Our build plan

Converting Cargo Trailers into TTTs

Our build plan

Postby nsfr1206 » Mon Mar 01, 2021 7:03 am

Good day to all. I’m new here but have been reading and lurking for quite some time.

A little history for starters... we owned a Forest River bumper pull for some time. It was quite heavy but our tow vehicle was an Excursion with a 6.0 so it pulled it fairly well. We sold it and bought a truck camper that goes in the back of a dually pickup and have enjoyed using that but the shower is sooooo small. Somewhere along in there we bought a 7x7x14 that I put a shower in, wired for 110 and installed windows. I never really finished it and sold it to a friend that loaded dirt bikes in it and took to the sand dunes down by Yuma, AZ.

So that gets us up to date basically. I have a 7x7x20 ordered from Georgia that I plan to pick up now in March sometime. I’ll post my ‘plan’ here and ask a few questions.

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So here’s our current plan. I ordered trailer with no entry door so I could use an actual rv door with screen. I got extended tongue and slant V nose, thicker skin and 16” centers at walls and floor. There are no vents or vent holes anywhere.

We plan to insulate trailer, add vent in shower area and use a mini split to heat and cool. The rear doors will open into a shallow closet area where the propane for an on demand water heater, lipoly battery and charger, and ac dc convertor/ distribution panel live. I also plan to have an auto transfer switch here so I can have two power inlets on trailer; one will be at tongue area for generator and one at back side for shore power.

We plan to use a 12v fridge. There are no plans at this point for solar. There is a queen bed sideways at front. The bed will have pass through storage under at front half or so with drawers under to the inside of trailer. The V area will be a nightstand/ storage area and the chase for the mini split Freon lines.

Make sense? One of my bigger questions pertains to weights front and rear and tongue weight. I plan to have black tank in rear with gray closer to axles and probably the water ahead of that. I doubt we will travel with much gray or black water on board... we don’t boondock a lot.

I had hoped to keep this trailer easy enough to pull to tow with our Expedition with the 3.5 in it. I guess time will tell. I’m leery of taking Excursion across country after our many 6.0 issues. It’s currently at mechanic for its second head gasket job.

Our budget for this looks like it comes in around $20,000. I know I could buy a ready built TT for not much more, like a Forest River Mini Lite, but where’s the fun in that? :-)


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Last edited by nsfr1206 on Mon Mar 01, 2021 7:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Our build plan

Postby onehoser » Mon Mar 01, 2021 7:22 am

congrats! if weight is a concern replace the osb walls and flooring with lighter plywood and luan when you have it stripped out for insulation. i shaved about 250lbs off of my 6x12 build.
looking forward to your build
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Re: Our build plan

Postby nsfr1206 » Mon Mar 01, 2021 7:23 am

onehoser wrote:congrats! if weight is a concern replace the osb walls and flooring with lighter plywood and luan when you have it stripped out for insulation. i shaved about 250lbs off of my 6x12 build.
looking forward to your build
Can you view that plan? I can’t seem to see it myself on my device.


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Re: Our build plan

Postby onehoser » Mon Mar 01, 2021 7:26 am

nsfr1206 wrote:
onehoser wrote:congrats! if weight is a concern replace the osb walls and flooring with lighter plywood and luan when you have it stripped out for insulation. i shaved about 250lbs off of my 6x12 build.
looking forward to your build
Can you view that plan? I can’t seem to see it myself on my device.


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your link didn’t work
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Re: Our build plan

Postby nsfr1206 » Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:36 am

Ok. I edited and added that vs pdf.


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Re: Our build plan

Postby nsfr1206 » Mon Mar 01, 2021 11:53 am

So one of my questions is regarding painting doors etc. I plan to buy compartment doors and the rv door and I doubt they will match my charcoal gray trailer. Is there a good way to get a close match or should I go with black like my water heater and plugs etc? And paint or should I get sign shop vinyl and use that?


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Re: Our build plan

Postby nsfr1206 » Tue Mar 02, 2021 11:06 am

Another question- I had planned to put a normal fiberglass 3x3 shower in the bathroom. Would I be better off putting a pan down and using a 3 piece style shower? I’m wondering about weight here.


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Re: Our build plan

Postby nsfr1206 » Sun Mar 07, 2021 4:35 pm

Does anybody have any thoughts on my questions or shall I just plunge ahead?


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Re: Our build plan

Postby ris » Sun Mar 07, 2021 5:20 pm

Not sure how big your shower needs to be. We decided since we use only 1.5 gal of water per person, per shower and are only slightly overweight that we are only in the shower about 5 minutes per day that we would use a 2 ft X 2 ft shower pan and put FRP from the depot on the walls. No shower door just a curtain. After two trips of about 8 months each we think we made the right decision.
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Re: Our build plan

Postby nsfr1206 » Sun Mar 07, 2021 6:49 pm

One of the reasons we want to move to a trailer camper again from our truck camper is because of the small shower. I’d kinda like a 3x4 if I had lots of room.


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Re: Our build plan

Postby nsfr1206 » Fri Mar 12, 2021 6:40 pm

Here’s a question for those of you with a composting toilet. If I run a vent fan over shower to deal with some moisture and heat is it going to overcome the fan in the toilet and suck the smells into the bathroom?


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Re: Our build plan

Postby cwaet » Sun Mar 14, 2021 4:54 pm

nsfr1206 wrote:Here’s a question for those of you with a composting toilet. If I run a vent fan over shower to deal with some moisture and heat is it going to overcome the fan in the toilet and suck the smells into the bathroom?


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I'm interested in what others have for input here as well, as this is my plan. we just installed a Maxxair dome van above the (eventual) 32x34 shower pan, with the goal of having a removable diverting toilet for space but to be able to have a full shower when needed. The thought was to have the diverting toilet (ie 7 gal. bucket for solids) drain urine into the grey tank below that the shower and sink will drain to as well. Not quite to that part of the build yet, so it's just theory at this point.
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Re: Our build plan

Postby nsfr1206 » Wed Apr 14, 2021 8:12 pm

Well..... we are still waiting for a trailer. We ordered charcoal grey and they haven’t had any come in and don’t know when they will. They do have white... maybe I should change colors. What to do?


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Re: Our build plan

Postby flboy » Thu Apr 15, 2021 7:15 am

I am still waiting for a trailer I ordered in mid-January. Patience is running thin! Good luck!

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YouTube Video of Finished 6x12 Trailer:
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YouTube Video of 7*18 with 2ft V-nose Trailer:
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Re: Our build plan

Postby Iconfabul8 » Wed May 12, 2021 2:32 am

nsfr1206 wrote:One of the reasons we want to move to a trailer camper again from our truck camper is because of the small shower. I’d kinda like a 3x4 if I had lots of room.
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Yep! My thoughts exactly. That is why I went with a 3X3 in my 6X12 and I love it.
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