Planning & Thinking

[Bsisson]

My wife and I have a Safari Van and a 6x8 Cargo trailer.

We sleep in the Van on an Air Mattress and use the cargo trailer to haul all of our Stuff..

So far, we have put into the trailer:

A Denali 3X camp stove (3 x 30,000 BTU burners) (outside use only)
A DIY 2-bowl sink with a sureflow pump that run from some 7gal aquatainers into a 5gal grey water bucket
An 80qt Igloo ice chest with about 8-blue ice blocks and a circulation fan (keeps cold for about 4 days)
A 20Ahr batter-Booster pack (runs our LED camp lights and the sureflow sink pump
Several 6' costco folding tables
An 8'x8' easy up canopy
A dry chemical toilet & tent
Several COMFORTABLE lawn chairs (non-folding)
A wardrobe for our clothes
Several small drawer units for pots-n-pans & staples and such...
2 x 20# propane tanks, spare tire, tool kit, little buddy heater, box of starter fatwood (we always get local firewood), extension cords, hoses, rugs, tarps, and all the other stuff that prepares you for most situations...

MOST of the places we want to go camping have nearby shower houses and bathrooms, so the lack of a bath hasn't been a major issue. The porta-poty is really for those middle of the night runs

When we get to a site, we unpack the trailer and set up our Kitchen, the Stove, the sink and a work table.

Depending on weather we setup the Easy-up, and then we are ready to go exploring...

We have retreated into the cargo trailer when the weather was miserable, but most of the time we are outside...that's why were are going camping right?

We have lots of room left, but are bing careful of what we put in for weight more than space...

MAYBE, someday, we will have a custom trailer made, for the time being this serves us well...

Next on the wish list.... A tankless water heater, a larger canopy (tall enough to use the Denali under) and better storage cabinets...

[Mary C]

welcome and it sounds like you are truely campers . I know you can get some great ideas on especially about cargo trailers. hope to see you some day!

Mary C.

[AZ_Desert_Rat]

Hi Bsisson,
Welcome to the site ...

There is a good link here regarding Cargo Trailers and conversions; however, it sounds like you are already camping and having fun ...

I know the feeling and finally got tired of setting up and tearing down camp, sleeping in the back of a pick-up or and old Blazer, and built a 6'x10' enclosed Cargo Trailer that met my needs and wants. The straw that broke the camel's back for me was driving for hours to get to the area I wanted to camp and it rained most of the trip in and the first night ... confining me to the back end of my old blazer ...

Happy camping ....