Multi use trailer / Removable camper

[MidTNJasonF]

I would like to be able to use my trailer for multiple uses including hauling yard equipment, motorcycles, and random other bulky items.

I am contemplating building a strong base/floor with a hybrid foamy / hybrid Wanderer (rear hatch panel) profile "box".

I would overhang my 4x8 trailer frame slightly with the "box" on all 4 sides.

I am thinking a few of these transfer rollers spaced out along the outer perimeter of the floor would allow me to slide the "box" off the trailer and roll it off to the side in my garage. http://www.mcmaster.com/#6460k37/=103d43f

The Foamy structure should keep it light enough to lift or move.
I would have little or no internal structure like cabinets or bed frames. This will keep it light and also allow me to use my camp storage modules from the back of my van I am currently camping out of.

It would of course have several bolt locations in the floor structure to bolt the "box" to the trailer frame when in use.

Has anyone done a removable camper/box/tear on a base trailer frame?

Thoughts on the concept?



Alternate to the transfer rollers above if my "box" gets to heavy I could create a dolly like below to move it out of the way. Slide under and roll away.

[drhill]

My teardrop is removable from my trailer. I don't have the luxury of space for an extra trailer and this set up has worked very well for me. Have a look in my album for pictures and feel free to ask any questions you want.

Don

[MidTNJasonF]

My teardrop is removable from my trailer. I don't have the luxury of space for an extra trailer and this set up has worked very well for me. Have a look in my album for pictures and feel free to ask any questions you want.

Don

Very nice, thanks for sharing that. I took a look at your album and it looks like a viable option for sure.

I plan on having a much lighter setup with out the convenience of the built in galley and cabinetry so my removal an install would actually be a bit easier.

I like your stake pocket on the inside of the frame. It was hard to tell in your photo but it appears you have decking on the trailer with cutout sections for the stake pockets. Is that correct? what did you use for the decking?

I plan on having a sheet of ply or if I spring for it in the budget some aluminum for the trailer. I will be making a sandwich floor of ply, 1" stringers in a grid, rigid foam insulation in the voids, and another sheet of ply to close it all in. Other than the trailer the floor section will be the heaviest part of the build.

[Tomterrific]

I thought about a 'lift off camper' for my trailer when I started. I did not go through with the idea, although it is a good idea. Most all of the tears, including mine, could be converted to a lift off. My floor is just bolted to the trailer frame. Remove the bolts and lift up. Another floor could be installed for utility and the camper set over that.

Tom

[drhill]

The decking I used was 3/4" T&G fir plywood and yes, I used the scroll saw to cut notches around the inset stake pockets. You could go with a lighter decking material depending what you plan on hauling. I had a look at some of your posts from a couple years ago and I see you are, or at least were, towing with a Mazda 5. So keeping it light will be more important for you.

The floor of my camper is 2x4's laid on sides (1.5" in the vertical dimension) and 1/2" plywood over that. The spaces between the 2x4's are filled with foam glued in place. I didn't put any sheeting material on the bottom of the floor. It is all covered when it sits on the deck of the trailer. The 2x4's were overkill, 1x2s would work. But make sure you end up with some lumber, not just foam, over the stake pockets where you will be lifting the camper.

I didn't do a Build thread as I was building but posted some after at viewtopic.php?t=61318

I also see that you weld. I have another idea for stands for the camper when it is off the trailer, but it requires some welding. I'll sketch something up later and post it.

I have had this trailer about a year and a half now and have hauled at least 4 loads of firewood, 3 loads of bricks, a catamaran, a fridge, a load of shingles and loaned it out for a move. Wow. But I actually haven't hauled any dirt, sand, gravel or wood mulch -- yet. I tend to put my trailer to allot of use. On the plus side, I have logged about 47 nights camping with it.

[drhill]

Below is what I had in mind if I want to be able to move the camper unit around in the garage when it is removed from the trailer. I would build two stands with a welded support at each end. It would function much the same as the stand you posted in your first post, but this would be built to be easy to disassemble to store against a wall or lay on the floor and park the trailer over the pieces. It is all about too much stuff and not enough space.

[MidTNJasonF]

Below is what I had in mind if I want to be able to move the camper unit around in the garage when it is removed from the trailer. I would build two stands with a welded support at each end. It would function much the same as the stand you posted in your first post, but this would be built to be easy to disassemble to store against a wall or lay on the floor and park the trailer over the pieces. It is all about too much stuff and not enough space.

That was a very quick sketchup on my part. I would probably do it with a few thru bolt per corner and nut inserts in the mating piece. It would be three flat sections that way.

[Vedette]

Things that are up in the air have a further distance to fall.
What kind if lift system are you going to use to lift this camper pod on and off of the trailer?
There are two schools of thought here.
1.You can keep it simple and jus buy 4 small snowmobile dollies to set it on (about 6 " off of the floor) 4 corner steering.
2 you can build a simple 2x2 1.25 wall frame the exact size of your pod c/w large swivel casters or wheels adequate for the weight. To lower the pod unto while not in use. If you want to store camping gears, under, not on top of the pod. then you can make tis stand higher with a lower shelf at the 6" level for your camping gear to be stored.
The beauty of option #2 is that you can put a dust cover (cheap car cover) over the whole thing and roll all of your camping needs into one corner of your garage or storage area.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[MidTNJasonF]

The decking I used was 3/4" T&G fir plywood and yes, I used the scroll saw to cut notches around the inset stake pockets. You could go with a lighter decking material depending what you plan on hauling. I had a look at some of your posts from a couple years ago and I see you are, or at least were, towing with a Mazda 5. So keeping it light will be more important for you.

