New build 7x14 Nexhaul dually

[halbraun]

I have been lurking for a while, and made a down and dirty conversion of my old 6x12 that would haul my kayak, give me a place to sleep and carry all my stuff.. and I could take everything out in about 20 minutes..

I was browsing my local Craigslist and saw a almost new 2021 Nexhaul 7x14 with V that a guy bought in NY and moved his stuff to Florida and wanted to get rid of it.. I was there first and brought it home.. Not a ton of reviews of Nexhaul (VA) but the ones I saw said nice upgrade from some cheapo Georgia trailers.. dual Dexter 3500# EZ lube axles, rated for the full 7000 lb loaded. All the frame members are on 16" centers (roof, sides floor) 030 skin, etc, etc. It was also pretty cheap with cash.

I started the demo today.. got the walls off, the floor in the "V" and have to say I was amazed at the lengths these mfgs go to say a dime. Painting the frame only where visible, a hole a squirrel could enter in the V, the plywood was screwed to the studs and instead of stopping flush, they buried the screw 2/3 rd of the way through the ply. The number of screws in the floor that missed.. wiring.. etc.

Enough there.. it is what it is and it will be better when I finish.

I am in the process of painting the exposed unpainted metal, and am getting one inch styrofoam insulation board for roof and walls.. My question is how many of you put the plywood you pulled off back on.. and then cover with some pretty material, or just leave the plywood off and put up something like 1/2 tongue and groove pine, rough sawn cedar, or something structural?

I could rotate the plywood I took off and drill new holes and then cover with 1/4" wood..

Thanks for any input...











A couple of hours on Mother's Day.. I didnt get into too much trouble :-)

[flboy]

On my 7*18 V-nose, the manufacturer (Lark) said that the plywood is structural. I asked them to leave it off because I would just have to take it down to insulate and they said they could not do that.

[Iconfabul8]

Imgur works pretty good or you can post here from the gallery. Looking forward to some pics!

[halbraun]

Thanks both for replies. Will use the plywood with new holes.. the way they fastened the 3/8ths ply would have not handled a lot as the go most of the way thru! Will check out the Imgur and get some pics up. Just got it a few days ago, and it is down to the frame.. I have a minimal/removable plan in mind, so no new holes except fo window in the door, and hole for the split unit plumbing. Will use portable water tank and a portable potty.. thanks again!

[halbraun]

Well.. another set of boring insulation pics.. seems simple when I view them, but it's been in the high eighties/low nineties in Central Florida.. and the inside of that black trailer must be 100+. At least I have lost 5 pounds!
Got the all the sidewalls and ramp done and the plywood reinstalled.

Start on the roof tomorrow. Trying to find some vinyl coated panels for the roof.. if that fails, at least some white panelling..

[flboy]

I feel you on the heat. I live in Central Florida too and was working on taking down the paneling as well. Gallons of sweat! Think I am going to install the AC very early in this process so I can work inside with air for the detail work.

[halbraun]

Looking for input please..
1. Where did you source your 12x22 vertical slider window for the rev side door?
Recpro is out of trim rings, and the other two makes on Amazon have pretty poor reviews (vintage and toughgrade)

2. I have to decide on an HVAC system to complete the layout.
Split system is appealing, but has some drawbacks with a 6’ ceiling height. The inside unit pretty much needs to be placed on the front wall to blow lengthwise to keep from short cycling. The 6000 btu Mitsubishi is too $$$. 9000 btu is probably ok for the 7x14 but will also take fabrication on the tongue and adds more tongue weight to trailer.

A window unit requires cutting through wall or floor which I am loathe to do. But if I went that way, I think I would mount it on a slide and cut an access door to slide it out when stationary. (Other thoughts?)

Roof unit is out. Had one on my rev and they are just too loud,

Thanks in advance for ideas. I have now looked at so many examples I am kind of brain locked

[halbraun]

Well, got the ceiling in over the insulation... got the furring strips over the wall studs.. and then epoxy coated the floor and ramp.

Have a 90% design that will allow me to run wiring so I can put the siding up..

Still no joy on a decent 12x22 vertical sliding window for the door... but waiting for unobtainium trim rings.

This is really a simple design that will work as a toy hauler (12' kayak and mountain bikes) so "kitchen" will be a sink with manual pump out of a 6 gal water container draining into another 6 gal water container, and my Yeti cooler and some storage for food and plates, etc. Have a dual burner propane camp stove that will work (probably use more outside than in) Fold down XL single bed.. and a portapotty. No plumbing per se. dont need shower, just dont like heading to the bath house at 3 am.

Have decided to go with a dual hose portable HVAC inside. Two 5" hose cutouts and life is good!

As always, suggestions appreciated.

[halbraun]

In a movie.. you would have some kind of flash forward scene.. and BAMMM! 8 months later..

