Project leaving well enough alone is never an option

[vanwyk4257]

Bought this little 1981 Starcraft Starlite 1505 two weeks ago with the intention of using it for a hunting base camp and occasional camper. After really assessing the condition of the canvas and the underlying flimsy construction I decided to jump in with both feet.
I've completely removed any trace of the camper that was on the frame as of today and am planning the build at the moment. I did a spring-over conversion on the axle and installed 175/80/13 tires to replace the old 5.20-12 tires for more ground clearance when off road.
The planned footprint of the floor going back on the trailer will be 80" wide by 96" long with an interior height of 77" to accomodate my 6'3" frame and my 14 year-old son who's almost my height.
I will be using georgia pacific 3/4" dri ply tongue and groove plywood for the floor and will thoroughly seal the underside with 2-3 coats of rubberized undercoating.
The walls will consist of 1x4 and ripped down 2x4's skinned with 1/4" lauan plywood inside and out and insulated with 3/4" extruded polystyrene.
Since much of my camping will be cold-weather for hunting I won't be installing any water holding tanks or electrical beyond battery-powered LED interior lighting.
I plan to skin the exterior with sheets of 24" PVC coated aluminum and will have two 24"x18" hehr sliding windows. I will be constructing my own door with a standard RV lock/latch with deadbolt.
The interior accomodations will include a set of 48" wide bunks in the rear with a 3/4" oak plywood table that will drop into a bed, and a 30" wide removable bunk up above. I will also have a bunch of storage cabinets up front and should have a reasonable amount of floorspace to change clothes etc.
I'm estimating a finished dry weight of around 1400lbs so I'll be in good shape even with gear added in to tow with my wifes 2010 Subaru Forester.
I'll add some pics when I figure out how to do so.
Cheers!

[Cliffmeister2000]

Sounds like a plan! Pictures?

[vanwyk4257]

Here are some before and current pictures. Bear in mind the canvas and camper were not in as good of shape as they might appear here. I'll also include a very rough sketch-up of the intended floorplan.
The frame really is very solid, just the normal surface rust.

[StandUpGuy]

whoa! It is going to be really tall.

[StandUpGuy]

If you are looking for a name for it the "Cube" is available I believe.

[vanwyk4257]

Yeah, but most of the weight will be in the lowr portion of the trailer so the CG should be okay. I'm debating whether or not I need to add shocks, but I will be installing some bump stops due to the axle flip.
I did leave the original perches on the springs too so I can flip the axle back on top of the springs if need be.

[vanwyk4257]

If you are looking for a name for it the "Cube" is available I believe.

Yeah it would look like a big box on a trailer, but I'm going to lay the upper front wall back a bit on an angle. I'm actually still rolling around some ideas for a partial popup with hardsides, but I'm not sure I want to get into all the engineering and waterproofing challenges that would bring to the table. The original plan was to keep it simple, but I'm not very good at that hence the title of the thread!

[StandUpGuy]

If it is a cube and so tall it will be like pulling a sail. Have you given any thought to putting a curve or some angles on the top? Another thought is some folks like myself are building or have buit trailers with some sort of pop up top. Just food for thought.

[vanwyk4257]

My current thinking is to go up 42" on the front wall vertical and then lay the wall back on an angle that brings it back about 24" at the top.

I might look into doing a popup like your avatar too ala' VW westfalia but then I'd have to engineer more stuff. I'm sure it's going to have a lot of wind resistance even with the angle on the top but I'll seldom venture further than 2-3 hours from home with this trailer. Who knows, I may really get the bug and build a TD next.

[StandUpGuy]

I have seen some very elaborate pop tops and some simple. My top is very simple. It weighs very little and will have a simple hinge on front. Just saying. I really like the looks of your trailer frame. Nice and sturdy. Should be a good one. Have fun.

[vanwyk4257]

Thanks for the input. The frame was a big part of the reason I bought this camper, it's build like a sherman tank. Once I get another 4wd, if Jeep ever sells the diesel JK Unlimited here in the states this thing will get towed all over off road so I might need to think a bit more about CG. I'll have to do some thinking about it.

[vanwyk4257]

Took a little time today to get the plywood cut out for the floor. I ended up putting the treated side of the dry-ply topside since the untreated side had some knots in it that would have potentially been visible through the vinyl floor. Couldn't find asphalt-based fence paint anywhere locally at the big box or farm supply store so I ended up shooting some rubberized undercoating on it. It seeemed to soak in pretty well and covered well so I think it will be good to go.
I don't have any pics of the coating because I dropped a sheet of 3/4" plywood on my foot while taking it out to spray the undercoat. Let me tell you, dropping a 75lb sheet on your foot from 3-4 feet in the air hurts! Thankfully I moved my foot and avoided the first impact with the ground, but it hit my shin and then the other end hit my foot as it came to the ground. Note to self, stop wearing flip flops when working with wood, no matter how comfortable they are. Being a stubborn person I finished applying the coating to the plywood before coming in and showing my wife what happened. I may well have broken a bone or two in my foot, we'll see. I'm sitting on the couch with ice on my foot hoping my wife won't make me go to the doctor and get x-rays. I'm training for a mountain bike race in early november and it's going to be really difficult to ride with a cast on my foot!
Anyway, here are pics of the trailer and flooring, sorry no pics of my foot. I'll be sure to post the x-rays if it's broken!

[GuyllFyre]

Thanks for the input. The frame was a big part of the reason I bought this camper, it's build like a sherman tank. Once I get another 4wd, if Jeep ever sells the diesel JK Unlimited here in the states this thing will get towed all over off road so I might need to think a bit more about CG. I'll have to do some thinking about it.

Just convert your Jeep to a VW TDi.
http://www.hpamotorsports.com/tdiconversions.htm

[StandUpGuy]

My current thinking is to go up 42" on the front wall vertical and then lay the wall back on an angle that brings it back about 24" at the top.

I might look into doing a popup like your avatar too ala' VW westfalia but then I'd have to engineer more stuff. I'm sure it's going to have a lot of wind resistance even with the angle on the top but I'll seldom venture further than 2-3 hours from home with this trailer. Who knows, I may really get the bug and build a TD next.

I would like to see some elevations of what you are planing for this trailer. You have already started building. If I throw a shape onto your original trailer photo with the front swept back slightly I get this:


By justoneman at 2011-08-14

[StandUpGuy]

I am reminded of this trailer:


By justoneman at 2011-08-14

http://tnttt.com/album_ ... er_id=8933