Don & Christi's 6 x 10 Cargo Conversion

[GPW]

What about moving the shower /potty to the rear .. move the bed/layout up a bit to accommodate ??? gray water tank ??? I was thinking more the universal bucket, just for a little shower/dish water ..
Don't mind me , just thinking , trying to keep things simple and light...

[azmotoman]

WOW! I could build a mansion in there! Good luck to you and your plans for a conversion.

[d30gaijin]

What about moving the shower /potty to the rear .. move the bed/layout up a bit to accommodate ??? gray water tank ??? I was thinking more the universal bucket, just for a little shower/dish water ..
Don't mind me , just thinking , trying to keep things simple and light...

GPW,

I can't move the shower aft for two reasons, 1) that's where the aft electrical comes in that will be used for inflating our inflatable bed and running the eventual A/C unit I plan to install aft and, 2) the bed is as wide as the width of the CT and extends right up to the aft end of the shower pan i.e., if I move the shower pan to the rear the bed will be up against the galley leaving no room to stand and I won't be able to get in via the side door without walking on the bed.

Don

[d30gaijin]

WOW! I could build a mansion in there! Good luck to you and your plans for a conversion.

If you're coming from building a teardrop, yep I suppose you could, and as I plan too. Me? Sorry but I can't abide a trailer I can't stand up in but I fully understand why folks build teardrops. Still, they just don't work for me. Be that as it may, I have seen on this site beautiful teardrop craftsmanship and have learned a lot from the numerous teardrop builds that I can apply to my CT conversion. I admire the teardrop builders for their ingenuity. A lot to be learned from them, which is why I am so thankful for this web site.

Best regards,
Don

[GPW]

Quote: "won't be able to get in via the side door without walking on the bed.
"
Hmmm?... I see where that could be a problem
Here's a drawing I still consider workable in a CT ... Just more ideas to toss around..

[d30gaijin]

Quote: "won't be able to get in via the side door without walking on the bed.
"
Hmmm?... I see where that could be a problem
Here's a drawing I still consider workable in a CT ... Just more ideas to toss around..

GPW,

That's a nice design and feasible, but not at this point in my build. My build is a little bit close to your sketch except the shower will not be so large. My galley shelf will extend behind the forward wall/bulkhead of the shower allowing me to make a cabinet just behind the shower forward wall/bulkhead and the absolute front wall of the CT. That cabinet will house the shower plumbing and provide some limited storage space. I could better explain it if I could make nice sketches like you provided... alas I can't so we'll just have to wait for pics as it progresses.

We're off to the mountains for the next five days but should have WiFi when we get there... no guarantees but hopes.

Please keep the thoughts and ideas coming. I can make some changes but the overall layout is somewhat cast in stone at this point.

Don

[d30gaijin]

Deleted due to a double post glitch on my end.

Happy Trails to you...

[GPW]

Don, Have fun in the Mountains !!!

[d30gaijin]

Don, Have fun in the Mountains !!!

GPW,

Back from a great trip in the mountains of Idaho. And WOW! What a great trip it was. Some of this and a lot of this and very little of this

Monday and Tuesday night, middle of the night, we received some heavy this and found it to be a beautiful change from the 90-100 degrees we suffered here in the Boise Valley for the month before heading up into the mountains. Actually had to turn the heater on in the Jayco Tuesday & Wednesday mornings to warm the trailer up, unheard of in south/central Idaho in August, but we loved it.

OK, so now we're back home but want to go higher up (we were at 5000 ft. elevation this trip) but we want to go to 6300 ft. to Stanley, Idaho and that means getting the CT conversion done if we're to have a prayer of getting there in the Jeep Cherokee. Needless to say I will now be heavily digging into making more progress on the CT conversion.

Stay tuned.

Don

[GPW]

FUN !!!

[d30gaijin]

OK. Done with having fun camping so it is back to work on the CT conversion so as to make some progress.

Today I was determined to get the 110v AC electrical done, something I have been dreading because the outdoor 12 gauge wire I have been using is such a PITA to work with in confined spaces/sharp turns but I got-r-done. What got done was the upper left CGFI outlet and the upper center outlet, which is tied into the upper left CGFI outlet for GFI protection. I Also cut some Luan for the forward corners. On the left I tried screwing it to the existing CT interior plywood but was not happy with the results so will use my air stapler instead and then remove the screws I put in (screws only on the left side upper corner). That completes the 110v AC electrical, with the exception of getting some Adel Clamps (rubber insulated clamps) to secure the 110v wire to the wood bulkheads per Engineer Guy's excellent recommendation to reduce the chance of 12 gauge solid wire breakage due to vibration.



I also installed the city water inlet/penetration.

Next on the list of things to get done will be rough plumbing, shower pan installation, and Formica for the galley counter top.



I will build a splash guard just above the interior city water penetration to isolate the plumbing connection from the electrical inlet/wiring/junction box i.e., should the plumbing connection fail all water spray will be directed down and away from any electrical connection.



