Update
So we finally went on our first trip with the new rig.
This was not an overlanding adventure at all, just a trip to a NF campground at Bull Lake in Montana. Just a chance to see something new and find out what works and what doesn't.
Overall very happy, with some changes in mind for winter projects.
First of all, the brakes. The surge brakes worked adequately, but they're just not as nice as driving with electric brakes. So I will likely convert the trailer to electric over hydraulic. But it's not a top priority yet.
Hitch. The pintle hitch is, like most things, a matter of pro's and con's. For myself I would prefer a quieter hitch with less clunking, but this again is not a front burner item. This will get converted with the electric over hydraulic conversion since the most logical place (at least as I see it now) for the electric/hyd. unit to mount is where the surge unit is now. So the surge unit goes, and with it the lunette ring and the new hitch bar will go under the frame instead of over as it is now.
I'm thinking of ways to make a tonneau type cover for the trailer to protect items in the bed from the elements as well as prying eyes.
I built the rack tall enough and with telescoping capability so that I could load a four wheeler if I desired, but with the later mods for power and shower I have negated that ability. However, it appears to be a good thing that I ended up with a tall rack as it gives me some interesting options for loading of toys (bikes and kayaks). You will see in a photo below that I have mounted bike carriers to the open space on the upper rack next to the RTT. Another reason that I built the rack at this height is that I did not want an additional step of having to raise the rack for tent use. The rack is at the perfect height for the annex on the tent without having to fiddle with rack height. And the annex is a very nice addition to the tent for family camping. If I was by myself I wouldn't bother with an annex, but then if I was by myself this whole rig would be something different!
We are a family of three, and there is room up there for three bikes. On the truck I have a TracRac system that holds a roof top clamshell type car box with room still for one kayak. The items I load in the trailer all sit about flush with the top of the bed with the exception of the two folding tables that I have in the front, but they can be easily moved elsewhere if need be. My thought is to put two more kayaks in the trailer, sliding them in side by side with the hull down and then tying them up under the rack (imagine kayaks on the roof, but everything upside down).
That would give us three bikes and three kayaks! Not that we would take all of this with us every time, but it's doable should the desire be there.
The 63QT ARB ran off the 125AH ArkPak for about 48 hours with no charge input (too shady and cloudy for solar this trip) and also three showers each night for two nights and the battery was still at 62%. I did not enforce any fridge discipline in order to see what it might be like with lot's of in and out traffic. The temps were 80ish (in shade) during the day and 50's at night.
Here's our shower setup that worked out really well. An EcoTemp L5 with hoses running back to the trailer for water and propane. The support system I fabricated out of square telescoping aluminum tubing so it compacts and stows easily. The shower tent is from Wal-Mart and is a shower/changing/potty tent that sets up in a flash very easily by one person and seems to be well enough made given the price point. There's some small changes I will make yet to this setup, but it seems to work really well. The water is stowed in and pumped by a 16 gallon NorthStar ATV Spot Sprayer.
This last shot was prior to the trip just working on loading options.
