Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Converting Cargo Trailers into TTTs

Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby FlyBye » Tue Oct 16, 2018 1:51 pm

:thumbsup:
Very nice Jake!
FlyBye's 7x16 Cargo Camper Build
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=69287
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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby hankaye » Wed Oct 17, 2018 6:13 am

Jake, Howdy;

Congratsulations!!! All the way 'round.
Now ya just need ta keep yer eye on the ball, shoulder to the wheel, and nose to the grindstone ... :thinking:
on second thought you'll never get anything done in that position, keep on pluggin' away in the manner
you've been doin' seems to have worked well so far.
:thumbsup: , :thumbsup: !

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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby jmanscotch » Sat Apr 18, 2020 11:14 pm

Well folks, it's been over a year since I posted on this build..but don't worry, the TNTTT bug hasn't left!

Last year I took a bit of a pause to tackle some marriage and home related life events. We bought out first home and renovated loads of the inside.

Peep those garages...score

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We got married, finally.

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We took a few excursions in the midst of that hectic stuff and really enjoyed the trailer, from Buena Vista to Breckinridge and to the epic Ouray area.

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Sometime recently, I got bored with the Tacoma and bought a 4runner...with some luxury, a Lexus GX 460. Naturally, it couldn't stay stock and replace the Tacoma, so a nice 3" lift, some 33"s and some other goodies had to get installed for trailer towing duty.

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...and that's been our last year and a half.

I've got plans to get back into finishing the interior of the trailer, now that some crazy busy times are past us. As soon as the world returns to normal, I'll get back to the build and share the finishing touches.

Cheers all.

Jake
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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby onehoser » Sun Apr 19, 2020 5:24 am

i'm also an off roader, looking forward to further progress :)
I am the wisest man alive, for i know one thing, and that is that i know nothing. (socrates)
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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby flboy » Sun Apr 19, 2020 7:04 am

Congratulations on the new home and marriage! That is just awesome. God Bless! Welcome back. Look forward to progress pics.
Don (Flboy)

YouTube Video of Finished 6x12 Trailer:
https://youtu.be/6_-8cVdWUIA
YouTube Video of 7*18 with 2ft V-nose Trailer:
https://youtu.be/MUcMM86LA2g
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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby McDave » Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:42 am

Woo Hoo! :applause: :thumbsup:
Now there is a man who knows how to live. Congratulations on your marriage and new home. They are both beautiful. (your bride and home)
Thanks for sharing the pics of your adventures and the amazing places you camp. I lived in N.M. for 30+ yrs and we would visit Colorado often to camp and ski. I miss it and need to get back there, but for now I'll just have to settle for life in Montana, also a nice place to be. ;)
Enjoy that new ride and home and lovely bride. You have been blessed. :D

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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby hankaye » Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:54 pm

jmanscotch, Howdy;

Don't bother with Lotto tickes, you already got yourself a tri-fecta,
Bride Home and runabout/camp about...
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby Augie Dog » Sun May 03, 2020 6:33 pm

If you don't already have one a plasma cutter is great for cutting metal leaving nice clean edges and they have come down in price. Really enjoying your build keep it up!
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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby jmanscotch » Sat Jun 20, 2020 10:27 pm

Thanks for the kind words everyone. It's good to be back working on the camper!

Started by seeing if the camper would fit 33's...it does. The tires on it are starting to dry rot, I bought them dirt cheap second hand, so it's time to replace them and I'm a fan of carrying less spare tires and thus all tires (rig and trailer) matching. I've had to talk myself out of spending $450 just to have wheels that match the rig...that's stupid, right...right? The ProComp black wheels should be just fine, though they do take a different wheel lug key than the rig and I would like to only carry one...no, no that's silly. I'll just match the tire sizes.

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I've begun tackling the interior and some other maintenance items on the camper. We spent all last summer and winter on house projects and I'm ready to finish up some things and get back out there this summer.

