Cargo Trailer Conversions .. New Generation RVs

[GPW]

There seems to be 2 distinct groups of RVers... Those that want a mini-replica of their homes , with ALL the conveniences , and then those of us who "just want to go camping" , and are willing to do with a basic simple rig...
Cargo Trailer conversions fitting the latter exceptionally well


And as my brother says... after adding up all the money spent on his Deluxe RV .. He could have stayed in 5 star Hotels !!! Sold it !!! (at a substantial Loss !!!) I told him about CT conversions, and now he's also looking for one ...

All comes down to my motto: " It only costs 800% more to go First Class !!! "

[MegC]

In fairness, there's a lot of us that want some trade-offs that simply aren't available commercially. Take my wish list...

I DON'T WANT:
- Anything I can't wipe down in 5 minutes after a muddy dog or human jumps on it.
- Interior plumbing since the rig will be stored outside year round and we get cold.
- Elaborate electrical systems- I'm getting AWAY, most likely to places without a plug-in anyway.
- Massive weight/volume... waste of gas since I don't need it.

I DO WANT:
- Something REALLY weatherproof since it's stored outside.
- Someplace I can stow skis, bikes, dogs, dog scooters/carts/sleds, kyaks, all the usual camping gear, extra drinking water cans, and any other toys that aren't heavy but take up some room and tend to be drooling crud one way or another. Which brings me to...
- An easily re-configurable interior depending on the adventure and the garbage we're hauling for it, including a bunk for the kidlet.
- Insulation + heater and ability to stand up and get dressed inside for winter trips.
- An upgrade from a thermarest pad to sleep on (doesn't have to be a full-on mattress).

There simply aren't many pre-made options, and those stripped down mini toy haulers that might approximate our requirements the closest are REDONKULOUSLY expensive. Even with a husband being allergic to building one from scratch, and me too busy working to complete it myself (and too tired/chicken to try to nag him into it), it will STILL be massively cheaper to order a new CT insulated with E-track, windows, and vents installed at strategic intervals from the factory. Then all I've got to round up is 10 E-track 2x4 braces, 5 2x4s cut down, some foam covered in something plastic-like, an awning/open sided tent thingamajig to cook under, a fold up plastic table + some chairs, and the most complicated would be 2 or 3 pieces of plywood + 3 or so hinges mangled into a bed/couch. Everything else is gravy.

[dudleydoright]

some of us old folks who have camped in about everything from tents to nice travel trailers over the years like to have a few creature comforts like heat, a/c, a real bed, potty, etc. we still love to camp in all types of different areas but want to be comfortable. this is why a c/t is so nice, it can be anything you want it to be!

[Shadow Catcher]

GPW I don't think we can dichotomize anything even with in the subset of RV that includes teardroppers or CT only, let alone the rest of RVers.
I tend to not be satisfied with it sort of works, Let me give one example bicycle gearing.
I took up bicycling and even with 21 gears it seemed like one was too high and one was too low a gear for that fifteen MPH head wind. Come to find out half of the combination's are duplicate. I now have a very esoteric gearing system and no duplicates, some of the shifts require both a front and rear gear change at the same time. Half step gearing means exactly the right gear.
It is the same with our trailer, why settle for "make do" when a bit of imagination and finding the right components fills the need exactly.

Dudleydoright I absolutely agree!

[GPW]

Not trying to put anybody down for the way they camp (to each his/her own), just saying Cargo trailers are the new alternative to the "RV market" ... a trailer for the common man ... "Volkstrailer"...

[vreihen]

FWIW, we have a huge regional wholesale (dealer-only) auto auction nearby. When I drove by last night, there were *hundreds* of RV's and large campers sitting on the lot. Don't know if they were bank repos, from a bankrupt dealership, or just rental/lease returns of some type, but I certainly wouldn't want to own one right now seeing the wholesale market flooded like it apparently is. Talk about being under water in financing.....

[GPW]

Given the state of the economy and the amount of home foreclosures , It would seem like the high maintenance RV' s would go first ... Lots of commercial RVs for sale around here, including the gazillion Fema trailers ... Hardly any CTs for sale .... I've been looking for months ...

[vreihen]

When I was doing my research back in the summer, it was actually cheaper to buy a brand new trailer than a used one. The factories in south Georgia and Indiana are clobbering each other over the head cutting prices, just trying to make the sale to keep people working. A no-frills steel 24' CT (7,000 pound MGVW, spring axles, spliced roof) could be purchased for under $4K from more than one company if you wanted to drive to Georgia to pick it up. Upgrading to what I thought was acceptable (10K MGVW, torsion axles, and a one-piece roof) brought the price up another $2K.

At the time I was looking, Pace American was in the process of being taken over by a venture capital firm, and news from the assembly line was that the company might have to shut down their Indiana factory if that didn't work out. The dealership where I ultimately bought my Bat Cave said that his transport driver was out in Elkhart in July touring the various CT factory lots, and basically bought up their entire inventories just to make a full load on his flatbed. Long story short, it is a buyer's market in the CT industry right now, and you can have just about anything you want custom-built to your specs in two weeks or less.

After doing lots of research on the CT industry and even limiting my choices down to three manufacturers, I went into a local trailer dealership just to get an idea of the construction quality of the brands that they carried (none of which were on my list). Ironically, I left that day with a new 24' Featherlite (also not on my list), for a price comparable to the steel trailers that I was considering. It is worth a trip to the local dealership if you are looking for a used CT, since you may walk away with a brand new one for less money than a used one.....

[GPW]

V, that's great advice !!! Thanks !!!!

[Prem]

vreiher wrote:

I left that day with a new 24' Featherlite...

COOL. V-nose car hauler? Convert to travel trailer?

PHOTOS of it?

[Prem]

GPW wrote:

Given the state of the economy and the amount of home foreclosures , It would seem like the high maintenance RV' s would go first ...

Well, here in Oregon and northern California (where there are zillions of motorhomes and 5th wheels), some people sold theirs to get cash, but a great many are living in them. The RV parks at the cold, wet, windy coast and in towns are packed with long-term residents who lost their houses. Little to no maintenance when parked.

[GPW]

Sad, how many folks got scammed by the banks .... It should be ILLEGAL..

[bobhenry]

Didn't the federal banking commission give these banks the right to sell their new "products".

The 125% home loans were made available because the commission KNEW the property values would continue to climb.

The no down payment and down payment roll ins were allowed to help those that could afford their own home , to buy a home ???????

Does that make sense ?????

When hard time hit and credit card payments are late a couple of time lets just arbitrarily allow the big banks to raise the financing cost to approaching loan shark rates to help out the poor struggling slob that has lost his job and had to become under employeed to try and stay aflote financially.

Are the banks truely the villan or our our leaders running around with there heads stuffed up their ......................'s.

At least these folks have a motor home to live in. The wife and I are about 3 weeks away from her losing all of her unemployment benefits and then we may find ourselves living in his and her tiny trailers.

[GPW]

BH, I hear ya' !!! Good Luck Dude !!!
but , you know a properly fitted cargo trailer could make a comfortable abode... for not a lotta' bucks ... All about living Simple , something that if we'd practiced that better , we wouldn't be in the trouble we're in now ...

[bobhenry]

We have seriously discussed the 8 x20 caboose build on my double axle flat bed as our new abode.

If I could find a property with an improved lot (water and sewage) and a pole barn and could swing it before the hammer falls I would just take the big "B" and walk away from it all.

Wasn't raised that way but when you look around it has become the american way of survival for the middle class.