7'x22' Diamond Cargo Conversion

[2500HHP]

Hey all, been lurking a while. Great forum, tons of knowledge. Time to start talking!

Recently got a 7x22 Diamond Cargo and I'm in the beginning stages of making it toyhauler. Plan to use front 12' for living quarters and have the rear 10' for bedding and transport. Hoping to get it mostly done this winter, hopefully it doesn't get toooooo dragged out because of my ever changing work schedule.

Plans are:Flip axles under springs, Insulation (in progress), Bathroom (shower/toilet), wrap around counter w/sink in V nose, 12v, 120v, roof mount ac, Fold down queen bed and whatever else happens in between!

Oh, and I have to say that I WON getting insulation for this. I need 1" foam board, which is impossible to source locally. I found an insulation manufacturer in San Antonio. I called and checked their availability and they said it would have to be made to order. So I thought about it and called them back with a great Idea. I asked if since it's made to order, can they do custom sizes? YES. So tomorrow I'm going to pick up 40-14"x70" sheets. WINNING. Cheaper than buying 4x8's as well.

One problem I've already ran into is getting the interior paneling off....Diamond used the nails with the screw heads (pic attched); which don't cooperate very well when trying to pull them off. I find on some I can pry between the stud and the luan and using a drill some will "screw" out. But on others whenever I do that, It will pull the nail through the luan without even trying. Any tips would be appreciated. I plan to rivet the luan back on the studs when finished, so trying to leave the panels MOSTLY unscathed.

[pchast]

Welcome!
Nice trailer and great find on the insulation.

[2500HHP]

Thanks Pete!

[Prem]

Hey all, been lurking a while. Great forum, tons of knowledge. Time to start talking!

On the nail screws . . . Me thinks yur gonna have to drill the heads off the ones that won't back out, using a drill bit that's slightly larger in diameter than the shaft of the nail to keep from making the hole in the luan wider. Remove the luan, then use locking plyers to unscrew those nails. Even if the luan gets buggered up, one can always use some wood putty or paintable caulking to fill the imperfections and then paint it. (I painted half the luan in my trailer a light tan and it really helped bounce the light around better than the natural, darker color of the wood.)

For what it's worth.
Best wishes,

Prem

[2500HHP]

Hey Prem,

I got most the trailer insulated today. I just ended up pulling most the screws through the luan. It flattens back out pretty good once I rivet it on. Using 3 rivets per stud. I only had to pull the uppers off anyway. The foam board is JUST flexible enough I can work it down behind the lower sheets. Breaking one out of 38 isn't bad!

Not super worried about imperfections on the Luan as I plan to carpet the walls and the rivets are sitting flush against the board.

[professorkx]

Awedge,

My trailer has the same nails, but I knew it going into the purchase, so knew I would have to deal with it. I have 3/8" plywood interior, but had I purchased a luan interior, I had planned to just peal off the luan by pulling the head through the sheet, cut the heads off and replace the luan. Much less frustrating than trying to remove the nails since luan is so thin and cheap.

With 3/8" plywood, I am hoping the counter sinking into the plywood is strong enough to withstand drilling, but not sure how this will end. I will know on Saturday, as the interior gets pulled this weekend.

[Rainier70]

On my build, part of the solution to getting my panels off was to use 2 or 3 pry bars to lever most of a full edge up at a time. With more of an even pressure across a larger area, I had better luck on getting the panels to pop off with little damage. I still had some pull through.

I also tried to drill them out first. It didn't work. They just spun in the hole.

In putting my panels back up, I used the same holes but added a washer on my self tapping screws to cover the larger holes that some of the screws pulling through had made. Good luck! They were a PAIN!

[Prem]

Not super worried about imperfections on the Luan as I plan to carpet the walls and the rivets are sitting flush against the board.

Carpet is an excellent idea. Don't know the (low) R-value of it, but it sure makes the interior feel cozy warm fast when you turn on the heat.

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

Carpet is great ...unless you have a 4 footed fur dispersal unit like my
Border Collie Rascal. Vacuuming is a chore that doesn't need to be done
on a vertical and overhead surfaces ...

hank

[2500HHP]

Professor and Rainier,

I'm using rivets with new holes mounting in the studs. The rivets suck the luan down just where I want it...nice and flush. Not super worried about the thermal rating on the carpet as I'm insulating the trailer. I like the way it looks! I'll be done with the insulating tomorrow morning and hopefully I get my 120 to 12v converter in the next day or so, so I can start to play with the stereo and other goodies I have on the way......Just waiting on Ebay. Have 40' of LED strip coming with controller and 12v power source.

