CHEAP! Onboard Welder And Onboard Water. Harbor Freight Trailer Episode 13

Harbor Freight Overland Trailer Episode 13! Today we are going to play around with a onboard welding setup and build a onboard water system. These are both very powerful overland tools that can not only be helpful but transform the outcome of your trip. Let's face it, we like overland Expeditions because there is a certain level of risk. I would argue that onboard water and a DIY welder can help curb these risks and get you home safely. I hope that you find something in this video helpful in your future overland build!
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Due to factors out of the control of Dirt Lifestyle, we cannot guarantee against improper use or unauthorized modifications of this information. Dirt Lifestyle assumes no liability or responsibility for property damages or injury incurred as a result of any information contained in this video. Use this information at your own risk. Dirt Lifestyle recommends safe practices when working on vehicles and/or with tools seen in this video. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or from the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Dirt Lifestyle. Be safe!
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#overland #overlanding #offroadtrailer

[@jeepindave5464]

Nate Pickle - Offroad fabricater, certified fork lift operator, and warranty voider.

[@DirtLifestyle]

Certified warranty voider 😁

[@jeepindave5464]

@@DirtLifestyle I wanna see you take it to the dealer for the toyota care 25k free maintenance multipoint inspection and film the results lol

[@TheShooter466]

Nate showing us how life changing being forklift certified really is.

[@DirtLifestyle]

It's the best tool I own right now lol

[@2birddogsandawolfdog945]

Better than a shop?? 🤔

[@MrRmga420]

I used to work at a Fabrication shop that was mostly all trailers and truck mounted shelters designed for human occupancy. (Military contracts) one tool we had for our forklift was a ball for moving around trailers. We could move just about any size trailers, even goosenecks. We would slide the forks together and slip on the unit. I’m sure it was made in house. It was just rectangular tube that would fit over the forks and then triangulate out to where the ball was attached. Then we would just wrap a chain around the load backrest to secure it. This was way better than just a hole at the end of a fork with a ball through it like I’d seen in many other shops. Just thinking something like this could come in handy for your new forklift. The turning radius of using a forklift is insane for maneuvering trailers in tight spots.

[@DirtLifestyle]

This is one accessory I plan on building ASAP. I worked at a warehouse for a little bit and we had something very similar to what you are describing. Game changer for moving trailers around the yard.

[@BamBam81]

did you ever make a video on the land rover discovery about the brake booster swap for the original to the LR4 break booster

[@TheSchmitty411]

I worked at a shop where they drilled a hole through the fork and we’d just attach the ball to the fork itself and move trailers around that way. Super fast and easy

[@jamess.7261]

just a reminder that you really only have access to 75 amp hours of the 150 total if you don't want to prematurely kill your batteries (lithium excepted.) The generally accepted RVer rule is to only discharge lead acid/gel/etc. batteries to 50% to make them last.

[@paulpetraitis2130]

Honestly, I enjoy your build channel way more then your 4 wheeling channel!

[@shanenorwell8580]

Great video mate. For welding thinner material you can drop one battery and use ~24 volts. Works well.

[@DirtLifestyle]

Yep, for sure

[@cody4128]

Since you can plastic weld i would suggest a cover of sorts for those batteries. Would prevent corrosion but not stop it indefinitely.

[@barnetts9812]

As frugal as I am, and like tinkering around, I'm also starting to like solutions such as that dometic faucet. Might save lots of time and effort.

[@insaynbcr]

Have you considered a Ready Welder MIG spool gun? I have one that can weld off batteries, as well as adj the wire speed, wire size and travel speed. Just run flux core on the trail. If you can weld with MIG in the shop, you can weld on the trail with this just fine.

[@markkiely8326]

ince one I've really fancied on board welding from my disco

[@jordanlambourne5230]

It’s crazy how much stuff Nate knows how to do.

