Simple 6x12 CTC build

[fishboat]

Thought I'd toss this up as a record of our trailer build.

My girlfriend recently picked up a used, year-old, custom built(by Wells Cargo) cargo trailer conversion. WC installed insulation, 50A electrical service, internal LEDs, white vinyl paneling, AC/heat, e-track, windows, RV screen/door combo, awning, ceiling vent..

I recently installed hinged on e-track fold-up panels that form a 68 x 80 inch sleeping platform. The platforms are functional at the moment, but not finished. One platform or both can be set up, depending on needs.

There will be cabinets and a counter-top built in the v-nose area forward from the side door. Still drawing those up..

The 'simple' part of this build is that there will be no water systems, toilet, shower, sink, tanks..etc..installed. We're long-time tent campers and are comfortable without the extras inside the camper. There will be 12V & 120V electrics built in as well as solar panels for recharging, ceiling fan, USB recharging, 12V plug for a laptop, 12V fridge/freezer(ARB, Dometic, TruckFridge..etc).

The base trailer & recently built-in bed platforms & vinyl floor are below.



Modeled bed platform build


Built bed platform (still work to do, including covering platforms with some padding and fabric):






Both of the following are mockups that got us camping last weekend..I'll rebuild both with a bit more attention to aesthetics:

[fishboat]

As is typical with building many things, drawing up a model for cabinetry was stopped by not knowing specifically what the cabinets would hold in terms of the 12V chest-fridge-freezer and the battery(s).

Knowing where they might be placed was stopped by my not knowing what would happen to the tongue weight if I placed cabinets(80-100#?), fridge(55#), and battery(s) (70-120#) all in the nose of the trailer with minimal weight behind the axle(150#?? of gear) to offset it.

A post I made a few days about a trailer having a 12V umbilical was working through some of those issues:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=70931


Soo..

The tongue weight experiment below was just completed(I have a science/engineering background..so gathering data answers most things).

The experiment setup is illustrated below. I made 20 individual and combined weight placements at three areas of the trailer to simulate loading options.
1) the tongue
2) the v-nose area where cabinets will be and battery & 12V fridge might be
3) the behind-axle area where our gear will be stored while traveling.

Nothing permanent will be built-installed in the rear as the bed needs to be free to swing up and down. We'll just load our gear there while we travel and take it out while we camp. The tongue weight data will tell me where I want the weight, and thereby how to build the cabinets. Perhaps a bit anal..but I was an analyst for a number of years..

The experiment setup:


The raw data collected
:

The final equation for traveling tongue weight is then:
Traveling tongue weight = 210lbs(base TW) + (-0.22* Wt behind axle) + (0.55* Wt fridge in cabinet) + (0.49* Wt Batts in Cabinet) + (0.53* Wt of cabinets) + (0.41* Batts on tongue)

In the example shown(lower table in image), I entered the weights of how I'd like to load the trailer and build the cabinets (that contain both the battery(s) and 12V chest fridge). I net out at a TW of 332lbs and 12% of towing trailer weight.

That'll work. Now I can draw the cabinets. If weights run a little over, there's plenty of wiggle room in the TW.

I was surprised that only about half of the weight added to the nose(so far forward) ended up on the tongue. I wouldn't have guessed that.