Eddy Hopping 6x12

[Willuz]

All the great info here has inspired my first build and I finally have something to post. Everyone asks me why I didn't just buy a toy hauler but I suspect many of you are familiar with the reasons. This trailer is for frequent mountain weekends and must allow for all my toys. I want to carry whitewater kayaks and motorcycles while still pulling it with my Jeep for offroad fun. The jeep is the major challenge since it's a less than adequate tow vehicle but a helluva lot of fun once it's unhooked.

Goals of my build:

• Must be able to pull it with a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon (3500lb gross / 350lb tongue)
• Must have high clearance for the sharp peak at the top of my driveway
• Carry at least one motorcycle, preferably two
• Motorcycle chocks must be adjustable so the bikes can be placed as far back as possible reducing tongue weight
• Capable of boondocking for 3 to 9 days (not really boondocking since I stay at a campground with restroom facilities but without hookups)
• No plumbing
• Large comfortable murphy bed that folds close enough to the wall to allow two motorcycles
• Countertops and cabinets up front must be VERY light due to the low max tongue weight
• Vent fan that can run all day to keep the heat out
• All that other stuff that I realized I wanted after reading this forum

After browsing Craigslist for weeks I found it was better to have a custom built trailer for just over 3k. It includes 7ft ceiling, straight axel for high clearance, ramp door, two 30x30 windows and an RV door.Here's the trailer with my tow vehicle.



I'm actually well past this stage now but I don't have pictures because my phone is always plugged into the garage stereo playing music. Here's the partial insulation stage though.



I just finished installing the solar panel, charger and power system last night so hopefully more pictures will follow soon. Right now I'm just glad it didn't catch on fire when I first powered it on.

[NO David!]

Ding...Ding...Ding...! We have a winner!

Welcome to the club, We'll be going 'Eddy Hopping' this Saturday with 4 boats. Outstanding choice in ordering up what you want. We also passed on toy haulers because nothing fit what we needed. Tell those who question your sanity, that your spending the savings on toys and fuel to go play.

Fantastic Vent pulls as follows:
1.86A low
2.29A med
3.0A high

Run mine on an Optima 55AH AGM battery:


May have read our simple build but if not:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=48345

Haven't posted about the AGM battery setup and the vent fan, but it really moves the air, and quickly cools the trailer after sitting in the sun all day while we're kayaking.

Unfortunately (or not) our bikes require an optional motor...


Straight axles here, ground clearance never been an issue, have managed to get the tow vehicle stuck of course. Hurry up and get that thing finished...Summer is getting away already it seems. Looking forward to pictures and learning more about your solar charging system and the rest of the build.

David

[roadinspector]

The fantastic fan works great! I am cheap so I am following others lead and am going to use computer fans.

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

I used 4 x 80 mm LED variable speed computer fans , says 320 cfm -
Best of all it made my plastic dome blue
" well that was on the old OTTCT "

On the new one I'll have to do some side vents maybe

I also used a $50 - 12" Lowes fan I installed under the floor, used only 50 watts 1320 cfm
And it kicked BUTT !!! But it ran on AC only not 12 volts - VERY QUIET !!
Could sleep & not bother me at night !!

[Willuz]

I want to leave the fan on all day long so I decided to try low power instead of a Fantastic fan. I chose a 140mm computer fan. If you do choose a computer fan make absolutely certain that it is a 2 ball bearing since it will be installed horizontally. The newer style Fluid Dynamic Bearings and fancy magnetic bearings will not work properly when horizontal and upside down in a roof vent and may make a LOT of noise. You can search for fans by bearing type at NewEgg.com and I decided on the "Prolimatech PRO-USV14". It moves 98CFM, is completely silent and only consumes 0.2 amps. I could run it non stop for 47 days on my pair of T-105 batteries. I just took a piece of leftover scrap rigid insulation and cut it to fit the vent. Since the fan is only 15mm thick it easily embedded firmly into the 3/4" insulation and works great. You don't feel a breeze but it does pump the hot air out.

The camper is incomplete but I still took it out this weekend and just slept on the floor. It worked great and the solar panel still managed to pull in 38a/h of power while parked underneath the trees. I intentionally left it unplugged today

[Willuz]

Here's my interior electrical setup. That's a Tristar MPPT 45 solar controller and a TripLite APS750 inverter/charger. The display panels and breaker/switches are temporarily mounted on janky 2x4's. The switches, panels and plugs will be moved to the hinged backsplash when the countertops are finished.



This is the computer fan installed with rigid insulation:



I welded brackets onto the tongue using angle iron to support the batteries. I still need to figure out where to put an 80A breaker outside so that I don't have a fire where the wires both enter the trailer.



Since I'm concerned about ground clearance I don't want retractable RV stairs on the bottom. This horse mounting block/steps from Tractor Supply Co work perfectly. The first set of stairs were folding steps from Camping World and they exploded violently with plastic flying everywhere.

[Willuz]

I have started work on the cabinets and countertop so here are a couple of pics. I selected copper glued to MDF for the counter since it will provide a nice glow in the trailer. There are a few steps left on the countertop. I'll beat it up with a hammer to give it that handmade look then polish it and coat with polyurethane. When it's done the lights under the top cabinet will give the countertop a nice glow.

Here are the cabinets with my lightweight IKEA Antonius basket drawers.


And a closeup of the copper to show why it needs to be weathered, polished and coated. It picks up prints WAY too easy right now.



If you're interested in how I did the copper, here's the website I used for reference.
http://shoestringtheory.com/2010/01/05/the-kitchen-and-diy-copper-countertops/