Finally towed this weekend

[PNW_Ranger87]

PNW, it's a home build, based loosely on a "Benroy" design from long ago, but with more modern stuff inside. I don't sleep on the ground any more, it's a 5" good foam mattress with a 3" memory foam topper, so it's very comfortable. It's a bit heavier than I had originally thought (wanted 1200#, ended up 1660# dry with nothing loaded), but has 20,000 miles on it now & is wearing very well after bumping along on some rough roads, mountains & a life in the desert where it was built. Basic dimensions are 5' wide, 4' tall & 9' long. 100 watt solar panel, group 27 AGM battery, stereo, flat screen TV, sound bar, BluRay player, etc. etc. etc...

You can see more about these things on the TNTTT web site. Go to the "Builds" & take a look at Tony Latham's journal (#4) to see the procedure. Mine uses aluminum skin, his is epoxy & bed liner, but they are similar.

Very nice! Looks like a high quality build!

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[FULLSCALE]

PNW, it's a home build, based loosely on a "Benroy" design from long ago, but with more modern stuff inside. I don't sleep on the ground any more, it's a 5" good foam mattress with a 3" memory foam topper, so it's very comfortable. It's a bit heavier than I had originally thought (wanted 1200#, ended up 1660# dry with nothing loaded), but has 20,000 miles on it now & is wearing very well after bumping along on some rough roads, mountains & a life in the desert where it was built. Basic dimensions are 5' wide, 4' tall & 9' long. 100 watt solar panel, group 27 AGM battery, stereo, flat screen TV, sound bar, BluRay player, etc. etc. etc...

You can see more about these things on the TNTTT web site. Go to the "Builds" & take a look at Tony Latham's journal (#4) to see the procedure. Mine uses aluminum skin, his is epoxy & bed liner, but they are similar.

That’s a pretty cool build! Any idea what it cost?

 

[fusseli]

That trailer is awesome, I want one.

 

[Noseoil]

So to answer your question about the cost, I have about 450 hours of labor in this build & $6,500 in material costs. I had originally told my wife I could do one for "about $5,000" when we first spoke about it, but that number went out the window when all was said & done. I found a frame which was right, so that's the reason we ended up with a 9' long build. I have worked in construction, cabinetmaking, aircraft cabinets & interiors, plus a "few" other related things, which greatly helped on this build. It would be a bit daunting for someone without the skill sets & tools, but others have done a great job without as much money or time.

We got a bit carried away with the build as it sort of morphed into more of a luxury build than I had originally thought. Thankfully, all of the wiring was installed before I had any more changes planned or done. That was the biggest PITA on the whole thing, it's a lot of planning to make it work properly. Here's how the wiring-in of the 3rd brake light went, which is on the back of the hatch to make visibility better for those behind us when stopping. The hatch has 2 channels for the stereo, an overhead LED galley light, the back-up lights, 3rd brake light, a ground system & the license plate light. Stereo wiring, inverters, converters, lights, fan, running lights, main power panel, etc. access panel is behind the flatscreen.

Conduit for the hatch is a pair of copper tubing benders from Ace hardware. Once the harness was made, I taped the wires & stuffed them into these springs for flexibility into the hatch. This shows the hatch prior to skinning & galley cabinet setup before it was put together & wired with all of the stuff that went inside.

I worked on it on & off for about 2 years in Tucson, before we moved up to Raton, NM. It would be much easier to do here in the shop. As it was, I worked outside under a Mesquite tree during the build, so it was pretty hot during the summer.

I have a 4 car garage to work in now, so I might just build another at some point, one I can stand up in to put on my pants. This one is very comfortable, tows well & has served us since 2015, when it was on the road. Here's the web page in TNTTT if anyone is interested. Sorry about the dropped pictures, my web provider went from 0$ to $400 a year, so there are some gaps in the build on the beginning parts of the timeline. Closer to the end there are images attached. (working on it now...)

 

[Noseoil]

Another picture of the trailer build, mock-up on the frame of the "skeleton" wall

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[P. A. Schilke]

Another picture of the trailer build, mock-up on the frame of the "skeleton" wall

...

Hi Tim,

Excellent craftsmanship!

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Noseoil]

Thanks Phil, it's a nice way to build, lite & strong, fairly simple & lends itself to a strong structure. The "webs" are potential hard points for shelves, bulkheads & cabinets. They provide good material for screws, slots & wire runs. It was a challenge to make this camper, but worth the effort. Lots of planning & thinking involved as I had never made this type of "box" before.

I'm still plowing away on editing for the build journal, I get about a page a day with uploads on the images.

 

[Noseoil]

Here's another shot from the build log, lots of pictures on this thing...

 

[oldwirelessranger]

PNW, it's a home build, based loosely on a "Benroy" design from long ago, but with more modern stuff inside. I don't sleep on the ground any more, it's a 5" good foam mattress with a 3" memory foam topper, so it's very comfortable. It's a bit heavier than I had originally thought (wanted 1200#, ended up 1660# dry with nothing loaded), but has 20,000 miles on it now & is wearing very well after bumping along on some rough roads, mountains & a life in the desert where it was built. Basic dimensions are 5' wide, 4' tall & 9' long. 100 watt solar panel, group 27 AGM battery, stereo, flat screen TV, sound bar, BluRay player, etc. etc. etc...

You can see more about these things on the TNTTT web site. Go to the "Builds" & take a look at Tony Latham's journal (#4) to see the procedure. Mine uses aluminum skin, his is epoxy & bed liner, but they are similar.

I'm curious why heavy memory foam over an air mattress like Sleep Number, or other brand. I just bought a used RV & thinking it would much easier to lift bed to access storage with air mattress. And it gives me option of changing firmness as I need it.
But appreciate your thoughts.

 

[Noseoil]

If you need to access storage under a mattress, a solid foam mattress is going to be difficult to lift in a small area with one person. It's not impossible, but very awkward if the mattress isn't in place and installed in sections. If you could cut the foam to match the storage section size, it might be better than a solid slab of foam, but an air mattress makes a lot of sense for what you're doing.

We like having a good mattress for sleeping on the road & in camp sites, but there's no storage under our trailer to deal with. Ours needed to be slid into the door opening, then cut loose to unroll & expand into its place. There's no other easy way to do it with a teardrop that makes sense. Once it's there, it ain't moving due to the weight.

I would say in general it's best to get a really good mattress for sleeping, when you're on the road. The last thing you want on a trip is to be tried at the end of the day & have trouble sleeping due to a thin mattress which isn't comfortable...

 

[TremorOwner]

I want a trailer like that!!

 

[Noseoil]

I want a trailer like that!!

Here's the build log for mine, if you have some time to look through it. Lots of pictures & some good input from other forum members on what NOT to do for a teardrop.
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=60248

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