5x10 renovation and build

[inthewoods]

I'm still thinking about how to deal with the excess hatch seal so I went on to other work while I contemplated that matter. This evening I hacked together a panel to finish the top of my interior cabinets and function as a switch board to turn on and off power to some lights both inside and out as well as provide a place for some 12v lights to plug in. Here is the result. All prepped to be given some coats of Varathane.

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Tomorrow I will start the finishing of it and then get it wired up on the weekend.

[inthewoods]

The photos aren't great but here is the finished panel and switches installed in the trailer.

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[inthewoods]

Today I took the trailer on a 60km run into town to see how it handles and feels behind the van. Our big trip is now less than two weeks away and for the most part the trailer is almost done. I need to figure out where to put the spare tire and mount it as well as decide about the tongue box and whether or not to add it. Not sure on that one.

The trailer pulled great as far as I was concerned. When I checked on the galley only two drawers had opened a bit in transit but all the cabinets stayed closed! I was a bit surprised actually. While in town I stopped by a set of scales owned by the town and the person at the scale was nice and weighed the trailer for me.

Hitched up to the van the trailer's axle came in at 580kg (1276lbs). And based on a quick bathroom scale tongue check my tongue weight was around 110lbs at the time. So all total I'm weighing in at a little under 1400lbs. That doesn't include any food, ice, water, clothing etc. it did include full propane, stove, big battery, pot sets, dishes, tent and tarps as well as the spare tire. I'm pleased overall with the results. Just gotta crank through figuring out the placement of the spare and get packed up. Almost there...

[inthewoods]

While I'm on the subject of spare tires... I'm thinking about mounting it under the trailer. I've got 16" clear between the steel crossmember that I could bolt it to and the ground. The tire is about 8" wide. Do you think 8" of clearance is enough? My axle has about 9" clear and my Honda Odyssey has about 6" clearance. I'll be on paved roads and gravel mostly. And I'm thinking it would be ok. Open to thoughts and suggestions though.....

[inthewoods]

Build journal has been quiet for a while now because the family and I have the trailer out on its maiden very long voyage. We are now about mid way through a 5500 km road trip. That is three weeks long. Overall I've been pleased with how the trailer has towed and worked out. We even managed to shoe horn a family of six into the 5x10 for a couple evenings!!! I was surprised that it worked.

I do have a couple problems that I need to watch and repair back home. We drove through some torrential rain and high winds and ended up with a soaked mattress. We found that water was coming in the through the window seals on the cabin door. My door seals held up though.. Go figure. So I need to either replace the window which I think is the real issue and best solution or modify it to keep water out. The other issue is also water related - there is a seam in the plywood walls near the foot of the mattress and apparently the original builder of the trailer did not seal the seam In the plywood well enough (read at all). Some water seeped in through the seam during the storm.

[inthewoods]

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[inthewoods]

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Lunch at a rest stop on US-2 east bound though Minnesota.