6x14 Cargo Conversion Build Log - Rolling Thunder

[MrBo]

Kitchen Rough-In and I Think I Got a Woody

Got the kitchen roughed in. Glad to have the cuts done. Some views of it in the video below.

When we first started out on this idea of building something light enough to pull with an SUV it was a teardrop trailer build all the way. A “woody” was my first thought. I just love the rustic feel and look of wood and some of the nature that comes through in the grain.

But after putting a lot of thought into it … the reality set in.

Do we have the skills to build it? Will it turn out as nice as we imagine? Will it be safe to pull? Can I pass the inspection?

Then the thought came into play what if you could start with something already built? Next the research started on Cargo Trailer Conversions. There are so many great ideas out there. And it is our hopes that this will inspire some ideas of your own.

And believe me when I tell you… (meaning, me, myself and I) if we can do this… you can do it better!

So as the progress continues on, instead of tackling the wiring, we decided to do a few of the major built-ins so that box and wire placements can be figured out.

Plus this is more fun to do. So we got the kitchen roughed in and the flip up table built-in almost done. Started out by making a cardboard guide for the shape of the v-nose and plan the cuts for the sink and stove.

Right now we are in shellacking mode. Time consuming waiting for things to dry to add more coats.

AND YES! South Georgia Plain Ol Trailers came through and sent me a window for the Door. Kudos and thanks to Barney Cox for making it happen. He was a pleasure to work with.

Thanks for watching and following along. Any comments or questions please feel free to leave them.

Here is a video update below:
URL:

[youtube]baIlkdhN01o[/youtube]

 

[MrBo]

Kitchen coming along...

Flip up Table wall unit.

 

[McDave-TNT]

Very nice Mr. Bo.
I love wood too. Every piece is art. That's a sweet kitchen set up.
Good job, Sir.

McDave

 

[MrBo]

Very nice Mr. Bo.
I love wood too. Every piece is art. That's a sweet kitchen set up.
Good job, Sir.

McDave

Thank you very much McDave!

 

[MrBo]

Update 3/9/2018 The weather has been great so getting some things done.

Got the back galley counter in. There will be two side shelves (above counter, one for toaster oven) ) on each side with cabinets above on top. Should leave a 4 foot opening in the center. The height is perfect to sit at on the bed at the counter. I might add some heavy cloth or a drape under the counter from the bed side to block air and bugs but sill be able to get under the counter and even the cooler. Or put lower doors on the ground side.

Also From the ground side I want to do a lower pull out drawer counter for grill and maybe a flip down counter on the door. An easy idea would be a flip down table below the counter all the way across with chains to hold up and also act as a door when closed. May have to use this a little before deciding. The solar panel will have a slide in under the bed access from the back and also top of the bed.

First I have to get the wiring done, foam and skin the ceiling. Then I can finish upper stuff.

Rolling Thunder Build vLog

URL

[youtube]FZLkt-y4KkA[/youtube]

 

[McDave-TNT]

Well you aint messin around. Busy little beaver.
Hey Mr. Bo, I ran across this video and thought you might enjoy it. The finished product Is pretty special.

McDave

Edit: I guess a link would be helpful. Here ya go,

 

[Iconfabul8]

Wow, for only having the trailer for about a month you are doing perty dang good.

 

[MrBo]

Wow, for only having the trailer for about a month you are doing perty dang good.

Thanks! Had to get some more wire today and a three inch hole saw, nervous about drilling through the side. Spent two days looking for a flex hose to go from under sink drain 1 1/2 into a water cooler bottle. Still did not find a solution. If I was still in AZ I would have tried pool hose. Maybe vacuum hose. One of those things you know you might have laying around the house somewhere. I only need less then a foot. I think I got all the fittings right to go from facet to flex hose to pump. Hate plumping.

Went to get more 2x2s at lowes and they looked like crap so I was at both lowes and Depot and Depot was out of them completely. So will have to wait on building any upper stuff anyway. Thought I would get a head on wood pile.

