My Project a Cargo Trailer for back country camping

[meach4x4]

Gil,


Hey, here's a novel idea if you end up having to "redo" it: Small angle brackets or shelf brackets. One on each side and only screwed in on one side. (That way the piece can still slide out.) For what it's worth~
Prem

Kind of like outriggers, or training wheels, eh? In order to do that, I'd have to shorten the static pieces that currently guide the sliding piece, since it goes all the way into them. I'll keep the outriggers on my idea list for redo, right there along with sunken tracks, door slides, skyhooks and virtual corner braces.

Gil

[Prem]

Gil,

A whole week and no new photos?

Prem

[meach4x4]

Gil,

A whole week and no new photos?

Prem

Yup, I've been painting all the Luan and the bed with polyurethane. I have to wait until midday each day, then put on a coat of paint so it can dry before it gets too cold that evening. I put on the last coat today.

Next, I'll be building the front counter with a small cabinet beneath the forward part of it that will house the battery, converter/distribution panel, inverter, ac outlets, and dc outlets.

Once that cabinetry is done and painted, I'll move on to the upholstery. Only one hang up on upholstery: My sis volunteered to sew up the cushions, but she lives in Salt Lake City. I plan to tow the trailer up there so we can work on it right there at her place. Yesterday it snowed there.

Thanks for staying tuned, it keeps me motivated to push forward on the project, come rain or snow!

Gil

[Prem]

Argh! Snow.

My build is pretty much shut down for a while, except for diamond plate on the front tomorrow.

A big airplane, southern Mexico, chile verde, Negra Modelo and fishing beckon. Gone much of December to 92 degree days / 72 degree nights. Their dry season just started. Must have heat and sun. Bake me. No air conditioning. It's almost cheaper than staying home and suffering. And it's only 5.5 hours total flying time. Wake up in the frost and the dark, 1-hour layover in L.A., walk the beach in the sun and heat in the middle of the afternoon.

Somebody's gotta do it.

Señor Prem

[meach4x4]

Prem,

Wow, you poor guy. Enjoy the Modelos, Sun, and heat. Meanwhile, I'm gonna get my trailer ready for some traveling a lot slower, lower, and shorter. Hope to get down to Arizona once the trailer is camp ready.

I spent some time today putting together a list of the remaining parts I need and put my battery in position. Next, I will fashion a very lightweight cabinet around the battery with framework for the distribution panel and another panel above that where I can mount the outlets for AC/DC/Speaker connections.

Meanwhile, drink a few of those Modelos for me, and have some of that fresh Pico de Gallo and Guacamole with them.

Cheers!

[Prem]

Gil,

Arizona for 4x4ing? If it's not too muddy yet, the hills around Sedona, Jerome, Clarkdale, Cottonwood, Perkinsville and way over to Oatman (west) are excellent. Quartzsite is fun for the giant swap meet / gem & mineral show (that starts in Oct. and peaks the first weekend of Feb.).

Sounds like you have some Mexico experience. Adventuresome Arizonans like to go to Rocky Point (Puerto Peñasco) a short drive south of the border on the Sea of Cortéz.

I like almost all the Pacific coastal areas of Mexico except cold Baja north of Todos Santos, unsanitary Acapulco and industrial Salina Cruz.

Best places to go in an RV / trailer: Puerto Peñasco or 17 miles south of Mulegé in Baja to the little beaches of Conception Bay (Santispác, Coyote, Playa los Cocos), also on the Sea of Cortéz and really nice, if you like low elevation desert and unlimited 4x4ing in the surrounding hills. Fishing is good too. New friendships abound. RVer there are a desert paradise cult. It's hard to leave The Land of Manaña ("Hey, what month is it?"), palm trees, free fishing, fun new friends and all the dinner parties on the beach almost every night.

Life is too short.

Prem

[meach4x4]

Gil,

...Life is too short.

Prem

Man, you can say that again!

[meach4x4]

Well, I haven't posted an update for a while. I've been busy painting the bed and the panelling. I took the bed out to paint it, and I'll be leaving it out until I finish the front cabinet, since it makes it easier to get in and out with tools and materials through the back doors.

I coated all the interior wood surfaces with a couple of coats of oil base satin polyurethane. It looks pretty good, I think.



The polyurethane darkened up the wood. I would like to have had a brighter interior, but the Luan looks pretty nice with the deep rich red color



Now that the paint is dry, I'm starting on the cabinet for the front



I started by installing the 100 amp/hr battery that will be housed by the cabinet.



I shopped around town to several places, looking for a good solid mounting system for the battery. I finally found a good marine mount for a type 27 battery at Ace Hardware. It was a great find. The base is much nicer than others I looked at, and I was able to mount it with 4 stainless 1/4-20 screws and nyloc nuts through the floor. The front two bolts go through a metal plate welded to the frame beneath the floor plywood, and I used stainless fender washers on the other two that just go through the floor plywood. It is rock solid, and I'm happy!