[@DirtLifestyle]

Lol thanks man

[@vwclub3]

Gotta be a way to have batterys wired with a breaker or switches so all you gotta do is flip a switch or two to break from series to parallel

[@squatch2461]

🍻 Thanks for adding the info. about the tools. Water tank vent/overflow: You may have done this, but maybe include a drop in the tubing similar to a P trap below your sink? It'll fill with water when you fill the tank, and keep an air block to prevent dust coming back up the tubing?

[@ScottKirk-Notredcrew]

As a guy who bought a small forklift and all my friends said wtf you're dumb and then see the uses I use it for and become jealous I love the new partner Mr. Forky

[@SuicideSanta3]

36 volts is a fairly hot weld for that material, you should drop one of the batteries off the circuit and run 24 volts for most welding on the trail, use that 36v setup for when you've got big parts to weld together.

[@insaynbcr]

That's what I was thinking as well. 24VDC should be plenty with the right size rod. If you have to make several passes for thicker material, so be it.

[@jamesb3199]

Build some dual purpose jumper cable/lead extensions with welder quick connect or bolt eye terminals together

[@billcamus8766]

I drive a forklift for a living. Once the "newness" wears off, I think you'll find it to be another tool in the shop. Albeit a super handy tool😁

[@nothingtoseaheardammit]

I'd put a cutoff switch one one of those batteries so you could easily switch between 24V and 36V just put flipping a switch.

[@ShoddyRC]

This trailer has come a long way from the beginning! It’s looking good!

[@DirtLifestyle]

Thank you!

[@darrensaunders4635]

Add a dedicated bus bar for positive and negative inside your trailer. Then you can unhook the house power and make your cable swaps at a panel where you won't need to be living on the ground. Could even then add Anderson plugs to make it all quicker.......just a thought

[@DirtLifestyle]

The bus bar is a great solution for this. I will definitely consider it later on in the build 👍

[@christopher-iy2yd]

You may put a 12 volt heater in the tank to keep it from freezing in the colder months also gives you the ability to have warm water.

[@sideshow45]

Fish aquarium heater would be great for that

[@DirtLifestyle]

I'm trying to decide the best way to keep this from freezing while using it in the snow. The fish aquarium heater is an interesting idea 👌

[@caseynelson3164]

You could also try rv tank heater pads

[@graysonbrown2774]

Hey Nate, I've been a forklift technician for 10 + years, would you do a walk around of yours? Love seeing the older rigs. If you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out.

[@anthonygendron9737]

I had the same battery set up you installed and just switched to a 200ah Chins lithium iron phosphate and man what a difference. The weight was the biggest change.

[@duceanahalf]

you could rig up an alternator inside the unused axle center section that was driven off the axles to charge the batteries under way without relying on the trailer harness to do it

[@snicklefritzd3612]

"But they aren't looking for me, so I am not worried about it." 🤔😂

[@DirtLifestyle]

Lol

[@nothingtoseaheardammit]

Might want to bring a leather apron with that welding gear - can't imagine doing a overhead while under a rig and having hot slag drop down on me without one.

[@CF_Sapper]

Watched an Afgani do this but had a small generator charging it as he welded. Dude put down some of the cleanest beads I've ever seen.

[@stevenklein8245]

Jesus. When I didn't think I could be more impressed. You cut a plastic tank in half and weld it back together.

[@mygamertag2010X]

You need to compare watt hours (Wh) when comparing these battery packs. Your Jackery is 1500Wh, your Dometic is about 500Wh, your dometic is 1/3rd the capacity of your Jackery.

[@mygamertag2010X]

Further, 3x50Ah Optima is 1800Wh, a slight increase over the Jackery alone (1500Wh).

[@dainperrault585]

Your a genius. So glad your implementing all these crazy good ideas into this project! Love seeing this back in videos.

