Don & Christi's 6 x 10 Cargo Conversion

[flboy]

This is how my portable mounts and stores for ride. I have a 7*14 CTC and the AC is 7,000 BTU. It does the job, but I believe a 5,000 BTU that does not pull in air from outside (single tube) would be more efficient. In my case, the main advantage would be I could run the 5,000 BTU with my smaller generator and battery/inverter. If my portbale ends up failing at some point, I will replace it with a window unit (much less exensive). I plan on cutting a hole for it in the Ramp Door near the floor and then cover the hole with a diamond plated aluminum panel and on the inside, I will have a slider. This way, I can use the ramp, anb when it is closed up for camping, I will slide in the AC.

I really didn't want to cut holes in the side either, but I think cutting a hole in the bootom of the ramp door will be a good compromise. For now, I plan on keeping the portable. Like anything, the more I use it, the more ideas I get for my trailer.

[d30gaijin]

Today I installed the doors, hinges, and knobs and put them up for a test fit. Everything looks good so now it is take it all back apart and start the sanding, staining, and clear coat.

Don

[d30gaijin]

Don,

Those cabinet doors look really nice. It sounds like the price was real reasonable as well.

How are you going to finish them? Red Oak is a beautiful wood, a clear sealer would look nice.

Scott,

I have to stain them with Minwax golden oak stain then clear coat over that. I'm kind of stuck with that because that's what I used on the lower cabinet face, which is red oak plywood that I had to try and match to the wood doors I bought from the Habitat For Humanity Reuse Store. The lower doors were a different wood, a little darker than the red oak ply so I had to try and match the two, but then the lower doors only cost me about $4 each. In retrospect I would have preferred to just clear coat all the red oak but the lower doors wouldn't allow for that since they aren't red oak.

Based on my experience I can recommend this company if you need cabinet doors at a reasonable price: http://www.fastcabinetdoors.com/ Ordering from them on-line was very simple and the doors arrived well before I expected them to.

I stained the upper galley cabinet face and the doors today and am letting them dry 24 hours. I will then start the clear coat tomorrow.

Don

[d30gaijin]

Don:

Lowe's and Home Depot has the "dimpled aluminum/tin" panels your wife wants. Look in the kitchen cabinet display areas. They have different patterns and colors, too.

Verna,

Thank you again for another great tip. Christi found the tin paneling on-line through Home Depot and we placed our order (the pattern we want wasn't available in-store). Unfortunately I doubt it will make it here before we leave July 7th, but if it does it seems fairly easy to work with and install. Should it arrive in time I will install it. The the galley area will then be pretty much complete. After that I'll concentrate on finishing the side walls of the CT, when we get back.

Don

[bigbendhiker]

Don,

Your trailer is coming along real nice. All your hard work and planning is paying off. Your cabinets look great.

I hope you guys have a great trip and we're looking forward to pictures.

[d30gaijin]

Don,

Your trailer is coming along real nice. All your hard work and planning is paying off. Your cabinets look great.

I hope you guys have a great trip and we're looking forward to pictures.

Scott,

Thank you for the kind words.

Today I realized I have been working on our CT conversion for two years now. Two steps forward, and one step back. Be that as it may, I am still making progress.

Today I clear coated the cabinet face and doors. Will wait for them to dry until tomorrow and lightly sand them then spray a final clear coat. I'll Let that dry for a day then install them back in the CT.

In the mean time I cut a hole in the floor to exhaust the portable a/c unit and tried it out. Not overly impressed so far but must admit that I have additional insulation and sealing to do to the exhaust outlet and ducting. I see what others refer to about the single hose portable unit, it creates a vacuum in the CT and sucks in outside hot air from poorly sealed nooks and crannies in the CT (my rear doors definitely need better sealing). I see a simple fix for that via a 14 X 14x 2 inch baking pan sealed/glued to the back of the a/c unit with a 4" dryer vent to the outside of the CT. Presto! The unit is now a two hose unit. Without insulating the exhaust hose, and leaks in the exhaust system it still maintained internal CT temp at 79 in 89 degree outside Boise weather (CT obviously sitting in the sun/heat of day). That's a good starting point in my opinion i.e., looks promising once I get the unit's exhaust better sealed and insulated. Tomorrow I need to seriously caulk the a/c vent floor cut through and spray it with underbody seal once caulked. I definitely do not want road water getting in the plywood floor nor between the plywood floor and the linoleum.

Lot's more to do... and I'm working on it.

Don

[bc toys]

Don I like your trailer I also have a A/C like yours have not got to try it yet a friend gave it to me [price was right]. took you 2 years to build your trailer and I got 20 day to have it camping ready and wife told me I can't walk on floor for 2 days so now there is 18 working days to get it ready.

[roadinspector]

Don,
Where there is a will there's a way. Really like your idea for you intake line. I also like your idea on enclosing it with an exterior vent. You could use some leftover wall insulation inside it to help out with temp transfer and it would be quieter. The unit would already be secured for travel and it would be one less thing to set up when setting up camp.

Nice build. You have given me lots to mull over for when I hopefully start my build soon.
Earnest

[Wolfscout]

my portable ac is vented through the floor as well. I've not had any problems. I did silicon seal the underside.
Something I may do is do another floor exit so I have options on where I can hook it up at.
Right now it freezes my feet off at night blowing directly on them due to the height of my Etrack bed frame and air mattress.

[d30gaijin]

I stained and clear coated the OH galley cabinet/doors and reassembled them today. I'm amazed everything came out pretty darned straight. Now all I need to do to completely finish the OH is cut the corner moulding for where the cabinet face meets the ceiling and stain and clear coat that along with staining and clear coating the moulding that covers the seam down the center of the cabinet face. I used the same aluminum angle to finish off the lower edge of the upper cabinet that I used to finish the upper edge of the lower cabinet... got that?

