Over the last few months I've converted a new United Trailers 5X8 XLV enclosed trailer into a camper trailer. It's something I've wanted to do for sometime. My wife and I have done a lot of van camping over the years and really liked it but wanted to move out of a vehicle and up to a small trailer that our Toyota Highlander could easily haul. This trailer is basically just a rolling bedroom with storage - kind of like the back of a full-size van without the whole rest of the apparatus. I hope this build journal will help anyone wanting to do something similar. I couldn't find a whole lot of info on the internet pertaining to doing this exact thing. I pulled ideas from teardrops and toy haulers into this build and I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out. I worked for years as a contractor and have experience and tools. I built this whole thing with basic tools in my garage - it's not rocket science. Anybody with basic skills and tools can do something like this. Hopefully this build journal will help someone dive in and build their own!
The reason I built this the way I did is that I wanted something similar to a teardrop without the hassle of building the shell and making sure it's weather tight or having a good enough frame that would pull straight. I wanted more height too. To start with, this trailer is strongly built with steel framework, one piece roof, LED lighting, rear stabilization jacks, Dexter axles and easy-lube hubs with full-size 205/75/15 tires and a weight of about 900 pounds with the spare inside. Seemed like a good place to start. I hauled it home from the dealer with my full-sized work van and you couldn't even tell it was back there! It hauled very easily. With this build I have a queen-size bed area with a headboard in the v-nose with cabinets above that and cabinets at the foot of the bed plus 47" of interior height. That's enough space to kneel in, much less sit upright with plenty of headroom. I also have a separate galley area deep enough in the back for our coolers with some shelves and counter space. A full size 5x8 trailer also allowed me to build up the floor by 12" so I could have two nice, big storage cubbies underneath in the sleeping compartment with access to two more separate cubbies from the rear for spare tire storage on one side and storage for longer items like camp chairs on the other. I wired it with a Progressive Dynamics power center with a 30amp shore power hookup so I have AC and DC power and lights throughout when connected to shore power and the option for battery or solar which I may add later.
Here's a few pics of the trailer as I bought it and as it is now basically done. I'll post pics I took throughout the build so you can see how it got from point A to point B....
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