Don & Christi's 6 x 10 Cargo Conversion

[d30gaijin]

d30gaijin (Don),

The hall of fame is located at the very top left corner of each page. Above the picture click on Hall of Fame. Then just scroll through the various entries til you find the one you're looking for. Here's the link to George Teague's page:

http://home.earthlink.net/~g.teague/

I built a hinged wall and home made storm door for the rear of my trailer out of 3/4" plywood. I then cut a hole in the wall section and mounted an 8,000 BTU window air conditioner in the wall. It will have a flip down door to cover the hole when the AC isn't installed. You can see the pictures of the door and wall in my album. But I haven't posted a picture since I cut the hole in the wall for the AC.

SmilinJack,

Thank you ever so much for the link to G Teague's build photos and the clarification regarding where the "Hall of Fame" can be found. Like I said, I can be an idiot when it comes to searching here, not to mention I could not see the forest for the trees with regards to the Hall of Fame.

And thank you for the excellent advice regarding window type AC install.

Don

[d30gaijin]

No real progress this weekend other than ordering a Honda EU2000i Companion generator, a Sears 4.6 Cu. Ft. 120v AC reefer, and doing a test fit of the "Passport Potty" to figure out where might be the best place to store it (in the forward cabinet under the sink during travel seems to be the front runner, should have just enough room to squeeze it in there). Have to wait for the Sears reefer to get here before I build the forward lower cabinet fascia since it will actually protrude out of the cabinet by an inch or two.

I hope to get the additional two 120v AC outlets installed tomorrow but it is supposed to hit 101 degrees here so unless I get up early, something I don't like doing on my weekends off, ...well we'll take a wait and see on that.

Don

[d30gaijin]

Just an idea... For all that trouble and expense , it would seem just a really GOOD GFI extension cord would do the trick ... You could even run it through the floor with an appropriate size hole and weather/road flap ...SIMPLE !!!

GPW,

I took your advice. I didn't want to tear down the installed walls and insulation to run 110v AC electric to the south end of the CT (remember this is a design as I go project) so I went to the local Camping World store on my lunch hour and picked up an electrical cable hatch/penetration for $5. and installed it last night in the dark (life has been rather hectic for me with little time to work on the CT). It took all of five minutes to install with a 3" hole saw, some silicone sealer, and three screws. It will provide 110v AC to the south end of the CT for the electrical inflatable mattress, the eventual window type air conditioning unit, and lap top computers. I will get a GCFI cord so please understand that the cord I have on hand is used only for photo purposes, as is the Honda EU2000i generator. The generator, when in use, will be plugged into the front/north end 30 amp inlet that feeds the CT's main electrical 20 amp circuit breakers.

Per your thoughts I will try to keep it more simple in the future. While I was at Camping World I also picked up a city water inlet connection for $12. Even though my plans for a city water system, or any kind of sophisticated water/water pump type system, are down the road a ways I thought it might be a good idea to install a water inlet penetration at this stage of the project. On the inboard side of the inlet I will install a simple faucet allowing me to fill the 5 gallon fresh water tank from inside the CT rather than hauling the tank out of the CT to fill it up then hauling it back inside (I am getting lazy as I age).

Don



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[GPW]

D30 , pretty cool the way you did that ... Thrifty too!!!

[d30gaijin]

D30 , pretty cool the way you did that ... Thrifty too!!!

GPW,

OK, it just got less simple. I thought of an idea to squeeze a shower inside the 6' x 10' CT and the wife loves it... so maybe city water plumbing AND a hot water heater aren't as far down the road as I originally thought. I ordered a 24" x 24" shower pan tonight... "My gawd what have I done" (to quote from the Talking Heads). Will see where this goes... but I can still keep the AC electrical simple... can't I?

Don

[GPW]

D30, my simple idea for a shower is the old timey' ring at the top and a shower curtain in a circular configuration over a small kiddie pool pan (preferably a Smurf pool ) Solar WH as those sprayers left in the sun ...perhaps a place for another access portal /hatch . To prevent the shower WATER FLOWING UNDERGROUND , simply drain into the sink bucket and toss at the appropriate place ... OK, Schmaybe ' TWO buckets , one for sink , one for "gray" water hauling , both usable for temporary storage when not in use ...

