22' cargo trailer conversion

[racerdonnie13]

Hey guys im new here. I found this site while googling trying to find ideas for my trailer. I have a 8x22 that im wanting to convert into a camper/toyhauler. I race 300' ATV sand drags, so im looking for a home away from home when im out at the races. I bought this trailer last september and i threw something together to make it to a race in NC. I stayed in the trailer for 4 nights and it was nice, but i would like to make it better. The trailer is already wired with a 30 plug on the outside and a small breaker box on the inside. It has 2 8ft light fixtures in the ceiling, and the wires are already ran up to the roof vent to hook up a rooftop a/c. It also has a few receptacles. Heres some pictures of how it looked when i bought it.

[racerdonnie13]

So i bought a portable a/c, (which leaked all over my floor) a futon, a small fridge, and a microwave. I also painted the walls, inner fender, and the cabinets to make it look a little better. All this worked fine for the trip to NC that we made last year, but im about ready to tear into this thing and make it the way i want it. I want to add a toilet (sectioned off in the very front of the trailer like a small bathroom), a waste holding tank underneath, rooftop a/c, fold down bed, and a bigger fridge. Other possibilities would be a small sink, small stovetop, furnace, awning, and a window. I will also be replacing the flooring. Im hoping to start on this next week, so hopefully you guys can give me some tips, tricks, hints that could help me out. Thanks in advance.

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

Welcome aboard

Just bring it over to our shop and all the little elves here will get started
Feeding you ideas !!

[bc toys]

Welcome to site I also do rescue for 300' sand drags so if you are ever down in Cali or Nv or Az we will be doing the rescue stop by and see me. Make sure to add a couple of windows. If it was me I would insulate the ceiling and walls that would be my main thing to get done.

[racerdonnie13]

Thanks for the welcome guys. Yea i was thinking about doing the styrofoam insulation on the walls and ceiling also. Hopefully i will start tearing it apart next week. Ill be sure to include a bunch of pics as i go along. Ok so here are the first of my questions, Im probably gonna have a bunch so bear with me! Im wanting to install more of a "house style" toilet. From looking under my trailer it doesnt look like there is very much room to mount a waste tank. So i was thinking of putting it inside and building a box on top of it, and sitting the toilet straight on top of it. Any thoughts on this? Anyone done it? Have a better/different idea? Where would be the best place to get a waste tank from, and what size would yall reccomend? At most i will be camping in this thing will be about 4 days, and its just me and my wife. I would guess most places that i go will have sewer hookups but i want a large enough tank just in case somewhere doesnt. Also wondering if i need to vent the tank? Im guessing i would also need some type of water pump to pump water into the tank. Anyone know of a good place to get one and what size i would need? Thinking of having a small sink to wash hands also, which would also need the fresh water pumped in. Next question is whats something decent to use for flooring? The "peel & stick" squares i have now are starting to peel up where dirt gets under them.

[tnriverluver]

My suggestion on the toilet would be to use porta-potties since you have little to no ground clearance under that trailer. Most will hold 5-6gals of waste and that is a lot of beer (bear lol). You could always buy two or three and use each or just swap out the waste tanks as long as they are all identical. I ran into the same problem on my trailer viewtopic.php?f=42&t=52488 and only had one place to mount my fresh water tank and that was up between the axles. I mainly used my trailer at motorcycle rally's when I first built it and yes we drank massive amounts of beer for days on end. When my toilet got too full I would dump it in the Portable toilets scattered the grounds in the mornings before the trucks came around to clean them each day. At RV campgrounds as long as I have sewer, I just pour them in the sewer opening or waste station when needed. I can normally go 2-3 days without having to empty them when just camping. I much prefer the porta potties over having to drain and clean out black tanks. They can make a mess in a second if someone is not paying attention. I have witnessed similar to the Robin Williams movie RV on more than one occassion. My sink and shower are drained onto the ground at rallys and into the sewer at campgrounds through a normal garden hose connection.

[hankaye]

racerdonnie13, Howdy;

I'm going thru the planing phase with mine, but I live in an RV.
One of the thoughts that have been bouncein' around behind
my eyes and between my ears is this.
Install an RV type commode, use a dishsprayer type of arrangment
to "flush the commode into a Barker tote tank;
http://www.barker-tote-tanks.com/
They have a large selection of sizes for whatever your party needs
require. I'd carrie it (empty), inside the trailer and just use some 3"
PVC (Black), pipe to connect the commode to a Valterra gate valve
http://www.valterra.com/RV/rv-main.htm
then a short slinkey hose to the Tank.
Arrive at campground, deploy tank, connect tank to trailer with slinky
hose open valve, pour small amount of water into commode ...camp,have fun
enjoyself... Takes all of 5 minutes, if you have a bad back and a sprained ankle.
When it's full or you get ready to leave take tank to dump site ... empty
flush it out. Stow it in CT. Takes about 10 minutes with same handicap (depends
on distance to dump site). Hit the road...

