Don & Christi's 6 x 10 Cargo Conversion

[Engineer Guy]

Yo Gaijin ~

Think Japanese. Recycle the space under discussion and make it serve 2 purposes.

Think of the Slides used in about all Hotel Rooms in the TV Armoire. The Doors open, but then disappear back into the Cabinet on 2 side Slides. This type of TV-hiding Cabinet also can be seen at lots of Furniture Stores.

Imagine mounting the desired Storage Bin on 2 of these Slides on one side; one above the other. You would pull the entire Bin toward you and then, using a front-mounted Hinge, swing the Bin to one side, out of the way. Now, the 'recycled' space is Bin-free and your Heads have clearance in that space. This idea would allow the Bin to be square, even at the rear.

It might also be possible to use only front-mounted Hinges w/o Slides. However, the rear of a custom-made Bin would have to angle in so that the arc it cuts at the rear doesn't interfere with an adjacent Bin.

For support during travel, I would come up with a lil block of Wood or 'L' Bracket. It would support the non-hinged side of the Bin so as to not try to support a loaded Bin from only the Hinged side. If this lil Wood Block had a slight front incline to it - like a Loading Ramp - the Bin would creep up onto it to rest supported.

[GPW]

Don, how about some simple shelves ... ???

[d30gaijin]

Yo Gaijin ~

Think Japanese. Recycle the space under discussion and make it serve 2 purposes.

Think of the Slides used in about all Hotel Rooms in the TV Armoire. The Doors open, but then disappear back into the Cabinet on 2 side Slides. This type of TV-hiding Cabinet also can be seen at lots of Furniture Stores.

Imagine mounting the desired Storage Bin on 2 of these Slides on one side; one above the other. You would pull the entire Bin toward you and then, using a front-mounted Hinge, swing the Bin to one side, out of the way. Now, the 'recycled' space is Bin-free and your Heads have clearance in that space. This idea would allow the Bin to be square, even at the rear.

It might also be possible to use only front-mounted Hinges w/o Slides. However, the rear of a custom-made Bin would have to angle in so that the arc it cuts at the rear doesn't interfere with an adjacent Bin.

For support during travel, I would come up with a lil block of Wood or 'L' Bracket. It would support the non-hinged side of the Bin so as to not try to support a loaded Bin from only the Hinged side. If this lil Wood Block had a slight front incline to it - like a Loading Ramp - the Bin would creep up onto it to rest supported.

Dennis,

I know what you're referring to and that's a good idea I need to check into. Thank you for that!

Don

[d30gaijin]

Don, how about some simple shelves ... ???

GPW,

After experiencing several trips in the Jayco and the CT I think I prefer some sort of overhead cabinets I can close and secure a door to. Stuff stored overhead tumbles around too much, I think, and would be all over the CT floor if not secured in an enclosed cabinet of some sort.

Currently we have most cooking stuff (spices, plates, utensils, cups, etc.) stored in plastic bins under the lower bunk. I would like an overhead enclosure to store that stuff, the stuff we leave in the CT permanently but need easy access too. We finally figured out that we need to outfit for both the Jayco and the CT separately so we have everything we need in each rather than trying to move stuff back and forth between the two because we always forget something when doing so.

Don

[GPW]

Don, I was thinking about shelves with a bungee cord retainer that would automatically adjust to the items stored ... All those cabinets in my Jayco oft go unused ... I just don't carry that much stuff that requires storage in the TT ... Old Habit , camping Lite !! And I'm trying to eliminate as much weight in the Jayco as possible ... Lots of stuff in there that we haven't even used ... The 4000lb. weight is just about the limit my 11 year old 6cyl Silverado is capable of "reasonably" towing ... That and the Huge frontal area is not a good combination for my rig ...
The other problem is the Jayco dealer outright lied to me to make the sale (on many points ) ... The payload weight stated did not include all the options , like the battery , spare tire, awing , etc... so the actual cargo carrying capacity is about 400 lbs... only enough for me , the wife , and the dog .... nothing else ... Reducing the weight means I can bring the Cat along too ...


I'm still looking for a deal on a used CT , the little one (4X8) I got is great for hauling , but too small for any camping , other than by myself alone ... Maybe I can sell that one and apply the coin to something Bigger (CT)... and finally rid myself of the Jayco "money pit" .. which is yet to be paid off , and requires more and more maintenance as it ages , not so gracefully ...

[David_L6]

Installed the external plug in for 120v use. Take a lead from me and do not buy what I bought. I just installed a Marinco 30 amp twistlock power inlet in my CT conversion (see photo below) and if I had it to do over I would not have. I bought it from Pacific RV Parts via their web site wherein they claim it is a "Standard RV 30 amp inlet" but it isn't. It is a marine 30 amp inlet and requires a special adapter to convert from the marine 30 amp inlet to a true standard RV 30 amp, or even a 15/20 amp regular home type 120v cord, and the adapter costs $33 to $45 depending upon which type you want. And while the twistlock is a nice unit it isn't what I needed or really wanted. A true standard 30 amp RV inlet is what I wanted but a 20 amp would have, most likely, worked just as well for my meager AC voltage requirements i.e., an 800 watt microwave, an ac to dc converter for running 12v, battery charging, and maybe,down the road, a 5k BTU home window type AC unit.



Don

Would you happen to have a link to where I can buy a "true standard 30 amp RV inlet"?

