gwolff's Cargo Trailer Camper Conversion

Do you need to move the jamb in the doorframe closer out so that it latches closer to the outside?

 

It seals really well. My door is made of metal tubing and the edge facing the jamb also has a piece angle iron. The door doesn't flex any detectable amount. Maybe you can reinforce the inside of the door and adjust the jamb location?

 

There's a space issue that's preventing my from doing just that, unfortunately.

I'm thinking about trying to reinforce that edge of the door first and if that doesn't work, I guess I'll be tearing the door down, rebuilding it with 1"x1" square tube and reattaching the skins to it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks for the ideas gents...I'll come up with something hopefully.

 

Great build! I just stumbled onto it today looking for ideas for our own conversion we are about to start. I watched all the videos and read the entire blog. I am impressed. Especially with the fit and finish. It has given me a lot to think about. Based on some of the things I saw in your build and others I have a few thoughts that I would love to hear any input into. I apologize up front for it being so long.

We are a family of 5, do a good bit of camping often for a week or more, long distance (100's and 1000's of miles) and off road. We do not mind roughing it. Tent camping, hammock camping or sleeping under the stars is just fine. Mountain biking, astronomy and "hanging" out reading in a hammock are some of the things we often do while we are camping. We have used all kinds of trailers from small 4x7 box to pop up tent to 25' travel trailers. We just sold a 22' hybrid trailer. We keep coming back to the smallish gear hauler as the trailer of choice. It gives us access to more remote sites that we like to go and is easy to store/maintain. I have a pretty decent shop setup for working wood, metal, and what not. I have a nice Miller industrial tig/arc welder. I am not afraid to do hard work and get dirty. I have also thought long and hard about building one from scratch. The tow rig is a Chevy Suburban 1500 4x4.

We are currently looking for the trailer. As there are 5 of us, we are not looking to sleep in it. It would just be for hauling our gear/supplies and provide a kitchen. Some key desires for the trailer are; light off road capablity, secure dry storage for gear, 40-50 gal. water storage (we are in AZ), 50 to 100 qt. 12v fridge(s),12v solar and battery system, interior/exterior LED lighting, complete ready to go kitchen, rain/sun awning, under 3K lbs. We already have many of the needed items. I would like to finish the build out by early summer.

We are thinking of using a 5x8 or 5x10 v-nose trailer. The 5' size (vs 6') is preferred as it would fit better behind the truck, be more fuel efficiant and provide better side clearance on narrow trails. The interior head room would be 5'6" or 6'. We want a rear barn door, side door and use the back area for the kitchen like yours. I would love to find a trailer where the rear door swings open on the opposite side yours did. This way the area is open to the same side as the side door and awning. We would also want to have an awning off the back to cover the kitchen.

I would definitely insulate the walls, ceiling and floor. Here in Arizona the temps can get brutally hot. A solid fan/vent would also be a must. We are looking for a straight side and flat roof trailer to make it easier to work with. I felt your pain as you struggled with how to cover the top of the walls were it curved.

The truck has Goodyear Wrangler 285/75R16 tires and I want to match those on the trailer including two spares. This way I could share the three spares between the trailer and truck. I have saved about six good ones from previous re-tiring of the truck. I also have five same size rims when I replaced them late last year. I will need to replace and upgrade the axle, suspension and fenders. I was thinking of going with 3500lb. axle and leaf spring suspension.

We have not selected a trailer, but I expect to need to beef up the frame a bit. I also liked your idea of extending the tongue. It likely improves handling. I have been toying with a way to shorten/extend it depending on the situation. Maybe a reciever tube with a pin at the tongue to move it in or out 24" to 36". Just an idea.

We intend to use two or more actual RV water tanks and would mount them inside over the axle. Something like three 15 gal tanks with baffles to reduce sloshing. I have a nice marine Sureflo fresh water pump and a used 20gal. tank already. Not sure if we will use the existing tank. Gray water would likely go into a 5 gallon bucket from the sink like you did. Maybe a hose can be attached to drain directly when we are at a distributed location. Might consider a hose spigot on the outside for washing things down. We might consider springing for a on demand water heater to help with washing dishes. Heating wash water on the stove can be such a hassle at times.

We have a super nice inverter/charger, sinewave solar controller, multiple solar panals, diehard platinum AGM batteries, 12v circuit panel, 110v shore power cable and a mess of other stuff. We should be set for that aspect of the electrical. I am thinking of two (100W) panels on the roof charging two (100Ah) batteries. We are thinking of one big 85-100 qt.12v fridge or two smaller 35-50 qt. ones. That way we only use what we need. I would like to setup exterior LED lighting on all four sides, in the kitchen area and a couple internal ones. Likely a couple 110v, 12v and USB charging ports internally and in the kitchen area. Ideally, we would have very few reasons to use the inverter.

