Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Yet another new guy here. I'm looking to build a 6x10 or 5x10 conversion and I'm shopping brands of cargo trailers. Would love some advice / opinions on some of the following.

1. Budget minded and I came across a company called Cargo Craft here in GA. Sounds like there are others here on the site happy with their Cargo Craft. Any opinions on cargo craft as far as quality or other brands I should consider.

2. Pulling the trailer with a 04 wrangler w/ 2000lbs tow rating. would really like to have the 6x10 but worried about the width and pulling it with the jeep. The 5x10 would fit the width of the jeep better.

3. Thinking that I will order it with a roof height that will fit in my garage(standard 2 car garage) I cant store it outside in my neighborhood and I really don't want to pay for storage but I'm open to it. Would I really regret this? Should I go for the higher ceiling? Standard height would allow me (6 foot) to stand up. Worse case I think I'd lose a foot of height.

3. plan on ordering it with the following options. Anything I should add that I should have the manufacturer add or not add.
-vnose
-insulated
-side door
-rear barn doors
-roof vent

Should have mentioned that I'm trying to sleep 3 in the trailer.

I would reconsider having them install insulation. Depending on your electrical plans, you will likely end up temporarily removing most if not all of the insulation to run wiring. Others have reported sub-standard factory insulation installation (gaps, low R materials, etc.).

Looking forward to following your build!

I also would recommend not getting it with insulation. The dealer I went to told me they would do the entire thing with quality stuff. However when I started to pull some of the panels I got screwed. They used cheap Styrofoam with an R1 rating and left huge gaps in places. Right now I'm pulling all their cap out and putting in the 1"blue foam board. Lesson learned!!!

No windows?

Recommend windows and the roof vent, if only to have the vent framing in place so you can replace the cheap factory fan with a better one (unless you can have them install a decent fan in the first place). Also concur on not having them do the insulation. You'll likely do a much better job yourself, at a lower cost, and as others said you'd be pulling our insulation to do wiring anyway.

I just picked up a Georgia trailer a few weeks ago and truthfully it is tough to really know who makes any f these trailers I think?
There are so many builders and dealers in such a small area that they are likely more alike than different anyway I think.

Mine is built in a way it seems you would have to try to make this carelessly and then practice to get it right(the badness)although so far the lack of care seems mostly cosmetic and the bones seem OK from my examinations.

So I am not sure it matters a lot either once covered you ca not see the mess anymore!

And the trailers are so much cheaper it is tough to beat that sometimes.

Unless you can Weld yourself I would have the trailer built for Windows,Fans,Doors,etc as the bracing should be there then,maybe not too square but there!

I too would not count on the factory doing a decent insulation job at all. Detail work might not be their strong suit.

If they say they'll insulate get in writing to what R value

Then still don't do it. Leave the inside bare and get it done yourself. May horror stories on this forum if you read thru

Here's my .02 worth. Most every trailer built in south Georgia is built by one of about six or seven manufacturers regardless of what name you see on the trailer. Colony Cargo is probably one of the best built of all the south GA trailers from a construction standpoint. Their wall design DOES NOT depend on the interior plywood for structural support. They were my first choice but I couldn't find a dealer close enough to buy thru. They only sell thru actual dealers, unlike most of the manufacturers. My second choice and the manufacturer I bought thru was Cynergy Cargo. I have a dealer here that is one of their reps and I was able to look at their build quality before buying. Also I checked with one of those "internet dealers" of Cynergy trailers and my local dealer was within $150.00 of what the internet dealer wanted and my dealers price included shipping it here local. There's NO way I could have made the 300 mile round trip for the difference if you include the drive time. Also my dealer here will handle ALL warranty work on the factories behalf so that I don't have to haul it back to the factory if work is needed. I bought the Cynergy Advanced model in a 7X16 TA(tandem axle).

(1) have them leave all interior trim uninstalled and bundled in the floor, that way you don't have to pull the 1000 plus staples out to reuse it.
(2) DO Not have them insulate anything other than possibly the roof/ceiling
(3) Have them wire and brace for a roof vent.
(4) have them install windows if the budget allows, atleast have them brace for future windows in a size and location of your choosing. Windows come in many common sizes
(5) have a RV style side door w/ flush lock installed if not offered as a standard item.
(6) depending on how you decide to finish the interior have them install the plywood vertically rather than horizontally, (the seams are easier to cover and more pleasing to the eye once done)

There's more but that should do it for now.

Martin

If you really want to convert a cargo, you need to accept that the only way to get acceptable results, is to do the work yourself. The manufactures are selling these things cheap, so they are made cheap. Once you start on even the basic steps like insulation and you see how much labor and material costs are involved to do a "good" job, you'll understand why the builders do rushed, half assed, cheap work.
I'd just order the height and length you want, and the door(s) style and thats it. You're probably gonna have to cut holes in the skin at some point anyway, so just accept this and learn to do it right. Then you can have the windows, water inlet, power, A/C, vents etc. etc. where you want them. Pretty much, just realize that you will have to do everything yourself, soo.....The good news is, You can do this work yourself, just look at this site. People are doin' it everyday!
Make up your "dream" plan, then your realistic plan, then decide if you are willing to do this work. Then Do It!
Things to consider;
Do you have a place to do this work? Tools? Time? $$$$$?
Good Luck!
McDave

All good advice above.

