Can I play???

[mx842]

I wish I had found this place a couple weeks ago before I started this project. I bought a 8x24 car hauler and am in the process of turning it into a toy hauler. I know, I know, I probably would have been better off just going down to the RV store and buying one but I love to tinker around with stuff like this and I got the trailer at a good price.

This is what I started with:
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01060.jpg
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01061.jpg
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01062.jpg
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01063.jpg
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... 1057-1.jpg

So far I have taken pretty much everything out like lights, heaters, and exposed wiring, carpet on the walls. I have pulled the top piece of plywood down and added that 1" pink panther insulation between the outside shell and the plywood. That really made the walls more solid and I'm sure it will make it more comfortable and quiet.

I'm going to run all new wires to lights and equipment and have bought a new AC/DC converter and will add a couple 6 volt batteries when the project gets a little closer to being finished.

I'm hung up now with deciding on how to lay everything out. I have so much to put into this thing I don't know if I can find the room. I am in the process of building my water tanks, I want one for fresh water for sink and an outside shower, appox. 30 gals. I want another tank for bike wash water, appox. 60gals. and I am going to install a 18 gal gas tank for misc use, geni, pit bike, and anything else I might need fuel for.

I am working on the front living quarters now and can't decide what to do about the floor. I want to put the checker board tile in the shop area and was thinking about putting that stick on tile in the front but are open for suggestions of what to use by others that have done this before. At this point all I have added is a cabinet across the front and one on a side wall in the living area and a box to hold my geni and batteries other than that it is all open and waiting for floor covering.

I have been having trouble finding those black and white tiles as no one around here has them. I've seen the sheets of material on e-bay that has this pattern but am told it does not hold up all that well but what do I know.

Here is a shot of the insulation and how it was applied.

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01068.jpg
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01069.jpg

That is all I have right now and will take more pics as the project moves on. I would really like to find a deal on those fold down couch/sleeper things like some have found here at really cheap prices. So much to do so little money.

[Eskimo]

Welcome, good uck with your build. I did a 7 x 16 and sometimes wish I had gone a little bigger. Keep up with the pics, we all like pictures of progress.

[starleen2]

Welcome, good uck with your build. I did a 7 x 16 and sometimes wish I had gone a little bigger. Keep up with the pics, we all like pictures of progress.

Bigger?? not much for tiny travel trailers?

[edcasey]

Sounds like you're off to a great start. I can tell you after many years as a master certified RV technician that you would not have been better off buying a factory built toy hauler.

I like the black and white checker board tiles too. I used Armstong commercial vinyl tiles from Home Depot and rented a vinyl tile cutter to make installation very easy. They have been on for almost 9 years and still look new with no cracks or loose tiles. I don't know if it's nationwide but all the Home Depots in my area no longer stock the black tiles but you can special order them.

[mx842]

Welcome, good uck with your build. I did a 7 x 16 and sometimes wish I had gone a little bigger. Keep up with the pics, we all like pictures of progress.

Bigger?? not much for tiny travel trailers?

But, but, 24' is tiny compared to what some of the guys come rolling up to the track in. The guys with the real young kids are the worst. They will roll in there with a 60' trailer being pulled by a $250,000 diesel car that looks like it just came off the showroom floor. Then when the unload they roll out two little 50cc bikes and a little dude about 4 years old with a helmet that is bigger than he is.

Me? I was the one way in the back with the little 6X10 open trailer with the 2 yz125's and a yz250 piled in there along with everything else imaginable. I don't know how we hauled all that stuff to the track on that little trailer.

We made out though and damn we had fun. Or at least I did, we were racing so I could keep my youngest son away from the kids he hung out with at school. He was getting pretty good on the 125 but after he got a little older I could tell his heart was not in it as much and he wanted to run with the boys. I did everything I could do to keep him at the track on the weekends but he finally got into trouble anyway and is now in jail. hopefully he will be out in a year or two and we can go back to racing. Right now he seems to know he screwed up and says he is sorry for what he did and only time will tell.

I kept all the bikes and equipment to see how he progressed and if he even wanted to go back racing and after a year in jail he says he wants to go back when he gets out. So I decided to buy this trailer and fix it up and have it ready when he gets out. I don't mind helping him if I get something in return and if it does not work out I'll sell all the bikes and keep the trailer for a day camper for me and the wife.