I'll have 3 sets (6 speakers) inside, 1-12' subwoofer inside and 1 set (2 speakers) mounted outside. I'm also going to use the monster cable SS-4 splitter to feed what's playing where and when. All speakers will be Kicker 6.5" powered by a 400 watt Rockford 4 channel amp and the sub is a Kicker CVX-12 powered by a Hi-Fonics 1200 watt class D mono amp in a custom 1.8 ft box tuned to 33hz. The 4 channel is good to two ohms so I can daisy chain two of the pairs together making the 3 pairs a 2 ohm load total. This thing is going to JAM once I'm done with it.

I have a Pioneer double din in my truck that I'm selling, which I'm considering putting in the trailer. If nothing else, I have a Pioneer Bluetooth dongle I can send both amps signal off of and sync with my phone and play off that...cross that bridge sooner than later hopefully. Need to figure out exactly what I want to do for cabinets first.

[professorkx]

Not super worried about imperfections on the Luan as I plan to carpet the walls and the rivets are sitting flush against the board.

Carpet is an excellent idea. Don't know the (low) R-value of it, but it sure makes the interior feel cozy warm fast when you turn on the heat.

Yup. I've carpeted all 5 of my race vans over the years, which were used to travel around the US to events, and I love the look of carpet. Not sure my weight restrictions will allow, but if so, my walls will get carpet...

[2500HHP]

Not super worried about imperfections on the Luan as I plan to carpet the walls and the rivets are sitting flush against the board.

Carpet is an excellent idea. Don't know the (low) R-value of it, but it sure makes the interior feel cozy warm fast when you turn on the heat.

Yup. I've carpeted all 5 of my race vans over the years, which were used to travel around the US to events, and I love the look of carpet. Not sure my weight restrictions will allow, but if so, my walls will get carpet...

What Kind of carpet are you using? I'm thinking something similar to what I would call "office carpet". Just a nice gray, durable commercial carpet. Any recommendations?

[2500HHP]

Sweet little switch bank I ordered came in today. It has 4 fused 20a circuits, voltmeter and cigarette plug. Should go nicely with the 80a 120 to 12v converter that should be here tomorrow!

[professorkx]

Not super worried about imperfections on the Luan as I plan to carpet the walls and the rivets are sitting flush against the board.

Carpet is an excellent idea. Don't know the (low) R-value of it, but it sure makes the interior feel cozy warm fast when you turn on the heat.

Yup. I've carpeted all 5 of my race vans over the years, which were used to travel around the US to events, and I love the look of carpet. Not sure my weight restrictions will allow, but if so, my walls will get carpet...

What Kind of carpet are you using? I'm thinking something similar to what I would call "office carpet". Just a nice gray, durable commercial carpet. Any recommendations?

Boat carpet is the easiest carpet I have found to install, as it's doesn't have a stiff backing. I have installed over the panels after the walls are finished, as well as carpeting individual panels and installing them fully carpeted. Quite frankly, carpeting the panels first is the easiest method, but I believe carpeting walls after they are finished is the right ticket for a CT since cabinets and other interior items will need to be put in place before carpeting.

The problem with carpeting the walls after they are finished is that you are dealing with a huge piece of carpet, and both the carpet and walls already have contact cement. As soon as they touch, you get to work to get them apart so you get a smooth finish. The best method I have found is to use pieces of pine set at an angle from top to bottom to help keep the carpet off the wall until you are ready. Since the contact cement is dry, and the pine doesn't have any contact cement, they don't stick together. This is one method used to lay Formica on a counter top. Two people are needed at a minimum, and three if you have another available. The wood that is placed on angle should be about 4 inches down from the top so you can carpet from the top down. Hang the carpet over the spacers (two people) and staple in place at the top (third person). You are going to have some waste, so I like to start stappling in the middle and work my way to the edges. The top will no doubt be covered by a finish strip, so the staples won't be seen. Once the top is stapled in place, work from one end to the other or from the middle out, one stick at a time, making sure you don't have any wrinkles all the way to the bottom. Remember, once the contact cement touches, you want it to be finished, so take your time. Once the wall is carpeted, trim both ends and the bottom with a razor knife.

You can also carpet finished walls in pieces, but seams are very difficult unless you plan to cover with a trim piece. This is certainly an option, and probably the only method if you are carpeting alone.

One final thought. Use roll on contact cement, not spray on, as the roll on has better coverage so will not delaminate with temp changes. Contact cement in a can is not as easy to use, but works better, it's cheaper and you only want to do this once.

I am sure others have used methods that work, and hopefully they will post their thought as well.

[2500HHP]

Professor,

Thank you very much for your input on this. I'm sure when the time comes I'll be asking more for more of your advice on specifics for the carpet