What I want is something that I can plug into at an RV park or plug my generator into using a 30 amp RV extension cord.

[GPW]

Dave , we got a simple adapter .... cheap ...

[Engineer Guy]

See some various Adapters here:

Camping World Page - Adapters

[d30gaijin]

Would you happen to have a link to where I can buy a "true standard 30 amp RV inlet"?

What I want is something that I can plug into at an RV park or plug my generator into using a 30 amp RV extension cord.

In retrospect I would go the exact same route I went with the Marinco adapter. It is water tight, easily adaptable to standard RV 30 amp service, although the adapter may cost a little more, it is essentially foolproof. It is made for heavy marine service so I feel confident using it in the most extreme inclement weather conditions attached to my CT.

Sometimes in (what I think are my mistakes) I come out on the better end of it. This is an example of what I thought was a mistake but actually went right.

Don

[GPW]

OK Don , upon your recommendation I got one for my Foamie TD !!! (150BBI) Looks Good ! Thanks !!!

[d30gaijin]

OK Don , upon your recommendation I got one for my Foamie TD !!! (150BBI) Looks Good ! Thanks !!!

GPW,

I hope it works as well for you as it has for me.

Today I plugged everything in at the CT sitting in the front yard to charge up the battery and get the reefer going. We're hoping to head out in the next day or so for some boondocking up in the Big Wood River area of Idaho (near Sun Valley). With all the stuff going on in our lives right now we really need to escape for a few days in the CT. Even though I have made little progress on the CT conversion since last year it is campable and we want to go camping! We'll soon be running out of summer, I fear.

Don

[GPW]

Don , I hear ya'... sometimes you just have to get away from it all ...

Conversion ? you know me ...I think the best conversion is the simplest !!! Sure beats the old pup tent any day ...

[d30gaijin]

Don , I hear ya'... sometimes you just have to get away from it all ...

Conversion ? you know me ...I think the best conversion is the simplest !!! Sure beats the old pup tent any day ...

GPW,

I definitely agree with you on both counts. Now, to make it happen. We'll do what we can to salvage something of this camping season and we are not afraid to go into late fall camping. Only thing is, the wife will be back to work come August 8th so we'll, again, be restricted to weekends. But then again, weekends are better than nothing.

Another setback was noise in the Jeep Cherokee rear differential. I started hearing it on the second run to Mom's place in Tahoe and it got worse by the third runs, bad enough I couldn't ignore it so took it to a Jeep expert here in Boise to be checked out/repaired. The carrier and pinion bearing were going bad so had them replaced to the tune of nearly a $1k bill, something I was not expecting and had to pay cash for. On a now fixed income that makes a difference. Still, we will survive it.

Looks like I'll be doing work to complete our CT coversion come late fall, maybe even into winter. Not a problem since I should have the time then.

More pictures to follow at that time, although I hope to post a few from the Big Wood camping experience.

Don

[GPW]

Don , don't feel alone ... I had a frozen caliper on my Silverado , ended up requiring a whole rear brake job , new everything .... was 600USD.. Seems like it's always something for we retired folks ...

Summer project here is cleaning ,reorganizing the Garage ... where I actually found a bunch of long forgotten goodies to use in my conversion ... And producing a space to pull the Trailers (Not the Jayco) inside so we can work on them , out of the rain and heat .. Might actually get more done , and the thought of a comfortable workspace is very appealing ... The reason I built the Garage in the first place ... Just made the mistake of filling it up with too much s**t ... no room for working .. Just trying to "use what I got" ... or can "salvage" ... This fixed income business really does require some smart advance planning ...

[d30gaijin]

Don , don't feel alone ... I had a frozen caliper on my Silverado , ended up requiring a whole rear brake job , new everything .... was 600USD.. Seems like it's always something for we retired folks ...

Summer project here is cleaning ,reorganizing the Garage ... where I actually found a bunch of long forgotten goodies to use in my conversion ... And producing a space to pull the Trailers (Not the Jayco) inside so we can work on them , out of the rain and heat .. Might actually get more done , and the thought of a comfortable workspace is very appealing ... The reason I built the Garage in the first place ... Just made the mistake of filling it up with too much s**t ... no room for working .. Just trying to "use what I got" ... or can "salvage" ... This fixed income business really does require some smart advance planning ...

GPW,

Sadly none of what we hoped would transpire actually did. No camping trips at all this year and no real progress on the CT, nothing! Had to make several trips to mom's house in Tahoe instead to help her out (I just returned today from 11 days there). Be that as it may, we're still going to shoot for something, anything, to get away in the CT over Labor Day Weekend.

I've still got the all new wheels and tires all balanced and ready to put on the CT, I hope to do that this week as well as get the CT cleaned out and ready to go camping. We absolutely have to get a break from all the work we've been doing at our own house and all I have done at mom's place, otherwise we might go nutzoid without some escape.

I know exactly what you mean about the garage thing. We had half of ours cleaned out and could at least get the Jaguar in but then started the replacement of all the base board molding in our house and had to back the Jag out, set up saw horses and a 4x8 sheet of plywood to stain and varnish the base board wood. Once again, we have a garage full of everything but room to put cars or work on much of anything.

I am quickly facing the reality of being retired on a fixed income and you are most definitely correct. It requires some adept advance planing to get by... but it beats the s#!t out of working.

Thankfully the next month is my own so hope to get a few things done on the CT so Christi and I can get at least a couple camping trips in before winter sets in.

Don