Cargo Trailer Conversions .. New Generation RVs

[vreihen]

[size=18]COOL. V-nose car hauler? Convert to travel trailer?

PHOTOS of it?

If you asked my wife, she'd say it is a portable man-cave!

I have been meaning to write an intro post, but can't find any pictures of my old tiny tire trailer that followed my race car all over the country for several years. (It was an engineering feat to design a trailer that could carry four wheels/tires, pit gear, and a few other bulky things...that broke down into small enough pieces so that I could carry it into the apartment where I lived at the time.) Last spring, I made the mistake of renting a U-Haul car carrier to tow the car to an event, and being able to drive the car onto the trailer at the end of the weekend without changing back to street tires was enough to make me realize that I needed a car hauler for the past 10+ years.

Anyway, the Featherlite is a blank canvas right now, that will be used as a race car hauler and portable workshop during the summer, and a storage garage for both my 14' sportscar and 11' open-wheel formula car during the winter. I'm sure that everyone can do the math and realize that this means I can't mount anything permanently in the "living quarters" end, but that is nothing that several people here aren't also dealing with creatively.

Featherlite does not put interior walls into their car haulers, so my only goal before winter sets in is to insulate/sheet the front 10' ("living quarters" space) with something before I load the formula car inside. I picked up a brand new stainless steel bar sink for $9.99 at a building surplus store, and am planning to build some sort of removable base cabinet across the front with a sink and counter top. The hardest decision for me is that I really like the look of the un-sheeted walls, and would like to make all of my additions in raw aluminum as well. I almost don't want to sheet it, but window trim rings could be a problem without sheeting on the inside.

Here's a few pictures:







I found this site while searching for instructions for how to install CT windows, and love seeing the creative things that people are doing with their conversions.....

[GPW]

V , Now that's a serious BIG trailer !!!!!

BH , It's all in how we choose to entertain ourselves... and survive !!!

[Prem]

Vreihen,

Good for you! Sounds like a plan.

One word of advice: Sheet the inside to protect the outer aluminum wall. One bump with an elbow or a jack or a lug wrench and you've got ugly on one side of your trailer.

If you're going to use rigid foam insulation, you could get away with 1/4" ply on the walls or even that super thin diamond plate / tread plate aluminum. (It comes in 4' x 8' and occasionally 4' x 10' sheets rolled up. Available locally or on eBay.) The latter would keep and enhance the metallic look on the inside.

Yeah, man cave! My daughters call my Featherlite my man cave. With your new man cave, you may want to have these to top off the affect:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DIAMOND-PLATE-ALUMINUM-COASTERS-4PC-SET-MAN-CAVE-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem27ad206418QQitemZ170408305688QQptZApparelQ5fMerchandise

For what it's worth,

Prem

P.S. Thanks for the photos! Beautiful trailer.

[vreihen]

One word of advice: Sheet the inside to protect the outer aluminum wall. One bump with an elbow or a jack or a lug wrench and you've got ugly on one side of your trailer.

If you're going to use rigid foam insulation, you could get away with 1/4" ply on the walls or even that super thin diamond plate / tread plate aluminum. (It comes in 4' x 8' and occasionally 4' x 10' sheets rolled up. Available locally or on eBay.) The latter would keep and enhance the metallic look on the inside.

I hear you about the outer skin. I have been staying away from the walls as much as possible, and make sure that every last thing is strapped down so that something like a jack doesn't slide across the floor and hit the unprotected walls while towing it. (FWIW, Featherlite supposedly uses .040 outer skins on their car haulers, but it still wrinkles in the sun.)

Since the wall "hat" studs are 1" deep, I was thinking about gluing 1" foam between them at least in the "living area" at the front. Over the foam, I was going to glue 1/8" thrifty white hardboard, which is the stuff that people buy at Lowes or Home Depot to make DIY whiteboards. With the amount of info that needs to be tracked at a national-level event (course map sketches, run/work heats, tire pressures and other car setup info, competitor's times, dinner plans, etc), being able to write on the walls would be a useful feature. Unfortunately, Lowes only recommends putting the 1/8" hardboard over a solid surface, and I don't know if the foam counts as a solid surface. Do you know if anyone has tried hardboard in a CT yet, and how it holds up to vibrations and moisture? Do you think that 1/8" is too thin over foam? Of course, it still doesn't help to solve the other drawback, in that standard window trim rings seem to be for 1.25" thick CT walls and I would be 1/8" too thin. If I had to go with 1/4" thick hardboard, I was thinking that this stuff would be good for the shock value in a Featherlite trailer:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_13964-46498-288_4294807184__?productId=1015475&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_Wall%2BPanels_4294807184__%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1

Yeah, man cave! My daughters call my Featherlite my man cave. With your new man cave, you may want to have these to top off the affect:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DIAMOND-PLATE-ALUMINUM-COASTERS-4PC-SET-MAN-CAVE-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem27ad206418QQitemZ170408305688QQptZApparelQ5fMerchandise

Believe it or not, I already have a diamond plate pickup truck box as a coffee table in my living room, along with diamond plate outlet and switch face plates! I see that the eBay store above is selling a paper towel holder, which would go nice with the sink that I want to put in.....

