Tent Camp Trailer

[navigator]

This is a great forum, I have learned much browsing through it.

My family likes to go camping, and we prefer tenting for several reasons. However, it was a pain to load and unload the truck, then find somewhere to store everything when home.

So, last year I built a trailer to tote all our stuff, and make camping much more comfortable. It has a 50-gallon water tank, 12v battery, pump and lights, propane tanks, and a water heater. There is a connection for hoses to run water to our shower tent, and we now have hot showers!

I put the springs over the axle, for better clearance, as the places we camp tend to be at the end of rough dirt roads.

The kitchen is the old Boy Scout patrol box type, which is removed and set up where needed. There is storage behind the rear door for the porta potty, and the turtle top is for sleeping bags and other light-but-bulky items.







After using it several times and finding areas to improve, and looking around these forums, I have drawn up a plan for a new trailer. The body will be wider, with the tires inside it, instead of on the sides.

Some areas do not allow water to drain onto the ground, so the shower needs to be better than a tent: it is now in the trailer, in an area based on the Wild Goose/Kampmaster trailer idea. This will keep the plumbing simple, and will include a cassette toilet (hard to find in the US). The light-but-bulky items will be stored here, too.

The typical teardrop galley in the back will save having to unload all the kitchen supplies, but has been modified to provide more space. The lower cabinets will swing out, making access easy and creating a very wide countertop. A faucet will be installed there, too.

A large compartment in the middle will be storage for folding chairs, camopies, etc. A 100-gallon water tank sits over the axle, but the propane tank has yet to find a home, since the shower door taes up the tongue area.

Looked into an instantaneous water heater, but at $1,000, I'll stick with a 6-gallon tank-type for less than 1/3 the price.

The drawings below are what I have so far, and are far from being ready to build from. If any of you experienced folks have any suggestions, fire away.

[Nitetimes]

Your design seems sound but my concern would be all that water. Most full size RV's don't carry that much on board. You're looking at close to 850# in water alone! I think I would split that in half and use half for a grey water tank and only carry 50 gals of clean water.

[navigator]

Thanks for the comment! We camp in places that do not have water available, so we have to bring all we'll need. As you can see in the first photo, refilling the water tank was required (too often).

There will not be any greywater to store, as all shower and sink water would go into a portable greywater tank (wheels and a handle), and be dumped when needed, and certainly before leaving.

I am in southern Arizona, where most campgrounds have pit toilets; the porta potty and greywater would be emptied there. In most places we camp it would not be a problem to just let the greywater run onto the ground, using a hose to keep it away from the trailer. The ground is usually quite thirsty, so standing water is not a problem. Another option is to save it for dousing the campfire, which is what we usually do with the water in the tub under the faucet.

The only places we go where water must be captured is in state and national parks.

Another thing I should mention is that frequently there are other families camping with us, and they like to use our hot shower, too. So instead of just my family of four, there may be a dozen people using the water. Yes, they do bring some to put in the tank, so I don't have to carry it all!

[dhazard]

Navigator, I like your ideas, but may I suggest in place of the swing out cabinets change them to a fold out like mine. I think you will find that it will give you more countertop space and is easer to build.

Good Luck with the Build, Dan

[navigator]

Dan,

Actually, I just came across the pix of your trailer, and printed out several to study. That does look good! My wife loves to cook, and tends to tote a full-blown kitchen suite when we go (including cast iron skillets). I figured the less work to set it up, the better, and counter space is always at a premium.

Do you find the support for the flip out counter sturdy enough? And you never installed the sink?

[angib]

I'm assuming your drawings aren't to scale, as the wheels/tyres seem implausibly narrow and it looks like they're rubbing on the side of the water tank. The narrowest 14" or 15" tyre is 8.0" wide and you ought to add 1" clearance for a torsion axle or 2" for a leaf-sprung axle - if you go down to 13" tyres, you can get them 7.0" wide.

The water tank as shown has its centre just behind the wheel spindles. This will make the amount of water in the tank alter the balance of the trailer. If you moved the tank so that its centre was 10% of the distance from the wheel spindles to the coupler, the amount of water in the tank won't alter the balance. Given that the tank is such a big part of the weight of the trailer, it might be easier to leave the tank where it is and move the axle!

You will be wanting to have several baffles in that tank as otherwise when it's half-full (or half-empty, whichever...) the sloshing of the water might make the trailer behave very oddly. I don't suppose it could flip the trailer, but I wouldn't want to find out.

Andrew

[navigator]

Andrew,

Good insight! The drawing is roughly to scale, but I did just toss the wheelwells in, without calculating what size they should actually be. I would like to use 15" tires (for clearance and availability), but am not sure about the axle.

