Horse Trailer Camper

[jlawles2]

stand the barrels up and you might have room for an extra bunk.

You are more efficient using low voltage lights instead of an inverter.

You might consider setting up for external propane just in case. Also might look into either an rv hot water heater or an on demand rv hot water heater for washing dishes and holding tank for solar hot water.

 

[2004LB7]

I plan on LED lighting with a PWM dimmer for maximum efficiency.

i want to use this trailer for extended stay boondocking or dry camping (or if it comes to it a SHTF scenario). so i am trying to limit the amount of consumables that will dictate how long i can stay out. right now the two limits are water and food. if i can harvest water from a stream then it becomes only food.

if i start relying too much on gas/propane then i will need a large storage of it. also if becomes unavailable for some reason (marshal law, SHTF, economic collapse, etc) then i am kind of scr#wed. not that this is its primary purpose. but would like to add some contingencies.

cooking will likely (based on prior camping experience) be mostly outdoor over a campfire with some minor cooking inside on the hot plate. in the event of bad weather there should be enough battery capacity for a few days of inside cooking based on my math

back to the water, maybe i could go with several of the 30 gallon water barrels instead of the 55 gallon to reduce the sloshing and provide more room for plumbing. placed upright i could do 3 or 4 on each side with space down the middle.

 

[novaman64]

Some food for thought....

For SHTF use, you are relying 100% on solar, you might want to think of a backup of sorts (generator), you are already relying on your truck to haul it, which means you will need diesel. Nuclear fallout/nuclear winter, you might not see the sun for a really long time.

Aside from that, I would try and put the fresh water in the belly. From the floor plans I saw, its in the gooseneck, which means that the water is up high (always go for a low center of gravity) and it also means that your truck is eating all the weight, I would try and put it closer the the axles under the trailer (similar to how toy haulers do it), only downside to that is you would need a pump and couldn't rely solely on gravity feed. You could also move your bed up to there and get more storage space on the ground if you moved the water.

In terms of licensing, not sure how "gray" you wanna get. But farmers/ranchers have livestock exemptions, that you can tow over weight if your going to from/ranch. I dont recall what the limit or distance is though. More times than not CHP wont mess with people hauling stock trailers... You also dont have to pay pleasure use taxes on it that way (I know you have to pay that on boats, and I thought toy haulers/RV but not sure on that either)....

 

[2004LB7]

all good points. thanks for the input.

i don't know if i am necessarily planning on a Nuclear fallout/nuclear winter contingency plan, as i think there would need to be much more to it then a bug out plan. bunker, radiation and air filter/masks, long term food stores. the plan would have to potentially hold you (and your friends & family) over for many years. i was thinking more for civil unrest, riots, natural disasters, marshal law or similar events where you may need to hunker down and lay low for a few months or get out of the disaster zone and have somewhere to stay until things are back under control.

think hurricane Katrina or Sandy. maybe a large earthquake in california (the big one) or perhaps too many people are upset over the government/taxes/gun control or whatever and are burning down buildings, rioting, etc and the president calls a state of emergency and sends in the troops.

i want it to be able to do the dry camping first and foremost with the capability of longer term r emergency camping if needed.

i am looking into 48 volt alternators for charging from the truck if needed. I don't want to have to haul an extra generator if i can get away from it. noisy, burns lots of gas, etc.

the biggest issue i see is the availability of fuel after services are cut off. being that my truck is diesel i can probably put together a black diesel/W85 filtering system (like i already have in my garage) or simple oil cracker for processing all of the used oil sitting in all of the abandoned vehicles. if i was required to camp or hide for a year or more.

i am somewhat worried about the weight up high with the water on the tongue. but i know it is not a direct weight issue for the truck. i calculate about 4000 lbs tongue weight and i have plenty of times put around 5000 pounds in the bed and it wasn't even on the secondary overloads. i am kind of basing my assumption (bad i know) on the fact that i have seen many gooseneck car haulers driving around with just one car at the very front up top over the truck with nothing else on the trailer to help stabilize it. if it was too unstable i would think i wouldn't see very many do it around here. but i may be wrong. also if it proves to be a little top heavy i can always travel with them empty or maybe one or two with water in them and then fill up closer to the camp site

If i recall correctly; here in california i think the farmers have to have papers proving they are hauling for a ranch or farm and they are also limited to 150 miles of the farm(s). CHP has slowly been cracking down on this due to abuse