[jwhite]

I wanted to do the same thing your thinking about install a tank inside and put the toilet on top,but I had already bought the portable toilet and had spent the xtra money to have the battery powered water fill type toilet = so I decided to cut a hole in the bottom and run a pvc pipe with a cap on the end under the trailer and it works great, all I do now is uncap it and when I get home I take a water hose inside and wash it out and refill the toilet.
it's a cheap way to do the same thing. like the post before I can go 4-5 day before I empty it.

[racerdonnie13]

I wanted to do the same thing your thinking about install a tank inside and put the toilet on top,but I had already bought the portable toilet and had spent the xtra money to have the battery powered water fill type toilet = so I decided to cut a hole in the bottom and run a pvc pipe with a cap on the end under the trailer and it works great, all I do now is uncap it and when I get home I take a water hose inside and wash it out and refill the toilet.
it's a cheap way to do the same thing. like the post before I can go 4-5 day before I empty it.

Where did you get this toilet from? That doesnt sound like a bad idea. In the last picture, is that attached to the floor or to the bottom of the toilet?

[jwhite]

These are the same portable toilets that everyone on here uses, you can buy them at walmart for about 80.00 those you have to pump the water out from the top of the toilet I ordered mine on ebay because it has a battery powered water pump inside that you just push the button and it fills.
They are a great idea but you can imagine what it's like to take it apart and dump it= it's not pleasant to do, I solved that problem by cutting a hole in the bottom and bought a flange from lowes and drilled holes around it and used clear window calk to seal it and bought the other parts from lowes for about 15.00 and put it all together.
I put some 2x2 boards around it to sturdy it up.
it's a whole lot better to just uncap the pipe and let it drain out and then when I get home I take the water hose in the trailer and flush it out than the other way.

[roadinspector]

There is a CT here that put a standard RV toilet in that is mounted like you first stated. He put the black tank inside in a box with the toilet on top. This took care of the lack of room underneath and also put the toilet at the standard height. Most RV toilets and porta pots are low. You can get a water tank for a good price on ebay. This is the one I bought. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-RV-Camper-Fresh-Water-Tank-16-Gallon-/200589836744?pt=Motors_RV_Trailer_Camper_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2eb41601c8&vxp=mtr

Grey water tanks folks use on here vary from buckets under the sink to holding tanks. Lots of information on here, sometimes it takes some digging and asking Q's. When I got on here I just went to the oldest post and read forward. Yep, it took some time to do but well worth the time.

Ebay and Amazon are a good place to get parts. There are several RV parts web sites that vary in prices from decent to extreme.

Looking forward to keeping up with your build. Take your time and plan it out, but most of all have fun.

Earnest

[droid_ca]

Welcome to the forum this is a very good place for information and we all like ...So what kind of quad you got?

[Jason1955]

These are the same portable toilets that everyone on here uses, you can buy them at walmart for about 80.00 those you have to pump the water out from the top of the toilet I ordered mine on ebay because it has a battery powered water pump inside that you just push the button and it fills.
They are a great idea but you can imagine what it's like to take it apart and dump it= it's not pleasant to do, I solved that problem by cutting a hole in the bottom and bought a flange from lowes and drilled holes around it and used clear window calk to seal it and bought the other parts from lowes for about 15.00 and put it all together.
I put some 2x2 boards around it to sturdy it up.
it's a whole lot better to just uncap the pipe and let it drain out and then when I get home I take the water hose in the trailer and flush it out than the other way.

I like this idea!! So basically when you uncap the pipe from underneath on the outside of the trailer it all runs out? Where are you dumping it when you get home?

[jwhite]

To tell you the truth I normally just pull over on the side of the road and let it go, I am normally out in the country with cows and horses all around so what's the diff ?
I could haul it home if I wanted to I live out in the country and have cows and horses all around at home also.

[8ball_99]

You could mount the holding tank on the inside with the tolet on top.. They even make inserts already made with a shower pan on the bottom.. I would do that before I went with a portipody