Big4x4ride Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 I know some of you have built boxes on the front of your trailers, but was curious what you used for the main frame on it? Im looking at building one 83" wide (full deck width) 42" deep and 7' tall on the front of my trailer.Trailer will see plenty of open highway miles so it has to be sturdy. Was thinking 1" 16 gauge square on 12" centers for the framing, and skin it in 14 gauge aluminum . Was going to use foam insulation board on the inside to basically insulate, and then use some light plywood on the inside to finish it out. I was figuring all that would be very light, however very sturdy. Am I on the right track or way off here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 one of my boxes are built out of 1 inch square and the other is out of 1.5 inch. I would think you should be fine. some built out of angle or channel. always be aware of the weight that you are adding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exjet145 Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 1" tubing on 24" centers will be fine. Use gussets in the corners and two horizontal"stringers". I would not recommended the plywood. It adds a lot of weight and will be more when it gets wet. No need to spend $ to insulate unless you are going to condition the air. I only had aluminum skin on the outside of my box and never had a problem from towing in 4 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big4x4ride Posted May 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 1" tubing on 24" centers will be fine. Use gussets in the corners and two horizontal"stringers". I would not recommended the plywood. It adds a lot of weight and will be more when it gets wet. No need to spend $ to insulate unless you are going to condition the air. I only had aluminum skin on the outside of my box and never had a problem from towing in 4 years. what gauge aluminum did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exjet145 Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 .040 but you can use what ever you want. It's just a skin. Easy to replace if something were do happen to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big4x4ride Posted June 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 Cool, trying to stay as light as possible, but strong as possible. That was the reason for the foam insulation actually was just to stiffen the walls up further between the supports. Did you use the same thing on the roof as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooter48c Posted June 2, 2016 Report Share Posted June 2, 2016 mine is 1.5 tubing with 080 aluminum ,no insulation or plywood. a box that big will hold a lot of stuff, careful not to put to much weight on the front of your trailer. I also made mine where it just bolts to the trailer incase I need to remove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exjet145 Posted June 2, 2016 Report Share Posted June 2, 2016 Yes, the roof was done the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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