[@Ess_Chalk]

The biggest lesson I learnt in building my camper's water system was to use food-grade water hose everywhere if you're going to use the tank for drinking water, including the hose you use to fill the tank and the hose for your sprayer head or tap. It won't kill you (I hope) but the taste of water through a garden hose leaves much to be desired. You can get in-line filters to remove the taste, which I could only use to fill it, but my tank "absorbed" the taste so I eventually removed the tank and rinsed it out with red cordial - a massive preventable fkaround. PS Forklifts are all fun and games until you forget it's rear steering and you put it on it's side. Then it's still fun, but more cautiously so 😁

[@americonoffroadadventures8132]

Nice to have the right tool for the job!! Thanks For Sharing Nate

[@davidwhiterod3148]

Nate, I am loving this series so much I find myself clicking ‘like’ even before I actually start watching each video!

[@RobertTerrill1]

Nate, For potable water that doesn't taste like a rubber hose, use an RV white hose to fill your tank.

[@insaynbcr]

Nate, you could add a duckbill drain valve to your overflow/vent tube to reduce the dust and bugs that could find their way into your water system.

[@bruceknirs9987]

I love your DIY videos I find them useful and very easy to follow for myself

[@surgicalinstrumentsexplained]

Great video. Love to see the ingenuity going into builds like this.

[@mikemorgan4670]

Super cool addition to the trailer. The Dometic fawcett really has me interested. Thanks for the great content, as always.

[@DirtLifestyle]

Thanks for watching and for the comment my friend 🙌

[@luiscruz-no3ib]

You see you already have a water tank .the empty diff housing seal the third member and the ends after a good cleaning and seal of the inside. You couldn't go lower than that plus it will help on keeping the trailer from bouncing

[@darrinrebagliati5365]

You could line the tubes w abs pipe. Or have the inside powder coated.

[@Zapo9668]

Great idea actually. Yea or a get a polyurethane coating sprayed on the inside

[@MacsSpecialitiesMotorsports]

I love the Austin Powers intro music for your new friend the 'forklift'!!

[@noahmoore2907]

It's wild, Justin on the Fabrication Series pretty much taught me everything I know about fabrication. And now I find out another of my favorite KZbinrs are friends with him

[@bungieking9468]

Thanks for all the effort to mod your trailer. It is really coming along. It also demonstrates just why even the budget options are so expensive. That said, the Dometic water and a Jackery battery set up are so perfect for the 99% of us just looking to have fun

[@Kingsize24]

Great job! You only have 75ah of power availability however. But at least the mounts are there if you decide to upgrade. Edit: Also... you can do series and parallel wiring and have it fully integrated but use top post knive switches for connecting what ever you need at the time. We had this setup on my father's CJ for welding as well.

[@MyJdray]

Agreed you can only run the max 70% of these batteries. If you want to run almost to 0% you need to run lifepo4 batteries to get the max AH usage. I ran into this problem with my optima secondary battery and went to a lifepo4. I have much more usage now

[@patrickmerriman2952]

Great series! I really enjoyed watching it. I just found your channel and I really appreciate the fact that you explain things without too much yada yada. Plus your designs are very well thought out and creative... and useful!

[@ehudmigdan]

Such a cool technique. Thanks for sharing!

[@mrmongo6722]

Nice set up for the welder it’s one of those set ups you hope you never have to use but it’s nice to have when you do it’s good to know you have it.

[@Nevermind_Im_Lost]

You've essentially made a mini offroad RV and it's badass. I am hoping after I get moved to do similar but I am planning to bag it and have a bag on the hitch as well for a little easier time levelling it

[@ifitsnotbrokenfixit1193]

Nice setup Nate. And yes a forklift is a great tool to have in the shop. You need to make a hitch for it. Taking trailers in and out of the shop alone is a time saver.

[@jeffcombs8237]

I have really enjoyed the budget trailer build. Awesome content. Thanks Dirt Lifestyle

[@davidshevlin5735]

We used a new 40 gallon chemical sprayer and tank from tractor supply. When we purchased it originally it was just under 300. Complete just hook up a 12 volt battery.

