Keeping it Simple and inexpensive - 5x10 Cargo Conver

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Keeping it Simple and inexpensive - 5x10 Cargo Conver

Postby Kerry8620 » Mon Oct 17, 2022 9:54 pm

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In 2017 at the age of 62, I decided to give up tent camping. I live in Montana and enjoyed Arizona desert camping during the winter for many years. While tent camping at various state and federal parks in Arizona I took notes regarding what other campers were using. I wrote about teardrops, homemade gypsy trailers, RVs, and small tow-behind trailers. I liked the freedom that a tow-behind trailer afforded. Just unhitch it and I would be free to go anywhere with the Jeep. The towing capacity of my Jeep is just 2,000 pounds due to the short wheelbase. Anything heavier tends to push the Jeep around on downhill runs or wet roads. Teardrops looked appealing. In the continuum of camping enclosures, I saw them as above a pup tent but below a full-size tent one could stand up in. They were expensive also and I was not sure I could build one.

I liked the idea of a small, 12 to 16-foot travel trailer but the cost was prohibitive. My budget did not allow for a new tow vehicle and limited me to $10,000.00 on the high end. $5,000.00 would be ideal. But what can someone purchase for that little amount? I searched around for used trailers but everything was either too expensive or required fix-it skills that I did not possess. In the fall of 2017, I stopped by Valley Trailer in Belgrade, Montana. I explained my dilemma and in true Montana style was offered a practical and inexpensive solution. I explained that I had a two-door 2004 Jeep Rubicon for a tow vehicle. The dealer recommended a 5 x 10 Mirage Excel. I asked the dealer to include two side windows, an RV-style door with a window, a screen door for the inside of the RV side door, two rear barn doors, insulation, and a roof liner. The interior height is 6 feet and 4 inches so I can stand up easily. The cost was $4,200.00. I picked it up in the spring of 2018.

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Over the past 4 years, I converted my 2018 Mirage Excel 5 x 10 foot Cargo trailer to a camp trailer which is better described as my tin tent. My post will tell the story of how I designed and converted the cargo trailer into a tin tent. The process was not straightforward; there were many curves and detours along the way. I started with the idea of building a tin tent suitable for winter camping in the Arizona desert. I ended up with a trailer that just completed, in 2022, a 7,000-mile cross-country tour in relative comfort. At age 67 I am no longer able to "rough it" for more than a week. I must sleep 8 hours every night in a warm place and eat healthy meals every day. At least one of those meals should be hot, nutritious, and well-cooked. I catch colds more easily than when I was young and muscle aches are common. I still like camping but roughing it is out of the question. Age has placed limits on my body. My mind is willing but my body sometimes says no.

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In October of 2018 I started to work on the inside of the trailer. I used rock putty to fill in and smooth over the open knot holes in the 3/8 plywood walls. Then I sanded them smoothly and used exterior house paint primer for the first coat. My second and third coats were off-white exterior house paint. I chose white because it made the trailer appear more open and spacious. Since the trailer was stored outside, exterior house paint, which contracts and expands easily with wide temperature changes, was best. White is easy to keep clean. Stains and dirt wash off easily. After 5 years it still looks great.

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I am not a carpenter nor a craftsman. But I know how to use hand tools, how to read, and can think out problems. I also wanted to keep the construction inexpensive and practical. So I used scrap materials whenever possible and did all the labor myself. Over many years I built a lightweight, durable and practical tin tent. I made many mistakes and learned a great deal. I fixed most of my mistakes and improved the trailer as time went on. Then I decided to write about my experiences in the hope that they prove useful and maybe even inspirational to others.

The first mistake I made was not to use Owns Corning Pink Foam for insulating the walls, floor and ceiling, and doors. Mirage used silver bubble wrap which is good, R-value of 3 I think, but foam would have sealed everything up better. I did insulate the floor in June of 2022 by adding 2 inches of Pink Foam underneath the 3/4 inch marine grade plywood floor. That made a huge difference in retaining warmth in the trailer. Eventually, I will do the ceiling, walls, and doors.

The first good move I made was to draw several scale floor plans to see how everything would fit in a 5 x10 foot space. I thought about what I wanted; a bed with a real mattress, a table to eat and work at, a kitchen counter, a sink, pantry shelves for food, a stove, running water, electricity, and room for my rocking chair so I could sit inside and read when the weather was bad. Eventually, I fit everything in the tiny trailer and spent less than $3,000.00. In my next installment, I will discuss how I got started on what seemed like an impossible task.