First thing on the list was replacing the roof vent. I originally didn't splurge on a big name vent fan setup and I've kinda regretted it since. The dirt cheap option I went for was ok, but has taken a beating off road and needed replaced. I used the opportunity to upgrade to a Fan-Tastic Vent 1250 series (has reversible fan direction).

Let me say, cleaning off the old EternaBond vent sealer was a mess and a chore. The stuff works great, but that also makes it a mini-nightmare to remove.

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I attacked it with a few different approaches and ultimately, using a razor blade and "skinning" it, like one would process an animal, was the fastest approach and left behind just as much sticky goo as all other methods.

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Done with the mess and new vent brim sealant on. Then new vent in place and new ExternaBond for a weatherproof seal.

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Next I tackled a little annoyance we had while using the camper; the doors swinging shut when you wanted them to remain open. Easy fix was some spring loaded door catches. The corners of the catch arm were a little too sharp considering they catch on the weather seal of the door, so I added some shrink wrap to the 1/2 inch catch arm section and will just try to be careful to not rip the doors weather seal.

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Next item was to address the ceiling and figure it out so we can move on to building out the galley area. We've been rocking it with just exposed insulation, which has been fine. Here's how it looks, as a reminder. You can peek our green tape galley designing.

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I contemplated many different approaches on how to achieve a ceiling covering, many different materials and methods, ultimately deciding on using a vehicle headliner material and adhering it with 3M spray adhesive. It helped me avoid any screws into metal framing (causing a heat sink and thus sometimes dripping moisture from the ceiling) and was light weight and forgiving, but not perfect. The ceiling isn't smooth, plenty of ripples, uneven joints etc but we can get over the cosmetic imperfections and enjoy the ease and function.

Pretty straight forward. Ordered a roll of black headliner, with padding, off Amazon (about $50 for a 5' by 9' section). I used some wiring hiding tube stuff, it's like a half circle tube with double sided tape on one side, to help route the vent fan wiring to behind the galley wall, which is where I'll be placing a little junction box for all the cabin wiring (battery and such will be in the galley, just need an actual junction point a little closer to the switches we'll be installing).

Here's the final product.

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The wiring tube installed between the ceiling and headliner:

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How it turned out with the vent surround installed

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The headliner option isn't perfect by any means, but I'm still happy we went this route. I'll get some 1/2 or 1/4 inch 45 degree trim edge fillers and line the space between the top of the side walls and where the headliner stops for a nice finished look and to stop the headliner from pealing up from the edge.

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The front section, at the head of the trailer, is all kinds of curves and was never going to be perfect. It turned out with a lot less wrinkles and bulges then I imagined though. Not too concerned with perfection on the headliner, as it'll serve as an improved cosmetic form as well as a nice improvement to the acoustics inside the trailer.

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The last thing I tackled today was the area that's going top be between the "headboard" and the ceiling. I used some white plastic shiny flexible board stuff, the kind that's used in more industrial kitchens on walls and such. It's cheap, flexible, sturdy enough and easy to clean. Hard to see in the photo, but it has a finishing trim on the top to create a clean line at the headliner transition and I kept all but 4 bolts below the line which will be seen when the headboard is built.

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That's it for today, off to play some tomorrow.

Cheers!
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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby jmanscotch » Tue Jul 21, 2020 7:35 am

Working through the interior buildout still. Started with building a headboard of sorts that'll house some "secret" storage, cup holders, general item bin and a dual USB charging port.

Mocking it up, going to finished it out with some trim and caulk soon. Uses the curved space at the front of the trailer and not much more.

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Then remove the stainless bin and you get access to some out of sight storage for whatever (probably extra blankets mostly).

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I threw together a galley area that fit some of our basic needs. I am going to fine tune it, add some shelving, nets, cubbies, etc but this is a good start to use and adapt from. Still need to finish staining and sealing/caulking everything.

Looking into the back of the trailer, main working surface is about 19" deep with room for electrical and battery underneath.

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I made a top storage shelf that'll house the foldable table, camping chairs and other misc. Will adapt some eye-lets and bungee cords for securing them during travels.

