7x16 Cargo Camper

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

Follow up electric heating is working great.....

I roller out the 30" x 60" tile floor wire heating matt directly under the mattress onto the plywood and it does take
about 1.5 to 2 hours - but then the temp got up to 112 deg at a nice steady 160 watts
with a 12" mattress it keeps it just perfect.

I will next try put the whole thing on a dimmer switch & see if I can find the magic 85- 90 deg set point.
that is much cheaper then the $130 fancy controller. I just put the outdoor remote probe under the mattress - cost $25 for both
Why heat the whole trailer when you can just heat your sleeping compartment ?

Tonight I will try my experiment with the hot water hopefully & report back results.

[revorunner]

Thanks for the follow up OTTCT. Glad to hear that the electric mat is working out for you.

[Mark519]

I got a bunch of cabinetry done. The flush hinges and latches added a lot of work, not to mention all the wood finishing required. It is almost time to tackle the shower. I think I will use FRP and build a fiberglass pan. There is no available pan that I could find that was suitable in size, shape, outlet, etc. Fiberglass is really out of my comfort zone so I have saved this for last. Well, actually the steps will probably be last. I may have to cut out the siding under the door to fit them.

My tv is a Skyworth DC model. It has a really terrible remote with blue on black lettering but the picture is nice. I had to mount it with a locking marine mount from wallmountworld.com so it doesn't bounce around and I can easily pull it out to put in a DVD. I bought a Shakespeare marine omnidirectional TV antenna (looks like a UFO). It has a preamp and seems to work ok but it is hard to judge antennas.

[mezmo]

Hi Mark519,

I just came across your build thread here and am very impressed ! You are
doing an outstanding job. You'll end up with a custom outfitted camper, second
to none.

I really like your approach of continuous 'shallow' storage on both sides of the
unit [I'm guessing @ 8in deep ?]. It presents a unified sleek [in the best sense
of the word] look. Your choice of the flush cabinet doors with the flush pulls really
brings it off. I'm normally not a fan of beadboard panelling, but the natural birch (?)
finish on the cabinets and the white finish on the ceiling really work well together
and are spot on. The interior water tank location is also an approach I like.

Good luck as you finish it out. It is certainly an example of how to 'do it right'.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

Mark

Schleuter makes a precast foam shower pan that can be custom
Cut to size with a built in drain and sloped floor. I used a cast pan but used their foam
Wall panels to make my glass tile shower ...
Easy to use, not cheap however !!

New foam Insulation is working great , 30 deg outside =52 deg inside no heat required,
One more layer or a smaller trailer could be good to 10-20 deg easy.

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Check on my blog for details about shower.


http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com/

Jerry

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

Here are some more pic's even with a different floor drain & a foam shelf ...
for some reason I can only do 3 pic's per post

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Jerry


http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com/

[sjrmotorsports]

Good looking build! I have a question. I've been wanting to mount my Honda EU3000 generator on the tongue of my cargo conversion, but I was worried about the noise. I was thinking of universal car motor mounts welded to a mounting plate with a cover similar to yours. Is the sound/vibration unbearable? Did you use any type of sound deadening in your tongue box?

[Mark519]

Thanks! I had originally planned on using sound deadening material inside the cover but it is heavy and expensive and I don't know how much difference it will really make. The cover that alone cuts some noise. You can stand near it and the noise isn't overwhelming. I have two bilge blowers which bring in fresh air and they do add a whine. The generator frame is U bolted to the box frame which is U bolted to the trailer frame. There is some vibration transmitted to the trailer and you can feel it in the floor and walls. Again it is not bad although I have not tried sleeping through it. If I can find some suitable rubber I may try it between the gen frame and box frame. Car motor mounts are very hard rubber and I don't think they will do much for this type of vibration. You may be able to simply strap the EU3000 to rubber feet/base of some type.

[Mark519]

SHOWER PAN
I finally built the shower pan. I used fiberglass over plywood and used a thin panel for the bottom. The plan was to pull it down so there would be 1/4" per foot slope. It almost worked but the bottom pulled back and I got less than the desired slope. Oh well. At this point I don't really want to throw it away start over with three days of work.