Would a torsion axle be better? Considering some of the hard bounces my current trailer has taken (airborn), I would like to provide a smoother ride for the new one. But I also need as much clearance as I can get, without making things too high for easy use.

The tank also was just stuck into the plan, and as scaled actually holds 150 gallons, more than I care to haul. However, the galley will be heavy, being loaded with cast iron and such, so the axle probably should be moved back a bit.

[dhazard]

The “wings” do have some flex, but not to bad. They are made out of 1/2” plywood with a 1” oak frame around them. I wouldn’t put a 5 gal. bucket of water on them but a big pan is no problem.

I might do a sink this year, then again I might not…

[bobhenry]

Navigator, I like your ideas, but may I suggest in place of the swing out cabinets change them to a fold out like mine. I think you will find that it will give you more countertop space and is easer to build.

Good Luck with the Build, Dan

But But But ...... Dan I got 10' of countertop too and I can get into the cabinets below.

[dhazard]

Bob, we are going to get him so confused.

[navigator]

Bob,

I have looked at pix of your trailer, too, and it is pretty neat. I like the transparent hatch lid, which would keep the area bright. But, I think I prefer Dan's setup, with the wide-open back end.

This photo will give you an idea of how we set up now. We have two main cooks and several assistants (...is it done yet?...), two stoves, the patrol boxes, several tables, and at least half a dozen coolers.

I describe our camping as "cook breakfast, clean up, start lunch, clean up, prepare dinner, clean up..."

The new trailer will make setting up the kitchen much easier, as I won't have to unload and set up so much stuff.



It also needs to be easier to secure, so next time we have an unwelcome guest, we can lock up the food. This fellow showed up at the end of a five-day campout, and would not leave us alone. One person had to stand guard while the rest packed up (and the kids stayed in the truck).

[bobhenry]

Lions and tigers and BEARS OH MY!

All we have that are pest in Indiana are Racoons. My U shaped kitchen is a one woman domain. (She made me get a seperate beer cooler to avoid interuptions) You guys and gals are running a restaurant ,we are just cookin' Good luck in your build whatever you create. Don't forget the pics Antie M will be mad if you don't include them.

Confused we ain"t confused

[navigator]

OK, I have made a few changes, and actually combined the open rear with the U-shape, and it looks pretty do-able. The cabinets swing outward after the sides fold back, and a counter is placed on top of them. The result is wide and abundant counter tops, along with plenty of space for drawers below and cabinets above.

I have corrected other scale errors, including frame height and tire width. This is still just a working drawing, so not all details are included. The axle is moved back a bit, and the overall width is reduced to 5 1/2'. The body is 9' long, 12' overall. I will work on an end view, too.

[doug hodder]

All we have that are pest in Indiana are Racoons.

You might just want to consider calling the "SLO Angels" Doug

[bobhenry]

OK, I have made a few changes, and actually combined the open rear with the U-shape, and it looks pretty do-able. The cabinets swing outward after the sides fold back, and a counter is placed on top of them. The result is wide and abundant counter tops, along with plenty of space for drawers below and cabinets above.

I have corrected other scale errors, including frame height and tire width. This is still just a working drawing, so not all details are included. The axle is moved back a bit, and the overall width is reduced to 5 1/2'. The body is 9' long, 12' overall. I will work on an end view, too.

Now you have my full and undivided attention. I am not at work where I can scan a sketch so I will attempt to describe what I see in this drawing. 1st move the fold out wings hinge point 3" rearward of the galley wall. Mount he cube cabinet directly to the wing but let the 3" extend past the hinge line. Now mount the counter top directly to the cube also extending the 3". Why ? You no longer have the weight of the cabinet and counter hanging on the hinge. This configeration will allow the front bottom edge of the cabinet to remain on the trailer floor and help to support the weight of cabinet coutertop and contents. Now think of a 2 bladed pocket knife. You won't have to cart around loose countertops if you change the height of the 2 cabinet cubes by the depth of the counter. Now as your wingwalls swing in , the 1/2 width cabinets will fold in with your almost full length countertops nesting one just above the other. A drop down galley wall pantry door like mine could complete the "u" shaped counter. You would have the minor elevation differnce to contend with but some creative engineering will work that out. I have found that the drop down pantry door/ counter helps to lock the galley cabinets in the open position when dropped down. You have a lot of weight on those wing wall hinges and some additional support may be needed at the counter ends. You may want to tie them into combination hatch and counter support of some type that will extend to the ground. See pics in my album of the Kamppal supports I used in my swingout galley. I really like this marriage of the 2 ideas this is way too cool. I don't know whether to retro Chubby or make a newer and better one with your super galley.