7x16 continental V nose

[mrwall1]

a few pictures from set up at Beverly Beach State Park in Oregon!













And for anyone who loves cannon beach... we made a quick stop on the way...

[mrwall1]

Well the first trip out with the trailer we learned a lot of things! We drove about 800 miles... some small coastal mountains... but overall fairly flat... over half was freeway.... First my 2008 Ford F150 FX4 definitely at its limit towing it... and we were not that loaded... only about 2000 lbs heavier then 2 years ago when we took the teardrop for a 3000 mile road trip.... I need airbags!!!





I wish I would of finished the cupboard doors... couldn't leave much in the cupboards when ever we moved to a new spot... so everything went back into the rubber maid bins... We only had two Deep Cycle batteries... and the first 3 days that is the only power we had... so had to use it sparingly... dropped down to 12.2 volts... and we only used the 12v water pump.. and the Maxx air fan... then a couple of hours each day I plugged the mini fridge in to the inverter which the Kill o watt meter said was only drawing 1 amp hour... so either another battery... solar, or buy a smaller generator to take along... I have a big one for the house but didn't want to pack the extra weight.....

Need more then a 8 gallon black water tank.... maybe if only the wife was using... my wife and daughter filled it up the first 24 hours! (too much beer)..... a grey water tank... I had to empty the Walmart jug about 5 times! we used the 21 gallons of fresh water up in 3 days with just flushing toilet and doing dishes...

wish I had bought the 18' the extra 2 feet in front of the bed would of been great !

Hooks! need hooks! no where to hang things....

drawers! need drawers... we did go to Walmart and buy one of these plastic drawers it did help some...



and most of all we need the bed lift... crawling under the bed to get stuff was a pain... with the lift I could remove all the bracing I put under the bed.... and of course could of hauled the motorcycle....

When I had the truck serviced they told me I needed front brakes soon.... I should of done it before we left... now I will be replacing pads and rotors!! Thank God for the trailer brakes.... I used the hand button for the trailer brakes on the steep hills

Overall it was a good trip.... we had to cut it short by a couple of days... my brother in law had a heart attack and took a turn for the worse... but today he is doing a little better... but better that we are back...

[McDave]

Hey Mr,
Wow! You gotta be a little wore out after all that activity.
First let me just say the trailer looks great, and you really got a lot done in that final push. I would say that's about as good a maiden voyage as I've seen. Shook her down good and nothing fell off, that's a success. There will be a lot of little things to complete and add for some time to come, but that's a functional unit right there.
Thanks for all the pics and the great job you have done documenting your build. I love photos but I just don't take a lot of them. Too caught up in the moment, and my friends aren't as pretty as yours. Good looking family you've got there. Well done, Sir.
So, you may want to reassess the tongue weight and balance but the air bags will help a lot. Brakes are critical, they just have to be right or things can get real hairy, real fast. I just finished brake job on my TV that was scary. I had an incident last fall coming back from a rally late at night, 2:30 am, fully loaded and about 2-3 days late, cause too much is never enough... but I was passing a tractor trailer with a pup doin' 80mph on a left hand sweeper when the truck driver got spooked and checked up on the brakes and swerved hard, so I grabbed some brakes and the Van took a hard left, and the trailer took a hard right. Then we went the other way and I swear I looked out my drivers window and saw the ass of that trailer come up next to my door. Then we went hard back the other way and so on for many cycles till I got her gathered up. By this time my phone was ringing and the guy behind me was screaming to pull over cause he just ruined his Carhart's. Turns out the brake hoses were just about completely clogged and I really only had half of one front brake doin all the work. The other front was dragging but not braking, and no rears. The trailer doesn't have brakes but it did have a 900 lb Harley to help push the truck around. So yea, gotta have them brakes working. Trailer brakes are on my hot list.
I spent many hours at a hospital this weekend myself. A old partner of mine had a stroke Wed. and was in Billings, on our way to Red Lodge. By the time we got there Fri. he had been transferred to Red Lodge for long term rehab. So it worked out that I could be with him in the mornings and evenings. He's in rough shape, but I've seen him worse after a long weekend, so I think he'll be alright. He's starting to get the feeling back in his left side and we had him standing up and took a step. Honestly, we are probably way overdue for that kind of stuff. We have played hard for a long time. His 40 yr old daughter, a nurse, read me the riot act like I had been twisting his arm all these years. He is 59, he does what he wants.
Anyways, I'm rambling again, old guys do that, I've heard. So great job on the trailer, glad everything went well, hope your brother gets better.
Talk to ya soon,