Horse trailers (if not for farm use as mentioned above) are limited to the same as a utility trailer. that is what it is currently registered as. this theoretically puts me into the "CDL" category as the truck is GVWR of 14k and the trailer is 14k so 28k GCWR. 2k over the 26k limit. if it is converted to a camper then i no longer have this weight limit.

but... regarding the "gray" area. as a utility trailer, i get "permanent" plates. and how often will the CHP question the GVWR of the trailer and pull me over to check? but if they do and see that it is registered as a utility trailer and has living quarters i may get a ticket or fines so i thought it would be best to just register it as a camper or coach trailer. but because it still looks like a horse trailer it will still be pretty stealthy but all of the paperwork will be in order. :thumb:

man, all my posts seem to be long winded...

 

[six5creed]

Where's the guns & ammo storage gonna be? Will there be an armored area to hide in and shoot from if it gets bad and a shootout occurs, otherwise your stuck in a tin can and it won't be hard for someone to knock you off and steal your rig.

 

[2004LB7]

haha, i cant tell if you are serious or joking.

 

[RitzBlitz]

What about putting the PTO in the trans and getting a pto generator? That way you are utilizing the capability you have with the truck, and you'll have the extra capacity should the need arise.

 

[2004LB7]

hmm, not a bad idea. if it is not too expensive then that may be the way to go. there is far more that it could be used for then just charging or powering the camper. i will have to add that to my list of things to price out

 

[2004LB7]

looks like the PTO generators run about $4k+ for a 10 or 12 KW unit. haven't seen any that are closer to 3 or 4 KW. also i would still have to have the transmission pulled and the PTO gear put in.

not looking very economical price wise. i could get a 2 or 3 KW honda inverter generator for less and it would be much more fuel efficient. quiet and portable. if i end up getting a generator for this that is probably the route i would go. if only they made a similar model generator that ran on diesel

 

[jlawles2]

What ever happened to this build?

I think Yanmar makes a small diesel gen set. They are heavy though.

 

[down_hiller]

I don't know how California works but weight restrictions shouldn't be an issue as long as its not for hire

 

[turbovan]

Any update?

My toyhauler has 2x30lb propane tanks, used it all summer for cooking and hot water, and one 3 day long weekend for heat, I think I barely used 1/4 of one.

haha, i cant tell if you are serious or joking.

Pretty sure he was serious. :woott:

 

[2004LB7]

Funny you ask, I was just working on it today

I actually took a little break from it when I get laid off early 2017 as I didn't have the funds to continue

Just recently got back on it. Still need to finish the demolition. Just finished up removing all of the steel paneling to well, reduce weight but more importantly for access for spray insulation

Next I need to remove the wood plank flooring. Clean it up. Make some doors for it and put some wood ribs on the walls to build out the thickness off the walls for the insulation.

Then the fun part of actually putting it all together

Here are some photos of my progress and what I have to deal with

All of the screws holding the wood down are rusted so came up with this

This is my latest plan/layout

 

[2004LB7]

Been debating on some needed tools.

I got the old flooring removed today and will soon be working on the new flooring, wall studs and covering. Same for the ceiling.

Been thinking about ripping 2x4s down length wise and useing these on the walls and ceiling to provide the spacing for the insulation and a means of attaching the wood paneling

I will also need to cut said panels, maybe 1/2" sanded plywood and probably 3/4" for the floors

Along with building the internal cabinets, shelving, beds, etc

I've come to the conclusion that I need a table saw and a chop saw.

I don't like to purchase things twice. As in too small for the job (or future projects) but since I dont do wood work too often I don't want to over buy my tools ether.

In my past I've used some higher end sliding table saws and other wood working equipment and now whenever I use a lesser saw such as a bench top or job site table saw can't stand the cheapness, looseness, vibrations and overall low quality of them. So now I am torn between spending at least $600 or more for a table saw and not using it much or a cheap saw that will never make quality cuts and I probably won't like much.

Same situation for a chop saw. I know I will likely have to get a few other tools and odds and ends but what are your thoughts on the price range for something like this? Should I spend more up front and maybe never use it much (space is also somewhat a concern) or go for a lesser one and deal with it?

