crockettbrat Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Hey all: I've got a little tent trailer with torsion bar suspension. I lifted it and its great offroad. It got me thinking of building a more heavy duty version with the rear suspension from a sub. Nice steel frame, lots of clearance, plop my tent trailer body on top and extend the whole thing to fit some dirt bikes! It could even have brakes. Anybody done something like this? Any thoughts? My buddy and his family are borrowing my trailer for a month in Mexico, but when it returns I'm going to get started. Let me know what you think. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zefy Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 a friend of mine has two trailors using suby rear suspension... both from ea81 vehicles... one is a FULL autohauler trailor that uses two suby rear axles... with a car on it it still has 2 feet of clearance under it... I've used it and it works well. however it was designed for a loyale wagon so a legacy is to heavy for it and just about to big... brakes are functional aswell because it uses the stock rear drum brakes. he also made one with a single ea81 rear suspension that has the torsion bars jacked up all the way for carrying a snowmobile. that one unloaded has a solid 3 feet of clearnace under it... loaded it drops to about half that... they make really nice trailors and i would do it if i had the time, money, and need for a trailor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crockettbrat Posted April 18, 2008 Author Share Posted April 18, 2008 thanks for the reply. It makes sense that this would work. I'm starting to plan out my build and will start looking for the parts soon. Ive got a little time because the brat ej swap is on the front burner, and my tent trailer is going to Mexico for a month. I'll post after I make some progress. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPDISXR4Ti Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I just stumbled across this thread. Here's a link to the project thread on my XRBrati project. The BraTrailer project was an unintended side-project that became reality once I had a Brat rear suspension in hand with no real intended use. You'll find pics on pages 4 and 5.... http://forum.merkurclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2639&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 How do you actuate the brakes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruguru Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 i would guess for the brakes run a subaru master cylinder and run lines to the brakes and insted of using a pedal to actuate the master cylinder use an elctric ram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPDISXR4Ti Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 For a single axle trailer like what I've built, there's no need for brakes. I doubt I'll ever haul anything more than a 1000 lbs. The only concern I have is with the positive camber this thing has, especially evident when unladen. It's not been an issue for the short-distance use it's had so far, but I wonder if the tires would burn through pretty quick if I used it for an extended highway venture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 The only concern I have is with the positive camber this thing has, especially evident when unladen. It's not been an issue for the short-distance use it's had so far, but I wonder if the tires would burn through pretty quick if I used it for an extended highway venture. I never noticed it much on the rear, but it isn't going to wear down any more than it would on a car. And I've never had problems with the rear wearing down, just the fronts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPDISXR4Ti Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I never noticed it much on the rear, but it isn't going to wear down any more than it would on a car. I wouldn't agree with that. I didn't have a positive camber problem on the Brat (prior to it's dismantling), but I do on the trailer made with the same rear-end. Initially, I thought it was just a weight thing, but even when loaded, the trailer still shows some positive camber. I'm thinking some dynamic changed from when the suspension was attached to the Brat body vs. the simple trailer frame. I just don't know what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 I see it in your pics now. I've never seen that on a Subaru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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