I had a lot of struggles with this build. not physical.. but planning, layout, maintaining dual purpose, etc. I live on a farm, and needed to keep the trailer where I could continue to use it as a hauler if needed. So everything needed to be removeable. Additionally, it needed to carry my kayak and bike stored inside, as well as basic levels of comfort (HVAC, porta potty, sink and stove to make coffee, a bed..) It does not need to really be "off grid" ready.. most places I stay will have electricity.. or I can use my little 2000w inverter generator to provide 120v. Finally, I did not want to cut any holes if possible.

Personally, I fought constantly NOT to try and compete with so many of the intricate beautiful (costly) builds on here that look like they came out of a professional shop.. you guys do awesome work, but this is "not that". this is one of the simplest builds and just a step up from taking a stock trailer and throwing a sleeping bag on the floor.. (which I considered )

I will post the pictures with a brief description below.. and I am considering this one done.. thanks for all the ideas you have shared.

[halbraun]

First problem.. the bed. I had a nice little "jack knife" couch that flattened into a bed.. but I figured out that any solution that had the bed on one side and the kayak on the other just took away too much room. So I had to figure out a solution that put them on the same side. I really thought about the "rising platform" across the back etc. but my trailer is 6' inside, so the bottom of the platform would mean I was hunched over in the back 1/3 rd of the trailer. I decided on the flop down bed that could live mostly in the up position. I decided to use X track which works well. The only problem to solve was when it was i the up position, it needed to hinge away from the wall so it would close up with room for the bedding. Here is the picture of the solution to that. I thought it was pretty slick



The short strap allows the platform to move away from the wall and make room for the pad.
The X track is screwd through to the tubular frame so is really beefy.

[halbraun]

Kitchen..

I found this little item at IKEA for $125! came with stainless steel top plus sink. 2 Aquatainers bought at Walmart, some plumbing from Lowes and good to go. A battery operated electric pump that is rechargable via USB plug and goes 50 gallons on a charge was $10 on Amazon. The jugs are 7 gallons each. One jug is supply and the other is gray water. Easy to fill and empty. This allows you to stay in a regular campground where they dont want waste water running onto the site.

The 2 burner propane stove is perfect from boiling coffee water. The two plastic strorage containers are perfect for miscellaneous kitchen stuff, and have two chairs hanging there as well.

[halbraun]

HVAC/Electrical

I went around and around on this.. I live in Florida, and the trailer is black. Not my first choice, but when you get a deal used.. you take what you can get. I finally decided to go with the mini split. I did not have to cut a big hole in the side of the trailer and figure out a ducting scheme using a window unit. Same for the roof top units which are also very noisy. I found the Prime minisplit for $420, so it was not a whole lot more than a window unit. It is a 12000 btu, 120v unit that draws 10 amps total (compressor and air handler) my little Harbor Freight 2000 w runs it fine. This thing is almost totally SILENT! It is awesome. Even comes with a remote. The unit airhandler plugs in and supplies power to the compressor outside, so no wiring hassles.

Speaking of wiring, in keeping with the theme of less holes are better, I mounted the 30 amp plug in on a box mounted to the trailer. Then to a 30a breaker box with 2 15 amp breakers that supply one outlet each. One for the mini split, the other for whatever. The compressor is mounted to the tongue with through bolted unistrut and is very stable. Wires and supply/return lines are routed under the V and up inside to the air handler through a 2 1/2" hole in the floor. Clean and easier than I planned.

The shelf in the V also provides for a lot of storage, and the two 2x3 cross bars covered in carpet keep everything in place.

[halbraun]

Toilet

Easy peasy.. Since I am the only one in the trailer..dont really need and enclosed bathroom.. the portapotty is located (conveniently) at the end of the bed for those 4 am wakeups when I really dont feel like walking around in the dark.. notice the little motion sensor night light located just above the toilet.. great for aiming

Also strapped a couple of camp chairs and a table to the wall the X tracks.. very handy stuff!

[halbraun]

Misc.

That covers the main stuff.. everything fits, everything can be removed in about 20 minutes down to the walls (except HVAC)

I am selfcontained and meet my objectives. I got some stands to allow me to use the back door as a patio.. I hung my rods on the ceiling.. my bike rides up the middle of the trailer. The trailer remains pretty stealthy, and keeps my fishing gear, kayak, bike, etc away from prying eyes. So works perfectly for a few day fishing trip down to the keys or over to do some lake fishing/riding.

Thanks for looking.. see you out there.

[foxontherun]

Hey now that is pretty slick! Good job!

I met a fella last fall that has the mini-split on the front of his trailer like you. I had asked him if there was anything he would do differently on his trailer and he said the one thing he would do is have some kind of cover to put over the front of the AC when driving down the road. He said the bugs/etc get stuck in the grill and coils and it is not fun to clean. I remember living in Florida and trying to get "love bugs" off the windshield of the car; don't want to imagine what they would be like on an air-conditioner coil, ha!

Harry