Defender Customs

Trailer wouldn’t be complete without an ID plate!

The reflective tape i posted about earlier really brings these trailers to life at night.

Night time test pull is complete on the aluminum gooseneck.

Progress on this has been slow after painting because i didn’t want to mess it up.
This trailer ended up with:
-11 leds in a standard lighting pattern
-powered winch on the neck
-2 deck work lights

A few things are left. It still needs some decals on the neck, straps on the ramps, and some minor details.

Overall i am very pleased. I will say this has absolutely been the most time consuming metal project i have taken on including all of the 1/1 welding projects like backracks, and bumpers in the past. Working with aluminum has been a sharp learning curve and it is not near as forgiving as mild steel. That being said i think it was worth it. The trailer is super light, looks great, pulls behind the F350 perfectly, and seems very sturdy.

More daytime photos to come.

Paint has been applied to the aluminum gooseneck! I went the two part clearcoat route with the Spray Max 2k clear which turned out very nicely.

These pictures do not do it justice (and for some reason the ramps look much darker in the picture), but it is pretty much a perfect match to the F350 paint job and has a really nice shine to it. I can’t wait to see it in the sun hooked up with a nice wax job on it!

The deck boards were fitted and weighed down while the e6000 dries, and the DOT tape was attached.
Next up is putting the axles back under it, reattaching the ramps, and wiring everything before i add some final brand decals and the winch.

Because it was built from scratch i used reference photos from a few different brands, and some liberties had to be taken for the materials used. That being said i took most of the design inspiration from the Diamond C FMAX lineup, specifically the fleetneck look, so i think some Diamond C decals would be appropriate.

So close to being finished!

Pretty sure i’ve shared this before, but this is the method i use for DOT tape on my builds. It is time consuming and tedious, but it’s real and reflective.

Harbor freight sells this reflective striped tape for $12 a 30’ roll. A few cuts with the razor and the scissors down to roughly 5x30mm and you have some really decent 1/10th scale DOT tape.

I would love to find a continuous roll of 1/10th tape like this, but thus far it has eluded me. If anyone has a line in with a tape manufacturer that can make custom reflective tape, let me know.

Friday night is wings (+tacos/churros) night curtesy of Tejanosmokewingsclt while i wrap up the rest of the welding on the aluminum gooseneck build. I also went ahead and glued on the diamond plate sheets which add some really nice texture.

Next up is prep for paint and primer.
I would be lying if i said i wasn’t nervous about this. I want it to match the gray F350 which means it needs to be nice, no weathering or rust on this one. All of those tiny spaces, plus being aluminum will be a real challenge.

A Florida-based builder named Defender Customs is making custom RC Ford Super Duties with service beds, cherry pickers, and generator trailers. https://trib.al/qSOTgiG

Great event this weekend with great people! Huge shoutout to Juicebox Hobbies, they went out of their way to make this happen and take care of us all weekend.

Roadtrip ready! More space means more junk i can pack in the rental!

KY here i come.