Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Howdy All!,,,New guy here!,,been lurking for a month reading lots of great info,,,what a site!!
Ive been looking for info online for acouple yrs about converting cargo's an havent found much untill now,,,i hadnt even thought about the small tear trailers,,,just happend upon it and wanna say,,,,way cool!!,,ive found others like me,,,,well kinda!!,,,lol!
Lets see,,where to start??,,im 50,,male,,ex dumptruck owner/operator,,heavy equipment oper,,also did alittle over the rd driving both in a big rig and a hotshot box truck service,,loved the travel but never got to stop!
Doc found out bout 12yrs ago i had a blood clot issue that is shortning my life span so to make a long storey short i came up with the extended rd trip,,,fulltime if u will,
At first i started with an idea of a van with a cargo behind,,,sleep in the van and setup the cargo with bathroom,kitchen,shower,and small work bench and enough room to haul the old Harley,,,found a ford e-150,,drug impound,,,and for $500 i couldnt pass it up,,,maybe buy a hitop and put on it,,,,,,well i had made a deal but hadnt put down cash yet when i found a chevy camper van on CL for $1500.00,,,,didnt pass it up,,lol,,,it needed the frontend rebuilt,,bout $1000.00 and afew odds an ends its roadworthy,,,,,i sold my ford ranger and used the cash to buy a 6x12 two axle CT,,side door,rear ramp,tongue box and kinda beat up,,it used to be a contractor trailer ,,tool storage and looks like a tree fell on it toward the back but the patch is water proof,,lol!,,,and i think with a roof coating/sealer it'll be ok for me,,,as it cost me $1000 plus $200 in gas to get it home,, i just didnt see being able to raise enough to buy a new one like most of u did,,,,but im glad i ended up with the perfect size i think and with the second axle i have plenty of gvw to built it like i want,,,i might add i do have a 1979 coachman class C MH that im planning on stripping and using all the parts i can in the CT,,,it has a good roof ac,,full fridge/freezer etc and it all works,,,
I lived in it after Katrina while workin disaster relief,,,right now my plan is to over time build CT but im planning on taking off on small month long trips as soon as i get the few things for van,,,some solar which will go on CT at a later time,,four 6vlt batteries,,,
,,got a 2500watt inverter and new honda 3000watt pure sine generator,,,,,I'll throw my tools,, the Harley and afew of the items out of the MH in,,,and when i find a camp site away from anybody,,,will be boondocking most nights,,,i can work on CT out in the woods somewhere and pick up more conversion items whenever i swing thru home,,(oklahoma right now),,its in the middle of the US so can get home within acouple no matter where im at,, besides ive got to see doc every 2-3months anyway,,,,,,,,so after completing the CT to my liking i;ll sell the camper van and buy a pickup or some kind of tow rig that gets better milage.
All this is not easy on a ssdi check,,, lucky i have the MH with all the parts and can sell things like the motor with only 40.000 orig miles it will sell to help finance the build,,anyway im sorry to take up so much space but im excited about the adventure ahead of me even though its a low buck build and im not a carpenter,,, but i can read a tape,lmao!!,,,its gonna be good,,,home on the road and will really be a stealth camper when its done.
I do have questions,,,tryin to figure out how much solar im going to need?,, i know i know it comes down to how much power im going to use ie:ele skillet,coffee maker etc,,, but those of you who do boondock is there an average amount of wattage one needs to keep the bank full?,,,ive got room for 2 panels on van and will use roof on CT to place 2 more maybe,,im looking at buying the biggest i can find that will fit,,,,starting with 2-275watt panels on van and adding 2 more on CT if need be,,,ofcourse i'll see how 2 works but thought if anyone had a system that worked while boondocking id sure like to hear about ur setup,,,im not sure i'll be able to figure out pic posting as my puter skills are less than,,,,well,,not real good!,,lol,,,,but thx again for this site,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I knew there had to B others!!!

You won't need near as much if you use propane for heating and cooking.

Well ive got a 1500watt ele heater and a smaller infared but plan on staying in mild weather so thats not to much an issue,,was just wondering if anybody else boondocks mostly and how much wattage they R using to keep a full bat bank,,,ive got a new honda powered gen that i can use to charge batteries but with the cost of solar id like to take advantage of its free power mainly.
hopefully there are others who can pass on their info,

There are two parts of this equation, conservation is one of the most important parts and solar input. Conservation I have all LED lights, an Espar diesel heater, gas electric water heater, gas grill, WAECO refrigerator all of which are with in the 185W solar panel to power. You do need more capacity to anticipate bad weather or winter lack of light.
Our system will get a work out starting in a week ask me when we get back.

wow! i wouldnt think u could power all that along with fridge on 185watts,,,i was thinking id be running around 550watts,,,well enjoy ur trip,,,let us know how it goes!

And there’s always Solar Cooking (FREE) www.solarcooking.org

Loner
Each of the items I mentioned were selected for low power draw. As an example the Espar heater draws about 10A during start up because it is using a glow plug to light off, once it is running the draw is a couple of amps. The WAECO draws .71amp hours in hot weather. Computer case fans pull about .5amp hours on high.
I also have a 140W flexible panel that can be put out in the sun to supplement if we catch too much shade.
There are other things that draw power, water pump spark ignition for the water heater, lights. I hope to get a much better feeling once we have real world experience

I would leave the electric heater at home.
1500 Watts divided by 12 volts is 125 amps. (Plus inverter losses)
As much as a small car starter. You would be lucky to run it an hour on a battery.

Solar cooking!,,, i agree its a cheap way of cooking,,after you build or buy the equipment and for those who are green minded its fits their way of thinking but it seems like more work and planning ur sunlight hr's,,lol,,LAZY!!,,more than i want to do,,,would rather cook over fire ,,,,lpg stove top or even got "EVIL SKILLET",,Lmao!,,,thats another story,,back in the DAY!!
As far as the the 1500watt heater i wouldnt use it unless running the gen but try to regular temp more with geography,,choosing Co,Wy.Mt etc during summer and the gulf during winter.
I figure im going to end up with 2-275 watt panels on top of my camper van and can add another or two on CT if i need it
I'll have 6-6vlt cart batteries that will be 450-650ah,,,, along with a 2500watt mod sine inverter,,and a 600watt pure sine(for electronics)
I'll be running 33in flat screen with Sat tv box,DvD player,,assorted chargers for phone,laptop,AA battery charger etc
I know its gonna be more about learning how to use the system i am gonna end up with,,im building up anything i can to prolong my time out in the forest and less time drivin into town after stuff!!,,,,So after i get solar installed,,,inverter,batteries and take care of afew issues on van i can start my trip!!