My Project a Cargo Trailer for back country camping

[meach4x4]

Hi guys,

I appreciate the great input. One point I didn't point out last night when I was dithering was brought out by Prem regarding one of my original design goals, which is to keep the center of gravity as low as possible. Although I won't be running extreme trails, I do plan on going on two tracks, where there will be off camber sections. Putting substantial cabinets in the top of the trailer will be going against my original plan.

I just went out and sat in the trailer for about an hour, playing with different solutions. I've decided to do a hybrid of Prem's idea:

I'm going to build two wooden cross-members under the nose, then put the solid R5 foam between the cross-members, glueing it to the nose cap to help stiffen it. Then, I will screw Luan up into the cross members, further stiffening the cap/insulation plus giving a more continuous surface treatment to the ceiling, which I think will give the appearance of a larger area in the front.

As far as undercounter cabinetry, I will have a small cabinet in the nose that will be on the floor. It will house an AGM battery, an 800 watt inverter, and a 45 amp converter/charger/distribution panel. While I was doing the wiring yesterday I ran 22 feet of 10/3 outdoor stranded cable from the driver's side rear up to the nose. I ran it above the wall header, because I don't want to mess with HV cables run in the frame level. My corner panels between the ceiling and the walls will be a bit of a wire race to hold the wiring. I am planning on wooden blocks screwed to the roof braces to mount the corner panels to.

Steve, as far as a lock and roll hitch and a tongue extension, I'm right there with you. It is in the future plan, once the interior is done, and I get the 32" tires on the trailer.

Again, thanks to you all for your thoughts and suggestions. Please keep them coming, and stay tuned!

Gil

[GregB]

This is the guy that built Draco, the huge RV that was featured on RV Crazy. I think he says that it is 1900 lbs. Look at the wall cross section. And you think we overbuild. Very impressive builder and fabricator.

Greg

[meach4x4]

This is the guy that built Draco, the huge RV that was featured on RV Crazy. I think he says that it is 1900 lbs. Look at the wall cross section. And you think we overbuild. Very impressive builder and fabricator.

Greg

Hey Greg,

Is your post missing a link or something? Or, more likely, am I missing something?

I did a search on "Draco" in this forum, and found one other link that took me to a nice Unicat gallary under the topic of "Not a TT". It is a beautiful example of an overland self contained vehicle. I have friends who have lived in a Unimog Unicat in Mexico for 5 years, and they build an incredible machine. Is that the RV you are referring to as "Draco"?

Gil

[GregB]

Geez was I out of it. I am apparently missing several critical brain cells. I was responding to the comment on page 2 that referred to a $29,000 Expedition Camper Trailer, called Drake. That'll teach me to have 4 threads open at once. You can see it here http://www.steelwheels4x4.info/-/steelwheels4x4/gallery.asp?cat=117006&pID=1&row=15. You can get to his Draco site from the http://www.steelwheels4x4.info site. It is http://www.steelwheels4x4.com. Actually, though Draco looks like a 'Mog it's a 1979 Oshkosh M1000 airport fire/rescue truck.

What I meant was that this trailer Drake, is 1900 lbs.

Greg
And now, back to your regularly scheduled thread topic,...

[Ageless]

Rather than overhead cabinets; I use the white wire closet shelves. Keep the cereal, pancake mix, etc in totes until I set up at campsite

[Prem]

Greg,

My OPINION: That trailer (the link you gave) is figuratively and literally "over the top."

Techno-clutter to the max.

How would you like to clean the soap scum off the details in that shower/head? Hang your clothes over a water filter? And what's with the toilet venting to the inside???

And then there's the overall (lowered) height and the box shape with their complete lack of aerodynamics on the highway. NG.

Good rig for Burning Man in the Black Rock desert. All it needs is massive external speakers playing techno. (And to extend the toilet vent out the roof.)

Since when is aluminum diamond plate a "thermal shield?" It gets too hot to touch in the sun.

Sorry. Simple is better than complex. Lighter is better than heavy. Inexpensive is easier to replace than expensive. K.I.S.S. works optimally.

Prem

[GregB]

Prem,

Yup, it is definitely over the top. That was my first impression, as well. However, I really don't know what his operating requirements are or how often he uses the trailer, so I'm hesitant to offer an opinion. What I do like, though, is that someone is trying to push the envelope from a technological point of view. There is always a tidbit here or there that we might use.

Its always cool to see a different builder's thought processes -especially one with the will and the skill to make it come to life.

Greg

[Prem]

P.S. I see that it's for sale for a very large sum.

Prem

[meach4x4]

Today was pretty productive. I started by going to the Home Despot and picking up some foam insulation adhesive to glue in the foam insulation board in the nose and also picked up a clear pine 1x6x8' to build a frame for the nose. It was a half plan, half design on the fly kind of a deal. I started by fashioning a template to match the curve of the nose cone, and then cut a piece of the 1x6 to the right width with the curve on the outside, and a 45 degree angle on the inside. I sistered a 1x2 along the side of the span. I was feeling good about the results, so I created two more spans that come from the front of the nose back to the span I just built. In order to tie it all together, I used waterproof gorilla wood glue and small angle brackets with screws. I mounted the resulting frame to the headers under the nose cone, and then glued the pink foam inside the frame.