McDave

[mrwall1]

Haha! Thanks McDave!! keep Ramblin! that is what keeps the board fun!! There are lots of cool builds here! but this place can always use a lot more fun and good stories!!! I have always done my own brakes.... but this time I swallowed hard and am paying Les Schwab to do them... and your story is a good reminder of why... I am bad about checking anything else... I usually just throw a new set of pads, or shoes on.... never turn the rotors or drums.... let alone check the lines... Plus dam at this age crawling around the ground and lifting big tires is not my idea of fun anymore!!

Those wild years will catch up with us sooner or later... my brother in law has never stopped...of course he doesn't have a Warden to make sure he did! lol... I am hoping for a few more good ones to enjoy the trailer fun!!!

[Snakebite]

make them replace it.. on the subject of the bed I also single with one dog I am putting my bed in the front and doing like a gypsy vardo where my bed will be down all the time. it's a v nose so I want to make use of the foot and a half with selves . Can't wait to get her...

[mrwall1]

Did a little more work on the trailer today.. added a few more trim pieces... And I also installed a set of drawers... I was going to build them.. but I saw this free standing drawer base at home depot and decided it looked a lot easier!!









I also ordered a 16 gallon water tank to use for the sink drain and an Echotemp L5 Propane hot water heater! they should be here next week!

[McDave]

Nice! That's the way things get done. Just gotta keep chip, chip, chippin away at it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpUMsK6h0-I

McDave

[mrwall1]

Well it has been a while since I posted any progress.... but I have been chipping away... We finished the cupboard doors, put some hooks and shelves up.. Taking off Tuesday for a quick 3 dayer up at Deception pass state park on Whidbey Island in northern Washington... we had to get a spot with no hookups... so I will take the generator... I only have two batteries, and I seem to go through about 1 a day... Still haven't decided if I am going to put the portable A/C unit in... since I will have the generator... but it is only suppose to get at the hottest 80... so thinking the fans, and opening up the back door should do the trick... since I only want to use the gen. to charge up the batteries...














need to do a little cord management!!!

I also got a small 16 gallon water tank, to put under the sink for a gray water tank.... and installed it... and an Ecco temp tankless water heater.... but I haven't messed with it yet.... the campground has showers, so we will use those...

[pchast]

Coming together nicely!

Can't recommend solar highly enough.

[mrwall1]

Coming together nicely!

Can't recommend solar highly enough.

We are going to do solar next year!! Here in Western Washington most camping spots are in the trees ... so very little chance of getting much charge....

[mrwall1]

Made it too Deception Pass State park in northern Washington today!!! Nice campground!!! Beautiful beaches...

[McDave]

That trailer is beautiful. Really nice job on the walls and cabinets. Everybody's gonna have to step up their game now.

McDave

[pchast]

Beautiful location!
Thanks for sharing.

[flboy]

Your CTC looks great.Glad to see you enjoying it!

[mrwall1]

Well I haven't been very active with the trailer we had 4 deaths in the family this summer.... I have been reading the posts... but have not posted anything either...Finally today.... I was able to do a few things... and start planning what to do before next spring.... So I took the bed out and the platform and going to re-design it so we can use it as a toy hauler also... so the shelves have to come out... Also I opened the box for my Propane instant hot water unit... and 100 watt solar panel.... hopefully we will have a couple more nice days so I can leave the back open!!



Decided to pull the V star in to see where to put the tie downs in...