We are thinking of creating some sort of storage solution inside the front part to hold all the gear. Something where heavier stuff (clothing bags, camping chairs, horse shoes) goes on the bottom and lighter items (tents, sleeping bags, etc.) above.

We would not finish it as nice as yours, but it would be done well. We are thinking utilitarian and easy to clean.

Let me know your thoughts. What do you wish you did differently? I am open to any suggestions or ideas.

Matt

 

Sorry for taking some time to reply, I have had a super busy few days! I am really excited to see you get started on your build. What other types of gear are you going to be hauling? You want to make sure it's easy to get your gear in and out of the trailer. You might design the kitchen in a way that allows you to load the trailer from the rear by going under the countertop or something. I do like the V Noses, it's a great area to set up all your wiring. So far I don't wish I did anything different. I think someday I might wish I had a roof rack, but I was concerned about overall height and clearing the fan. A flat roof would be nice.

I think you're making the right choice by not starting from scratch, particularly with building a trailer that large. Maybe I just feel that way because I'm glad I did it, it's really a personal preference. I will be subscribing to your youtube channel, hopefully you make some videos!

 

Look at you @gwolff Inspiring the masses.

 

Thanks for the reply. I see we think alike.

We had the same thoughts regarding loading via the rear or side door, but really like the kitchen area to be accessable via the rear. That way it is always accessible and ready to go when we pull in to camp. Nothing we will load will be too big to go through the side door. Bikes go on the truck. Our big 10" newtonian telescope and mount will fit fine through the side door. Folding table and chairs are likely the next biggest items.

I have built trailers before and am currently building a small 5x4 box off road trailer. I have also drawn up custom plans for a "Challenger" like trailer. The problem is we have a trip to northeastern California and southern Oregon coming up in mid June, which does not give us a lot of time to build something. The box trailer will be too small for 5 people on a two and a half week trip. Going the cargo trailer route puts us well along immediately and provides the needed space. If I plan the work right, I can focus on the most important items (power, kitchen) for the trip and finish whatever else after. Key items (improved support, wiring, insulation, floor) will need to be planned to be done first.

I am working with an idea of a slide out section (think L shaped) on the side of the kitchen that contains the fridge. The fridge would be accessible from the inside and put it's weight over the axle more when slid in. A counter on top could hold the stove out from the trailer much like you did with the fold down shelf.

I was wondering if you did anything with insulating the doors. I do not remember seeing that discussed or done.

Thanks again. If anyone else has ideas or comments I am definitely open to hear them.

Matt

 

I did not insulate the door. Didn't want to buy a whole other sheet of insulation..lol

 

Just posted this about our project. Found the trailer, now we need to build it out. https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/5x10-cargo-trailer-conversion.193602/

 

My build is starting to remind me of someone elses....wonder why

Hope you're radio silent because you're out there enjoying the heck out of it man!



Jake

 

Dude.. looking sick! I haven't been taking my trailer out I haven't had a free weekend since Easter and won't have one till late July and early August (as long as nothing else comes up those weekends!) Your trailer is looking really good dude!

 

Bummer man! That's ok though, such is life and over time it'll still get it's use man.

 

I got lucky this weekend! My plans were cancelled and it freed up a weekend for camping. I camped in Holcomb Valley, north of Big Bear. Towing the trailer up the mountains wasn't too bad. I just kept it in 2nd when I was on hills, got behind another trailer so it wasn't me who was holding up traffic lol. The jeep definitely ran hotter than normal but that's to be expected. Coming down was easy. I also got a little bit of off roading in.

 

Sorry if I missed it, but is there anything that stops someone from coming up and using the original trailer door latch to lock you inside the trailer?

 

I lock the hasp without the handle in it so that you can't put the handle in it.

 

Any fun new pics/stories from this summer?!

 

Just took it out this past weekend to stay at Calico Ghost Town with some family who go out there every year. Did some 4 wheeling and enjoyed using my trailer with hookups! I am taking it out for Thanksgiving weekend as well. I will be heading out to Razor Road Wednesday evening. I only took one picture of the trailer this weekend. How is your project going?





One more bonus screen shot from some drone video I took. One of my favorite things about this trailer is that as soon as people see it they have to ask about it and I get to show them it. People love it!

 

Glad to see you're still getting out there. Your Jeep got real dirty, grey mud it seems...and grew some Tacoma badges

Mine's getting there, only some interior left to do, but it'll wait till spring to get finished. Have some house/marriage/kid goals to focus on for a while (and no garage so working on it outside in the winter is a no go.

Enjoy the trip this weekend!

 

That's actually a friend's taco, who you built sliders for if I recall correctly!

 

Wait, it wasn't you, it was Shmellmopwho! @Shmellmopwho