Vacationgangster: "Basecamp" Trailer Build

Thanks man! The best thing I can say is don’t try and think everything through all at once, just start and things will fall into place as you go. Now that I’m here we’ll take it out and see how it works for us and modify as needed after use. I didn’t build out the drawer system because I wasn’t sure exactly how I wanted it, in hind sight it’s been a good thing because our totes from the old trailer fit the drawer skeleton nearly perfectly.

 

Since I’m using this thread as a checklist for what still needs to be done, here’s what I need to accomplish by Thursday so we can head to Big Sur. I know this thing is built for much more than on-road use, but for its maiden voyage I prefer to keep it on street so I can troubleshoot any issues easier.

Mounts for the hot water heater
Breather hose
Drain
Connect H2O in final config
Camp lights (waiting for Amazon)
Propane bottle mount
Solar mounts (possibly if I have time, probably just toss them in the trailer for transport)
Seals on front doors
Upper seal on rear doors
Flip struts on RTT mount
Spare tire Mount

I’m sure I’ll add to this in the next few days as I figure out more.

We leave for a week on the coast on Saturday but I’m trying not to work on this thing right up until we leave and give myself a day or two to pack and organize.

 

Love it. Would you share the sizes? Main box (length, width, and height) and height for the RTT posts (collapsed and extended)?

Thx!

 

Thanks! Sure I don't mind sharing the specs with you guys.

Main lower frame box built from 2" square tubing 1/8" wall
1 1/2" square tubing 1/16" wall (uprights for the walls)
1"x2" 1/16 wall rectangular tubing (top rail)
1"x1" 1/16 wall square tubing. (fenders and lid)
Sides of the trailer are 16 Gauge sheet steel
Floor is 14 gauge sheet steel.

Main box: 4'W x 6'L x 2'h

Tail to tongue length: 16' (Will be shortened in the future)
RTT extended height: 78" fully extended to top of support bars
RTT collapsed height: 64" to top of support bars

 

The list is getting shorter!


Flip struts on RTT mount
Solar mounts (possibly if I have time, probably just toss them in the trailer for transport)
Propane bottle mount
Camp lights (waiting for Amazon)

I got a ton done yesterday, fabbed the spare tire mount, hooked up all the H20 where it needs to be for good, made a latch catch for the front doors, Got the drain, breather, and overflow all squared away.

Maybe this afternoon I'll have some time to do a few more things.

 

Just did a shakedown run, 10 miles out Kelly canyon rd, and I may have rattled a few things loose on the truck but the trailer is solid!

 

Thanks! That thing looks stout!

 

Thanks and no prob man! If you have any questions as you get your build going I'm happy to give input where I can.

 

Mostly packed up!

Flipped the struts on the tent rack
Made awning mounts (cvt dropped the ball)
Got the awning installed
Maxtrax strapped to the spare
Baja lights installed
Foggy headlight fixed
Deadman found a home
Got the camp lights beneath the trailer installed
Plastidipped the chrome grill
Realigned the front bumper

 

While the kiddo napped, I got these suckers done!

 

All hooked up and ready to go this morning!

 

500+ miles down and not a hitch! Stoked!

 

You could probably smell my jealousy from there...

 

We made it over last night at about 18:00 after leaving flagstaff at 7:00, one loose bolt on the solar panels, and one loose bolt on the drawer system and that’s it. Stoked! Trailer pulled straight and true the whole way, we ended up dropping the h20 about 50 miles out to lighten it up. Got about 170-240 a tank fully loaded, tried the first few miles at 75-80 and chewed through a ton of gas, so I dialed it back to 60-65 and got much better mileage. I’m not exactly sure what the running weight is but I’ll weigh it when I get home in a week.

 

Trip to Big Sur went well, 1600+ Miles on the trailer and everything performed well, with the exception of a few small things

Table off rear tailgate is mounted too high
Need a Hose to fill off of non-fitting equipped water spigots
Need to adjust the door locks so they aren't so tight
Secondary holes for RTT bars for multiple heights. (Fully extended was too high for uneven campsites)
Make a better trasharoo mount
Make better maxtraxx mounts
Fender steps
Move water pump switch next to spigots for ease of use
Propane tank mounts
Hot water heater wouldn't get hot enough to have good hot showers



Things I really liked
Leveling jacks at both side of the rear of trailer.
Camp lights


On to some pics

 

Absolutely awesome, very, very similar to what I want to build.

 

We ended up doing the stretch to Barstow in one go before Eliza got fussy and needed a break from the car seat.
Then we had our first night in Morrow Strand State park in Morrow bay, I didn't want to raise the tent up that evening and set up the annex as we were leaving first thing in the morning. Got there. Dropped the trailer and went to pizza port in Morrow and grabbed a bite.



Then the next day we went up the coast, and checked out hearst castle, and the Elephant seal preserve, Eliza was thrilled at the sounds they were making.


later that day we made it to camp up at Limekiln and had a spot reserved under the bridge.



I guess we caught June Gloom in full swing because the fog never lifted.





Several days later after just relaxing around the campground and dong day drives up and down the coast, we made it to Purple sand beach aka pfeiffer and while it was sunny it was super windy, and we realized Eliza had just popped in two more teeth....yay....



After messing around fora few days there we drove a mile down the road to our next reserved site at Kirk Creek


This site is where I realized the tent at full extension was just too high, The Annex was barely touching the ground at this point.

But Eliza Still dug it!

I couldn't have been happier with how the trailer pulled on the drives, you can definitely feel that it's back there, but it tracked straight and true the whole way. I dumped the H2O in ashfork and towed dry because of the weight and how much gas we chewed through those first 60 miles, After that I got around 12-14 mpg most of the way. I kept it steady at 65-70 most of the way and ignored the 55 only signs in CA.

After four days of fog we decided to leave a day early and head south to morrow bay again and stay in the Morrow Strand Campground again before heading home, Thankfully that last day we had some weather blow out and it cleared the coast. So we spent the last day there driving back up to Lucia and checked out everything again in clear skies. It was a great trip and the trailer performed wonderfully, but it was wrought with setbacks because camping with a kiddo in campgrounds is definitely different. We will be heading back sooner than later, but I've got some changes to make before next weekend when we head to the north rim. Point sublime here we come!


Till next time!

 

Out of curiosity, how wide is your axle? The hub to hub measurement would be good. And where did you order it from? Starting to piece things together for my build

 

I went with the same running width as the Tacoma, I bought mine locally at tractor supply and modified it to my needs, most are buying from etrailer.com. I’ll measure it in the morning for you.