Hey y'all
I've been doing a lot of browsing on here recently. This is a great forum/community with really great resources and content! Put a smile on my face to finallllyyy get the confirmation and login.
Some background: I'm a 25 year old (young for this crowd it seems!), an avid cyclist and skier. I do a fair bit of tent camping in the warm months, in car camping for ski season. I travel thruout northern New England (ME, NH, VT) often. I just try and spend as much time outdoors as I can. I came across some vintage tear' plans and i just knew it was something I had to have a crack at. A calling if you will.
Since it's my first build and I already anticipate a second, I'm planning for a more utilitarian and bare bones rig. I figure I'll get a better handle the construction and layout and do a refined second trailer after I've learned from my mistakes...I've already banged out some basic plans to visualize and gather an idea of the profile, materials needed. Been scrounging up some scrap wood already. Have some footprints and profiles mocked up at home. Just need the trailer to get going..
And The Plan is to use a northern tool 5x8 trailer extended 2' to 5x10. Axle moved rearwards, and swap the axle-over the springs to lower it. I'm going big because I know I'll never be happy with the interior space and storage of something smaller
The cabin will be something like a simplified 10x5x4' square backed grasshopper. Squared rear for ease of construction and storage space. I want to keep it light (1000lbs ish) so i think I will do 1/8 sandwich walls with a 1/2" skeleton. Maybe thicker skeleton to allow for more insulation.
Galley is a work in progress but I know I want it to be accessible from the interior coz i will use this during the winter/cold/wet. but I'm struggling how to orient things for use from both the interior and exterior (depending on weather/site setup) Im thinking a "U" shaped cabinet/countertop in the rear with a centrally mounted stove (at the base of the U, with each protrusion containing storag) .Perhaps a bulkhead or sliding door to partition the galley from the cabin.
Id also like a real minimalist electric system. 2 or 3 interior lights. A few big computer fans to vent it. A couple 12v charger ports. That ain't much so i figure I could keep the battery small and run a car batt. -> trailer batt. charging system. Need to look into this more though. I am intimidated. I might end up just doing battery lights and fans and try to piece together a modular/removable 12v charging and power system in a tongue box for when I travel further afield.
My design is coming together nicely but I do have a few questions. I am also sadly limited to web access via a mobile phone so my web searching/forum sleuthing is kinda of a PITA..apologies for any dumb or oft asked questions...
does anyone know how much an axle-over-spring swap brings the trailer down, 3-4"? More? My cars roof is only 56" from the ground (unloaded) so I need the trailer low. If I'd like to keep the full 4' of cabin height without going too far past 60" total height
Should I skeleton-ize ply for the sandwich walls or built stick-style walls with a kreg jig? I would REALLY like to 1pc wall skeletons from 5x10 ply but I'm not sure about sourcing it (and the cost...)
Well I think that's it. I'd love some feedback and to hear what y'all think!
And please feel free to drop any links to builds of similar size/style, or resources that might seem helpful to me!! It's really a joy browsing and reading around on here.
Thanks