Sorry for the rant but sometimes it helps to just talk about it because it's tough to lose a kid to the street kids. I don't know how people deal with losing a kid to an illness or accident at least I still get to see him a couple times a month and spend an hour or two with him.

I hope to have some more pics in a couple days when I get a bit more done.

[mx842]

Sounds like you're off to a great start. I can tell you after many years as a master certified RV technician that you would not have been better off buying a factory built toy hauler.

I like the black and white checker board tiles too. I used Armstong commercial vinyl tiles from Home Depot and rented a vinyl tile cutter to make installation very easy. They have been on for almost 9 years and still look new with no cracks or loose tiles. I don't know if it's nationwide but all the Home Depots in my area no longer stock the black tiles but you can special order them.

Yeah, I've been to HD and Lowes and nether one carries them. I'm still checking with some of the floor covering people in town to see if somebody has some in stock. Did you tile the ramp door too? I was kind of wondering how they would stick to the wooden floor but have had a couple people say they did alright.

I'm not ready for tile yet though, right now I'm trying to figure out where I want everything and trying to figure out how to get the wiring to those points. I installed my wiring closet for my converter and breaker box right over top of the geni box and battery space. I added another battery charger also because from what I have read the chargers that are built into those three stage units never charge the batteries to full capacity. I added it just to use while the trailer is docked at home so the batteries will always be up without having to go through the house wiring.

Please if you ever see anything I am doing that is not right or could be done another way better, please by all means let me know and I thank you in advance.

[digimark]

I did everything I could do to keep him at the track on the weekends but he finally got into trouble anyway and is now in jail. hopefully he will be out in a year or two and we can go back to racing. Right now he seems to know he screwed up and says he is sorry for what he did and only time will tell.

You've lived my second worst nightmare (worst is drugs/gangs/car crash killing them) when I worry about my two young sons (8,11) -- I'm glad you're there to stick by him and hope he'll be out soon and you'll have a positive future...

Boy, that car hauler is BIG. You could pretty easily load my 6x10 trailer inside it.

[mx842]

I did everything I could do to keep him at the track on the weekends but he finally got into trouble anyway and is now in jail. hopefully he will be out in a year or two and we can go back to racing. Right now he seems to know he screwed up and says he is sorry for what he did and only time will tell.

You've lived my second worst nightmare (worst is drugs/gangs/car crash killing them) when I worry about my two young sons (8,11) -- I'm glad you're there to stick by him and hope he'll be out soon and you'll have a positive future...

Boy, that car hauler is BIG. You could pretty easily load my 6x10 trailer inside it.

Yeah I didn't get my boy until he was 11. His mom couldn't handle him anymore so she dropped him off one day and said you can have him. She fought me for 10 years trying everything she could to keep him out of my life then all of a sudden she just turned him over. I didn't know what I had for a few months but I could tell shortly there after that the kid had problems. He came to my home thinking he wanted to be a rap singer and I knew we were in trouble.

After we started racing he started to come around a little but he was having problems in school and found out he had ADHD and then the struggle with the school system became an everyday affair. Deep down my boy is a good kid but for all those years when he should have been learning the basic rules of life he was learning alright, just from the wrong crew. I thought the racing was working because it was something he loved to do but as he got older and his problems with learning in school got worst and next thing I knew he was hung up with a gang and no amount of work on my part could break that bond.

You should be worried about your boys especially if they are in public schools. I know if I had it to go over with again I would never put another child in a system where their only objective is to get your kid to be able to pass a SOL test so they can get more money.

I'm sorry I didn't want to get off track here so I'll stop at that but hug those kids everyday and love them like there will be no tomorrow cause life passes so quickly.

Yes it is a big trailer but with all the stuff we carry to the track it get awfully small in a hurry. I have more pics coming soon as soon as I get through running a few more wires and clean up a little.

[edcasey]

Yeah, I've been to HD and Lowes and nether one carries them. I'm still checking with some of the floor covering people in town to see if somebody has some in stock. Did you tile the ramp door too? I was kind of wondering how they would stick to the wooden floor but have had a couple people say they did alright.