[Prem]

vreihen,

The whiteboard is called Melamine. It's a hard, white coating over Masonite. Some I've seen lately is untempered Masonite (the color of cardboard boxes and soaks up water like cardboard), but the superior, harder, water-resistent stuff is tempered Masonite Melamine (dark chocolate brown). It's all heavier than HD's Luan 1/4" ply, but it's good stuff. I've seen two teardrop trailers paneled on the OUTSIDE with tempered Masonite and it holds up. One is Joel's Rimple (see Hall of Fame). The other was a sheepherder's teardrop from the 1940s. Awesome little thing. Old, green, oil-based paint over tempered Masonite. Joel's is Melamine.

As you know, if the whiteboard (Melamine) gets scratched, the white comes off. You can touch it up with white nail polish. But, there's nothing wrong with using white, semi-gloss acrylic latex over the cheap 1/4 inch ply hardboard if you want to bounce the light around in your trailer. That you can touch up easily...or change the color later.

The hat-shaped ribs are aluminum in a Featherlite, so it's easy to drill. I used aluminum rivets on the interior of mine. Screws (except stainless steel) are ferrous, so they will cause some electrolysis on the screws if you use regular, self-tapping screws. NG.

I'm fanatical. I'd insulate the whole thing (ceiling included) with 1" rigid foam just to protect the outside skin and provide a decent, flush backing for whatever you sheathe the inside with. It cuts down on radiant heat coming from the skin in summer also.

I finally painted the roof white with elastomeric RV roof coating. What a difference that made inside my trailer! Check out the rubber, brush-on seam sealer that they use where the roof UNDERLAPS the top, extruded structural trim. Hokey. It breaks down in UV and cracks. I trued it up with a straight edge and razor knife then painted it white with elastomeric.

For what it's worth.

Prem

P.S. I can see you having *every* accoutrement there is in aluminum diamond plate, even the Dale Jr. NASCAR clock!

[Jeffmo63]

I've spent years of my life trying to find an RV or TT that suited me. I thought my search was over when a door moulding pulled right off the wall in a brand new $20,000 TT. I knew I would never find what I was looking for. I am finally happy now that I well into the conversion of my Pace American 6 x 12. I am learning so much! I have a thread here that you can check out.

[gwan2cruz]

Hey V, I am from NYS also and been looking for a Featherlite or good quality CT. Where in NY did you get yours? I am south of Rochester.
That is a nice looking CT.
Thanks
Gary

[vreihen]

Hey V, I am from NYS also and been looking for a Featherlite or good quality CT. Where in NY did you get yours? I am south of Rochester.

I live on the other end of the state, in Orange County. (Yes, the same Orange County seen on that TV show about building custom motorcycles.)

I purchased my trailer from a dealer in the northern Catskills. It was the last Featherlite that he had on the lot, and they were in the process of ending their Featherlite dealership franchise. (The owner explained that doing business with Featherlite as a wholesaler was not as pleasant as the other brands that he serves as a distributor for, and that it was their choice to stop carrying their trailers and focus on other brands.)

For example, they had a Rance aluminum car hauler sitting right next to the Featherlite on the lot, that was about the same sticker price but included finished interior walls, rear stabilizer jacks, and a marine-grade plywood deck. It was a toss-up for which one I chose. The Rance trailer had two-piece roof trusses, and seemed to be built heavier and better equipped in every way. The only negative for Rance was that the plywood deck sealer fumes were still strong inside. Believe it or not, the deciding factor for me was simply the screen door on the Featherlite. My neighbors at home are a state forest, an undeveloped county park, and a small wetland. I couldn't even leave the trailer door open for 30 seconds in my driveway without having to shoo a swarm of bugs out of it.

From Rochester, you are within striking distance of all the trailer factories in the Elkhart, Indiana area. Although it is difficult to examine a trailer before you order it for factory pickup, you could save money by ordering factory direct and picking it up yourself. When I was initially researching my race car hauler and contemplating having a trailer custom built, Storm Trailers in Elkhart was on my short list of manufacturers. They are steel, but hold their value for a non-household-name manufacturer. I saw a few for sale on racingjunk.com and ebay, and they looked almost brand new in pictures despite being 10+ years old in one case. I haven't seen one in person and don't know if they build CT's in addition to car haulers, but you might want to check them out if steel is OK for you. I've only read good reviews about them online from owners of their trailers.....

[GPW]

Wish I'd found out about cargo trailers before I bought a commercial unit ... Could have saved 10K and had something I didn't have to worry about ...

Seems the 6'X12' is an ideal size for a conversion eh ? .. not too big , nor too Heavy ... Plenty room for two ... and a dog and cat ... MY TCT 4'X8' is s mite small ... Good for one (no pets) ... probably just use that one for hauling when I can find a 6'X 12' ... still looking for a "deal" ...

[GPW]

The more I see of commercial RV's (and their TOTAL Lack of Quality), the more Cargo trailers make Great Sense ...

[LShrew]

A 6'x12' is plenty for the misses and me plus the 2 small dogs. We have a queen size bed inside with a few shelves, 110v refrig and porta potty. We do not spend a lot of time inside anyway. Better than a tent and cheaper than a RV. We use the campsite shower and potty during the day and the porta potty for nights. I have an EZ-Up awning and cook all the meals outside.
The 6'x12'pulls real good with my 4.0L Nissan Frontier whether on a straight or up a mountain. I like the fact that I can see behind me with out having extended mirrors.
We went the normal route to get to this point with the CT. Over the last 30 years we went from tent-> tent camper-> 25' bunkhouse trailer-> 27' motorhome-> CT. I think that we enjoy the CT the most.