[@senrusho]

I had a homebuilt 12v water system in my Jeep I replaced everything but the tank to switch to the Dometic faucet a few weeks ago (Added CPC connectors to my 8 gal tank so I could use it with the faucet). I love it!!

[@naturewrx7223]

One thing I would recommend t is getting a good shunt based battery monitor to keep an eye on the batteries rather than relying on a voltage based gauge.

[@LawF250]

Some older trucks used 24v to crank the starter and 12v to run everything. Had some relays to switch back and forth.

[@davecamilleri9411]

You should try welding with just 24 volts and you could maintain more amperage and not be quite as hot. I have a premier power welder in my Jeep with a Cummins R2.8 and it worked great when it was in the 4.0 gasser, I haven't had a chance to test it with the R2.8 because I have to fab up an adjustable rod to depress the drive by wire throttle pedal. I usually carry 3/32 and 1/8 7018 and 6013

[@northernmichiganxjsoverlan3326]

I have on board water system similar to your setup on my camper. And the USB rechargeable pump setup with a culligan bottle in my suburban. The best of both worlds lol.

[@piasprojects]

Nate I am always amazed at all the different ideas you have and how they turn out. Yes maybe not “cheap” but definitely well worth it. How many gallons is that tank? And the Low CoG is crucial! Keep up the great work on this off road trailer!!

[@Siskiyous6]

A tall standpipe, fill pipe, adds a LOT of PSI to the tank. I would not have the fill line so high above the tank. Nice trailer, I am going to watch the whole series. I added you to my notifications.

[@glenfdoss]

Is this your at home garage? No osha problem

[@DirtLifestyle]

Yes lol I was being sarcastic

[@glenfdoss]

I know you were BUT you know the osha construction police on your tube and face book they all know never do but comment

[@st0rmtro0per]

I didn't see any, but you NEED led pod/light bar reverse lights on the trailer. Put some on my car trailer and it changed my life. So convient

[@That_Guy_Outside]

Dude this is an awesome video on many levels. Thanks!!

[@leefhead1]

You can get a similar battery operated usb chargeable tap that goes right onto the top of a generic water jug that would typically go into a water cooler, off Amazon for about 20-30$. Combine that with a 2$ jug of water from Costco and you’re off to the races. Just another option! I love the on board setup you’ve got there Nate.

[@shadowlm315]

You should make an attachment that slides over the forks and mounts a hitch ball at the end and between the two fork tips.

[@HikerTV]

After I built my water system I added an Eccotemp L5 portable hot water heater. Mounted it to the side inside a Harbor Freight Apache 4800 case. Shower tent for the kids or not. So nice to sleep clean in the back country.

[@frankmcgoldrick4014]

Ref setting your batteries to parallel or serial in the field... Why not remote each battery terminal, individually, to a weatherproof box somewhere on the outside of the body. Then with some short jumper cables, you can conveniently re-wire as required. That way you won't need your forklift on the trail! LOL

[@one4x4nut]

Congrats on the forklift it'll definitely be a game changer. Don't know how people live without one..haha

[@orangepickel2]

When you moved up to the 1/4 plate; 1/8" 6013 I could tell by the sound the bead was good amperage and voltage were within parameters.

[@sarasyrankothrankoth9444]

good work ..thanks for videos

[@jadebrecks]

I thought I saw threaded posts on the top of your batteries. It may be a bit more difficult With them not in a row but could you get copper buss bars Heat shrink the spots not being used. Set them up for paralleling. Then you could move them possibly adding a third hole in your bars. Then you will always have the bars needed without having to store extra. If you need more bars one way verse another you could always stack them to keep them stored too. I hope I explained this right but we do this with motors and batteries we have to retap configurations a lot. You can look up ampacities online if you are interested.