When not using that area for the shower , you could remove the pool and replace it with a porta potty , using the shower curtain as a "privacy" curtain ... Come to think of it , an inflatable pool/pan would be light and storable when not in use ... cheap too... Just trying to keep it real Simple ... that's the idea huh ...?

[d30gaijin]

I did this install yesterday evening, a tongue box (out of town tonight and for this weekend but have wireless so I am processing photos).

I have been looking for a tongue box for several weeks and didn't like the prices I was seeing considering it was to be installed on a cheap CT conversion. I stumbled upon this from Harbor Freight (see photos below) http://www.harborfreight.com/steel-trailer-tongue-box-65439.html.

All the diamond plate boxes I saw start at $350 (for a small box) and go up from there. And while this isn't a super structural diamond plate tongue box I think it will meet my needs as a battery box and additional storage for tools, etc. It was $120 at my local Harbor Freight store. It was billed as made by US General but apparently that is just a front company for "made in china," something I didn't realize until I got it home. Guess I should have known in that I don't think Harbor Freight sells anything that ISN'T made in china. Still, it is a decent box for the price but time and travel will tell in that regard.

Don

[GPW]

While at the HD yesterday , saw a cool shower pan ... water heater pan ... with drain installed ... http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... ogId=10053

[d30gaijin]

While at the HD yesterday , saw a cool shower pan ... water heater pan ... with drain installed ... http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... ogId=10053

Darn! I have one of those under my home water heater that HD installed for me last year when the old heater went out. Oh well, the RV shower pan I ordered is already on its way, should be here tomorrow. It's a 24" x 24" square fiberglass pan reinforced with a wood frame base.

[GPW]

That sounds good !!! Sorry, I'm just always on the lookout for good cheap alternatives to anything "RV" ... which for some reason is always much more expensive ...

[d30gaijin]

Not a lot of progress because I have been waiting on two of the below items (shower pan and Sears reefer) to come in. They have arrived. Now I can position them and start building them in.

First pic is the basic nose with the necessary items in the place (along with my chop saw that gets stored in the CT)... yes I know it is getting a bit tight up front but we want a few amenities in our CT if they can be stuffed in, and I am an expert at stuffing stuff in.





Next is a "Look down" layout of the nose of the CT and where the shower, reefer, and potty will go (the potty will actually spend most of its time inside the shower except when showering).



The shower will be built around the shower pan extending up and at the point where the forward shower wall meets the nose shelf that the sink is set into, the upper area of the shower will be extended forward onto the shelf about 5" so as to provide a bit more elbow room and a shelf for soap, shampoo, etc.



Next pic is of the interior of the Sears "dorm type" reefer with freezer. Unfortunately it too is made in china (of course Sears doesn't tell you that on their web site) so no telling how long it will last in a CT but at $159 total, well if it lasts a year or two that's fine. An RV reefer (that would also probably be made in china) runs three to four times the price of the Sears "Dorm" unit and may not last all that long in a CT either.

Next step is building the shower, plumbing it, and enclosing the reefer, but that will have to wait because we are headed out for another 5 day camping trip in the Jayco 165 this weekend.

Cheers to all,
Don

[Wishbone]

Where did You get that shower pan. I need a Small one like that. Lowes & Home Depot have bigger ones in Store than I need. Thanks Wishbone-Ks

[GPW]

Don , any reservations about having the shower next to the Electric ...??? Potty next to the refrigerator ???

[d30gaijin]

Where did You get that shower pan. I need a Small one like that. Lowes & Home Depot have bigger ones in Store than I need. Thanks Wishbone-Ks

Wishbone,

I bought the shower pan from http://tweetys.com/, specifically here: http://tweetys.com/shower-pan-24-x24-4-flange-frnt-ctr-drn.aspx they have other sizes available too, if 24" x 24" isn't big enough.


I hope that helps,
Don

[d30gaijin]

Don , any reservations about having the shower next to the Electric ...??? Potty next to the refrigerator ???

GPW,

Yep, I've had several reservations about having the shower next to the electrical, well actually not so much the shower as it will be separated by a hard wall from the electrical, but the plumbing will have to penetrate that hard wall above the electrical so it will be imperative that my plumbing is without flaw. The potty will most likely only occasionally be stored where shown in the photo. It will spend the majority of its time in the shower except when someone is showering. In fact it may not be next to the reefer at all as I am initially going to need that space for fresh and gray water tanks.

Don