The next step is to build the cabinet and counter to enclose the battery and the distribution box.

Stay tuned!

Gil

[meach4x4]

Slowly, but surely, I'm making progress on this build.

Today, I built the cabinet for the battery and power distribution. The cabinet design goal was to keep the weight minimal, and keep the center of gravity as low as possible. Also, since the front counter will be used for a desk, the cabinet needed to be as shallow as possible to leave knee space. To meet these goals, I built the frame with two compartments, separated by a shelf dividing the battery from the power distribution/converter.



The frame is in the front 10 inches of the V front. It is 26 1/2 inches high. When the counter is mounted above it, the counter height will be 27 1/4 inches above the floor, which is a good height to use a laptop at.

Once the frame was built, I panelled the front with Luan matching the interior walls and ceiling. The panel is in two pieces, as the bottom piece would need to be removed if the battery needed replacement. The top piece has the power distribution/converter installed in it. Here is the initial fitting, with the front cover off the power distribution/converter.



Here is with the front cover on the power distribution/converter.



After checking the fit, I removed the power distribution/converter in order to paint the panelling and countertop. Then, I installed the countertop above the frame. It is supported by 1x2 strips mounted on the sides and back of the V front, and also the frame is screwed up into the counter to support it in the middle. The result is the counter top is quite sturdy, without a lot of weight. I will eventually put laminate on the counter top. For now, I'm just going to coat it with polyurethane.



Once the front cabinet and counter were built, I could re-install the bed. I also put a piece of Luan panel on the supports in the rear. In this photo from the back of the trailer, it is not possible to see how much room there is between the bed, counter top, and knee space. The measurments are: From the bed to counter is 28 inches. From the bed to the knee space panel is 41 inches. And, from the front of the counter to the knee space panel is 13 inches.



From here, the next step will be to paint the front counter and cabinet, then wire up the power distribution, install fuses, and replace the vehicle connect cable. The trailer came with a 4 wire plug, and I will be using a 7 wire connector. This gives me connections for my battery charge circuit from the tow vehicle and also for electric trailer brakes in the future.

Once the trailer wiring is finished, I'm off to Salt Lake to get upholstery for the bed/sofa.

Stay tuned!

Gil

[mdvaden]

Your bed is positioned and braced very similarly to how I did mine. I put carpet under mine because it feels better on my arms than cold vinyl when I need to reach beneath and provides more friction to prevent stuff from sliding.

Mines more open under the bed. I ran a support board under the bed front to back, and put just two 2x4s down like legs at like 1/3 and 2/3s the length. So I can stack and shift from side to side beneath also.

My whole floor is carpeted, and there is virtually no movement all the way from Beaverton in north Oregon all the way to the redwoods. My cooler does not move. The spare heater sits put, and every other container. Beneath the bed is also where my spare tire goes to streamline the outside for appearance and cleaning.

You sure have a nice color in that interior.

Like that hinge idea on that bed platform. Is the part closest to the door like an improvised table or nightstand?

[meach4x4]

I finally have reached the point where I am ready for some upholstery. I will be attempting to leave tomorrow morning for Salt Lake City, where my sister lives. We will be working on getting cushions made for the bed/sofa and also some matching covers for the angle between the wall and the ceiling.

Since my last update, I installed the counter top on the front cabinet, then painted everything, then installed the electrical distribution system and verified that all the circuits are working as intended. Here is updated photos.

The first photo shows the angle cut on the front of the bed, and how that clears the door entry way, while still leaving most of the bed 6 feet long.



The next one is showing the space between the end of the bed and the front counter, which is 29 inches



This is counter top in front. I will probably put some laminate on it in phase two. For now, it is painted with the same satin polyurethane as the rest of the interior



This is looking back from the door with the bed folded down



And this one is from the bed looking forward at the counter



And the next one is looking forward from the sofa position, with about 5 feet of open space between the sofa and the counter



This is from the front, looking at the bed folded up to make the sofa in the back



And this is a pic of the back of the sofa with the doors open.



I finished off all the wiring. That included converting the tow connector to a 7 pin in front, wiring up two duplex 110v outlets, wiring up two 12 vdc outlets, hooking up all the 12 volt power to lights, fan, and outlets through the power distribution panel.

I didn't mention it earlier, but I am using an Intellipower converter/charger/power distribution panel that works out very well for my application, since the whole panel is about 12" W x 7" H x 5" D and only weighs 6 pounds. It is a 45 amp unit, and includes the charger wizard that uses 4 different charge modes to keep the AGM battery at the best possible charge. It can go from a very low charge to full charge in about 3 hours, but will also never overcharge the battery if you leave your trailer plugged in while in storage. Also, it has a de-sulfication cycle that hits your battery with a little extra oomph for a short period every 21 hours after it is fully charged. That keeps the sulfur suspended in the electrolyte and not on the plates, extending battery life.