Installment Two - Designing and Building the Trailer Interior in the fall of 2018

My inspiration for designing the interior came from tent camping. When I tent camped I stored most of my stuff in 5-drawer black Sterlite cabinets that I tucked into the back of the Jeep. Two cabinets held food, clothing, paperwork, pans, dishes, and more. Everything was organized which I found critical when living out of a small space. I used a Coleman ice chest to store perishables. I cooked on a two-burner propane stove. I used public restrooms and shower facilities. Thus my trailer would contain two Sterlite cabinets along with a bed with a real mattress. I also wanted a sink and kitchen counter to prepare meals. And a desk where I could eat, read and write. The challenge was to fit all of those requirements into just 50 square feet. I found part of my answer in teardrop trailers. They often make excellent use of space by having an outdoor kitchen off the back. Fold-up or Murphy-style beds also provided a solution.

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The trailer has two rear barn doors that open out. I bought an 18-inch wide and six-foot long plastic table from Walmart for $35.00 I cut one foot off and installed the remainder 36 inches above the trailer floor next to the barn doors. Then I cut a hole in the tabletop for a small stainless steel Moen sink that I picked up for $50.00. In the above photo, you can see the kitchen counter and sink easily. Above the counter I placed two redwood 2x2s across the back of the trailer. A shelf will go up there. Under the kitchen counter, I placed eight white Sterlite plastic storage drawers. These will hold food, pots, pans, cutlery, and anything kitchen related.

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An RV faucet costs another $30.00. Under the sink, I placed a 5-gallon jug to collect grey water. I used 1-gallon milk jugs for fresh water and stored six of them in the Jeep. The above photo shows the kitchen counter and shelf from the inside of the trailer. I used epoxy paint for the floor. It was leftover from a garage floor project. It sticks better to concrete than wood. After 5 years I have had to touch up flaking spots twice. Now that I have insulated the floor maybe the paint will be more durable. It is easy to keep clean and washes well.

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In the front of the trailer, I built two shelves. I had a nice scrap of interior 3/4 inch furniture plywood that I used for both. The shelf on the right is my desk and table. It is 18 inches deep and about 30 inches wide. The shelf on the left is designed to hold the two sets of Sterlite cabinets I talked about earlier. They will come out of the Jeep and will fit perfectly here. In the lower-left corner of the above photo, you can see part of my Murphy bed platform. The mattress is eight inches thick so I made a 12-inch wide platform it can rest on when the bed is upright. I am used to sleeping on a queen-sized mattress so I chose a Twin XL for the trailer. A Twin XL is just as long as a Queen mattress but only 38 inches wide. When the bed is down I have a 20-inch wide aisle that runs from the kitchen counter to my desk. I could fit a Full Sized mattress in the trailer but my aisle would disappear. Unless you really love the person you are sleeping with a Twin XL is too small for two people.

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The above photos show the completed bed platform in the up-and-down position. If you look closely at the bed-up photo, you can see that the forward leg assembly has hinges. The legs fold down and are out of the way. When the bed is folded up I have a 48-inch aisle that leads from the kitchen counter to my desk. This gives me a fair amount of room to move around inside the trailer. I use the space to get dressed in the morning, shave, brush my teeth and prepare breakfast. The kitchen counter and sink can be accessed from both inside and outside of the trailer. I placed a shaving mirror on one wall and hung a towel and facecloth nearby. My folding rocking chair fits in the 48-inch wide aisle perfectly. Although I prefer to be outside on bad weather days I can easily sit inside and read while enjoying a hot cup of tea.

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The above photo shows how the kitchen is progressing. A plastic 1x4 was installed as a backsplash. The RV plastic chrome faucet was installed too. The faucet died after 3 years. I replaced it with a Delta faucet that I literally found on the side of the road. I also built a shelf under the sink where the 5-gallon grey water jug will sit. A two-burner propane stove fits perfectly under the shelf. Note the blue water hose sitting on the counter. Soon I will be installing a city water inlet and running it to the cold water side of the faucet. A 12 gauge and 30-foot-long 110-volt electrical extension cord sits in the Sterilite bottom drawer.

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Above is a photo of my desk/table and the two black Sterilite cabinets that were in the back of my Jeep. I rigged up a simple V-shaped string attachment that keeps the drawers closed while I am bouncing down the road.

