So as I have said before in my other thread I am taking a ARE cap and making a small camper out of it
I wanted to show a different build then the norm and can use all the help I can get from this forum
So here are the goals for this trailer
1. Be under 800 Lbs unloaded
2. have a bed for two up and off the ground (the entire reason for building a camper vs a gear hauler
3. minimize setup time
4. be easy to secure for the daytime when we are not there
5. give us some at home features ie sink, hot water fans etc
6. last 10+ years
So the parts I have in my possession at this time are
1. ARE contractor cap (weight 150 Lbs)
2. Carry-on 5x8 trailer (current weight 400 Lbs putting on 50 Lbs diet)
(sad part is putting the trailer on a diet is so much easier then putting myself on one)
Parts I need to get
10 8 foot 2x3's
2 sheets of 3/4 inch exterior plywood for floor
4 sheets of 1/4 exterior plywood for sides
2 sheets of 1/4 hardwood ply for lower inside walls
2 sheets of coroplast for upper walls and ceiling
4 stabilizer jacks so the trailer stays put during the night
1 AC to DC converter / charger
1 main overhead LED light
2 LED reading lights
1 Fantastic vent fan
3 110 V ac outlets
3 12V outlets
1 smoke detector
1 fire extinguisher
1 kitchen sink
1 3 to 4 inch thick foam mattress
4 extruded table attachments (for two tables)
1 set of pole attachments (for small table for bad weather days)
1 battery for non powered sites ie VT campgrounds
1 hand pump faucet (looking for a removable one)
1 two burner Coleman white gas stove
1 tongue box for stove and white gas (the hot box)
Plan of attack ( subject to change........by the hour )
1. Strip trailer of all unneeded parts gate, mesh floor, brackets for gate, light mounting points, and anything that can go will go DONE
2. weld stabilizer jacks up DONE
3. repaint frame thinking white DONE
4. build wood frame out of 2x3's DONE
5. pre assemble as much as possible off trailer
6. bolt bottom and frame together
7. install wiring and pigtail all wiring for upper section
8. bolt upper section on to lower section
9. install fantastic vent
10. run pigtales from step 7. to final location
11. skin lower interior walls
12. build shelving system for storage etc
13. skin upper section
14. install lights speakers etc
15. Take first trip to do a test run
16. implement fixes discover on first trip
17. finished at this point ( I hope )
Ideas suggestions comments are all welcome
Ideas and some ramblings that I have in my head
1. the walls on the outside will be 1/4 inch exterior plywood with tyvek then white aluminum skin hoping to not have a leak and keep it that way for 10 + years
2. uses Coroplast for the upper walls and ceiling as it's Light weight, easy to work with, cheep, prefinished, and will trap some additional air to help the foam insulation too
3. make the battery easy to remove as the finished camper will be stored off site and not have electric access to keep the battery at a constant charge ( this is going to be the driving force in going with the LED lights and the high end fantast fan as i want the lowest current draw and the smallest battery I can get
4. I have three tables in mind that I want to make
4-1. A kitchen sink table to attach to the outside
with a cutout for said sink to drop into for campsites that do not have a central washing location for dishes ( VT again )
4-2. Table for outside for two to eat at
4-3. Table for inside for night time and bad weather days
I will update this thread as I go with pics and such.]
Cost
Trailer 600.00
Tags 18.00
Jacks 80.00
Angle Grinder 60.00
Cutoff wheels 20.00
Sanding wheels 50.00
Paint 50.00 (so far)
Welding 50.00
Wood 35.00
Glue 35.00
Weatherstripping 20.00
Tape 35.00
Total cost to Date ?????