It's been awhile since my last post.
Work on my CT has come to an almost complete stop. This is not due to a lack of time or money, rather a shift in my original ideas and plans for the CT. I have now had the CT out on a few trips with the longest being 8 days. During these trips I have had the opportunity to find what I like and don't like about the CT as it is now setup. For example, the cabinets that I put in both sides down at the floor level can hold quite a bit, however in order to access the cabinets at floor level means that there can be nothing on the floor as the door cannot swing open nor can the other cabinet drawers pull out. What I plan to do is replace the complete cabinet on the roadside with a different type that will open hatch style from the top. This will allow access without any floor hindrances and also allow the cabinet door to used as a seat when needed.
The cabinets on the curbside are ok, I will add one more on top for a bit more storage room. With the addition of another cabinet here, access to the cabinet at the floor level will not be needed as much and I can live with this.
In one pf my previous posts, I had inquired about putting a canoe rack on outside top of the trailer. Since then, I found that the canoe being short enough, will just barely fit in the CT. How fits is that the bow of the canoe is held by a cam buckle strap to the top front V of the CT. The stern of the canoe then drops down on an angle across the bed to the back door on the roadside of the CT. The roadside back door then barely closes and if the trailer was another inch shorter or the canoe was another inch longer, it would not of worked. With the canoe mounted and secured in this manner, access into the CT via the side door is still available as the canoe is angled away from front center to the curbside of the CT. One good aspect of the canoe in the trailer is it serves as another storage space and is used for life jackets, fishing gear, sleeping bags etc. It probably sounds confusing so I will post a picture this weekend before I take the canoe out of the trailer. Lastly in terms of the canoe, this means there is no way of having the bed fold up but I can live with this as the time spent in the CT has been for sleeping only and all other activity is outside anyway.
I also plan to add a cabinet above the bed on the curbside. This cabinet will primarily be used to store clothes, a few books, the laptop and iPad etc. Now with the canoe in the CT, all my lighting plans and ideas for the front cabinet in the V-Nose need to be re-thought and I glad that I did not yet finish the front roof section in the V-Nose. I have ordered some 12 volt LED strip lighting that I plan to run down the interior roof on both sides of the trailer. For now I am using some portable battery operated LED lights that with the bright white interior of the CT, does not require much in the way of lighting needs.
Another change I would like to make is get the spare tire out from under the bed and mount it on the rear of the trailer behind the curbside tire fender. This will then free up extra room under the bed for more storage.
All in all though I am pleased with the CT and thankful that I can change it specifically for my needs. I would of been mortified to spend 1000's of dollars more for a traditional camping trailer only to find that it did not suit my needs and it would not be as easy to modify..
I have one more major camping trip next month then I will start to work on CT conversion - Version 2, so stay tuned!
From the last trip:
by bigbendhiker » Tue May 22, 2012 10:13 pm 
