Astronomy Telescope Hauler

[astrotrailer]

I have been lurking on this site since last May. I got a lot of great ideas from others and wanted to
share what I have learned. I have put in about 5 weekends on the project so far.

I purchased a Pace Journey 5x8 trailer with drop down ramp. It is about 65 inches high inside
after I put in the foam lid. I wanted a trailer to support my interest in astronomy. I took it for a
week last summer and it worked great. I live in Reno Nevada and we have great dark skies about
45 minutes outside of town. I want a warm place to keep my imaging computers and my body warm.
I wanted plenty of DC power so I installed 160 watts of solar on the roof to feed a 130 amp/hour battery.
I put a window on one side and a small door/window on the other so I can get inside without
opening the ramp. I put a Fantastic fan on the roof and added a PWM controller so I can
slow the fan way down when I want to sleep.



I put 1 inch rigid insulation on the 3 inside walls, 1 inch rigid between the rafters and 1 inch
closed cell foam to cover the ceiling down to the walls. I put 2 inch rigid under the deck.
I put 3/8 inch closed cell foam under the carpet on the floor and up the walls.



I built a desk up front for the laptops. All the lighting is LED and I have both white and red so
I can preserve my night vision. I put several 12 volt power outlets inside and a couple of
power outlets outside to support my astronomy mounts. I put a couple of shelves above the
desk to store a fold up mattress and other stuff.

I want to keep track of my power usage so I put in a couple of Doc Wattson amp/volt meters.
One tracks the load on the battery and the other tracks the solar panel input to the charge controller.
Here's a picture of the meters on top of the charge controller. I also have a knob to
adjust the fan speed and a couple of reset switches for the meters.



Here's a picture of my cable access hatch and 12 volt power outlet. I use the hatch to
feed the USB cables to my mount and cameras. The DC power outlet feeds the equipment.



I am very happy with things so far. I have a 12 volt swamp cooler for the summer but
I am now installing a 1.8 amp Atwood 8012-II furnace to keep me from freezing in the winter.
The trailers a bit heavy on the tongue and don't want to put more weight in front. I got some
feedback regarding mounting the tank in the general forum. I think I will move the spare tire
to the side of the trailer back behind the fender and mount the propane tank up above the tongue box.

I wouldn't have attempted this project without this forum. Thanks for all the great ideas.

Jeff

[alffink]

Jeff

Others may think differently, but why not....they hang spare tires on the side of the trailer

I would perfer that the tank and rack were narrower than the fender, but I can't compare general sizes from photos soooo, anyway I like the concept

I always have a scope or two in the tear, never have gotten into astro photography my passion is in public outrech so my equipment is mainly grab and go

[dreadcptflint]

I may have missed it but what are you using for a charge controller and could you provide more details about the swamp cooler?

[astrotrailer]

I edited my opening post while the 1st response was being posted.
I was thinking about put a propane tank on the side but decided
that I will move the spare tire from the front to the side near the
back to offset the weight. Someone on the general forum gave me
the idea. They thought a tire was less dangerous than a propane tank
on the side. The tire is narrower also.

Jeff

[alffink]

Jeff

I misread the original post some how I was thinking WATER not propane, have to admit I was more interested in the astronomical side of the trailer

[astrotrailer]

I am using a PWM charge controller from Xantrex C12 for about $88.
If I was going to do it again I would by a MPPT controller instead.
It is a little more efficient. The one I got will charge my 130 amp
battery back up by noon in the summer with the strong western sun.
I get about 9.6 amps in full sun from my panels. I get enough
power that I put in a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter to run
my blender and small AC vacuum. As long as I do it before late in
the day my panels will recharge after the high AC load.