[@sideshow45]

Zipties work good as plastic filler in a pinch

[@SWBCrawler]

Glad you're back man, ive been lacking garage-hackery in my life while you were gone. ;) Love the water setup! During the pandemic i started carrying one of those coleman collapsible water jugs in my rig on trail rides so I could get my hands nice and clean for lunch and after trail repairs using a good ol bar of soap rather than just hand sanitizer. Worked awesome! I made a little paracord loop that I could just loop through the spare tire rim, and i had gravity fed water from the spout on the jug. But alas, it developed a hole and now I need to either buy a new one, or maybe something more built in. Even in the LJ space is at a premium in a wrangler, as you know. So I guess I;m a little curious if you ever thought about something like that in your TJ? or if you had any ideas now that you've been through it on the trailer.

[@kjohns236]

Nice work! Maybe a 12 volt tank heater would be nice for those cold camping trips..

[@tyleraustin9914]

They make a series to parallel switch, they are usually really large. My recommendation would be to have all the wires go to a panel on the side of the trailer connect them together with anl fuses. Then to switch to series pull the fuses and your left with the studs, connect them in a cross pattern with a jumper bar. Hope this makes sense or gets you thinking in the right direction.

[@chenghaohuang2287]

Always glad to see your update. Please be aware most of AGM or martine battery discharge rate (DOD) is only 50% even they say it is deeply cycled battery. If you discharge more than 50%, it will damage the life period of the battery. So basically your 150 ah battery can only provides 75 ah without damaging the life of the battery. I'm working a project similar to your settting up except mine one is inside of vehicle; again appreciate your hardwork on youtube video and become my weekly expecting youtuber to watch.

[@Relyk711]

Dang pickle! Came out nice. I literally just finished my water setup in my Tacoma. I travel with 3 dogs so usually water or fuel is our limiting factor. I used a prefab tank from front runner and was equally surprised at what fittings cost these days. I built a portable pump in a box system so I could move it from source to source if I needed to... Shortly after finishing of course I got adds for off the shelf stuff and it probably would have come out a wash $ wise. But I learned some valuable lessons in fluid dynamics along the way so I guess I'm ahead a bit. Either way, thanks for doing what you are doing man! I appreciate you content or no content 👍

[@TheRambler-pz1gx]

You should get one of those pipe heating cables you can plug into 110v. Run this along the lines just in case they freeze. Fellow PNW guy here so I know in the low lands freezing isnt areal threat, but once you get up in the mountains it sure is. Love the content.

[@jonathanconway7256]

Only thing I would want would be a tank fill for adding water from a water container. Or make an adapter for the city water fill to allow for it. Having run out of water during a trip and needing to add some to the tank it has been helpful

[@DirtLifestyle]

An adapter to fill from a container is a good idea 👍

[@charlesmarkgraf5716]

i use this type of setup to go fishing on the beach...pretty sure you can sanitize it if you purchased new...the only drawback is the low volume pump but that can be swapped. Charles

[@DownNDirty_OffRoad]

I have. John Deer 2 series tractor with a loader and actual forks. Also has a mower deck and backhoe, so my “forklift” serves many purposes!!

[@shawnthomas6460]

Very Cool. Just remember that the length of the leads will make a difference in the draw from the terminals. Love the build. Resistance is NOT your friend.

[@freeidaho-videos]

Forklifts are amazingly versatile tools. Take your cutting torch and make a round hole about 8" from the end of one of the forks. Make it big enough for the shank of a trailer ball. Then you can put a ball in that hole and move around your trailer. You can also put a pin in that hole, which will keep chains and straps from slipping off the end of the fork when lifting things that way.

[@bedlamite42]

6013 is good for thinner metal, 6011 has better penetration and works better on thick rusty metal. 7018 is the strongest, but the flux can absorb water from the atmosphere and requires a clean surface or it's brittle. I carry some 6011 in 1/16 and 3/32 and some jumper cables. Two series batteries works in a pinch.

[@SaberSoft]

For water I use a $20 hand pump for those 5 gallon water jugs they sell at Walmart. Never had any problems once I figured out were to store it.