Mistake II - As far as I can tell the front of the Mirage trailer is just 3/8 plywood and sheet steel with bubble wrap insulation between. The side walls have steel studs which I think are 1 inch by 1 inch. However, I have not been able to verify that. The front of the trailer would benefit greatly from the installation of 2x2 studs and 2-inch foam insulation. This will be a tough error to correct since I already built the shelves. Live and learn.

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I liked the idea of an awning to shade me from the Arizona sun. Camp trailer awnings were ridiculously priced though. After searching around I found a retractable window awning on eBay for $89.00. It was designed for house windows but it works fine on my trailer. The trailer and awning are 10 feet long so I had to mount the awning high above the side door for clearance. To accomplish this I purchased a ladder rack from Mirage and bolted it to the trailer roof. Then I used a 2x4 and a 2x6, bolted together, to mount the awning on. The awning unfurls with a hand crank and provides adequate shade. The wind can catch it but it has solid steel supports. In five years it has not given me any problems. The cloth can be easily replaced too. When zipping down the highway I have the awning secured with 1/4 clothesline rope.

12 and 110 volt Electrical Wiring

I studied electricity at Eli Whitney Regional Technical school when I was just 15 years old. I learned how to construct basic house and automotive wiring so the job of wiring my tin tent did not phase me. I installed a 2-foot by 8-foot long sheet of pressure treated 3/4 inch plywood on the ladder rack. The front edge I covered in sheet copper so it would not split in the wind. On top of the plywood, I bolted a Renology 100-watt solar panel. That in turn was connected to a Renology solar panel controller and a lead acid AGM battery. Lithium Ion would have been better but they were too expensive. That setup provided enough dc electricity to power three overhead LED lights, and charge my computer, my toothbrush, and flosser. On sunny days I could even run the 10-inch TV/DVD player for an hour or two. It is almost always a sunny day in the Arizona desert. On the back of the rooftop plywood panel, I bolted a rearview camera that connected to a 7-inch video screen in the Jeep. It made a perfect rearview mirror when traveling and assisted when I attempted to back into tight campsites. That is a skill that is gradually acquired.

Wiring for 110 volts was even easier. I installed a male-prong outlet on the driver's side of the trailer. Then I wired in a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt ) outlet. I put that under my desk. Then I wired in series another regular outlet to the rear kitchen. The GFCI acts like a circuit breaker and protects all outlets wired after it and on the same circuit.

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I also installed a 10-inch television/DVD player that runs on 12 volts DC or 110 volts AC. I was curious if I could pull in many TV stations while camping so I added a 10-foot pole and TV antenna to the roof. The antenna slips off for transport and the pole folds down. Next, I added a six-foot pole and WiFi antenna to the front of the trailer so I could pull in weak signals. Both tasks were easy to do and promised good results. Both also demonstrate how easy it is to turn something simple into something far more complicated. It is a slippery slope.

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In February 2019, I headed to Arizona with my new trailer. This was the maiden voyage and a good chance to test everything out. I camped in developed parks with water and electricity first. Then I headed towards off-the-grid spots in the vast Arizona desert. I'll finish this installment with some photos of the trailer in March 2019. In the next article, I will tell you what I learned about trailer camping in the desert and what I did to make the trailer perform better.

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Last edited by Kerry8620 on Sun Oct 23, 2022 7:53 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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Re: Keeping it Simple and inexpensive - 5x10 Cargo Conver

Postby QueticoBill » Tue Oct 18, 2022 6:25 am

Sounds fantastic! Pictures?
QB
A tear with no name: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=67624
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Re: Keeping it Simple and inexpensive - 5x10 Cargo Conver

Postby pchast » Tue Oct 18, 2022 8:29 pm

Pictures can be clearer than written explanations.
We like pictures.... :D
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Re: Keeping it Simple and inexpensive - 5x10 Cargo Conver

Postby Kerry8620 » Sun Nov 20, 2022 8:45 pm

Installment Three - Real World Camping and Testing

I spent two months trailer camping in Arizona with my new tin tent. I went to a wide variety of campgrounds. Some had full amenities while others were just a patch of sand and cactus in the desert. The trailer performed beautifully but there were areas that needed improvement. By designing my trailer as a replacement for a tent I implicitly designed it for many types of campgrounds. That increased the complexity of the trailer which is the slippery slope I mentioned earlier. Here is a list of upgrades I deemed necessary and implemented for next year's winter camping in the desert.

