Hey guys, need some help.

[jeeper92]

I was thinking about building a teardrop but its way too involved. I found this site and fell in love with some of your work. I was thinking of purchasing a military trailer or pick trailer but today I was cleaning up my garage and I found a Harbor Freight 4x6 trailer. It will not be used in any off roading capicity so I think it will be ok. The gvw is 1350 on it. I am looking for a bunch of design help from you all. I have a few needs/ideas that I am going to try and scan at some point but my scanner is down. So if you all could point me in the right direction with your knowledge and expertise Id really appreciate it.
Heres the list of wnats/needs on the trailer

1. Lightweight (towing with a TJ, I think ill be fine with this
2. I would like for it to fold out so i can put the small tent that I am going to purchase on top of it. Any suggestions on hour to do this????? I was thinking of just making it so the top of the trailer box folds out and forms a floor then just put a cheap tent on it. Has anyone doen this? I was thinking some sort of piano hinge ???
2a. What woud you suggest as far as mattresses for the inside of the tent, if its going ontop of the trailer my kids, ok Im gonna need sometthing somewhat soft. It will be myself and two children under 8, what size tent would you recommend Im 6'5 260 and they aer tall for their age. I want it to fit on top of hte trailer. Im not spendign a ton of money on this. I have seen tents on here that are as high as 2000. 200 would be the top for me. Could i jsut purchase one from dicks and stick on top of the trailer when i set up camp?
3. Id like the ability to plug into any electrical sites when applicable. Iphone and computer are a need sometimes for my work
4. Cabinets and storage? My wood working skills are minimal so would like to keep it simple
5.Storage for a jerry can of water, or cooler?
6. I need to get it built as asap
7. What should I treat it with to ensure it does rot?
8. Also, I havent been tent camping in years, I was wondering if they are easy to put up now. I remember it beign a nughtmare when i was 6 (im 37)

9. A dry lockable compartment, for some of the clothes that we can use in an emergency. and locking up some of the fishing tackle that we will bring

I know many of you have done several of these things and I am just looking for advice, i have read a ton of different threads and im jsut trying to narrow it down


As i stated earlier i have a traielr, iwill eventually like to slap the 12 inch tires on it for 33 or 31s to match the jeep, any suggestions on this. Again i will not be doign any offroading with the camper



Thnaks for your time and if you arent already bored to death please give me some suggestions!!! thanks I apprecaite it

 

[Hilldweller]

Give this a lookie:
http://compactcampingconcepts.com/

 

[compactcamping]

That must be a "big" garage to be cleaning up and finding a trailer you fought was there :Wow1:

Are you thinking about some think like this?

Folding platform on top is easy to do, here is one way.

 

[jeeper92]

Yes thats it

But, im not spending that much on a tent. At least not at first. Thanks for all the responses. Im trying to do it on the cheap

 

[jagular7]

One thing you have to consider, you are a big guy and you stated the kids are also. Kids are a young age and will also grow bigger in their teens. My daughter (15.5 now) has grown over 4" in the last 3 yrs. She's near my height and I'm small for an adult male.
You are trying to do camping on the cheap? What do you expect for costs for items? You will have to consider larger items will require more material costs. If you take your current sleeping bed and theirs and place them on the floor, then figure how big the floor space you will need just to sleep. Don't forget about clothing bags, weather clothing, boots, shoes, dry food containers, food and beverage coolers, camp fire chairs, dinner table/setup kitchen, your camp fire accessories, your fishing gear, and any thing for activities you will want to do, etc. Yah, the considerations of a list goes on and on. A lot of that can be kept in/on the trailer or tow vehicle. Lay this out in your living room for floor space considerations.
Tents of today can be fabric apartments. Some take consider amount of time to put together while others just a few seconds. The cost difference between them is monstrous so be prepared for the amount of personal work you will have to do to setup a tent vs. the cost as well as the fabric used.
Most of the time, when camping, traveling and arriving to the destination usually occurs at night. So you will need assitance in unpacking, setup, lights, bug prevention, etc.

A simple cargo box would suffice as a hauler. Towing capacity is the next hinder for what vehicle you want to tow with. Packing up for the weekend of camping can be done quite light as you can plan for activities and weather. I do strongly suggest you practice packing your trailer, setting up camp in your driveway, and packing it all back together for the trip home. Getting familiar with your equipment is best to do in the middle of the day in your driveway rather than at night in the dark during unappreciatable weather (wind, cold, rain).
Good luck.

 

[CoastalDefender]

Im trying to do it on the cheap

Then don't be foolish like some of us and add a trailer to the mix. :sombrero:

 

[jeeper92]

Wow!!

Thanks for all the heads up jag. Id only be taking my older two. I am really thinking of maybe getting a old pickup trailer bed and throwing a cap on it. A soft floor then im off. Im gonna try ad do it for under a grand. I am sellign my 14 foot travel trailer this wed sooo I wanna get moving. I am a teacher and Im off all summer do i really think ill be able to put something together in a week with hour days and a lot of planning. Thats why im hitting these sites. I guess I need a course on tents. Where to start? thanks again and any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[Hilldweller]

This is about the least expensive RTT I know:
http://www.car-top-tent.com/

I'm your size and it's just me, the wife, & the dog in our trailer/tent. After farting around for years with budget-oriented ideas we took the plunge for something professionally-built.
You really need to sift through the older posts to find what you're looking for. This part of the forum is somewhat like an encyclopedia.

Here's mine; you could likely build something similar for yourself for half as much if you're resourceful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALxGLVJY0QE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ru8OSylEHg

 

[njtaco]

PM me about the 14 foot travel trailer if it doesn't sell Wednesday. I may know someone interested in it.

Also, you don't want a 6 foot pickup bed trailer, right? Only 7-8 foot?

 

[jagular7]

Forgot to add the option of a tent cot. These are individual sleeping quarters that have a tent configuration to them. They fold in half and easily packed for camping. They are also raised off the ground for easy of wet water on the ground.

To keep it cheap on a teachers salary, you will have to expect not to be comfortable. The 14' tt would be excellent for your situation, but you are selling it. Replacement of it will probably exceed your sale cost. Yah, getting a pickup bed with shell will work if you have a capable tow vehicle. However, the frame will be over weight for the function.

You could also look at adding a slide-in camper to the truck bed trailer, adding a Flip-Pac shell (probably too costly) as an option as well. Flip-Pac is a fiberglass shell where the roof flips over the cab for a bed setup and standing room.