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Up top, you'll see how I'm routing my electric. I wanted to keep it out of the way of getting snagged but also keep it relatively accessible so I could troubleshoot/repair and add on in the future. Some plastic trim painted black and tacked on between the wood sidewall and headliner does the trick. Then the wiring from the porch lights and ceiling fan are routed down protective tubing and will terminate at a control center going inside on the inside of the galley wall.

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How the interior sleeping space is turning out so far:

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More soon.
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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby aggie79 » Tue Jul 21, 2020 3:29 pm

:thumbsup: :applause: :thumbsup:
Tom (& Linda)
For build info on our former Silver Beatle teardrop:
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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby jmanscotch » Sat Aug 01, 2020 11:17 pm

Pushing through some big and little items to try to get this project done once and for all.

Finished building out the galley and storage and stained and cleared it all. I ran out of stain with about four square foot remaining and the only thing more annoying then that is when I returned with the new quart of stain, I climbed into the trailer and started staining again and immediately dropped the ENTIRE can of stain on the carpet, sweet Jesus.

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Now I had to run and get another new quart of stain and have to plan for new carpet as well.

Galley and sleeping quarters wrapped up with stain.

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Wrapped that fiasco up and started in on other finishing touches, like a faux marble galley counter top and a white backsplash.

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Then it's time to dive into the electrical side. As a reminder, I've gone with all 12 volt DC power in the trailer, no 120 volt AC at all, for wirings and function simplicity.

We stopped at Batteries Plus and grabbed a 105 amp hour deep cycle AGM battery with a 30 month warranty for about $300 out the door (no core). I then went about placing it in the center of the rear galley lower deck and installed the switch, main 30 amp fuse and misc other items I've had laying around for the last two years.

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I also wired in a Battery Tender plug, as it's how we'll recharge the battery for a while before we move to solar. I also bought a RV battery monitor that monitors total use versus charging changes, in amp hours, percentages and such, a great unit for about $45. With the deep cycle battery, you don't want to drain it more than 50% and this helps me monitor that more precisely than battery voltage alone. I also got to see how much current each item I run draws.

Here's it showing the % remaining battery

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Random note, here's what each item I have draws for current:

Fantastic Vent Fan on High - 1.8 amps
Medium - 1.4 amps
Low - 1.0 amps

LED light ring around fan - 0.8 amps
Footwell LED lights (2 12") - 1.0 amps (both total)
Porch lights (sides/back) - 0.250 amps (each)

USB charge port with iphone plugged in - 0.8 amps

Obviously, before I could measure those outputs, I had to finishing wiring the switches and everything inside the cabin, here's some of what that looked like. Gotta clean up a few little things on the wiring, but almost done.

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The lighting lights it all up very well. Everything is on it's own switch: Fan mounted LED ring, footwell LEDs, porch lights on the drivers, passengers and galley side and one to illuminate the galley space as well.

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Will finished some wiring clean up, trim, caulk and other things soon, then new tires and we're going to get out and use it a bit before customizing the galley space some more. Some other interior and exterior changes coming.

Cheers
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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby Modstock » Sun Aug 02, 2020 10:23 am

I did that with a new can of polyurethane on my garage floor.
Electrical looks great.

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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby jmanscotch » Wed Aug 12, 2020 7:15 am

Well, trailer is all wrapped up, pending some little storage solution tweaks and maintenance. Pulled it out of the garage and cleaned it up and she’s ready for some weekend-overlanding.

In the next month or so when we’re out camping next, I’ll probably record a walk around video of everything to celebrate the end the two year build journey and try to detail anything I’ve missed along the way.

Cheers!

Jake

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Before and after:

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Re: Off-Road Worthy 5x8 Conversion

Postby hankaye » Wed Aug 12, 2020 7:45 am

jmanscotch, Howdy;

Before & after says it all. Job extreamly WELL DONE Sir! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Ya left just enough DNA that you can tell the heritage.

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

hank
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