1) The single solar panel with a 50 amp/hour lead acid AGM battery worked well. It was enough to charge my toothbrush, water flosser, and computer. I decided to improve the 12-volt system by adding another 100-watt solar panel and a 100 amp-hour AGM battery. That gave me enough 12-volt electricity to run a TV/DVD player in addition to charging items. It also allowed me to add a crucial item to the trailer as discussed next.

2) I added a Costway 12 and 110-volt freon refrigerator to the trailer. This replaced the Coleman ice chest I carried in the back of the Jeep. It operates on 12 volts DC or 110 volts AC. It does not need to be level to function and it cools quickly. The two solar panels provide enough power to run the unit all day. The refrigerator sits on a sliding platform so I can pull it out when needed. The top opens by pulling up. I can store a week's worth of perishables in the fridge. It has a vegetable compartment but not a freezer.

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3) I added wire shelves to the inside of both rear barn doors. This provided me with a pantry where I could store canned and boxed food. I added a plastic clip to each shelf and screwed the clip to the door. That kept the shelves from bouncing out of their tracks on rough roads. I may install stretch netting next to keep the heavier cans from bouncing out of the wire basket shelves.

4) I built a 48-inch by 16-inch wide shelf that I could easily hang on the outside of the trailer. I use the shelf for food preparation and holding the two-burner propane stove. It sits just above the fender near the entry door.

5) Originally I used a 7-gallon wheeled container for fresh water and a 5-gallon jug for grey water. I decided to upgrade to a 10-gallon grey water tank and maintain a 7-gallon fresh water tank. I added a 12-volt on-demand water pump to the 7-gallon tank. I connected the other end to my hot water faucet. The cold water faucet was previously connected to my city water system. I placed the pump on a scrap 1x4. To reduce vibration and noise I added two inches of gel memory foam to the underside of the 1x4. I wired the pump to a 12-volt plug so I could store the assembly inside my warm house during the winter.
I also plumbed a greywater exit line for use with campgrounds that have sewers. An inside valve opens the wastewater line and allows the 10-gallon tank to drain into a 5/8 orange Camco hose and sewer connector. All of the water tanks and connections are inside the trailer so they cannot freeze easily. They drain by gravity so the lines remain dry while the trailer is not being used.

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6) I added a small 750-watt microwave oven that was accessible from inside the trailer. This was a huge improvement for cooking at campgrounds with 110-volt electricity. Fresh veggies, pasta, oatmeal, and many other foods cook quickly in the microwave. I have an electric tea kettle and toaster for use with 110 volts also.

Note the convenient shaving and grooming area next to the microwave. I can easily reach the sink while standing in front of the mirror.

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7) I had to move the Sterlite plastic storage drawers around. To keep things organized I labeled almost every drawer so I knew where most everything was.

8) Originally I used a 110-volt space heater to warm the trailer. That only worked with developed campsites. I decided to add a propane catalytic heater to the trailer. I also added a 20-pound propane tank to the front of the trailer. The Olympian heater is flameless and has two heat settings. Low is the equivalent of 450 watts of electric heat and high is about 650 watts. The Olympian produces heat in the infrared range so objects warm nicely and re-radiate heat. I used it when the nighttime temperatures dropped below freezing. It kept me warm and comfortable on many sub-freezing nights. In the photo below the heater is placed just above my desk. It must be kept covered when not in use so the catalyst agents stay clean.

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9) I painted the roof with Murphy's solar paint. It is a bright white and reflects the sun very well. It has held up well and helps to keep the trailer cooler on 90-degree-plus desert afternoons. Murphy's paint must be applied EXACTLY as the directions specify.

I hang coats, wool shirts, hats, my life vest, and other accessories from hooks on the walls. A towel and face cloth hang near the shaving area.

My focus with the upgrades was to maximize the use of space while keeping everything organized. I am surprised that I can fit so much in just 50 square feet and still have ample room to move around. With the bed up the trailer never feels cramped. I can fit my rocking chair inside and read on bad weather days.

In time I would like to insulate the walls and ceiling. Then I might add vinyl flooring too. Other than those pending improvements my simple tin tent is complete. It should last me for many more years. I have about $7,000.00 total invested in the trailer which includes the original cost. I just came back from a cross-country trip which added 6,000 miles to my 10,000 existing miles. The trailer is in like new shape and requires very little yearly maintenance. Just air in the tires, grease in the wheel bearings and a bath every summer. I will replace both tires and the spare at the 8-year mark.
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