Eastern Canada

[mikefree]

Hi. Ive been surfing this site for awhile and I've finally made a start. We have a large trailer but we never leave the province with it because it costs so much to pull it and our young teenagers dont have the interest in camping with us old folks much now. I drool over the mobi 1 xtr and would like my teardrop to look a little like it. Not sure if the builders skills are up to it but we're gonna find out. Ive bought an old utility trailer off kijiji and some cargo doors off ebay and have been haunting scrap yards and princess auto for parts. Its going to be a serious budget build but the more I get into this the more I see it will cost more than I thought.
Shes a real purdy thing but hopefully we can make something out of it.

[KCStudly]

Welcome to the forum.

Good luck with your build.

I like to say the only way to stay on budget is to not keep track.

It looks like your trailer has an anti-sway ball mounted on the side of the tongue. My first reaction was that might be a bit of a red flag on trailer of that size (smaller trailers don't usually require sway control). Have you been able to test tow it much, and how did it go?

[pchast]

You can do it! Take your time and ask the good folks here your
questions.

Luck and Patience,

[mikefree]

Ive removed allot of metal and rust and painted it with tremclad. The deck is built and I coated the bottom with undercoating. I may still insulate the bottom and cover that with corrugated plastic like they do on commercial "winterized" trailers. I started camping as a backpacker sleeping in a tent with a foam mat and never froze to death so Im not putting much stock in insulation but we'll cross that bridge later.

[mikefree]

Welcome to the forum.

Good luck with your build.

I like to say the only way to stay on budget is to not keep track.

It looks like your trailer has an anti-sway ball mounted on the side of the tongue. My first reaction was that might be a bit of a red flag on trailer of that size (smaller trailers don't usually require sway control). Have you been able to test tow it much, and how did it go?

Thanks KC.
I saw the anti sway and never really thought too much about it at the time. I was too happy to find a trailer the right size for 100 bucks. I towed it home for about 45min and it seemed alright. From what I understand sway has mostly to do with hitch weight and with the galley it in the back it will be a bit of a gamble on what the hitch weight ends up being but I guess i can adjust that with how much stuff like battery and water that I will put in the tongue box.

[KCStudly]

Maybe the previous owner just thought they needed all the whistles and bells.

I would be reluctant to rely on potable water for ballast. What happens when you use your water while camping and then hit the road to get back home?

Water is a variable and would be best carried near the axle, IMO. I'd rather have the option to travel light; then fill up near my destination; then hit the road light again. Then again, I'm thinking in the 10-15 gallon territory (80 - 125 lbs) water for two for 5 days, cooking, cleaning and drinking. YMMV.

[mikefree]

Made some good progress this weekend. Spent more time trying to figure out how to fit the dumb little fridge in and leave enough room inside the cabin to stretch out than I did building. I keep thinking I should have built 5 x 10 but everytime my mind wanders that way I gets biggger and bigger and Ive defeated the purpose of having something i can tow with a small vehicle. I dont have my head around the hatch yet so Ill have to fidure out how that goes together before i go much farther.