My Camping / Rooftop Tent Trailer Build

[JKChad]

More progress!! We hit the road in less than 48hrs. My wife has been working crazy hours. So, I've not been able to get much time in until my son goes to bed.. thankfully, I use to work some night shifts. So, my body still has some memories of operating on 2-3hrs of sleep each day.. lol

So I have the 12v system about 99% complete. It is installed and functioning as expect. The 4 channel rf remote is working well and really nice feature to have for being able multi task while setting up/breaking down camp. I installed some rock lights to help with late night setup and for extra indirect lighting at night. I also made the mounting brackets for my rack lights last night. I decided to have a go at doing an ac unit hack idea I saw o the tear drop forums. I'm really happy how it turned out and can't wait to try it out soon. Tonight I'll get the rack lights wired up and start working on getting the trailer ready for our trip coming up.
I'm going to try and do a walk around video soon to go over the modifications and what not.

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[JKChad]

Had an amazing 10 day trip with the family. We covered 1735 miles driving from Nashville Tn to Fort Desoto, south of Tampa Fl, then up to Tampa for a day to meet up with our friends, then over to the east coast to camp on the north side of St. Augustine at north beach campground, back home. The 12v system, actuators and lights all functioned flawlessly. The actuators are an ABSOLUTE GAME CHANGER! Set up and breakdown is so much easier now. The ducted AC unit worked amazing as well. I ended up needing to mod the back case of the ac unit, it didnt have a condensation drain? So, I drilled a hole and also added a brass fitting with 6' of 3/8" hose to keep the condensation water from dripping all over the trailer.

After this trip, I have 2 major upgrades that will happen asap.. 1st is the mattress in the tent has to go. We have noticed it's getting more and more uncomfortable. We have the stock mattress from CVT + 3-4" gel foam topper on it but it's just not cutting it. So, I broke down and order 2 Exped Megamats today. I order the megamat duo 10 medium for my wife and son to sleep on and the Megamat 10 long extra wide for me. This will allow me to adjust my mat to my comfort level and they can do the same for them. The mats can also be used for other various camping/overnight excursions outside of the RTT. It's a bunch of money to spend but I feel it's a worthy investment seeing that were close to 2 months worth of nights in our rtt since we first got it and are planning many more trips.

Upgrade #2.. the trailer suspension, aka the leaf springs, are shot. My dad abused this trailer for a while before I got it, he used it to carry a 250-300 gallon water tote for his garden. As the load has increased the leaf spring hangers are now getting to close and have made contact with the frame one few big bumps. I have adjusted them as much as I can to prevent it but it's just a bandaid. So, after discussing it with the wife, I will likely make the jump to a timbren axleless system to offer up more ground clearance, better ride and potentially make room for a water tank to be installed underneath the chassis.

Here's a few pics from the trip

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[Hoghead]

Can you point me in the direction of where you found your ac hack? I might just have to give it a try. That 69 degrees looks tempting.

 

[JKChad]

Can you point me in the direction of where you found your ac hack? I might just have to give it a try. That 69 degrees looks tempting.

I'll post up some more info, including parts used, when I get a chance at work. I pieced together a few different ideas for this one. Its It's honestly super easy and relatively inexpensive, with the exception that I bought a brand new ac unit from Walmart for $119.

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[Andrew_S]

Awesome build thread. Just wanted to say thanks for posting all the info about the actuators. You've definitely inspired me to stray away from gas springs and go this route!

 

[Chad D.]

I’ve really enjoyed this thread, as well. After reading it a couple times and seeing your YouTube videos, I’m very interested in your lift strut configuration.

I’m planning to move my RTT from my truck canopy to a trailer I have. I’d like to free up some space on the trick topper for kayaks and SUP’s, as well as get the rent off of there... It’s inconvenient to mount and dismount it all the time, and I can leave it on my trailer for longer periods.

If you are able, I’d really like to see how you mounted the lift rods in the legs. I think I’ve got it, but more info is always better... Still have any photos of that, before you moved to linear actuators?

Thanks,
Chad.


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[Norm G]

Thank you, Chad! This was very detailed and informative. I can tell you've put a lot of time and thought into this build and I appreciate you taking the time to share! I am building out my trailer for a RTT and this post is very helpful.