Build thread: One-man Sleeper

[rick e]

Love those builds on a Craigslist trailer! I don't understand why some spend more for much less. (A dig at Harbor Fright) I dug mine out of the pine needles in the back yard.
Your looking good, nice work on the electric.

[eggsalad]

Love those builds on a Craigslist trailer! I don't understand why some spend more for much less. (A dig at Harbor Fright) I dug mine out of the pine needles in the back yard.
Your looking good, nice work on the electric.

Thank you for the compliments, Rick! I agree, HF trailers aren't much to sneeze at, but people want low-dollar trailers, so that's what they get.

I love the design of my base trailer. I wish I could go back to 1986 and shake the hand of the fellow who designed and welded it. It is just 2 custom bent pieces of 1.5"x3" C-channel, and 2@ 2"x2" crossmembers. The unladen weight listed on the title is 90lbs, and that's about what it felt like. You don't get craftsmanship like that these days, unless you pay top dollar to get a trailer custom-built by a competent welder.

[eggsalad]

Just a couple of updates, more time than money at this point, but still the urge to do *something*!

Hole is cut, primed and painted for the window:



Some leftover lumber from the PWC sliders that were on the trailer and some tie-downs that happened to be around, and here's a tongue shelf. Not sure why, but I bet it will come in handy. Could put the cooler full of ice there to play with tongue weight... or something.

[KCStudly]

[eggsalad]

Here goes the window...

I built a frame of 1"x2" to make the wall thicker and to give the screws something to bite in to. The aluminum frame came with the salvage window. Here it is, glued and screwed in place:



Then some butyl tape (edit: it's really putty tape. That's okay.) and screws and it's all in!

Inside view:



Outside view:

[KCStudly]

Nice window unit.

[eggsalad]

Nice window unit.

Thanks! I really like it. It's the second salvage window I bought, and I'm glad the first one didn't work out!

It's rectangular, so the hole was easier to cut than a radius-corner window.
No glass to break.
Smoked window provides privacy.
More square inches to provide ventilation that a similarly-sized sliding window.
Retro look.

It works with the theme that no one will be sure if it's a cargo trailer or a camper. Makes it easier to sleep in non-traditional areas, i.e. places that aren't campgrounds

[eggsalad]

For the grand finale, I test-fit the mattress. It fits just as I thought. There will be constant upgrades and improvements, but I'm calling this project complete.

[KCStudly]

Ok, now we need a trip report.

Show us a few more overall pic's in tow and ship it to the hall of fame!

[eggsalad]

Some folks have asked for a longer shot. The trailer is parked in a cramped spot, so this is the best I could do:

[PKCSPT]

That turned out pretty good.

[eggsalad]

That turned out pretty good.

Thanks! Awful kind of you to say!

[working on it]

Nice window unit.

Thanks! I really like it. It's the second salvage window I bought, and I'm glad the first one didn't work out!

It's rectangular, so the hole was easier to cut than a radius-corner window.
No glass to break.
Smoked window provides privacy.
More square inches to provide ventilation that a similarly-sized sliding window.
Retro look.

It works with the theme that no one will be sure if it's a cargo trailer or a camper. Makes it easier to sleep in non-traditional areas, i.e. places that aren't campgrounds

I like the window also. Three months before I started my TTT build, I traded a '75 Chevy pickup for a spare engine for my GMC (still in storage; haven't needed it); it had an old-style aluminum shell on it, that I had bought for $10. I had no need for it, so I let it go with the pickup. After I started the build, I tried to find the guy I had let have it, with two of those windows (in perfect shape), to no avail. I really liked those windows...and for two years (almost), I tried to find similar ones, until I gave up and bought two 'Lil Bears' 15x18 crank outs (very nice windows!) instead. But, I had a camper shell in the late '70s-mid '80s with them, and the one on the '75 pickup for 9 years, and was very happy with them. Plus, they look different from the made-for-trailer windows...perfect for either your trailer or mine (each, just a little different from the norm)!