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

[@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

[@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

[@paulpetraitis2130]

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

[@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.

[@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?? 🤔

[@shanenorwell8580]

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

[@DirtLifestyle]

Yep, for sure

[@sideshow45]

Zipties work good as plastic filler in a pinch

[@markkiely8326]

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

[@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

[@pleinairbarnettoutdoors]

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.

[@jordanlambourne5230]

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

[@DirtLifestyle]

Lol thanks man

[@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?

[@ShoddyRC]

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

[@DirtLifestyle]

Thank you!

[@cody4128]

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

[@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.

[@jamesb3199]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@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 👍

[@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😁

[@RobertTerrill1]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@davidwhiterod3148]

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

[@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 😁

[@MacsSpecialitiesMotorsports]

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

[@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 🙌

[@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

[@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

[@evanmedlar7536]

I have a small 26hp diesel tractor with a loader and since I’ve got it I feel the same way, there’s a way to use it in everything. And to your point, the forks are on the loader 95% over the bucket. They’re good for just about everything.

[@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.

[@LawF250]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@americonoffroadadventures8132]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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 👍

[@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.

[@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.

[@talon0863]

thanks Nate

[@DirtLifestyle]

Thank you for watching man 👍

[@EvanMoon]

You know you’re gonna have the coolest trailer in Annie group of off roads

[@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.

[@akimber_welding]

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. 👍

[@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!

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@dodgeme1986truck]

I'd go with the 12v parallel setup and use an inverter and flux core welder setup... it'll give you the welder amperage and feed rate adjustability as well as the inverter can be used to run 120v ac items

[@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 👍

[@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.

[@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.

[@dorsk84]

In the water tank I would put a simple UV light to help keep the water "clean". I've seen it used in RV systems.

[@jonathanconway7256]

That is for killing bacteria. Could be useful if refilling from a stream or lake. But then again you would need a whole filter array to go along with it

[@DirtLifestyle]

I'm going to setup a water pump system to fill this in the wild. The plan is a small 3 stage filter system but your idea of a UV light in the tank is actually a great idea. This would pair very well with what I have planned 👍

[@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.

[@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).

[@northernmichiganoverland]

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.

[@bruceknirs9987]

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

[@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!!

[@jimmyd6819]

Use mechanical isolators to isolate the 12v accessories coming off the batterys and links 2 together to create 24v 3 batterys makes it more difficult then 2

[@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.

[@dainperrault585]

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

[@WhatTheIfYouSeeKay]

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

[@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!!

[@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.

[@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. 🍻

[@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.

[@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.

[@philipburrows]

Is there any way of setting up the batteries in both set ups as in parallel for on board equipment and jump starting a vehicle and in series for welding with a suitable Anderson plug. That way then if you need to do some welding repairs you can quickly connect up and quickly get the work done and be on your way. Plus you can also have a Anderson plug on the parallel side to have the ability to extend the use of the on board equipment. Apart from my ideas, what you have achieved with the trailer is brilliant. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@ShoddyRC]

Maybe with some kind of a transfer switch to choose between parallel or series?

[@DirtLifestyle]

I considered this option as well. It wouldn't be that difficult but it does add some extra cost with extra wire terminals and switches. I decided to keep it simple for now. I could always add something like this later. 👍

[@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.

[@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.

[@jeffcombs8237]

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

[@marquenjoubert]

Plumb in a hot water source into the pressurised side inside the trailer (sealed heatable tank with in and out). Then plumb in an additional cold water outlet to the inside pressure side. Both should have ball valves so you can regulate the heat of your shower. And for extra measure, plumb in an extra water source to the suction side of the pump with a mini reservoir to prevent the pump running dry.

[@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

[@one4x4nut]

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

[@sarasyrankothrankoth9444]

good work ..thanks for videos

[@ehudmigdan]

Such a cool technique. Thanks for sharing!

[@WinsLeez]

If you put a low pressure regulator on one of those blue Wal-Mart jugs then mount a hose to the lower part of the jug you'll have a decent cheap out come to. This is assuming you have on board air. I used this set up in my storage unit when I was in the military to rinse off my jeep and wash my hands

[@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.

[@maccook1692]

3 or 4 of those battery cutoffs for winches or something hooked up ready to go, so you just turn them to go to 36v instead and isolate off all the 12v stuff from damage would by an easy way to do it I think!

[@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

[@That_Guy_Outside]

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

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@snicklefritzd3612]

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

[@DirtLifestyle]

Lol

[@surgicalinstrumentsexplained]

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

[@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!!!

[@nicholasvella6868]

Hey Nate I've used batteries to weld multiple times I've found 2 batteries work best

[@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.

[@andyeverett7611]

Hey Nate. Just a thought. I know it would add weight, but it would be un-sprung. What if you put the third member and axels back in and mounted an alternator and ran it off the pinion? Or some other configuration. Then as the trailer is moving your charging your three batteries from the trailer.

[@kjohns236]

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

[@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.

[@ScottPlude]

I wonder what the temps were in the shop as this was being filmed. What are some temps that other viewers work in? How do you handle cold? What do you consider cold? I noticed no warm gloves so his body must be super insulated.

[@DirtLifestyle]

First off, the older I get the better insulated I become 😁. And second, after 15 years of construction my hands are pretty good in colder weather. As the temperatures drop here in the PNW I will switch over to my coveralls for some extra warmth. Our Temps are dipping into the 40s and high 30s now so coverall will probably come out sooner than later.

[@cab1198]

Nate congratulations on making it out of UA. The pioneer in ifs.