I plan to use some non-expanding foam to further solidify the frame and pink foam. I also finished roughing in the 12v and 30 amp AC feed, since some of the areas for foaming will have the wires running through the foam. I put a lot of plastic around the front of the interior to control the slop when I use the canned foam tomorrow.

I was having fun cutting the insulation board, so I did the areas from the front of the nose back over halfway on the ceiling. The area around the Fan-Tastic fan is looking good.


I had to knock off after doing the hardest part of the insulation, and I am looking forward to getting the rest of the insulation installed this week, and maybe even get the interior luan installed. Here is the front half of the ceiling looking in the pink!


Stay tuned!

Gil

[Prem]

Tuning in here twice a day to see your progress Gil.

Got new photos of the front's insulation?

Prem

[meach4x4]

Tuning in here twice a day to see your progress Gil.

Got new photos of the front's insulation?

Prem

I'll have some more pics tomorrow evening. I was at my Mom's 91st birthday today in Las Vegas, so didn't get much progress. I did, however, order my power panel/converter/charger and an AGM battery, LED lights, porch light, and circuit breakers.

On the way to Vegas, I switched out my oversized porch light for the more conventional one that will fit by the door appropriately... I hope!

Yesterday, I squirted some "non expanding foam" into the cracks and around the cabling in the front cap. I also did most of the wiring needed to put in insulation (such as wiring switches in for all the LED lights and porch light.

I also installed the Marino 30 amp input plug and converted my old 30 amp extension cord to work with the 30 Marino by exchanging the old plug for a twist lock booted one.

I'll catch up with some pics tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

Gil

[GregB]

Gil,

I should have mentioned, I picked up my AGM battery when I was going through Vegas and saved the $75 shipping charge. It is an Interstate 8D 170 lb. 12V-250 AH monster, I call it Darth Battery. I bought it from Solar Biz (http://www.thesolar.biz)for $370.

Greg

[meach4x4]

Gil,

I should have mentioned, I picked up my AGM battery when I was going through Vegas and saved the $75 shipping charge. It is an Interstate 8D 170 lb. 12V-250 AH monster, I call it Darth Battery. I bought it from Solar Biz (http://www.thesolar.biz)for $370.

Greg

Dang! If I had not already ordered the battery, I'd have liked to stop by there while I was in Vegas yesterday.

As it turned out, I ordered the battery yesterday. I decided on a compromise of weight and capacity and ordered a Universal 121000 AGM, which is 100 amp hours. It weighs 61 lbs, and is priced just under $200. For the same amount of weight as the bigger battery, I can carry the smaller battery, a 2.6 kw generator, and enough gas to run it for a week.

Eventually, I may convert to solar, and then I will re-evaluate my decision and (if necessary) add more storage with another battery. For now, the 100 a/hr battery should carry me between charges. (I had a 12v fridge in my last tiny trailer, and it would go 3 days on a 70 amp hour flooded battery, with limited water pumping and lighting usage.)

Gil

[meach4x4]

A few pictures of the progress over the last two days.

I sprayed in the foam around the framing I did in the nose cap area.



My goal is to use the spray foam to stabilize the frame work and attach it to the fiberglass nose cap. The primary insulation is the extruded foam board, which is light and gives a flat surface without too much rework.

I put quite a bit of foam around areas where the nose cap frame is screwed into the frame header and around the wiring where it runs along the header, to keep it from chaffing on rough roads.



I also sprayed foam up into the cracks between the nose cap frame and the nose cap above it. The non expanding foam was a little easier to work with, but not as structural as the "Great Stuff" expanding foam, which may have been a better choice for the structure, but is harder to control.



While I was playing with the spray foam, I shot a bead of it into the metal header above the side door.



After spraying in the foam, I did some more work on the wiring for the lighting. I needed to reroute the wires for the fender markers to run them through the angle header I welded into the window frame.



I needed a porch light. I originally planned on using a large service light, like they use on emergency vehicles, but then found they are way to big for the space available on an 8 foot trailer with a side door. I decided to use a typical rv light instead. A porch light was $14 from the local RV supply store.



I mounted the porch light as high as possible in the center of the curb side, by the RV door.



After the light was mounted, I wired in a switch. You can get porch lights with switches in them, but I felt it would be better to have the switch inside the trailer, to avoid leaving th light on at night or having someone turn on the light while I was away and running down the battery.



I knew I would eventually want a 30 amp service into the trailer, and while I had the panelling out was the best time to install it. I had a good 30 amp extension cord from my class A laying around, and found a kit that would give me a sealed 30 amp input jack and the twist lock plug to go with it for $100. It is spendy, but buying a new chord and just the input jack would have been a bit more.



It has become standard to have the electrical hookups on trailers located at the rear on the drivers side, so I drilled the 2 3/4" hole for the jack at the bottom rear of the driver's side and mounted the Marino 30 amp twist lock jack there.



The interior of the plug is pretty well finished, and I plan to build a small kick-out box to cover it after the panelling is re-installed.



After the input jack was installed, I cut off the female end of my 25 foot extension chord, and installed the twist lock end from the kit. I also added a pig tail converter to convert the 30 amp male plug to work with a 15 amp plug. This will be necessary to use the 2.6kw generator or to plug into my house outlet for keeping the battery charged and desulfated.



This completes the wiring rough-in, so the next step will be to finish the insulation, and then paneling.

Stay tuned!

Gil

[Gonefishin]

This is looking great, and continuing to be a great thread! Keep 'em coming!