Don

[GPW]

Don, sealing the wood around that inlet wouldn't be a bad idea ... you can already see the water sucking up into the ply at the bottom (pic)

[d30gaijin]

Don, sealing the wood around that inlet wouldn't be a bad idea ... you can already see the water sucking up into the ply at the bottom (pic)

GPW,

I will make an internal seal. Externally the inlet flange was shot full of exterior waterproof silicon seal then screwed in place. No water will penetrate through that. Internally that isn't water being sucked up as there has been no water internal yet. What you see is glue remnants from the original side paneling to floor joint wherein the manufacturer gobbed a boatload of glue/sealant to seal the two joint surfaces (I spent hours scraping that stuff off/out).

By the way, all the inside wall and roof surfaces will be overlaid with thin wall paneling to finish off the inside in a decorative manner. The plywood siding is just there because it came original in the CT and holds the insulation in place i.e., I put back what was already there.

I still need to run minimal 12v DC wiring for over head lights. Need to do that before installing the paneling. My 12v system will be very minimal as I only need it for lighting. It will consist of one large 12 or so gauge wire with a take-off for each light. On off switches will be in the light fixtures. I see no need for an elaborate 12v system as 12v will be for lights only, no automotive stereo (I don't want to listen to noise or other peoples terrible stereo when I am out trying to get away from it all), or other 12v powered stuff. Where we go we usually have hook-ups and if not then we have the Honda EU2000i generator. We will primarily run off of 110v AC. I'll have a 12v battery (or maybe a pair of golf cart 6v batteries) and a charger for same. That's it... unless you can think of something I am missing? I can see no need for an elaborate 12v system as I see in some trailers... all with the thought of keeping it simple for our actual needs.

Don

[Engineer Guy]

Don ~

If there's a bit of spare +12 VDC wire about, consider leaving yourself a pig tail or two JUST in case a +12 VDC Accessory or two might be added down the road. Put in a little extra wire at the rear of the Trailer and/or just above your front shelf. You could put some heat shrink tubing or electrical tape, etc., around the loose ends of these wire pigtails. Photo-document where they are hidden. Or, dress them out to a Cig Lighter Socket or a blank cover plate now if that suits ya.

In any case, you'll have some modest 'expansion' capability to plug in a Cellphone Charger by the bed or shelf, or a lil +12 VDC Fan, etc.. Me, I'm a big fan of listening to Shortwave Radio at night occasionally w/earphone. For others, maybe listening to iPod music or a downloaded Book is their thing, daytime or nighttime. I'm a fan of plugging in high power +12 VDC Spotlights for external use during lil crises.

For future growth, you won't have to run surface mount or under-chassis +12 VDC wire. It will be just under the final Paneling should you need it.

Before Lawyers ran the world and Homeowners were kept away from their House under construction, I ran my own multiple Coax feeds and insulated HW Pipes in the walls circa 1987. I also carefully put Insulation around the Tub to lower heat loss while soaking. A pal ran his own wire to install a Whole House Fan later. I videotaped our present Tract House going up. It was very handy to know exactly where wiring and a wall brace were come time to cut in a Swamp Cooler outlet vent.

If any of us could foresee the future perfectly, we'd all be betting at the Horse Track, right?

~ Dennis ~

[d30gaijin]

Don ~

If there's a bit of spare +12 VDC wire about, consider leaving yourself a pig tail or two JUST in case a +12 VDC Accessory or two might be added down the road. Put in a little extra wire at the rear of the Trailer and/or just above your front shelf. You could put some heat shrink tubing or electrical tape, etc., around the loose ends of these wire pigtails. Photo-document where they are hidden. Or, dress them out to a Cig Lighter Socket or a blank cover plate now if that suits ya.

In any case, you'll have some modest 'expansion' capability to plug in a Cellphone Charger by the bed or shelf, or a lil +12 VDC Fan, etc.. Me, I'm a big fan of listening to Shortwave Radio at night occasionally w/earphone. For others, maybe listening to iPod music or a downloaded Book is their thing, daytime or nighttime. I'm a fan of plugging in high power +12 VDC Spotlights for external use during lil crises.

For future growth, you won't have to run surface mount or under-chassis +12 VDC wire. It will be just under the final Paneling should you need it.

Before Lawyers ran the world and Homeowners were kept away from their House under construction, I ran my own multiple Coax feeds and insulated HW Pipes in the walls circa 1987. I also carefully put Insulation around the Tub to lower heat loss while soaking. A pal ran his own wire to install a Whole House Fan later. I videotaped our present Tract House going up. It was very handy to know exactly where wiring and a wall brace were come time to cut in a Swamp Cooler outlet vent.

If any of us could foresee the future perfectly, we'd all be betting at the Horse Track, right?

~ Dennis ~

Dennis,

Excellent advice and something I have been considering doing i.e., running 12 gauge multi-strand 12v wire up from the front, overhead, and to the back end before enclosing the CT with the thin wall paneling as a "just in case" scenario, doing take-offs for the overhead 12v lights then running the 12 gauge 12v DC wiring down one side in the rear of the CT leaving the main 12 gauge wire pigtail where I can still get at it should the need arise. I don't anticipate needing it but as you note (not in these words) hind sight is 20/20.

Don