Casper's "I did a bad thing" micro off road camper build

Looks awesome!

 

Yeah we can't wait to try it out! Now i'm looking at getting the materials to extend the tongue of the trailer and build a steel storage box to house it and a dual battery setup. This will take a little planning. I need the slide for the fridge I just wish this stuff wasn't so exspensive

 

I'm still finishing this mod up, thought it might give you some ideas. I got a tongue box from Harbor Freight. I'm retrofitting it for storage, relocating my battery to it as well so it can be under lock and key. With your skills you could probably build something to suit your needs along the same lines on the extended tongue your gonna build.

 

ah man!!!! i want a fridge too!! cant wait to see it on the trailer!

 

The camper already has a tongue box but I'm thinking to remove it. What I'm thinking is to remove the tongue box and the cargo rack, extend the tongue about 2-3', build a box for right in front of the camper body to house the fridge on ne side and a dual battery set up onthe other, and build a cargo basket in front of that for holding fire wood and/or additional coolers. I need to figure out what size batteries to get and their dimensions and, well quite a bit more figuring also. Plus add a removable jack. This will have to be done in stages.

 

I've got the protective jacket ordered for it as well. alot to do to get it where I want it but at least now with the welder I have the means to do it here at home. For now it'll ride in the truck bed

 

Wow sweet, cat wait to see that.

 

This should be a fun project. Or well broken down to several fun projects. I still haven't figured out why they want $200 for the fridge slide. It will make it nice though to have the fridge stored in a box and be able to just slide it out

 

That's pricey, why not build your slide with rollers or something and a latch to secure it in place while moving?

 

I've thought of that I just haven't gotten that far yet

 

I figured, had to ask though.

 

Congrats! Christie looks happy about the fridge.

Remember between the fridge and batteries your tongue weight is going up dramatically.

Whether you go with two 12volt or two 6 volt you're looking at 160+ pounds on the tongue.

I'm looking at switching to a pair of 6 volt, they're apparently more responsive to the discharge/recharge cycle

And I wouldn't extend the tongue more than necessary to be able to Jack knife the trailer

 

Yes I’ve been concerned about how much this will increase the tongue weight. There’s not much of an option though as I’ll need to fab a steel box large enough to House the fridge on one side and batteries on the other. I’ve only been considering extending the tongue by a maximum of 24” mainly to allow a rear bumper with a tire swing out and a basket on the tongue to hold a cooler and firewood. I’m figuring between 2 6v batteries, the fridge, the steel box, and a basket loaded it’ll be around 400 lbs. I’m not quite sure how this will effect towing and these plans are certainly likely to change but I’m not quite sure how to do this and keep the weight off. There’s no real place to mount this anywhere else

 

It'll tow like a dream. Mine is 460. Tows great but you can't lift the tongue and move the trailer

 

Kinda what I figured. I guess lan on removing the stationary jack and installing a removable one or two if needed. As much as I’ve been thinking about this I just don’t see any other viable option with what I plan to do unless the batteries are kept inside under the bed. An exterior storage compartment just seems more practical and allows room for the solar charge controller also

 

Try an aluminum box - lighter than steel.

I used a box from BetterBuilt. Look towards the end of my teardrop build thread to see my solution.

 

I’ll check it out. I was going to build my own and I don’t have a spool gun yet to weld aluminum

 

Noticed in my recent HF ad a cheap deal on a solar battery charger kit. Going to pick it up soon and give it a shot. I figure a good way to learn before making a bigger investment down the road. Dont know much about this solar conversion stuff. Know anywhere i can read up on it, thats a good source for campers?

 

Not yet Mark. I'm just getting into the planning phase of the dual battery setup. There's a zamp solar dealer about an hour from me I'm going to go speak with them and show them my power demands and see what they say. @ilubtimmyhos a guy here just installed one of the systems on his truck like yur discribing I believe and seems to be very pleased with it. Perhaps he'll chime in and let you know

 

Cool thanks, I'm still going to pick it up for learning. I'm not expecting a whole lot. Hoping it will act like a trickle charge and go from there. Then I'll look into a serious retrofit down the road for more serious boon dockings lol