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living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 2:31 pm
by Jason1955
Hey guys,
I'm new to posting but have been reading the forums for several months. I got a ton of ideas on here for my living quarter conversion. I have a 28' car hauler that I haul my drag car in that I basically turned the front 11' into living quarters. I'll get some pics taken and get them up here.

I do however have a few questions though. I'm wanting to install an inverter that will basically run my TV/radio and maybe a small fan at night at the races on those nights that I won't be running the heat or a/c. I normally run the generator during race day and would like to shut it down at night after the race but would like to have my stereo playing or the TV. There are a lot of races in the later winter/early spring that the heat or a/c would not be needed but just be able to run a small fan for the noise. I already have a 12 volt battery up front to power the trailer winch and my interior lights and during the day it is being charged by the generator. I need some suggestions on what inverter to use and will it do what I need it to do? Would I be better off using 2 12 volt batteries in series for more amp hours?

Thanks,
Jason

Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 2:56 pm
by Jason1955
Here are some pics I took right after i got started on it good....i have since made some additions that i will get up here shortly.

Here is the window i added in the door
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The shower is fully portable, I set this up in the garage area
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Another view of the shower:
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A view from the garage area looking towards living quarters:
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A view of the partition between living quarters and garage:
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View from outside looking into side door:
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TV cabinet:
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Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 3:07 pm
by jwhite
I started with a single 12 volt battery and it works fine for the lights and fan and stereo, but I stepped up to 2 golf cart batteries and I bought a 1100 watt inverter used on ebay for 60.00 I think it's a pure sine wave inverter because I haven't had any issues with the TV or computer, I can plug in my TV fans and my small refrigerator and they work fine.
I haven't bought it yet but am going to buy a solar panel to keep the batteries topped off.
I did a search and this what I have and they are available at lowes?
http://www.lowes.com/pd_322972-10018-PW1100-12_0__?productId=3125913&cm_mmc=SCE_PLA-_-OutdoorPowerEquipment-_-TrailersTrailerAccessories-_-3125913&"cagpspn=pla"

Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 3:57 pm
by Bkcreation34
Can you tell me how you did your shower it looks very simple but how did you do the drain underneath and did you put a shower pan tray in so the water doesnt run all over the place. and the wall where the water hook is?

Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 4:13 pm
by Jason1955
Bkcreation34 wrote:Can you tell me how you did your shower it looks very simple but how did you do the drain underneath and did you put a shower pan tray in so the water doesnt run all over the place. and the wall where the water hook is?


I built a shower pan out of 1x4's and 1/2" plywood, I then caulked the edges and seems with caulk and then painted it with that gray garage paint. i drilled a hole in the bottom of the pan and through the floor where the water runs into a portable gray holding tank outside. The shower curtain is simply 1.5" PVC that is hung on the wall with closet rod hangers with a bolt through it. I then got some heavy duty industrial grade velcro from lowes that supports the back side of the shower rod loop. The walls in my trailer are painted with high glass paint so it sheds the water off. I don't camp in it every weekend we race....maybe 5 times a year so no more showers than that it will not damage the walls to get wet. I have a 35gallon fresh water tank that stays in the bed of my truck that feeds my sink up front and the shower. I just have cold water for right now, have not decided how I want to do a water heater yet. I most of the time use this setup in the summer anyway so a cool shower is all I want.

Here is a better shot if the shower pan:
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Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 4:15 pm
by Jason1955
jwhite wrote:I started with a single 12 volt battery and it works fine for the lights and fan and stereo, but I stepped up to 2 golf cart batteries and I bought a 1100 watt inverter used on ebay for 60.00 I think it's a pure sine wave inverter because I haven't had any issues with the TV or computer, I can plug in my TV fans and my small refrigerator and they work fine.
I haven't bought it yet but am going to buy a solar panel to keep the batteries topped off.
I did a search and this what I have and they are available at lowes?
http://www.lowes.com/pd_322972-10018-PW1100-12_0__?productId=3125913&cm_mmc=SCE_PLA-_-OutdoorPowerEquipment-_-TrailersTrailerAccessories-_-3125913&"cagpspn=pla"


Thanks!!! Thats perfect!!!

Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 4:22 pm
by jwhite
I don't mean to highjack the thread but I found out after I built a shower pan that they are really hard to drain out so if you not on perfectly level ground the water will go to the lower side, I think the RV shower pans like I bought are shaped so the water goes to the center where you have the drain evan if it not really level.
Now after you drive off the water will all go out but you could have standing water in the shower while your camping, it's not really a big deal.
I think lowes has a shower pan that fits in the corner that you may could build up the front so the water will go to the corner and drain.
I hate to see others make the same mistake I did, I wish I had bought the RV shower pan from the start.

Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 4:33 pm
by Jason1955
Yea...that true but in my case I have to take the pan up once finished showering to load the car in the trailer. The pan is stored on the fenders as seen in the background of the pic below. I basically shower and then take a towel to dry the pan out but you do make a good point though for someone who would leave the pan down at all times.

You can see the shower pan against the wall by the fuel jugs
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Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 9:34 pm
by 8ball_99
Good job!

Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 12:14 am
by revorunner
Very nice CT. I like the shower set up. Simple but very Practical. :thumbsup: Thanks for the pics. :)

Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 11:03 am
by Jason1955
Here are a few more pics of the trailer:
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I decided I did not like the doors to swing open so I changed them to double sliding doors:
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Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 3:15 pm
by Jason1955
After about a year of working on and off on my race trailer/toy hauler I have finally finished it. We have used it a few times this past summer at some campgrounds and also used it at some races. So far everything works great and we have really enjoyed. I posted some pictures last year but i have since made many changes, some were cosmetic changes and others were all out design changes.

My trailer is a 28' with a 10'-6" x 8' living space, here is a pic of my divider wall i built along with the futon I built
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Here is a pic from the oposite side showing how i did the A/C and TV cabinet. The A/C is mounted in this box with the back open where it pulls in fresh air and blows out the hot air into the rear section.
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Pic of my cabinets and sink
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Pic of the whole front
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Added these LED strip lights in the stepwell and one strand under my awning rail which is hooked to a dimmer switch
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Added an 18' awning
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Imitation tile countertop and tile backsplash
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Loaded up and ready for the dragstrip
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Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 3:29 pm
by lrrowe
Boy could I make a fantastic hunt camp with this rig. Nice job and like any new pictures/posts I see, I come away with another idea.
Bob

Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 4:09 pm
by Jason1955
Thanks Bob!! :D

Re: living quarter conversion in 28' trailer

PostPosted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 3:01 pm
by aggie79
I like your space utilization. You have a very nice CT/car hauler conversion. BTW, is that a '55 Nomad?