Frame with spacers. The bottom 3/4" plywood will be removed once the fiberglass is hard.


The bottom is paneling. I used two pieces to minimize the distortion. The screw pulls it down where the drain will be.


First coat of fiberglass. I used polyester resin commonly used for auto repairs.


More coats and sides.


After sanding smooth and laying more mat. I added white color which I should have done all along. The drain hole was fabricated out of fibered body filler. I had to very carefully cut and sand away the wood from underneath the fiberglass and then build up the filler underneath. I used the drain to shape it. The drain has to sit below the surface.


Its pretty ugly underneath. I made cuts in the panel and I tried to pull it down and fiber bondo it. That really didn't help the slope much. I think I will fill this space with thinset mortar so it will be fully supported and won't flex.


After two coats of gel coat brushed on. That was tricky because I had the non-waxed type that has to be kept out of air to harden properly. I covered it with wax paper after it gelled about 45 min. I sanded it down to 400 grit. The gel coat was thin in a few places so that white underneath helps.


Overall, this was every bit as difficult as I expected it to be and could have been done better with more experience. I would have bought one if I could have found one that fit even close but the size and frame underneath made that impossible.

[roadinspector]

Well done! Lots of work for what fits your needs is worth every minute. I enjoy the effort that folks here put into their projects to make it theirs.

Earnest

[hankaye]

Mark519, Howdy;

Great job with the shower pan.
One trick for a 'parting' material is to spread a thin layer of
vaseleane (sp?), on the wood before applying the resin.

hank

[Mark519]

Thanks Hank & Earnest!

Today, I reworked the pan and fixed the slope problem. First I ground off all the bondo and roughed up the wood. You can see the cuts I made in the wood when I tried the first time to fix it.


Then I pulled the pan into the correct position with a 7" round piece of wood on the other side, screwed into the cross beam. I then laid two fiberglass mats down. When it hardened the pan stayed in position and now has the correct 1/4" slope.


The drain hardware is a generic fitting which I could only find at jazzsales.com pn#721342. It is plastic and almost not long enough. I am going to silicon rtv it in place. The drain connects to a HepVo trap, and abs connector.


I didn't want a conventional 4" drain shower drain assembly because it would put the exit pipe too low.


So here's how I SHOULD have built it:

- instead of a 3/4" base piece, use several 1" cross beams and screws like above to hold the panel in position.
- cut panel partway through as above to make it more flexible if necessary
- lay one mat on the top surface.
- lay two mats on bottom surface
- remove cross beams, screws - surface should not spring back
- cut 3" drain hole all the way through fiberglass and wood
- lay more mats on top surface, fill holes, and build up flange underneath
- gel coat (should have used the waxed type which cures hard where exposed to air)
- fill remaining space underneath with thinset mortar for support

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

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Mark Thanks for the tip,

now I see how this works

[Mark519]

FINISHING UP!
I built the rest of the cabinets and the shower/bathroom. I used FRP over 3/16 paneling for the walls and ceiling of the shower. FRP needs to be glued to a good surface with FRP adhesive and allowance needs to be made because it expands in the heat. I am going to use a shower curtain for privacy. The shower is 32x30" so it isn't too small.

The toilet is a 3.5 gallon bucket set inside a 5 gallon bucket and uses WAG bags. I could also use a porta pottie. It is really more for emergencies.





CONCLUSION
At this point I mostly have minor things to finish up so I probably won't be posting much unless there are questions which I will be glad to answer. This build has taken me 6 months of labor and way more money than I estimated. All those trips to Home Depot for minor things really add up.

There isn't much I would do differently. I would get two extra feet in length (7x18) and a higher ground clearance. The coin mat flooring isn't really as tough as I would like and it will be a real problem if it ever needs to be replaced. There is still too much weight in the front but the hitch seems to take care of that. I haven't worked out how to install steps yet. I think I need to install an escape hatch in the floor since I have no windows. And a few other minor things.

I wanted a versatile RV that could haul junk, dogs, an ATV, go camping and do it all without hookups. I think I have achieved that, and I am really pleased!

[Keystone]

Sure is a nice looking trailer. You did an excellent job.