Well, time to pack up the tools and trailer and Jeep, and head out for a fun challenging drive in the morning. Stay tuned!

Gil

[meach4x4]

Your bed is positioned and braced very similarly to how I did mine. I put carpet under mine because it feels better on my arms than cold vinyl when I need to reach beneath and provides more friction to prevent stuff from sliding.

We decided to go with vinyl on the floor because we are going to be camped in very sandy places, and we like to be able to just brush out the sand, and wash the floor if it is muddy or dirty. We'll put down rugs to stand on, and rubber anti-skid mats under the bed to help stabilize the loads. I also want to use one of those nets like they use in the back of SUV's to hold the small things from moving around.

As far as the 2x4 supports crosswise under the bed, I wanted to clear a large rubbermaid tote under the bed. They are 16 1/2" tall, so the bed is at 17". If I added any bracing across the bottom, the bed would be even higher, so that's why the center support. The ceiling of my 5x8 is six inches higher than standard, but still only about 5' 6", and also the bed folds up to a sofa. As it is, the seating height of the sofa is pretty high, so I didn't want to raise the bed any more than I have to.

As far as the hinges, the folding of the bed up to a sofa uses the piano hinges. The pics I posted today may make that clearer. The back shelve behind the sofa position is to hold the third cushion when you are in the sofa position. The front two cushions are the seat and back for the sofa. I'll take pictures again after the cushions are done, and it will probably make more sense.

Thanks for your valued input!


Gil

[mdvaden]

Oh - yeah ...

The photos explain a lot.

Dang these are fun, aren't they. Personally, I like the cargo trailers much better than a teardrop, because I can stand up and stuff when dressing or whatever.

I'm surprised that the wind drag is not really all that much. Best I can tell, my 1/2 ton Z-71 Chev 1/2 ton with V-8, still switches to 4 cylinders on the flat freeway at 65 to 70 mph straight-away.

In fact, I ought to post this one as a thread.

[meach4x4]

Oh - yeah ...
...

Dang these are fun, aren't they. Personally, I like the cargo trailers much better than a teardrop, because I can stand up and stuff when dressing or whatever.

I'm surprised that the wind drag is not really all that much. Best I can tell, my 1/2 ton Z-71 Chev 1/2 ton with V-8, still switches to 4 cylinders on the flat freeway at 65 to 70 mph straight-away.

In fact, I ought to post this one as a thread.

Yeah, the stand-up dressing was a requirement for both of us. Also, being able to just climb in and go to sleep or nap, or get out of the rain without unloading were another requirement that the cargo meets.

You ought to post your trailer shots and writeup on this forum. I read the write up you did on the web site. Very nice. Your goals were different. 6 people and 2 dogs travelling together and camping in hookup sites is different from ours.

There are just the two of us and our little Cavalier dog. We plan to camp in dry camps alongside back country roads and improved trails. Plus, we are pulling with a V6 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited, so weight is a big consideration. Like you, I'm surprised that they tow so easily.

I'm not sure how much the V front helps, but it tows easily, even with the 4 inch lift on it.

We do our cooking outside also. Heating up a pot of coffee or a bowl of soup is about all we will do inside. So, all our galley is portable. We stow it in large totes that fit under the bed. We have one for the stove and gas cylinders, plus pots and pans, silver and dishes. The other is for dry goods (pantry) items. We have a marine cooler to haul the cold storage food. It will fit between the bed and the front counter.

A portable loo and a 2.6 kw gen set temporarily stow under the counter while travelling. We have a 10x10 shelter that we can set up over a picnic table. A couple of camp chairs and a small Weber BBQ, and we're ready to roll. All of it is down low on the floor, so our center of gravity is not much higher than a teardrop. I aim to keep it that way.

Let's see a new topic on the cargo conversion forum with your camper on it, eh?

Gil

[meach4x4]

Well, I finally decided to brave the cold, drive to Salt Lake, and get the upholstery done. On the way to SLC, I noted temperatures down to -8 degrees. Not the type of temps that encourage you to get out in an unheated trailer and do construction!

When I got there, my sister (Tess) and I bought the upholstery fabric and foam. Then, after I re-measured few more times, she she cut the fabric, and did a great job of sewing up the covers. I'll post pics of it tomorrow. I'm too tired to get photos shot and loaded now.

Also, my nephew (Tim) had a couple of 31x10.50x15 BFG All-Terrain KO tires for sale, so I picked them. Tim mounted them up, and they fit perfectly with the 4" lift. Now I can check off that task list, and go ahead and sell the full set of tires and wheels from my Jeep, since I won't need them for the trailer. Pics on that will be posted tomorrow, also.

Gil