It's not looking good for the hammered tin we plan to use for back splash protection behind the stove, sink, and microwave to arrive before we leave as we have received no notice of shipping so very doubtful it will get here in time. Oh well, there's still lots more work to be done when we get back. Be that as it may, we're hoping the aluminum angle and the hammered tin compliment each other and kind of bring the galley theme together with the wood cabinets... Good grief Don, it's only a cargo trailer, not something suitable as a "Better Homes & Garden" magazine feature article.

In the pic below the upper cabinet looks darker than the lower cabinet but they actually match quite closely. It's a photographic lighting illusion. Honest. The upper cabinet is recessed further back from the door compared to the lower cabinet and the lower is getting strong side sunlight through the door whereas the upper cabinet is in deeper shadow.

Tomorrow I hope to get the underside of the CT where I cut the opening for the a/c vent silicone sealed and sprayed with black undercoating to seal out any potential moisture intrusion into the plywood floor, such as when traveling in the rain. Then it is install tie down straps for the a/c unit and the 1 gallon propane tank and we'll be about as ready to go as we can get at this point.

Don

[d30gaijin]

This is how my portable mounts and stores for ride. I have a 7*14 CTC and the AC is 7,000 BTU. It does the job, but I believe a 5,000 BTU that does not pull in air from outside (single tube) would be more efficient. In my case, the main advantage would be I could run the 5,000 BTU with my smaller generator and battery/inverter. If my portbale ends up failing at some point, I will replace it with a window unit (much less exensive). I plan on cutting a hole for it in the Ramp Door near the floor and then cover the hole with a diamond plated aluminum panel and on the inside, I will have a slider. This way, I can use the ramp, anb when it is closed up for camping, I will slide in the AC.

I really didn't want to cut holes in the side either, but I think cutting a hole in the bootom of the ramp door will be a good compromise. For now, I plan on keeping the portable. Like anything, the more I use it, the more ideas I get for my trailer.

flboy,

That is a very sweet CT setup you have. I'm glad to hear the 7k btu portable works for you, especially considering your CT is considerably larger than our 6x10. I'm sure the 8k btu a/c unit we bought will work for us once I get everything sealed off properly and the exhaust hose insulated per Goatdog's method. As it was tried yesterday it brought the internal temp down 9 degrees from external temp so things are looking up. Still, I expect better to come.

Don

[bigbendhiker]

Today I realized I have been working on our CT conversion for two years now. Two steps forward, and one step back. Be that as it may, I am still making progress.

Don

I sure am glad to hear you say that you have been working on your conversion for 2 years. I was on vacation last week and I didn't seem to get very far. Between extreme heat the first part of the week and an out of town guest the last part of the week it was slow going. Most of what I got done won't show when I'm finished, insulation, wiring, and furring strips on the ceiling. Oh well, at least I made some progress. Seeing yours and others gives me encouragement and ideas.

Thanks,

[d30gaijin]

Today we hooked up the CT to the Cherokee to go pickup a 7' sofa/hide-a-bed unit. This is the first chance we've had to use the CT and Cherokee since I installed the airshocks on the Cherokee. What a difference they make. I only inflated them to 100 psi (they'll inflate to 150 psi) because none of the pressure gauges I have read above 100 psi and I didn't want to risk over-pressurizing them. Still, at 100 psi the shocks do a great job of leveling the Cherokee with the CT attached. Compare the two pics below. The first is with the airshocks inflated to 100 psi in our driveway with the 7' hide-a-bed couch inside (anyone who has ever moved a 7' hide-a-bed couch knows how much they weigh). Note that the CT is on a forward incline putting additional tongue weight on the Cherokee. The second is at my mom's house in Lake Tahoe this past winter with a rearward incline, taking tongue weight off the Cherokee, and still it is squat butt down without the airshocks.

This trial run also gave us a chance to check out how the little Viair 12v dc compressor would work to fill the airshocks. It worked great!

Once I move the Cherokee and CT back to the level street and pump the airshocks up a bit more I'll post another pic, but they really do a great job of leveling the Cherokee/CT combo.

Don

[d30gaijin]

Cooloohmoondooh! Received shipping notice today from Home Depot. The hammered tin we ordered for the galley backsplash area has been shipped and should arrive 12 July. Considering we have delayed our departure for another couple of weeks (but then again we don't now really know for sure when we're leaving nor when we will be returning) that means it should get here before we leave, if we leave, giving us time to get it installed before the trip, if we take the trip. In some respects things are looking up i.e., it would be nice to have the galley area mostly finished before we depart, if we depart. Schedules are changing every day so now we don't know what the heck we're actually doing in terms of going and coming. Very frustrating, to say the least.

Don

[pmowers]

Good grief Don, it's only a cargo trailer, not something suitable as a "Better Homes & Garden" magazine feature article.

I understand the comment completely. My wife keeps asking me if I am going to live in my trailer..I am not sure if it is a question, a hint or a threat.

I have a deLonghi 12,000 unit in my garage similar to your Heier. As I was going back over your thread (trying to steal, errr... adapt more ideas) I was struck by the idea used on some computer cases where the case has a duct to the cpu fan built into the side panel. What if you mounted the portable a/c unit as b/c did for transport, but put a access hatch on the ramp and a collar lined up to the air intake on the side of the a/c unit. When you ran the unit, you would just open the hatch on the outside, so the air would be sucked in, go through the evaporator and then out through the floor duct. If I can figure out a drawing I will have to post it. The ramp would still be usable as in your original idea.

I may have missed it, can you tell us a little more about how you did your ceiling?

Pat