Mini popup toy hauler (using rooftop tent)

[DrewsBrews]

I started thinking about the shore power wiring again. I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but I could test the GFCI power strip to see if it has overcurrent protection...

I wired my house with 20A circuits. So anything with 15amp overcurrent protection should trip first. I have two portable electric heaters I keep in storage for emergencies. The current draw of both should overload a 15A circuit. I connected them to the power strip along with a light as a visual cue showing power was cut. Sure enough after about a minute or less it cut power. No signs the cord or anything else was overheating. Turns out the power switch on the strip realy is an overcurrent protection type. I reset the power switch to the on position and tested again. Same result.

Mega cool, that simplifies things! The cord on the power strip is 6ft so I can just run it to the shore power hookup box and use it's plug to connect the extension cord out to the power pole. Easy peasy! That way my core shore power wiring is literally just a protected power strip. If it goes bad I can quickly bypass it with something from the store, no tools needed. This is some real ASMR stuff for me! I love condensing down and streamlining systems like this!

To reiterate, it is this "Woods" brand model that I tested and will be using:
Looks like the same unit is sold under multiple brands too. I may order another to keep as a spare.

 

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Thanks for sharing your progress... You camper trailer has an unusual Harley Davidson or Indian vibe about it... it almost looks apholstered with nailhead details..

 

[DrewsBrews]

Thanks for sharing your progress... You camper trailer has an unusual Harley Davidson or Indian vibe about it... it almost looks apholstered with nailhead details..

I understand where you see that. I thought more like road cases for a band. I'm not much of a cruiser guy myself though. I've got a Suzuki vstrom. And a 200cc dualsport kinda thing.

 

[FischAutoTechGarten]

I understand where you see that. I thought more like road cases for a band.

Oh, you are so right on that! I think there's a name buried in there somewhere.... 'The Roadie'....

 

[DrewsBrews]

I'm working out the wiring setup. I realized, If I chain those wireless controlled recepticals, the 90deg plug would prevent the unit from being mounted on a surface due to the direction it comes out. I opened one up and found that fortunately they could be flipped. I just needed to solder in longer wires to reach. Now the 90deg plug points up and away from the back flat surface when I plug the 2nd unit into it.

Getting things situated. The A/C duct will block view to alot of this. I'll just need to deal with that I suppose. I wanted to mount things up and away from any moisture, running the wires along the ceiling of the storage box.

I've been using the box fan in the pic off and on while working on the trailer in the heat and humidity. That would be nice to use camping in the summer (with some mesh to catch the mosquitos). So I thought I'd add in a short extension to go back out. Still unsure of that idea since usually the site power post has two 15/20A recepticals anyway. But, I figured this way it is a known distance away from under the awning so the needed cord length remains rather fixed. I'll see how useful it proves at the campground.

 

[DrewsBrews]

I did some odds and ends today. I'm going to add some underlighting to the back of the trailer so we can see where we are stepping at night. I drilled holes for the mounting screws and access to the wiring at the back end of the fixture. I hit the holes with some spray paint so I moved on while that dried..

Installed some bubble levels.

I ordered in some cam lock straps that will stay with the tent. I trimmed the strap length down. Then Installed the remaining D-ring strap points on the deck directly under the D-rings on the tent.

Deciding on how far I want to take things with the 12v stuff in the short term. I think I'll just wire up the exterior lighting for now and hold off on running anything into the tent until I can decide what we realy need up there. For the time being I can use a battery powered light, and run an extension cord up into the tent for a phone charger.

I'm also thinking how I want to mount the spare tire. Currently thinking of making a bracket to hold it against the inside of left side rail.

 

[DrewsBrews]

The rear underlighting is mounted, and the wire run up to the box. The fixtures have both white and amber LEDs controlled by different wires. I hooked up the amber leds and capped the wire for the white. The amber is much more dim. Hoping it will be enough light to see where to step without demolishing night sight.

