Don & Christi's 6 x 10 Cargo Conversion

[Engineer Guy]

After lots of Research, and reading Reviews that mirrored the comments above re: vibration, I sprung for these Mirrors. A Pal got a pair in the same Order. I like them. You can really tighten them up while wrenching down on the Mirror settings. The glowing Reviews were true. My TT is 8' wide.

Pricey, but you get what you pay for...

McKesh - Hensley Towing Mirrors

[BC_Explorer]

BC,

I apologize for not responding sooner but due to all the running back and forth between Boise and Lake Tahoe to attend to my 86 year old mother I haven't been on the forum, not to mention I have made no additional progress on my CT conversion.

Be that as it may, I have found no need to use mirror extensions when towing our 6x10 CT behind the Jeep Cherokee. I do use mirror extensions when towing our Jayco TT but the 6x10 CT is narrow enough that I don't need them, something I am thankful for in that the clip on mirror extensions I have for the Jayco vibrate ridiculously and are only useful to see if some blurry blob is coming up on me in the next lane if I need to change lanes, and that is only the weird fisheye mirrors that are out at the end of the extension (the extension have two mirrors, regular mirrors inboard that don't really extend far enough out to see anything and the fisheye mirror out on the end). When backing up the Jayco I rely on the wife to get out and guide me. No such problem when backing the 6x10 CT or changing lanes using the Cherokee mirrors sans extensions.

I hope that helps.Don

Don: No need to apologize. Family always comes first before anything else.

Thanks for the info on the mirrors and your experiences with the extensions. I was looking at mirror extensions awhile back and had wondered how they would handle road and wind vibration which does not appear to be nowhere near satisfactory for you...and probably would not be for me also.

[d30gaijin]

After lots of Research, and reading Reviews that mirrored the comments above re: vibration, I sprung for these Mirrors. A Pal got a pair in the same Order. I like them. You can really tighten them up while wrenching down on the Mirror settings. The glowing Reviews were true. My TT is 8' wide.

Pricey, but you get what you pay for...

McKesh - Hensley Towing Mirrors

EG,

Thanks for the link. The Hensley mirrors look excellent and stout. I think I'll spring for a pair for the peace of mind. The clip on mirror extensions I have hook around the existing Cherokee mirrors. I've used them a about six times maybe and the lousy Chinese rubber straps are already cracking. Each time I use them I have this horrible feeling one or both are going to fly off at 60 miles per hour.

Don

[pete42]

Don I have a pair of CIPA mirrors that I used on my F150 SC
they have a knob that tightens then to the stock mirror
I too was afraid of losing them going down the road
so I took a couple of bungee cords the closed looped ones
I placed them over my stock mirror and hooked the bungee over the knob on the CIPA mirror
I've been coast to coast and border to border and they stay on fine.

[d30gaijin]

Don I have a pair of CIPA mirrors that I used on my F150 SC
they have a knob that tightens then to the stock mirror
I too was afraid of losing them going down the road
so I took a couple of bungee cords the closed looped ones
I placed them over my stock mirror and hooked the bungee over the knob on the CIPA mirror
I've been coast to coast and border to border and they stay on fine.

Pete,

How do they handle vibration? The mirrors I have vibrate a lot (big moment arm out there extended off the Cherokee mirrors). Perhaps your F150 factory mirrors are considerably more stout than my Cherokee mirrors? BTW, the Ford F150 is what I am considering upgrading to to haul my Jayco TT and the CT in the future. How do you like it?

Don

[pete42]

F150 mirrors are rounded type
the cipa mirrors fit very tight and don't vibrate much at all.
I've added a round bungy cord sorta like a belt and suspenders thing
Pete

[d30gaijin]

Pete,

Thanks for your response.

On another note; today I emptied out our CT. I took everything but the galley out so I could go pick up an antique Oak Secretary piece we bought this past weekend. We had all kinds of stuff stored in the CT along with the bunk beds, their mattresses, frames, platforms, etc. and our regular camping supplies we take with us when camping out of the CT i.e. cook stove, electrical cords, water hoses, dining stuff, heaters, bedding, step ladder (to get up on the top bunk), bins of utensils, plates, plasticware, toilet paper, toilet, etc. so as to get a fully open CT for hauling stuff, considering that's why I made everything removable. LOL!