Today and tomorrow is going to be finish the AC/DC wiring, then foam the ceiling and cut the birch to size, clear coat and hang using the 2x4 tee holding system There will be lots of cursing ^%!^#%@$ involved!!! Excited to light this thing up!

Also Decided to get a piece of oak 2'x3' plywood for flip up table. This will look so much nicer then what I have. Should have bought a sheet of this from the beginning. I guess I was thinking weight.

Love your metal frames for your cabinets. Looks like a great secure way to go.

Any who... as the beat goes on.....

 

[flboy]

Looking really nice! Great job!

 

[MrBo]

Looking really nice! Great job!

Many thanks FlBoy

 

[MrBo]

Wiring up the 110ac and 12v dc then insulating the ceiling with foam board is done.

One 15 amp for refrigerator and microwave. ( when boondocking on 12v and solar, refrigerator with be cooled like and ice box refrigerator with blocks of ice)

20amp in the kitchen because it may get a heater or even AC unit plugged into it down the road. A propane heater buddy will be used when on 12v with no shore power. ( For cooling there is a fantastic fan vent on 12V)

One more 15amp for three more plugs on GFCI. Total of 5) 110AC plugs and 4) 12v plugs with two USB ports and one Cigarette lighter ports, plus two USB ports on controller. 12v will run water, radio, fan, lights and all DC plugs. This is a must have for charging photography camera batteries and such. Most of the time will be on 12v and solar. All of the electronics work on 12v as well as 110ac.

Had a real duh moment with the wiring. So much thought and planning goes into these conversion and takes up all my brain power, not that there is a lot of it.

Anyway, was thinking just wire the whole trailer from the center on the ceiling.

After I got everything in place it hit me about summer heat and the roof metal getting hot.

There is a little space between the ceiling bars and metal roof in the center where they put wood down to give a little arch. So that is where I went with the wire and ended up changing it all out so nothing touches the roof now. The 12v wire is very easy to work with. 12 gauge is what I used on the 110ac side. Not as easy to work with but not too bad.

One of my biggest dilemmas has been finding the right holesaws for some of the plugs. The 30amp worked well with a 3″ holesaw. The satellite cable was a simple drill bit but the solar plug I am still having trouble finding the right size. Home depot gave me a 3/4 inch bit but it would not even fit in any of my drills. So back to the drawing board and YouTube videos.

Another dilemma was finding a flex hose to fit under sink drain from 1 1/2 into water cooler bottle. Turns out I found this simple baffle solution at Lowes. Fits perfect and is very sturdy. The baffles expand and contract as well as bend.

Next is clear coating and putting the birch on the ceiling. Still looking for the right holesaw for puck lights. Says 56mm but could not find any at Lowes or Depot or anywhere for that matter . If you have any suggestions please let me know.


Anywho... thanks for following along... as the beat goes on...



vBlog Update below...

URL

[youtube]bDpQnbwkLjQ[/youtube]

 

[flboy]

On the hole saw dilema, Harbor Frieght has a nice hole saw set that is a nested set that includes just about any size hole saw you need. I used it on my CTC. It is inexpensive and covers all the bases.

I used it to cut the 3" holes for my holding tanks , power inlet, 4" hole for bathroom vent fan, pvc BW vent pipe in ceiling, cable jack on outside.. and many other things. It is a big assortment.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

 

[MrBo]

On the hole saw dilema, Harbor Frieght has a nice hole saw set that is a nested set that includes just about any size hole saw you need. I used it on my CTC. It is inexpensive and covers all the bases.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

Thanks I looked there and should have started there but no 56mm. Wondering if 2.25 would work, when I convert 56mm it says 2.20 and there is none.