Figuring out the wiring setup for the lights: I'm using a project box that will be mounted just behind/opposite side of the wall to the above-deck light (Next to the A/C exhaust hatch). I have some RV style 12v switches that I'll mount to the project box. That will locate the switches close to the driver's side hatch opening. (The passenger side hatch will be covered by the awning enclosure, if we are using it). It also allows me to directly wire up that light within the project box. The light on the tongue side will be on one switch, while the above and below deck lights will share the other switch.

 

[DrewsBrews]

Oh, you are so right on that! I think there's a name buried in there somewhere.... 'The Roadie'....

Honestly, that did cross my mind. I wasn't that concerned with naming it yet. But now that you said it too. That may end up sticking

If that's the case (punny), I feel like I'd have to stencil letter it on there somehow. Not sure paint would stick to HDPE though... or stickers. I think it has a low "surface energy" kindof like teflon. That is probably one reason it is used for cutting boards. Less likely for particles of food/liquid to hang around and breed bacteria.

 

[DrewsBrews]

12v all wired up. The exterior lights are now working.

I had a thought to search for PVC bulkeads in case the store had some long ones to run wires up into the tent. I stumbled upon "Liquidtite" pvc conduit fittings. I found one of those fittings would work, along with a "box adapter" bushing slid down the floor hole from above. That essentially creates a partially nesting 2-piece pvc tube with flares at both ends to run the wires with adequate wear protection.

The below pic was taken while the tent bolts were loosened. Once tightened down, the tent floor comes down and the small section of the fitting goes up into the floor. The box adapter bushing makes up the rest of the floor thickness. I squeezed some silicone down around the fittings to seal it up and hold the bushing in place.

I picked up some $2 6' 12v socket extensions from Parts Express. I clipped off the plug ends and the wire was long enough to run down into the fuse block directly. One of them is meant for a light and will get a smaller fuse. I'll probably reuse one of the plug ends for the light and maybe save the others if I have different light ideas to try.

Just need to run to an auto parts place to pick up some more appropriate sized ATO fuses.

So I consider the wiring unofficially done. The elephant in the room is I haven't grounded the frame yet. Still thinking of how to tackle that one. I might just wire up a "dummy" plug that uses the remaining receptical on the strip. Take the ground wire from that plug and run it to the trailer, then probably out to a tent mounting bolt to ground both the box frame and tent floor/frame. That way if I need to replace the strip everything just unplugs and replugs with no tools. It isn't the best or particularly advisable option. But it should still provide a much lower resistance and high current capacity path to ground compared to the human body. That and it is also all on GFCI.

 

[DrewsBrews]

I ran some ground straps for the 120v, and tidied up the wiring going up to the tent. Then reinstalled the A/C unit and installed some reflectix around the duct.

I ran the A/C for over a half hour. No sign of splashing condensation at all. So the earlier occasion where the condensation came quick and I was worried about flooding it out must have been an extra humid day. I shut off the compressor and let the fan run for another 10min to dry out condensation that was there before packing it up.

Things are coming together. I'm still deciding what I want to do to finish the A/C outlet in the tent so I can sew the mattress cover. That may get shelved for now. I also want to build a spare tire mount in the deck area. And build a slim 12v light for the tent interior.

 

[DrewsBrews]

Time for testing: Today I brought the trailer back out to the local park and setup the awning again to get an idea about setting up accessories.

First I added some string lights to see if it would work without needing hooks or spring clamps. I think it can work weaving the cord around the velcro straps that attach the fabric to the horizontal bars. Unfortunetely I forgot to get a pic of this.

Then moved on to trying out the ARB room enclosure. Along with a ground cover I cut from a heavy grade tarp, and an addon pole "mod" I found. I hadn't been able to set it all up before. This helped figure out where I would run the extension cord for the string lights and a fan etc. And things I might need to help strap it to the trailer better.

Not long after getting that all set up, a popup shower rolled in and soaked it down.. I did get to sit under and watch the rain. The next challenge was to get things dry enough to go home. I found probably the most effective way to get the most water off the awning is to slide the horizontal poles in as far as they go while still remaining connected. This angles the cover enough that some good smacking should get most of the water to run down to the middle. Easy enough to drain that off. Do that a few times and what is left should dry much more quickly. I still packed it up half dry and unrolled it at home to fully dry.