[@pr0380]

Nate, have you considered running all 3 batteries individually to a junction box easily accessible on the side with an additional connection for an Anderson Plug (for you welding connection) and do the 12v/36v connection in there with ease, also giving you a spot for fuse protection or emergency stop if necessary

[@austinkimber9129]

Yeah I would totally dump one battery when wiring it for welding. 24v will do even your 3/16 and 1/4. Looks great BTW. 👍

[@triot2127]

Yeah the cost of a lot of this little stuff is adding up now. I'm doing drawers in the back of my Land Cruiser right now and to do it right and make it look good adds up cost wise. Its still cheaper to DIY it if you have the tools though.

[@DirtLifestyle]

Drawers can be done cheap but they sure look cheap lol. Like you said if you have the tools you can save some money and put that into a better final product.

[@brettwagner2950]

OSHA? I farmed for 30 years haha. Forklifts and more in configurations galore! My dad used to joke he built the pyramids. The scene could get pretty wild!

[@Deven210]

Nate, I truly hope that I get to see you on the trail one day. Sure would be cool to do some trails with ya.

[@Defender110SLO]

Friend of mine bought a car welder you can run it on belt. His trip to China needed a lot of welding. 😁 Cool solution on 3 bats. Cheers. 🍻

[@davidcooper3957]

I’m in aviation and we use our forklift well as a forklift but what is really handy is doing engine changes basically a square stock 4x4 attached to the forks and a swivel hook under it. Works awesome and better then a cherry picker

[@johnhufnagel]

If you brought 6 wires up to a wide pitch junction block, you could more easily change configurations for voltage outputs, of 12, 24, 36 volts. yes you'll need to have some substantial cabling, but you'd never need to crawl under the trailer to mess with wiring if you're changing from hotel to welding power, and back again. or bring them up and terminate with some Anderson Power SB350 connectors. That way you're able to isolate the batteries during a wiring change, helping to prevent an accidental violent electron migration.

[@billybike57]

Great set up! Well done ✔️

[@SteelHoarse]

You could install a filter on that H2o intake. Thats what I would recommend.

[@lyndonhamby7432]

Good job Nate 👍👍

[@hoosierdaddy1929]

I jumped through a few of these videos, but I'll ask anyways... Have you ever ran this trailer over the scales to see what it actually weighs? Expanding on that, It'd be interesting to see how much gear you're hauling empty and full, truck and trailer. etc etc. Excellent content! I have really enjoyed going through this build!!!

[@36ParallelNorth]

Nate, to be clear, this a straight 36v wired in series with a welding lead from the positive side and a negative ground. There is no welder, correct, thus no adjustment. For anyone who may ping you about OSHA, they have no jurisdiction.

[@TrailExpedition]

I’m getting ready to build another off-road trailer and this is the episode I have been waiting for! Nice to see how you did all of the plumbing. Do you plan on adding a hot water heater to the system? I do like that dometic option as well.

[@Bob-Campbell]

I use a 6.5’ piece of 6” schedule 40PVC as my water system. A hose connects at one end and a Schrader valve at the other. Pressurize it to 15-20 PSI and it feels like home. Painted it black. Holds about 8.5 gallons and gets to about 100-110 degrees. Great for showers and washing dishes.

[@timcope6685]

Nate , I hate to say it but that forklift is a new toy! It's like getting that 20 ton press for a axle bearing but, then you start thinking about how else you can use it. Like a child that get's a new toy, say a car that car can turn into a space ship a submarine what ever their imagination wants it to be! So forklift is now your multi purpose , almost do any thing tool!! Oh by the way you need to give Forklift a good Name ie.. Bubba lift, Bucky, or something...lol

[@rollandklontz]

You cannot charge lifepo4 batteries when they are frozen without damaging them so imo you made a good choice with the batteries.

[@4xhoser]

Love this build more and more Nate! Curious about the Dometic tap, can't find it through your link