Thanks again.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

 

[flboy]

I am sure there is some tolerance if they snap in the hole.. I'd get a bit the next closest sizes (bigger and smaller) and find a scrap piece of wood , cut the hole(s) and see if it fits tight enough.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

 

[MrBo]

I am sure there is some tolerance if they snap in the hole.. I'd get a bit the next closest sizes (bigger and smaller) and find a scrap piece of wood , cut the hole(s) and see if it fits tight enough.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

Sounds good. Thanks,

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

 

[MrBo]

Been in Shellacking mode...

Ceiling panels. Anyone have any advice on putting these up. I am going to make a 2x4 tee with a towel wrap to try and hold up while I am screwing them in. I bought some self tap screws. Should I drill the holes first? Or just go right in with the self tapping screws?

Got an answer from Amazon on led Puck light holesaw size he said he used a 2 1/8. I found a 56mm holesaw, (what the light says) on Amazon. Comes today. Also have a 2 1/8th. Guy said you might have to file a little. Would rather have the right size. Love the lights. Plan is to put 4 over main center area on a switch and 2 over the bed on a switch. I am sure installing the puck lights will be a learning experience as well.

Back gallery and front kitchen will have led under counter strip lightning that the color can be changed.

Will be really happy when this ceiling is up and over. Just hope the ceiling attaches okay. Ant tips are appreciated. Thanks for following along.

There are three panels. One is sitting the the trailer. Wanted to clear-coat to bring out the wood color and so when my ketchup explodes at 10,000 feet I can wipe it off easy.

before clear coat...

 

[MrBo]

Got most of the ceiling up. Went better then I thought it would. The T Board worked great holding in place while putting in the screws. Best was to drill the holes. Used self taping screws with a wide head.

Worked well. Ran out of battery power so I did not get the last screws in. Very happy with the way it looks too. The lights are perfect. Bright but not too bright.

----This is what I used. 12v-LEDlight Marine White Recessed LED Ceiling Lights - Easy to Install (screw free) Cabinet Counter Lamp Campervan Trailer 5th Wheel RV Truck Car Bus, 3w, Bright Natural White, Pack of 6 with Bonus $36 (56mm or 2 1/8 holdesaw) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XPF4BDQ/ref=od_aui_detailpages02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

(these are not affiliate links)

Also a great option I found for the front and back counters are these. I may put more of them in too. I am a big fan of LED that change colors. Must have white, like the golden light, Blue is really calming ... well and red is red. Reminds me of being in a darkroom. But the other side of this is bugs. We have been places where bright white lights the bugs come and get you. Color is mellow. These are going to go in my front kitchen under counter and back galley. I bought another 16' strip that is water proof and thought it might be good on the outside door side on top. Would be easy install with clips.

But anyway these new one that I got are just 4 strips, you can use them as bars of 4 or 2 or one long strip. They are pretty bright too. The way to do it is mount with a switch and use the remote to change colors or dim. ( or just use the remote) When you turn on and off with a switch it will remember your last setting. One remote works for all of them, just point in that direction and it works. So my plan is to have a remote or two on the wall ( front back) with Velcro and you could even use them to turn on /off the last lights from bed. Great accents light too. And are you ready... they are $8.00 . By far the best LED strip lights I have tried so far. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EFJ6F6E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I will post some images when I get them up.

Today will be a day of finishing up screwing down main ceiling.

I used masking tape to mark my holes.

Now the fun begins, building shelves and cabinets, hiding wire and MORE LIGHTS!



If I can do this... trust me... you can do it better.....

 

[MrBo]

Update - most lighting done, tunes are in and running on solar. Started building cabinets and shelving.

The LED strip lighting is fantastic.

The wood is unfinished. May just clear-coat.

 

[McDave-TNT]

I really like the strip lighting as well. That's a nice warm homey look you have achieved there. Nice job, Mr. Bo. I'm very impressed.

McDave

 

[MrBo]

Thanks McDave! "Country Rustic".

The strip LEDs are like 8 bucks. Bought one and then ordered two more.

Thanks again.