Well it worked out great. Took me about 30 minutes to completely unload the CT, hook it up to the Cherokee and be on my way to pickup our new antique piece of furniture. When I backed into the pickup spot and opened the back doors of the CT the folks at the store were duly impressed with the interior of the CT, and it ain't even finished inside yet.

Once the bed frames and their fittings were removed from the E-Track I installed the E-Track tie down eyelets I bought to tie down my Sportster and used them instead as tie down anchor points to tie down and hold the antiquie piece in place securely so as to prevent it moving around inside the CT while in transit. Our new antique piece arrived at our home in tact with nary a hitch. It is a large piece with curved glass embedded in a wooden door to consider, just being so old and fragile, transport was the major concern i.e., preventing damage in transit.

Thankfully the CT came through for us, our design is working. That's what we built the CT for, dual purpose use to replace my pickup and give us more options than we had with the pickup i.e., beds, toilet, cooking, reefer, shelter from the storm, etc. a camping trailer as well as being able to be opened up again as a full size 6x10 CT for hauling stuff like we once hauled in the pickup. So far it works as planned (even though it still isn't finished yet). I am excited with my "Design as I go" concept because it seems to actually be working.

Don

[pete42]

Don I am amazed almost everyday with the creativity of folks like yourself here on this site.
glad it worked as planned one never knows until the time comes to use.

Pete

[GPW]

Don , gotta’ Love those Cargo Trailers , especially when they can Multitask !!!

[Wolfscout]

mine is all removable as well.. but I doubt I could do it in 30 minutes. wow... I wish I could take out all my camping stuff in 30 minutes.
hrm not that I think about it..... I'm not so sure I could remove my entire cabinet because of some modifications I made when I installed the WFCO. hrmm I may need some quick disconnects that I have not installed.

[d30gaijin]

mine is all removable as well.. but I doubt I could do it in 30 minutes. wow... I wish I could take out all my camping stuff in 30 minutes.
hrm not that I think about it..... I'm not so sure I could remove my entire cabinet because of some modifications I made when I installed the WFCO. hrmm I may need some quick disconnects that I have not installed.

Wolfscout,

With the exception of the Honda generator, the two burner propane stove, the toilet, step stool, and a few minor things everything else is stored in three large bins we keep under the lower bunk so it was pretty easy to get everything out in short order. Disassembling the bunks took the longest and they were done in about 15 minutes. The microwave remained atop the galley strapped to the forward wall so no need to remove it. I'll post a pic of the CT wide open from the rear doors tomorrow before I put everything back in.

Don

[d30gaijin]

Don , gotta’ Love those Cargo Trailers , especially when they can Multitask !!!

GPW,

It's actually working out better than I originally thought it might, meaning once we started getting the CT conversion closer to what we wanted in a boondocks camping rig I thought it would take more time/be more of a PITA to open it back up. Not so.

Don

[GPW]

It looks Great Don !!! .... Very practical... that seems important these days ... and you’ve gotten a lot of good use out of it already ...

[Wolfscout]

Mine being a 12footer and the front cabinet only 2 foot. I still have 10 foot of useable cargo space.
I played yesterday and used it as a cleaning session, taking out the three part sectional bed and all beneath it. only took me 20 minutes. ( I got a lot stored under my bed/couch, including the kitchen sink <really> LOL )
I cleaned the walls and floor good and put everything back just like it was.
Nice to know it's cleaned up tight again.

[d30gaijin]

Wolfscout,

I remember your kitchen sink, as I recall it mounts on the side of your CT, a slick idea.

While I had everything out of my CT I did the same and took advantage to clean it up real good. I put everything back in today so we're all set should we get an attack of the "We just gotta go camping" fever.

The wife found me a nice big piece of cardboard for making a template for the overhead galley facia so hope to get going on that soon. It's cold here in Boise at night but the days have been acceptable and no snow so far.

Don