The tiles I used are the type that are installed with vinyl flooring adhesive and works great over plywood because the adhesive will compensate for imperfections in the wood. They are 1/8 inch thick and meant for commercial applications so they can take quite a bit of abuse. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xnk/R-100078757/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Last weekend we took our son to our local motocross track to watch dirt bike and ATV races and took some pictures of the pits. A 24 foot trailer would be one of the smallest ones. With all the stuff you have to bring, I can see how you could quickly run out of room.

[mx842]

It's been awhile since I did an update because I only get a few hours a week to spend on it but it's coming along. I picked up a few items off e-bay....
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01096.jpg
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01095.jpg
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01093.jpg

The door is only 60" high so I had to raise it up off the floor a little where you have to step up to go through, sort of like a hatch on a Navy ship not perfect but it was cheap and it serves the purpose.

I finished all my insulating accept for the new wall I am working on now.
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01071.jpg

I used the pink panther board for everything accept for the space up front. The way it was laid out it made it hard to fill it in with the board so I used about a 1/2 a roll to do the top part up front.

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01073.jpg

I had these store fixtures I was not using and I had to tear them apart to remove them from the building they were in so I cut them down and salvaged the bottom part and used them for storage across the front. They were exactly the right length. Don't ask me how that happened it just worked out that way.

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01075.jpg

I cut this one in half and installed it on one of the side walls.

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01091.jpg

new shore power hook up.

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01086.jpg

A new ground fault plug in for the rear for pressure washer.

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01086.jpg
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01088.jpg
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01087.jpg
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01090.jpg

geni box and battery storage pictures

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01078.jpg
power panel, it sits right on top of geni box. There is a closet I made for it to mount in with room for all the wiring to fit in. I am also going to mount my radio, a clock, and a AC socket on this panel.

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01085.jpg
framed up shop wall.

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01079.jpg
AC wiring running down the top of the wall going into the power panel. It will be covered with a trim board.

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01084.jpg
Another shot of the conduit and how it was run through the cabinets.

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww49 ... C01075.jpg
mounted cabinets on the other side of the trailer. DC wiring runs on this wall and behind this cabinet.

Once this wall get completed I will put down my floor covering. I'm going to use the stick on tiles in the cabin area and plan on painting the shop floor with a good marine deck paint with some grit in it for traction.

I can't cut the holes for the water fill and shower head until I get this wall finished and my water tanks and pumps installed, everything is going to be really close so I don't want to cut anything until I know exactly what size my tanks are going to be and that depends on what kind of deal I can find. The tanks are going up against this wall and I will build a work bench over top of them. That should give me a clean 8' to the back door for bike storage and other stuff I need to haul.

It's been slow to this point because I'm trying to use stuff I already have and stuff that I can afford when I find it. Stuff that I need is hard to find at a price I can deal with and dumb stuff pops up all the time. This weekend I found on e-bay a brand new RCA surround sound system for $9.95 and a built in Quest wall mount sub woofer for $7.95. I don't need these now but I couldn't let it slide because I'll be to that point sooner or later so now I have them. Hey!! I may be old but I still like to crank up the tunes when Lynyrd Skynyrd or Charlie Daniels come on the git box.

[jwhite]

I hope this is not the same built in Quest wall mount sub woofer for $7.95.
that I bought off Ebay, the one I bought is the worst speaker I have ever bought.
I am stuck with it now you get what you pay for?
the same guy also sells a rockford fosgate marine CD/DVD player for around 100.00 that you can plug a TV into Now that's the best stereo I have ever bought. comes with a remote control. Great Stereo.

[mx842]

I hope this is not the same built in Quest wall mount sub woofer for $7.95.
that I bought off Ebay, the one I bought is the worst speaker I have ever bought.
I am stuck with it now you get what you pay for?
the same guy also sells a rockford fosgate marine CD/DVD player for around 100.00 that you can plug a TV into Now that's the best stereo I have ever bought. comes with a remote control. Great Stereo.

AWH Man, I wish you had kept that to yourself at least for a few more days anyway. I really didn't expect to very much but now you done gone and spoiled all the fun of finding out all by myself. That's part of the fun of e-bay, some times you get a good deal and sometimes the deal get's you. But it's like the lottery you can't win if you don't play.