I am currently looking at a DELTA 13-Amp 10-in Carbide-Tipped Table Saw model # 36-725 which is $600

Or a Rockwell 13-Amp 10-in Carbide-Tipped Table Saw model # RK7240.1 for $160

For the chop saw I haven't done as much looking but thinking of a 10" sliding compound miter saw

Please let me know what you think and direction I should go

Thanks Jason

 

[Dozerboy]

Are you building the cabinets? If so how nice are you making them? I’ve built a lot of stuff with the Worm Drive Skil saw and clamping a guid down so my cuts were perfect. Ripping the small stuff does get pretty old though unless you can get by with 2 x 2‘s. I think you’d be good with a cheap portable table saw. That’s all my dad uses anymore except for when he is building cabinets or furniture in the shop. I bought a 12” compound sliding miter saw and damn it’s a lot more saw then I need. I think you’d be fine with regular 10 inch miter saw unless you’re putting up crown molding. Even cheap harbor freight stuff can cut straight if you take the time to adjust everything properly. I’ve seen plenty a brand new $400 saws that we’re out of whack.

I’m not sure how quick you need your tools or what you have for big cities around you but I buy most of my stuff used. There’s always DIYers that are looking to get rid of tools that they bought for one project around here. I picked up my used once $600 miter saw/table for $200.


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[zakkb787]

I wouldn’t buy a miter that that didn’t slide. They barely cut 5 inches. You can even get a 7 inch sliding miter that cuts wider cuts that the 10 inch stationary. As far as quality, my dad picked up a 10 inch sliding miter from sears probably 8 years ago to do outlet laminate flooring. Off brand. Surprisingly enough called GMC (global machinery company I believe) Used the thing righteously and had to install 2000 square ft of floor and it’s still kicking today. No use in buying a big dewalt if you’re not gonna do it every day. Even the little kobalt 7 1/4 sliding miter for a touch over $100 May do you

As far as the table saw, Rockwell seems to make decent stuff for the price. I know delta is good but that’s steep.

 

[2004LB7]

I've been thinking about just picking up a circular saw just to get started. I can rip the wall, floor and ceiling plywood down with one no problem. It's when I start getting into the more detailed cuts I know I am going to want a table saw

Sometime down the road I am going to install wood flooring in my house so a sliding miter saw would certainly make easy work of that. I've seen some for not much over $100

I'm not opposed to harbor freight, in fact I will probably get the circular saw from there, its just it seems that the chop saws and other large wood working tools are almost the same price as the name brand from Home Depot or Lowes, etc.

I've done some searching for used tools on Craigslist and other sites and anything close enough for me to drive down and get is ether worn down beet up or they want too much. There is a place in Sacramento that seems to have the $600 delta table saw for $450. Not sure if it is still available or if it is missing any parts but looks new in the photos. May take a look today

Also there is a tool outlet store not too far that I may poke my head in to see what they got. Never been to this one and looks like there selection is great and low prices

I want to keep the cabinets relatively simple compared to the norm as I am no professional cabinet maker by any means. I do know my way around a wood shop and when growing up I spend some time with my dad (rip) while he worked, he was a master cabinet maker and professional carpenter by trade so I hope I picked up a few things from him

I'm thinking of making the drawer and cabinets something like this, simple, effective

Or this

 

[2004LB7]

So I've decided that while I have everything open and accessable I am going to convert the brakes from electric to hydrolic disc. The current ones are pretty much done for and the wiring is jacked up so it has to go.

For the disc brakes it is no contest for the Kodiak conversation kit. And I plan on running stainless steel lines. As for the actuator, any recommendations? I'm currently looking at the dexter & Carlisle brake actuator and maybe even the Titan brand too but nont sure. Looks like the Dextor from Easternmarine.com is the cheapest but of course if another is better I will gladly pay more

Anyone have any preferences for the electric to hydrolic actuator?

 

[2004LB7]

Placed my order for the new hubs and calipers today. got the slip on rotors so if they ever need replacing I won't have to replace the whole hub like many of the kits seem to be done.

Now I need to purchase a brake actuator. still debating on whether to get a Dexter #K71-651-00, the Carlisle HydraStar HBA16 or the Titan BrakeRite EHB.

thinking of getting the Dexter as it seems to be the cheapest out of the three and neither of them seem to have many negative reviews.

then I need to pick me up some 3/16 stainless tubing and a few inverted flare fittings.

 

[2004LB7]

Ordered me up some stainless brake line tubing and fittings.

Bump on opinions for a brake actuator before I pull the trigger on one....