After a few months of lurking in this forum and a few others, I've now got the humble beginnings of a plan to modify a cargo trailer to fit my needs for a back country camper.
I'm blessed to live in an area that has many incredible places to explore, including Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, Grand Canyon, and many more that are less published and well known. Most of these places have wonderful areas adjacent to them that are accessible only with high clearance vehicles on washboard dirt roads.
Since my wife and I want to camp comfortably in these places, we have settled on a cargo trailer conversion to meet our needs. My basic list of requirements are:
Lightweight: Approximately 1,200 pounds dry.
Durable: Able to travel on washboard roads at reasonable speeds without disintegrating.
Small: Must be as narrow as my pull vehicle (2008 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited)
Hi clearance: Must have reasonably good breakover and departure angles. Not for extreme trails, but for back country roads.
Comfortable bed: It can be compact, since we are both 5'7" tall, but we have to be able to stretch out.
Standing (or near standing) room to dress.
Of course there are all kinds of other "niceties" I'd like to add, but my plan is to start with a basic build that will meet these objectives, and then if I can add more of the frills and not lose my goals in the process, I'll consider them later.
After setting the goals, I set about shopping for the basic cargo trailer to meet my goals. I determined the smallest trailer to meet my goals would be a 5x8. With a V nose, a 5x8 would have enough room for a 5x6 bed, 2 feet of standing room, and a small front cabinet for cooking, electronics, and so on. The total length would be about 12', the total width would be narrower than my Jeep, and the empty weight would be less than 800 pounds, leaving me 300 pounds for my modifications.
I found a decent deal on a 2007 Wells Cargo V Force 5x8 trailer. I especially was happy to find a used one with the RV side door, barn doors in back, and the 6" additional height. I believe this will be a good base for the project, and it fit in the budget. (If money was no problem, I'd be looking at all aluminum, but that would not be in my ballpark)
So, the project is scheduled to begin tomorrow, when I head out to go pick up the trailer. Once I have it here to do some more measuring, I'll be ordering windows, roof vents, lift kit, and materials to build the bed and cabinets.
I am thinking of making the bed relatively frameless. I'm planning on having 3 pieces of 12mm plywood cut to 2'x5' that will be supported by two 1x1 aluminum angle rails screwed into the sides. The reason for the size of the pieces is that way I can tilt one piece against the back door to be a back for a sofa. Then I can put the two other pieces on top of each other and slide the other two pieces up against the back piece, and have a sofa for rainy days.
I'm sketching some of these ideas, and if I get my scanner hooked up I'll post them. I'll have pictures of the trailer tomorrow evening, after we get it home.
My current confidence level is pretty good, as I've done a few conversions before, but I am certainly open to questions and suggestions from you readers of this thread. I'm a big boy... I won't cry.
Current areas of concern:
How much support will I need to put under the bed? 3/4 ply may be a better choice, but I'm looking at keeping the weight down, but still need to make the bed solid enough. Perhaps a removable frame under the center of the bed, made of a vertical panel of the plywood that will slide in and out for supports? Ideas?
I'm not convinced the torflex axle will perform on the washboard roads. I've had trailers with leafs, and they bounce a lot unless you load them down and put shocks on them. I plan to do some testing of the torflex when I have the windows, cabinets, and bed in. If need be, I will consider swapping out to a better off road suspension.
I have a set of Jeep wheels and 32" tires that came on the Rubicon. I plan to use those tires eventually. I figure if I can make the trailer ride reasonably well with the 205/75/15 tires it currently has, I'll lift it up and put on spacers to fit my wheels. If the torflex doesn't cut it, I'll get another axle with 5 on 5 hubs. The Jeep wheels have a lot of offset, so I'd need spacers to fit them to the stock dexter axle, anyway.
More to follow...
Gil
St George, Utah
2008 Rubicon Unlimited
2007 Wells Cargo V Force 5x8