The floor of my camper is 2x4's laid on sides (1.5" in the vertical dimension) and 1/2" plywood over that. The spaces between the 2x4's are filled with foam glued in place. I didn't put any sheeting material on the bottom of the floor. It is all covered when it sits on the deck of the trailer. The 2x4's were overkill, 1x2s would work. But make sure you end up with some lumber, not just foam, over the stake pockets where you will be lifting the camper.

I didn't do a Build thread as I was building but posted some after at viewtopic.php?t=61318

I also see that you weld. I have another idea for stands for the camper when it is off the trailer, but it requires some welding. I'll sketch something up later and post it.

I have had this trailer about a year and a half now and have hauled at least 4 loads of firewood, 3 loads of bricks, a catamaran, a fridge, a load of shingles and loaned it out for a move. Wow. But I actually haven't hauled any dirt, sand, gravel or wood mulch -- yet. I tend to put my trailer to allot of use. On the plus side, I have logged about 47 nights camping with it.

I still have the Mazda 5 but I am bored with it. Who know what I might have by the time I have something built. This winter is all planning and scheming anyway. I am having a new house built and all my stuff including tools is in storage. The house was supposed to be done this month. Due to delays and bureaucracy it will now not be done until March. I am holding my breath it actually gets done in April. It has been a long year. I have been looking for a truck or a toyota land cruiser but will not get one until we are in the new place.

Yes I still weld and fabricate. With the new house comes 900 square feet of heated and cooled garage space. A 14'x24' portion of that is set aside as shop space so I will have plenty of space to build and additional 220v outlets for a better compressor, plasma cutter, and a tig welder in addition to my current mig setup.

I have wanted to complete a build for far to long now and life seems to get in the way every time. Between lost jobs, moves, travel with the new job, and knee surgery all my best laid plans seem to go up in smoke. I have been hauling my bikes on my open trailer and camping out of the van with a Napier SUV tent and some light modification to the van. That limits me to just solo trips since the air mattress in the van is not wide enough for my wife and I. I could use the tent but I typically just setup a table and chairs in it for cooking, changing, and lounging away from the bugs. It is also far to much setup, especially by myself since the tent is 8+ feet at the peak.

[MidTNJasonF]

Things that are up in the air have a further distance to fall.
What kind if lift system are you going to use to lift this camper pod on and off of the trailer?

The brute force of my two arms.

That is the reason for the light foamy build with no internal cabinets or galley. I may come up with some ingenious method of raising and lowering the pod. It could be as simple as a couple of short wedge ramps to roll the trailer tires onto and a frame similar to the above to slide under the pod. Roll everything onto the ramps, unbolt the pod, roll frame into place, secure frame to pod, roll trailer off the ramps and out from under the pod. Bobs your uncle as they say.

Rolling it into the corner and covering it with a car cover is half the idea. The trailer can live outside with little harm and the pod can be protected from the elements.

[Jim.M]

I made my camper to be removeable... and it comes apart and flat-packs against the wall of my garage as well.

I have corner support jacks. I can detach (unbolt) my camper from the trailer, then use the corner jacks to raise it, and pull the trailer out from under it.

It helps that my camper is over 6' wide! After i've pulled the trailer out, I use a floor jack to support the camper while I fold the support jacks, and then lower the camper down to the ground.

[starleen2]

how about this??



viewtopic.php?t=31995

[drhill]

Starleen2 - John S did a great job on that build and came up with a very easy way to remove the camper. Well, easy to use, but not easy or cheap to build. I expect these jacks cost as much or more than my build cost. You would also have to be careful not to rack the camper when lifting it. ie- need to raise two jacks at a time to avoid twisting the camper.

JasonF is looking at using no jack at all. I use my hydraulic floor jack, but can also just use my vehicle scissor jack. My total cost was about 4- 2x4's for the stand. Cheap and simple.

Jim M. - Wow, you did allot of design work on that unit. Nice job!

[Vedette]

Regarding this concept my question has always been WHY???
If it is going to cost more than a $100.00 to design, fabricate, or buy stands and a lifting system of a removable teardrop "pod" removal and storage system?????..........then why not buy a used utility trailer or even on of those cheap HF trailers to leave out in your side yard to haul whatever, whenever. And just build a normal teardrop with a removable tongue that you can push into the corner of you garage when not in service .
Way Simpler! Way Cheaper! And like ALL "Single Function" things, Way Better than any "Multi Purpose" gadget.
Remember trying to eat your camp meal at Boy Scout Camp with your cool Swiss Army knife rather than a simple knife, fork, and spoon? What a piece of crap!
Same principle applies here!
Good Roads
Brian

[lrrowe]

Regarding this concept my question has always been WHY???
If it is going to cost more than a $100.00 to design, fabricate, or buy stands and a lifting system of a removable teardrop "pod" removal and storage system?????..........then why not buy a used utility trailer or even on of those cheap HF trailers to leave out in your side yard to haul whatever, whenever. And just build a normal teardrop with a removable tongue that you can push into the corner of you garage when not in service .
Way Simpler! Way Cheaper! And like ALL "Single Function" things, Way Better than any "Multi Purpose" gadget.
Remember trying to eat your camp meal at Boy Scout Camp with your cool Swiss Army knife rather than a simple knife, fork, and spoon? What a piece of crap!
Same principle applies here!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

I agree. I had similar thougts.