Colorado 6X12 Haulmark Cargo Trailer

[hankaye]

Gonefishin, Howdy;

Well, I got the question about where the bubble-wrap was answered anyway

Happy Turkey Day!

hank

[Trainman45]

Hi Hankaye,
Hey, thanks for stopping by.!!
Ok, I will try to answer a few of your questions. The square ribs were filled with the 1" insulation, no spray foam. The spray foam was used up front and along some parts of the walls at the bottom where I could see daylight from the inside looking down after all the wood was off. I taped all the insulation seams, rib seams, and spray foam. The bubble wrap came with the trailer, I ordered it with insulation, and that is what they insulated it with. It was in two pieces, one for the roof, and one for the walls. It ran from the left rear side wall all the way around to the right rear side wall, it was a huge piece. !!

So after the 1" insulation was in and seams taped, it was flush with the ribs. I then put the bubble back on, over the insulation and the ribs. I thought a little more insulation with the bubble would be good, plus it would cover the Z channel of the ribs that the screws would go back into, even though they were all taped, I had read something about vapor barrier and steel ribs. Then I screwed the wood panels back on over that. There is 1" insulation, bubble wrap, then wood panels. Doing it this way, as Over the Top and others have said, I still get the heat/cold transfer through the screws. When you touch the screws, they are warm in the summer, and cold in the winter. This was pretty basic, I am not a handyman, and I was able to do it this way with no problems.

The battery box is not vented to the outside. I use four 6 volt AGM sealed LifeLine batteries which are safe to use inside with no venting.

The inverter is 1000 watt and runs everything I use with no problems, but I am considering going bigger. As far as inverters go, start big not small.

The dorm fridge used to much power to run 24/7. I would have to turn it off at night to save battery power. It used 7 amps to run. The Engel fridge runs on 1.7 amps, so I run that 24/7 with no problem for the batteries.

For showers, I use a combination, depending where I am, and if it is warm or cold outside. The Zodi Extreme propane shower, or a solar bag shower. If I am near a campground that has showers most will let you use them even though your not camped there. Pilot and Flying J truck stops are also a great choice. I also use Wet Ones baby wipes in-between showers.

Hope that helps a little, Happy Turkey Day Hank and Gonefishin.

[Gonefishin]

Thanks Trainman, happy Thanksgiving!

Truck stops, campground showers, solar shower, and wet wipes. Thats how I've been staying clean too! The campgrounds and truck stops charge 5 or 10 dollars in Montana and Idaho.

1.7 amps for the Engel. Thats tempting, very tempting. Which size do you have?

I've known you went full time for a few years now, but for some reason this thread, at this time, really has my head spinning on taking a year off from such encumbrances as a job, bills, business, and a fixed residence. And um, my wife might hava a say too. Maybe its the snow and 10 degrees outside. But thanks for getting the wheels turning again. I can daydream a little. Maybe a mid-winter trip south or west to hospitable climes.

[hankaye]

Trainman45, Howdy;

Just got back from the pot luck Turkey Day meal here at the RV Park. urrrrrp
Thanks for the answers, good thoughts and interesting results.
Hope you've had a good turkey day.

hank

[Trainman45]

Hi Gonefishin,
I had never heard of fulltime RVing until I saw a cable show in Denver, just before I was getting ready to retire. They said it is not for everybody, I was thinking about what I was going to do when I retired, and thought, after seeing that show, cool, I could do that. The show talked about downsizing and getting rid of all your "stuff" and hit the road.

I did not go the RV route, I found this forum about cargo trailer conversions so that is the way I went. I consider myself a fulltime camper. Ha.!! I camp on BLM land and in National Forests, all free boondocking or dispersed camping as the National Forests call it. That show got my "wheels turning" as you said, it was at just the right time for me. Happy to help get you thinking about a whole new way to go. It was the right choice for me, and I am having a blast.

The fridge is a 64qt size.

Trainman

[Trainman45]

Hi Gang,
After freezing for three winters in the desert, yes desert, I installed a new heater for this winter. I was disappointed with the Wave 3 catalytic heater, it does a good job of warming objects in my trailer, like the table and storage bins, and eventually radiate that heat to warm the air, like the sun does. It warmed up everything just fine, .... except me.!! Ha.!!

The next heater, which I still have as back-up and use occasionally, is the Mr Heater Buddy. This is a "brick" type heater, it warms a ceramic plate that gives off heat. Boy does it ever.!! It will blast me out of there in no time, and that is using the low setting. Sometimes I use this heater if I need a quick warm up while my new heater is cranking up.

I installed the new heater at the end of October and I am very happy with it so far. It is a Dickinson Marine P9000 propane heater. They have two models, this is the smaller unit. This is a direct vent heater, unlike the Wave 3 and Mr Heater Buddy which are ventless heaters.

