What have you done to your Trailer today?

Costco has a 2 pack of Lion 100Ah lithium batteries for $1399



https://www.costco.com/lion-energy-safari-ut1300-2-pack.product.100663833.html

 

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I so badly want Li-ion, but not that badly. For an equivalent AGM output, this shaves 60-70 pounds at almost twice the cost. The difference is $9 per pound.

 

Well since I had the lid open to clean linens and rugs, I might as well do a couple of 15 minute minor detail jobs. Because its the little things that count :


Sourcing a matching outlet for an extra USB charge station was easy. It took me a long while to locate and source a matching wall plate.






And also, I have had the most difficult time finding the perfect switch for the ground lights. "Rock Lights" is close, but it just doesn't feel right. It needs to have that perfect label that everyone instantly understands what light it's talking about. Maybe this one will suit a little better:





Better, but still not perfect. The search continues.


And now to charge the batteries for the next trip.

 

Custom bracket for found bar. And used a lock washer and stop nut. Not shaking loose!

 

It always bugged me that the camper was all LED except for the driving lights. I fixed that today. I made the mistake of using boat trailer tails though, they don't exactly sit flush. . Damnit. At least they are fully submersible.



And another stupid little thing that vastly improves quality of life: little hanging organizers. I took some rope cleats and mounted various locations inside and out so there's no shortage of places to hang them.

 

Bought a new trailer from a buddy. Needed one big enough to haul my four wheeler and my wife’s side by side. Good thing for her tahoe because my Tacoma damn sure wouldn’t pull it. It’s 18’ long. Also wife’s tahoe

 

Updates. New toolbox. And a good bath. Took all the reflective tape off the sides. Greased the axles. Next up is stain on the floor. Spare tire and weld on tire mount. And some tie downs.

 

I started building my on demand water heater setup for my offroad trailer. I still need to wire the 12v pump to a switch and then it's ready to use. Will be so nice to have hot water anytime I want it.

 

Didn't take pix, but spent the afternoon yesterday installing the Softstart for my trailers A/C.

Renology had a sale on their lithium batteries so I ordered 2x170ah batteries for the trailer. It might be a while before I get around to getting the trailer setup/outfitted with the new batteries (Rockwood GeoPro).

 

That looks like a great setup. I don't always camp with a trailer so something like that is intriguing. I am interested to hear how it works for you.

Well done!

 

I would be real curious as to how much propane this consumes. I like my little 6 gallon heater, but its a challenge sometimes to anticipate and turn it on 20-30 minutes prior to use. It would be a cool project to convert to an on-demand.

 

Bought a spare tire winch out of a junk truck for $5 and made a bracket to mount it under my gooseneck. Keeps the tire out of the sun and out of the way.

 

What year is your Tacoma? I also have a Jayco 154 BH Baja (Dry weight 2,800lbs) that I am finding is tough to tow with my 2006 Toyota Tacoma Pre-Runner quad cab v-6 Automatic.
I'm thinking of upgrading to a 2021 Tacoma Pre-Runner quad cab (V-6, 3.5 liter) that has towing upgrades. My 2006 is very well maintained, new Bilstein shocks and struts. I added a Weight Distribution Hitch to my trailer. I'm finding the grade from Yuma side of 8 west over the Laguna Mtns. was a chore. Your thoughts?

 

I added tie downs for the Polaris

 

Ok dammit. I caved.

120Ah lithium installed. Tongue weight reduced by nearly 60 pounds. Also I put in a new converter to accommodate the slightly different voltage profile needed to charge them.







So, uh, anyone want a couple of marine batteries? They hold stable at 12.6 volts. One of them is just a little leakey.

 

Built a platform with scrap from our fence build for the new trailer so both kids have somewhere to sleep (for a few more years...then we will kick them out to their own tent).

We could have optioned a second fold up bunk but then we wouldn't have been able to have the fold up table which I'll need for a work space on extended trips and the sleeping space is just a short term problem.

 

New tires along with a cheap TPMS system, the day before a 2700 mile road trip. I still hate how nerdy they look, but they boosted mileage with a 1.5-2 mpg gain. Can't complain about that.










Three nights running the heater in Smokies N.P. gave the new battery a run for it's money, and solar was too weak to reclaim much. We survived it without issue, but I forgot to compensate the volt alarm for temperature. I had maybe 40% capacity remaining on the third morning (closer to 30 after 0°C correction) but using the winch to fold the camper tripped the low volt alarm. Oops.





Shit was cold for sleeping under canvas, man.

 

What TPMS system did you get? I picked up a cheap one from Amazon but it has connection problems and drops the signal on most trips.

 

Probably got the same one; I bought a Tymate on sale. Seems like it refreshes once or twice an hour. I noticed that they sell a signal repeater for 40 bucks, which I might try next.

 

Test fit the wheels today. I need to either find tuner style ET 12x1.5 open lug nuts or break out the angle grinder and cut the lugs shorter.