Lots of discussion both ways, but thoughts on V-nose seem to settle that you buy it only for the extra interior space, not the concept of fuel mileage.

My comments regarding my Cargo Craft purchase here, scroll down to ~post 13 or so.
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=60297

Build thread here:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=48345

I've said before, If I had to do it again, I would buy from them again, I would just double check each option and get a written confirmation from the plant to be sure everybody understands what is being done. Example: I ordered led marker lights, they sent standard, (pretty sure it was a communication drop from dealer to plant, but they swapped them all out in my driveway at no charge). The few other issues were easily taken care of, and in hindsight, I'm pretty impressed they came to me, instead of me having to take the trailer to a dealer or back to them.

With that said, I've been really happy with the trailer, and the way it was built. 1" square tubing sides and roof, instead of the z-channel, etc. We routinely take it on our outdoor adventures, including forest roads etc. with no issues.

Good luck whatever you choose, the cargo conversion concept still exceeds what is available in the market in terms of modular capability and overall strength/ruggedness.

David

Thanks all for all the feedback...I welcome it and anymore you guys have to share!

As I plan to do all the work myself I have no problem doing the insulation so that sounds like a no brainer.

Going to read up more on Colony Cargo. They sound like a really well built trailer and the post about Cargo Craft having 1' square tubing...I need to look into that more too.

The vnose was important to me for both the extra room and I thought gas mileage as well since I'm pulling this with a wrangler and I expect mileage to drop from 15 or so (lifted jeep) to something less.

Another question which I thought of is an all aluminum trailer worth the extra $$. I have not really priced them out yet but I know they run a few hundred more I think. I would like to pull this thing down some forest service roads etc so I do want it ridged.

-lifted Jeep...I forgot to mention I decided to get a standard height trailer with leaf springs (no 4" drop axles) for more ground clearance. It has really worked well for clearing gravel roads, and sharp road entrance angles.

-Was just looking at the Colony Cargo site as well, but I'm confused as they say they are an internet dealer, not the manufacturer. Maybe they are a private label, custom order dealer aligned with one factory? They claim similar 'bragging rights' to Cargo Craft in terms of heavy tubing for the main trailer frame and 1" tubing in walls and roof. Looks like the dealer (Fitzgerald) and the Cargo Craft plant (Ambrose) are just 16 miles apart...who knows?

-I looked at aluminum as well, and quickly decided the additional cost wasn't worth it. Fuel mileage dropped simply because I was now pulling a barn door down the road behind me. The only thing that ever helped was slowing down. As far as strength and rigidity, it is really solid. When you compare it to the typical mass-produced pull behind camper, well there is no comparison in terms of construction, cargo conversion for the win.

edited to add: (well... an 'ad' I guess...hope that's ok)
BTW, here's my local dealer for Cargo Craft, they custom ordered mine and they seem to sell a lot.
http://mathistrailersandequipmentsales.com/Cargo_Trailers.html
Also I chose the Expedition due to the side door being 36" (required for the nice RV door), heavier construction, a few other niceties, and they put the standard height axle in. http://www.cargocraftinc.com/georgia/expedition.php

ACFaulk wrote:Thanks all for all the feedback...I welcome it and anymore you guys have to share!

As I plan to do all the work myself I have no problem doing the insulation so that sounds like a no brainer.

Going to read up more on Colony Cargo. They sound like a really well built trailer and the post about Cargo Craft having 1' square tubing...I need to look into that more too.

The vnose was important to me for both the extra room and I thought gas mileage as well since I'm pulling this with a wrangler and I expect mileage to drop from 15 or so (lifted jeep) to something less.

Another question which I thought of is an all aluminum trailer worth the extra $$. I have not really priced them out yet but I know they run a few hundred more I think. I would like to pull this thing down some forest service roads etc so I do want it ridged.

Well mine is a Cynergy also but also has the heavier grade studs and spacing all around.
The framing in mine is 1" x 1.5" tubing with 2" x3" corners and door frames,it seems much heavier built than the Z Channel models that I have seen?
The welds though are horrible and I can not figure out why or how they even paint just the top and bottom of the studs at all?

I imagine they build a bunch or frames and let them sit outside until they finish and skin them but how can it make sense when painting the frames to just do part of them?

Anyway Aluminum trailers are more than a few hundred difference from the ones that I see,more like twice the price!

I drove to Douglas,Ga and picked mine up,what a trip that was!

Well, thanks to the new guy, I'm getting all tangled up and way off track, literally!

Here's some pics from The Cargo Craft Texas plant page of some custom built off road trailers, bet they could build you the same here in Georgia...
https://www.facebook.com/120847984634385/photos/pb.120847984634385.-2207520000.1460401330./1032664863452688/?type=3&theater



scroll down to the 2015 page for more:
https://www.facebook.com/Cargo-Craft-of-Texas-120847984634385/photos?ref=page_internal

Now that ought to get you into trouble pretty fast... have fun.

David