I have many photos of other TD's from the Creeper Trail in VA camping event last week. I will post them in a new post (that does not sound right...).
We learned a lot this past weekend from our trip with our CT in it's "in process" state.
Here is Spotman's (Director of Old Dominion TearJerker Chapter with his CT having bagels with the other campers. This really started of our event.
He has a really nice setup and I came away with some good ideas.
Here are three shots of our CT.
And this one shows our complete lack of organization.
What we learned so far after just one trip.
- We will be ok not cooking inside the camper
- Using a porti-potty inside for mid night pee trips "only" will work.
- Using a 5 gal bucket with kitty litter for the other business will work. Just need to improve the equipment.
- Traveling with only the minimum of what you think you need is very good advice. We had 2 to 3 times too much stuff.
- The outside AC concept like Shadow and Bob Henry have may be a great idea.
- An attached awning like the Carefree Models from Colorado Awning (or something like that) will be worth it. Pricey maybe, but at our age and hindered height and CT height, bag awnings will be extremely difficult for we old folks to fold in...almost impossible for one of us to do alone.
- The CT towed great behind the F150. Mileage was about 13.5 mpg in the mountains of VA at legal speeds. Did not exceed 60...stayed mostly at 50-55.
- Fellow campers are great. Friendly and willing to share information.
- Following thru with the inside camper shower (using navy shower techniques) will work. Camp ground showers can be ok, but nothing beats the cleanliness of your own facility.
- We will not need a gray or black water tank. Using a 5 gal tank for gray water will work.
- We had way more water then we needed, so by being smarter in this area will save weight. But then again, we did not shower in the CT yet.
So the first thing I did when I got home is to make a "mock up" of an air conditioner like Shadow Catcher and others have built. I saw one on a TD that used the same concept and he just found a good setting and left it there all the time as conditions allowed. Spotman recommended that I make a model and run the hoses into my window as a test. I made this one in an afternoon.
Running through my window like this for a test. If I like the concept, I will use it instead of the false interior wall for a wall mounted AC unit used with a barn door left open. I would run the tubes from the bottom of the trailer in the back Galley area (to be built yet) then through the wall. This would allow us to completely shut the back doors, a good thing when we are not at the site. I have $25 in the AC unit and $20 in the dryer pipe.
So far it is holding the temperature in the trailer at 70 or 72, depending on what I set the AC controls at. But I am getting a ton of condensation on the "incoming" dryer tubing. I am assuming that if I were to run the pipes from the bottom up inside an insulated chamber, the condensation would go away. Shadow Catcher, I also assume I am not getting any freezing at the coils or fins since the unit is running without issues. The next bit of research is to investigate the feasibility of 6 in vent pipe.
The remote control unit will not penetrate the taped corrugated box, so that nicety is gone.
Then while continuing the AC test, I started my surround walls around the shower. Here are two side frames partially complete. I will be filling in the spaces with foam so as to keep the weight down and then adding 1/4" plywood on the sides. I really do love Kreg tools and screws.
by OverTheTopCargoTrailer » Thu Jul 16, 2015 12:11 am 
