolander A/T G015
All-Season Tires | Tires | Discount Tire"


Thinking about spoked wheels myself and curious how that combo fit inside the fender, no rubs on bouncy roads.

How'd the articulating hitch work?
Those of us who are tempoarily home based are living vicariously so thanks again for the pics!

Another advantage of the Clam or G6 as screened room is it can go just about anywhere thats flat enough...as well as butt up to the Galley, or as a side privacy/potty tent.

Big advantage in ranch country where the damn horseflies and meat hornets are persistent...

GlampOn!

 

Sorry, forgot to update on the wheels/tires. We ended up just sticking with the stock wheels and just got new trailer rated tires in the same size for now. Its incredibly difficult to find an all terrain tire in any size that will fit that has a load range of C or higher. I did not realize the tires I listed previously only came in passenger load rating, which is actually a softer sidewall than the trailer tires which start at Load C. We did not want to sacrifice sidewall protection for rocks / sticks that we may come in contact with.

My next plan is to possibly lift the trailer an inch or so. Being torsion axles mounted to the crossbar, it is super easy to get some metal stock and shim the body up a bit for a little more clearance if need be.

Yes, the new clam canopy has been an absolute game changer for us! We just got that and absolutely love it. Super easy to put up and take down. Built in screens were a lifesaver as the mosquitos woke up and chose violence this trip.

Hitch worked great! Could not tell any difference and towed beautifully. Much more quiet actually as well since you do not have the metal on metal ball / coupler squeeking noises anymore.

We have our Owyhee overlanding trip starting next Wednesday and coming back on Sunday. Most all of it will be offroad. We will take lots of pictures and post that trip once we return!

 

Thanks Sir!
Good point on load rating...I'd have missed that too, and as much as I like Discount Tire for "US wide area easy to find a store" in a pinch when broken down on the road, I do notice I really have to do my homework if its something not on their system best picks menu, to special order it if possible. (Which defeats the point of fix in a pinch to get back on the road...

Makes sense to have stiffer/thicker sidewalls in the trailer/towed vehicle so it doesnt sway as much as a balloonish tire, plus the penetration protection.

Going up from a 14 to a 15" wheel gives more stiffness but less cushion for same tire O.D.

I too hadnt realized the trailer wheel world is so much more limited than cars, and found similar challenges finding ATs to fit my Alltrack, with its VW specs/bolt pattern. I finally found the newer Nokian ATs which have aramid in both tread and sidewall for rock cuts/penetration protection, but only in 16" on OEM on Tiguan steelies, so I could air down a bit. Those were a replacement to Nokian Hakkapellita winters with aramid in tread only that picked up a shard of metal roofing fastener in the shoulder of the tread, on an off ramp on I-8 on a 115 degree day west of Tucson. Theres a funny story on me on "selection of proper plug size for DIY road tire leak repair", (Derp!) trying over and over "to get that damn thing in..,"
but not to threadjack here...

Having penetration resistance is worth the money if going off well paved and swept roads...

Next question:
I wonder what the cognoscenti here say about airing down the CI trailer tires to float a bit in sand?

If a benefit, I'd stick with 14"s and more sidewall so as not to roll off the bead, aired down

or
If the trailer is light enough not to matter- then going up to 15" on trailer wheel with less sidewall is less cushiony but stiffer, less sway. Maybe more choices?
Your rig is powerful enough to drag it thru places that mine might not, so I have to finesse it if I can airing down to float vs dig in...

The alloy spoked wheels offered by CampInn as an option are 14x6, and in reply to my query; Cary sez 14 x 6.5 aftermarket work well too. He also points out the alloy wheels are lighter
And
Big plus for me- rust proof, less maintenance. Sold!

Thanks again for sharing whats working in the offroad Way of Glamping!

Living vicariously here while handling home projects but gonna be back out there soon, and copying what works!

PS: That hitch is on my upgrade list...

 

Yeah, sidewall protection was our main goal at this point. I would be comfortable airing down 5-10psi on these if needed, but as you said its a pretty light setup anyways, but would help with some of the bounciness as well.

I think I will start with 5psi next week to see, but will play around while out there.