I go to several day star parties in the summer such as the Golden State
star party in northern California. It can be hot in the afternoon so I wanted
a way to chill out. It is very dry here so evaporative cooling works well.
I bought the following personal swamp cooler. It is the small white box shown
below the desk. It holds 1/2 gallon of water and runs 2-4 hours before needing
a refill. It has a 3 speed fan and blow cool moist air out two vents in the front.
It feels great to sit in the shade with the cool air on me. It needs .8 amps on
low and 1.7 amps on high. It's a bit pricey at $297 shipped but I used it every
afternoon in the summer. I even used it when I was adding all the insulation in
my driveway. Here is the link for the cooler. It is the MW1.

http://www.swampy.net/wb.html

Astronomy camping was the reason I made it. I found that it is much easier
to sleep until noon in a trailer instead of being baked out by the sun inside a tent.
I have black out covers on the windows and cut a piece of leftover black foam to fit under
the Fantastic fan vent. Having my laptops in the trailer allows me to use them without
bothering others with the light of the computer screens. It also keeps the laptops
working when it gets below freezing. I have been using a heater buddy but for
$325 dollars I could get a real furnace that would be safer. I want to spend a week in
Death Valley in January around the time of the new moon. My wife and I will be happier
to have some heat when near freezing outside.

Jeff

[bc toys]

astro where did you get that tounge box

[mikeschn]

That is such a cool setup.

So if I understand this correctly, you have your telescope setup outside with a CCD, and you sit inside where it is warm, capturing images, and controlling the scope???

Oh the potential!!!

The solar panels sound awsome...

My 65 watt only puts out 0.4 amps in the best part of the day. (something must have happened to it. )

Green with envy!!!

Keep the information coming!

Mike...

[astrotrailer]

I think I bought the tongue box from Costco online. It holds my 130 amp hour battery
and oddball stuff such as wood pads for my leveling stands. I also keep an extension
cord in there for the rare time I am camping with AC.

Imaging with a camera and telescope can take hours on some of the targets.
Once everything is working well I let it run automatically and use another telescope
to look at other stuff with my own eyes. It gets cold off course and thats why I need
someplace to come out of the cold on a winter night when staying out until 5 or 6AM.
I often will take an hour or two nap so I wanted a safe furnace in case I dosed off.


The trailer lets me take my family with me sometimes to go camping with the astronomy gear.
Without it my scopes, mounts and camping gear take up the rest of the Highlander.
I use 4 large plastic storage boxes with water tight lids to load the camping stuff
in the the trailer. I just set up a few tables and a tarp and put the stove and grill outside.
The boxes keep things dry if it rains. I didn't want add a galley with sink because I
didn't have the room and don't want to worry about things freezing up. The 1 inch
closed cell ceiling provides additional insulation and keeps me from knocking my head.
I also put 1 inch foam on the inside just above the side and ramp doors. I learned
the benefit of a crash zone the hard way when I was installing stuff.

I love what others have done with their cargo conversions. I don't have all the tools
or talent to do fine woodwork but I was able to make something that meets my needs
without busting my bank account.

Jeff

[High Desert]

Jeff, thats a very nice conversion you've done. Your electrical system is especially great, very well planned and executed. Built for a purpose and well built. Very kewl.

Also great to see another person from the Reno area on the board. Welcome!

[Prem]

Jeff,

It's awesome when a former lurker joins and posts his/her trailer build photos for all to enjoy!

Thanks. You do very good work!

Prem

[mikeschn]

Got an interior photo with just the red lights on?

Mike...

[asianflava]

Sleep till noon, that sounds like my kind of hobby.

[astrotrailer]

Here's a couple of wide inside shots of the trailer showing the difference between white and red led lighting.
I use the red to preserve my night vision. The camera makes the red look brighter than it really is.
Notice the crash foam above the low door on the right. It has saved my head quite a few times.





The two lights above the desk have 3 position switches (red/off/white). I have 3 more white lights in the ceiling and two
red only and two white only wall washers. I started out with the 4 wall washers and one ceiling light and decided I needed
more. I can turn on all the white led lights at once and only draw 0.4 amps

Jeff

[mikeschn]

That looks cool.

I finished my first dob this past weekend. Last night was supposed to be first light, but I came down with the flu. I was bed ridden. Couldn't care less about anything, except sleep.

Maybe tonight if I am feeling better.

Mike...