Then after sundown I checked out the effectiveness of the lights:

The camera amplifies the effect to better show what the human eye can see. But, the contrast is much narrower than the eye's perception and makes it appear brighter than reality. I think the lights should work well for the intended purpose and be dim enough to not bother others. When the tent is open it should block any direct visibility of the upper light except from directly behind at a narrow verticle angle.

Note: One warning that I would give about the add on pole mod I mentioned above.. The poles I used had steel reinforcement rods inside the threaded plastic section. If you use a miter saw as he suggests, that would destroy your blade. (I used a jigsaw, so much cheaper blades). I see the same hole in the end of his poles where the steel rod would have been. I find it odd that he does not mention this in the video. But I suppose that brand he uses could simply not use them.

 

[DrewsBrews]

I fabbed up a mount for the spare tire today. 3"x1/8" flat bar with a bend at the bottom. I welded on some 1/2"-20 bolts so I could use the same lug nuts as the hubs. That way I can keep some spare lug nuts in the tongue box that work with it all. Currently hitting it with some farm equipment black spray paint this evening.

I need to come up with a spacer to span the gap between the flat bar and the back face of the wheel. That way the nuts will have a chance to tighten down.. instead of just folding the bracket in until the threads end (1/8" steel can't compete with that kind of torque). I found the voids in the composite deck board scraps line up pretty well to the bolt spacing. That, along with some fender washers, might do the job. I have some reservations on the lifespan of the deck board under that kind of compression stress. I'll give it a shot and time will tell how well it holds up.

 

[DrewsBrews]

The can of spray paint ran out so hopefully a single heavy coat will suffice.

I took a soft bristle brush and some water to the wheels and tires. Got some of the dirt and tire bloom off.

 

[DrewsBrews]

I had some thin and low profile LED strip lights. I mounted one on either side of a 3/4"x1/8" piece of aluminum. Then mounted it to the center interior bar of the tent with P-straps on either end of the aluminum. Connected to an in-line switch and terminated at a 12v socket plug. I tried adding some reflectix between the roof window covers and the mesh, but I don't think it is close enough to realy reflect much of the light. I might try shoving some between the fabric and the bar.. See if it unfolds with the tent or stays bent.

Finally showing my awful miscut and hack job to get a hole in the mattress for the A/C vent to blow through . Still deciding how I want to finish that.

One 12v power socket with a usb plug on each side. Easy enough to tuck beside the mattress to hide the light. But the light makes it easy to find too.

I think I am finally at a bit of a stopping point for now. It has got all the features I wanted to add. Only remaining thing is adding a spacer ring of sorts to bring the A/C vent up closer to the mattress level. Then sew up the mattress cover. I might get an extra inch of foam to add along with a new cover, then modify and resew it all. But it is functional currently and for now we have been using thermarest camp mattreses over the tent mattress.

 

[featherliteCT1]

I need to come up with a spacer to span the gap between the flat bar and the back face of the wheel

I like your spacer!

 

[DrewsBrews]

Loading the trailer up for it's first Tearjerkers gathering. Just a couple hours away. But this time I'm bringing the E-trike for the wife and my pellet smoker to make some pulled pork for the Saturday potluck. I suppose that is one bonus of the flatbed... I can bring just about anything I want to the campground.

I picked up some "waterproof" bins to organize things. With the storage box loaded and some weight in the back that put alot more weight on the axle. Had to air up the tires some more.

 

[DrewsBrews]

I didn't realy get pics that weekend until I started packing up. But here was the setup roughly.. I put the smoker at the back of the paved pull-in (out of shot) since the power pole was right there.

The trike is in, covered and strapped down. Here is my pellet smoker. Not a huge unit. But plenty big enough for any of our carnivorous aspirations.

Ready to hitch up.

The slope of the site did point out the limitations of the leveling/stabilization setup. It sloped up towards the back end of the pull-in. The rear stabilizers were almost at their upper limit. Much more and I would have needed blocks under the tires to lift the whole thing up so the rear stabilizers could swing down. Then the front stabilizers may have needed blocks too if that caused them to reach their longest setting. I need to either cut some 2x6" wood scraps for blocks or pick up some of the lego-style blocks.