Sad Day for the Camper

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Sad Day for the Camper

Postby tnsurveyor » Sat Mar 31, 2018 11:05 pm

Last spring my wife and I bough Hap's camper he had for sale, and were happy to join the small camper community. We enjoyed the camper the few times we were able to use it.

Well, I posted back in October I think, about the trailer failing on us on the way to the campground. Thankfully, it happened in the campground, and we were very close to the campsite. The front crossmember failed, and the trailer tilted up, and the back of the trailer hit the ground.

A few weeks before, we had been repairing some leaks that had developed, and we thought we had them fixed. The campground we were at when the trailer broke down, was about 20 miles from my Dad's house. I was able to "rig" the trailer with straps, and get it to my Dad's house.

We have had a very rough, wet winter here, and unfortunately, the camper sat out all winter. We went today to check on it, and the camper is a total loss. The leaks were worse, and there was mold setting up. We were able to pull out all of our belongings today, and get them home. I'll go back in a few weeks, and start salvaging windows, converter, etc., and start demoing the trailer.

I was very excited to get back into camping again, and looks like this year will be back to tent camping. My wife and I really enjoy camping, and need to get away. We both have pretty stressful jobs, and camping is a great way to recharge.

We like to be comfortable, and have a decent amount of stuff we take. We are also new to kayaking, and would like to be able to take the kayaks with us on some sort of rack on the camper. I would love to take a trip out west in a few years and camp our way across the plains to Yellowstone.

I'll be looking back through the site for designs that might fit the bill. I am a pretty big guy, and we were pretty cramped in the camper. We might be looking for something we can store our gear in, have some basic galley stuff, (microwave, toaster oven, coffee maker), and sleep in our cabin tent on our cots.

Any suggestions on designs would be appreciated. I will be looking at a metal roof with small overhang this time around.

Jimmy
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Re: Sad Day for the Camper

Postby steve cowan » Sun Apr 01, 2018 4:08 am

At first glance I thought "April Fool". Sorry to hear it's ruined.A quick way to get back camping is a cargo trailer.There is a sub section in the forum about
cargo trailer conversions.They can be simple or however fancy you want.A good way to transport a kayak too.
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Re: Sad Day for the Camper

Postby tony.latham » Sun Apr 01, 2018 9:28 am

Ouch... sorry to hear this.

..and would like to be able to take the kayaks with us on some sort of rack on the camper.


Sometimes we take our canoe. We strap it on our tow vehicle. Seldom are we able to camp right next to where we want to paddle from and thus we'd have to pull the teardrop to the launch site. It's likely that if you go this route you'll have to unload the boat to access the galley (assuming you're going for a teardrop). :frightened:

Image

:thinking:

Tony

P.S. You might share with us what caused the moisture intrusion on your camper.
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Re: Sad Day for the Camper

Postby tnsurveyor » Sun Apr 01, 2018 9:49 am

It looks like the wood could have been sealed better. The paint was pretty good, but it looked like the edges could have been sealed better. I like the design, and it provided a lot of headroom, and was collapsible for transporting.

We had noticed a few places where we had leaks, and thought we had fiberglassed them good, but evidently not. We did make the mistake of covering it with a tarp, and that just trapped in condensation, and I think that was a big part of the problem.

I'm a pretty big guy, 6' and about 325#, so a slightly bigger camper is going to be what we need. Our tent is one that hangs up inside of one of the pop-up canopies, so it is basically a 10'x10' room that you can stand up in.

Whatever we do, it will have a metal roof, with a slight overhang to keep moisture from leaking down into the tops of the walls.

I had very limited time yesterday to get my gear out, had a lot going on, and my dad keeps his placed locked up when he is not there. I'll get some pictures before I start the demo. it looks like mostly the passenger side, and the rear wall are the worst.
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Re: Sad Day for the Camper

Postby Ron Dickey » Thu Apr 05, 2018 8:27 pm

got any pictures of it.

can you strip it down to the trailer frame and build on that, and if not that you need to look at trailer frames first.

I have a friend who matches your length and he was thinking of the Benroy. look up at the top of the page under Design Resources that Mike made for us!! click on it and have a look.

How skilled are you it no, do not worry it is easier then you think!!

My first trailer was basically a box I called it boxkite and you can find it by searching upper right hand corner.

it had a area for a small galley, we did not have one we used it for storage and had a table we cooked on and a screened canopy to eat and cook under.

my new trailer Cross Bow has a galley so we will be able to pull over open the back and rest, with out fear of fast food bad food.

You will find all the help you need here, so have fun.

Ron
121377......134179
Inside almost done--Trolly top has opening windows & roof.doors need assembling--pictured above waley windows..galley 1/3 done
Cross Bow in Build Journals....http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=54108
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Re: Sad Day for the Camper

Postby Ron Dickey » Thu Apr 05, 2018 8:45 pm

this type might do it for you.
A lot of work but will work for a tall person and many people will want to come and see it.
http://tnttt.com/Design_Library/New%20KampMaster.htm
I have been in several and they are fun.
http://www.starling-travel.com/2012/01/ ... -teardrop/

you said you like tent camping well this one is both. :applause:

Ron
121377......134179
Inside almost done--Trolly top has opening windows & roof.doors need assembling--pictured above waley windows..galley 1/3 done
Cross Bow in Build Journals....http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=54108
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Re: Sad Day for the Camper

Postby Modstock » Thu Apr 12, 2018 11:47 pm

X2 on the cargo conversion trailer. Im actually planning on doing a conversion once I sell my teardrop in the next few years.


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