Vannin' Home Forums General Discussion Generic How To ..... The Making of a Van Trailer

Post #1
Hey gang. It's time for me to start converting my '89 parts van, into a trailer. It will be extremely helpful at VANNIN's, so I have somewhere to put my junk when I goto the Show & Shine. Anyways, I gutted the dash, as i wanted this entire dash to use as a template for making real wood accents for my '91. Right now the steering column, the windshield, 2 engine wire harnesses, and one under dash wire harness, are all out. These pics. show you what an '89 Dodge window van looks like with no dash at all. I know I don't need to do this, to make it into a trailer, but the more I take apart, the more i learn about my van. I'm also tossing around the idea of designing a tilting front end, which again I will use my parts van for.

PS. Just so ya know, you have to pull the windshield, to be able to pull the dash. There are a line of screws just under the lower part of the windshield rubber.

Wow this is going too be one cool thread....you left this viewer wanting more...document the steps so that others may try this!!
YOU THE MAN!

This should be fun, and if your van is any example, it should come out great. The picture with no dash really interesting to me, because one of the mods I wanted to do on my 86 GMC was to have no dash. I was going to relocate the guages overhead and pad the few bits and braces I could not remove. You know, just because no one else had done it, and the was almost nothing under the dash to lose.

Keep us posted, take plenty of pics, and take out everything that you can. Van trailers can be heavy.

Real trailers are light because they are only built to carry weight, not survive accidents and withstand the stress a drivetrain puts out. The box part of a trailer is often aluminum not steel.

Not that you won't be able to pull a heavy trailer, hell you can pull a whole van if you wanted to, but the lighter you get your trailer, the more crap you can bring with you LOL.

Yes Bryce, I'm aware of how heavy van trailers can be. I built one using a '91 Plymouth Voyager body, and overbuilt the tongue and attaching points. It was my first attempt, and sure as hell didn't want the tongue to fall off. I had intended on towing it with my '95 PV, but it was too heavy for that van. So now I can only tow it with my '91 Ram van.

I am definitely going to take lots of pics. along the way. This is a great learning tool, for myself, and others. I've already learned how easy it is to pull all the wiring harnesses out of the van. I didn't have to cut any wires, but I did, just to simplify things. I learned about having to pull windshield, in Dodge vans, to pull the dash. I don't think I will do this on my '91. It all depends on what design ideas I have with my template dash.

The big learning process, however, will come when I attempt to tilt the front end. I want the hood to still function properly, something you don't see on many tilt frontends. So I will be doing alot of, HUMMING & HAHHING, over this deal, but it is nice to have a test subject to work with.

Fortunately, I spoke with Guy(DREAMWEAVER) after the Laborday run, about how he built his trailer, so I have an idea, the perferred method of closing in the front. And that is going to a scrap yard, cutting off the rear section of another, about 1 foot in, and then welding and fitting, and filling it, onto the front of the trailer. That likely won't happen until next spring, but ya never know.

I am pondering cutting the van in half, prior to removing the engine. Just not sure how that will work. The engine itself, is a boat anchor, but the trans. has overdrive, and I want it for my van. So it will be easier, I think, to get out after the van is cut in half.

WOW, thats it for now. Pics. will definitely follow.

Keep up the good work Brad!

Van trailers made out of two rear sections welded back to back are easier to make, have more space inside, weigh less, and honestly look better being pulled. A friend of mine has one made like a short van with no front wheels and a steel windshield. It did not look as cohesive with the van pulling it as one made out of two rear sections, but it was way cool and was very creative.

Since I live vicariously through people of your skill level, I'm hoping you do something really complex, creative and different. But since you are the one actually building it you can tell me to go to hell LOL.

way to go Brad. You won't regret it, the room we have to play with , and the extra we can carry is great. Just leave room for Virtual to sleep in it when he loses his keys lol. Bryce you are right, these types of trailers are a little heavier, and yes the tongue weight is also a little heavier, but if you distribute the load inside there is no problem. Judy and i pulled ours to the ohio Nat's for its first run , and sometimes forgot it was there .

matching the roof Brad is usually the worst of the glitches you will run across. Also buddy , when you cut the back off another van to weld it on the front, you may have to split it down the middle to make the seams fit right. If you want me to send you the pics i have of ours let me know . Size does matter buddy lmao.

Thanks for the info all, especially you Guy. I have some ideas running around inside my head, as far as joining the 2 sections. First I have to figure out how to get a cutoff section of van home. I'll have to find someone with a skidoo trailer. Or strap it to the roof of my 2000 Caravan. When I cut my front off, i'm going to leave extra of the roof on. It may be helpfull.

Yes Guy, if you have some pics. during fabrication, that might help out alot.

And yeah I know, size matters, in so many diffderent aspects of life.