The direct vent means it vents to the outside with a double tube vent stack on top of the heater. The burnt propane fumes go out through the inner pipe and it sucks fresh air down through the outer pipe. This system is great for my kind of tinyliving in a small 6X12 cargo trailer. They were originally made for boats, but have found uses in tinyhomes, tinytrailers and Rv's. I even saw a video of one in a Class B Van Rv.

The reason this system is so great for the way I live and travel, boondocking across the Southwest, is it does not use any inside air to run. The Wave 3 and Mr Heater Buddy both use the inside air. You have to have a window cracked open and roof vent cracked to have some air flow while they are running. It is also not safe to run those two heaters while you sleep, you have to turn them off when you go to bed. I can run the Dickinson all night while sleeping and not worry about waking up dead.!! Ha.!! Another benefit of this heater is the burning of the propane is in a sealed compartment. The burning of propane creates moisture, so with the other two heaters I used, I would get moisture on the inside of the windows, and water dripping from the window sills and around the door frame. No moisture and no water dripping after over a month of use with the Dickinson. Excellent.!!

A bonus of this little heater, it is also a baby fireplace. Cool.!!

Thank You to all who had info about these great little heaters on this forum, and Gonefishin for answering my questions about it.


Day Shot Heater


Night Shot Heater


Trainman

[hankaye]

Trainman45, Howdy;

Good to see ya found a way to stay warm.
Question:
Does it keep the air at floor level warm as well ???

Most folks don't realize that we desert dwellers can experience a 30 to
40 degree temp. split from low at night to High daytime due to the lack
of humidity, altitude and a few other factors. Back East and in the humid
zones only experience a 10 to 20 degree split.

hank

[Trainman45]

Hi Hankaye,
Your right on the temps out here in the desert. Man, last night it was down to 22 degrees last I checked, just south of Ajo, AZ.

The floor heat is not as good as I would like, of course heat rises, so some have added a little fan up high to circulate the heat a little better. I did not insulate the floor of my trailer in the conversion. There is a 12 volt fan inside the heater that blows the heat downward through a vent just above the window. The heater is 3' 2" above the floor.

It is ok when it gets down to the 40's and 50's, but when it hits the lower 30's and 20's that is when I notice the cold floor. Lucky we do not get down to those 20's for months, it is more like a few days, or a week at most.

Thanks for stopping by.

Trainman

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

Hey trainman

Glad to see your doing well, I'm in texas right now , Jan heading back to Cali after 8 week's.

My set up would have fit into 12' no problem with what I now know. Very happy with my solar & lithium batteries, running my mini split. Works great even in Texas heat and 100% humidity to my surprise.

I can go down to 30F no heater required, maybe even 20 if I had a 12' trailer, the tv, vcr, and ARB throw of tons of heat, I would guess 30+F over exterior, maybe 40 in a 12' model. MY ac averages 250 watts with 100 F exterior full sun, average around 160 watts per hour when it's 85 average. I think mini would even run on a Maginum 1000 watt pure sine of course. One day i might build a 12' trailer, much easier to tow.

Maybe I'll catch you in quartszite this Jan

Don't buy bigger inverter, they SUCK lots of power on stand by......drain ur battery dry if you forget to turn off, mainly I use 300 watt Morningstar as my 90% workhorse. ...

Cheers

OverTheTopCargoTrailer

[Trainman45]

Hi OverTheTop,
Good to hear that everything works, out on the road in Texas.
Thanks for the info on the inverter size.

I am planning to go to the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (RTR) in Quartzsite next month, whether I make it there or not is another story. Ha.!!

Thanks for stopping by,
Trainman

[munchmeister]

Just have to chime in on this great thread and great build. Inspirational. I'm still in the looky loo stage, considering options and with a Subaru Forester four banger and a need to haul a (very light weight) motorcycle, these cargo trailers may be the way to go. Have also looked at the Cricket Trailer but they are much more $$$, although light, at ~1450 lbs. Any idea what your rig weighs at this point? TIA.

[Trainman45]

Hi Munchmeister,
This trailer has a 3500 lb. single axle, so I have never gone over that weight for safety.
I have only weighed it once on the scales after I left Denver in my first year of my great adventure. This was after I had the solar and battery system installed, and had all the "stuff" I thought I would need when I packed it up for fulltiming on the road. This was for 2 people, I took care of my Dad, who was 92 at the time we left, and he came with me. It weighed in at 2600 lbs. and some change fully loaded.

Since then, I have tossed or given away most of the "stuff" I thought I would need and never used, also my Dad past away 2 years after we left, so all his things are gone as well. I would guess the trailer is around 2000 lbs or less right now. I do not know about other trailers, but mine recommended that 60% of the weight should be ahead of the axle. If there is too much weight in the rear, you will know, because the trailer will wiggle while driving.

I hope this helps you.
Cargo trailer was the way to go for me, and I am having a blast.!!

Trainman