Love Being In The Dog House (trailer)

[T-Rey1]

I guess it is time to start my new build thread for my Dog House Trailer. Picked it up last year over Labor Day and made a trip out of it. I had a Ruger trailer before this, but due to unforeseen circumstances the Ruger wanted to stay in Moab (broken hub) and could not make the trip home. Was a awesome trailer, but the adventuring must go on. Shopping for a new trailer is fun and stressful at the same time. After much google time and this forum I decided on the Dog House Trailer by http://www.leaddogmotorsports.com/ Liked it the first time I saw it and it fit what I was looking for. A deposit and short lead time and I was on my way to pick it up. Decided to take the long way home from Vegas and shake it down. Enough of the blah, blah and on with the pics.

First stop Coronado National Forrest for a couple days of camping







Best part is being able to just get in and go to sleep. No RTT set up. Ill do updates in separate post. Stay tuned

 

[T-Rey1]

Let There Be Power

First thing to do was to run power inside and get the battery all set up. I had a similar set up in my Ruger, but I wanted this one to be better since I had more room. I installed my Die Hard 31M battery, genius charger, solar charger and buttery cut of switch. In the back of the trailer I installed a Blue seas fuse block after running power cable to the rear. Battery box is big enough for everything and then some. All the wiring to the back is ran in the frame as with the trailer light harness. I use a Renogy 100w panel or plug it into a 110v outlet. I just keep it on the panel while at home.

Test fitting


Getting somewhere


Done


The panel is doing its job







Fuse block installed

 

[T-Rey1]

Inside Conveniences

Now that I have power inside time for more upgrades.

USB and 12v charging port with battery voltage gauge



Needed something to hold my tablet when it was time to watch a movie





Of course with windows you need some privacy. Sun blocking curtains help

 

[Kmrtnsn]

I've been toying with the idea of picking on of these up after seeing one at the Off Road Expo a few months back. I just messaged Hiker Trailer in Denver asking a few questions about how I'd want one set up. I want a water tank, to substitute door windows and omit the large side windows, and have more cabinetry inside the cabin. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this thread! Oh, what are the rectangular panels ahead of the doors?

 

[Bho4779]

Did you also rig your battery to charge from your vehicle's alternator while towing? I'm waiting for my Hiker/Lead Dog trailer as well, and am wanting to set up a charging method like yours...with 110V charging and solar charging capabilities, but I also want the battery to charge through the trailer plug.

 

[T-Rey1]

Yes. It is hooked through the 7-way plug to the battery

 

[T-Rey1]

Switches

With the power established it was time for switches that will control the water pump, interior/exterior lights and what ever else I put on. I was able to salvage my switch panel from my old trailer and reuse it. I mounted it in a project box from Radio Shack (kudos to Kai38) for the idea. I also decided to move my USB/voltage meter into a box as well.

Mounting in box





It works


Both boxes mounted



Once it is all done I will clean up the wires

 

[T-Rey1]

I've been toying with the idea of picking on of these up after seeing one at the Off Road Expo a few months back. I just messaged Hiker Trailer in Denver asking a few questions about how I'd want one set up. I want a water tank, to substitute door windows and omit the large side windows, and have more cabinetry inside the cabin. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this thread! Oh, what are the rectangular panels ahead of the doors?

Water tank install coming.....

Those panels are just black vinyl stickers.

 

[calicamper]

Hey T I have the same charge controller. Great value. As a side note when I park it for a while I switch off the 24h on status for the power out side of the controller. I noticed a large drop in battery drain when I did that. My set up is a mini version of yours. 18hr battery and all the power gear is in a 50caliber ammo box bolted to the trailer. My solar panels are two Renogy 10watt panels. Used it all last summer worked great. Our power load is just a couple of LEDs and a simple 12v charging station 2 sockets and 4 usb plugs. Typical burn rate is about 4-6 amps during non solar hours.

My boat runs 2 group 31s no solar just our little diesel 12hp and shore power. My big solar project just went live two weeks ago. 29 285watt LG panels on micro inverters for the house. So far we have topped out at 26kwhs for a one day run. Our typical burn rate for 24hrs is around 26kwh.

 

[T-Rey1]

Time To Get Wet (water tank install)

I ordered the trailer set up to mount a water tank under the rear of the trailer. Easier said than done. Since the tank is under the trailer this means it needs a skid plate or some kind of protection which makes it more of a challenge to mount. I looked around and would have to have a custom skid plate made since I do not have a metal brake to bend it up. More research and I was able to get a sheet of steel and use a homemade bender to get it into the shape I needed it to be. I also bent up some strap as the main support for the tank. After allot of test fitting it was complete and working. Not sure how many gallons the tank is. somewhere between 16 and 20 I think. Either way big enough for me. I used the pump from my old set up and plumbed it all up. The other hold up was how to fill the tank. I did not want to cut a 4" hole into the side of the trailer or want any plumbing inside the trailer that could be a potential leak causing a big headache. Came up with a pretty good hidden fill method. See pics for explanation.

The tank



Straps bent and tank mounted



Skid plate around the tank



Time to work on the plumbing. The metal sheet was wider than the tank so I used the space for the pump



It is in



Water output spigot



You can see the fill hose, but how do you fill it?????? (see plug on left in pic)


May be a little hard to see but the hole leads to the filler tube. The LED light just pops out so easy to fill and no hole in the side of the trailer. I have a hose attachment with a short lead on it that will be used to fill. Came out pretty nice



Last thing is a removable plate that protects the pump and hoses. Any issues with pump and all I need to do is remove 3 bolts.

 

[calicamper]

Oh my setup I run the load through the output side of the controller to a small 6 fuse block. I can see my load on the controller and leverage the 11.4 volt cut off feature.

 

[T-Rey1]

Oh my setup I run the load through the output side of the controller to a small 6 fuse block. I can see my load on the controller and leverage the 11.4 volt cut off feature.

I did run a hot wire from the controller, but have it tucked away for future use when needed. Im sure ill find something to hook it up too

 

[Kmrtnsn]

I had a nice chat with Randy at Lead Dog Motorsports yesterday. Your thread has given me some ideas and between your build, our experience with a SoCal Teardrop, and Randy's input I think we might be able work something out.........

 

[T-Rey1]

Entertainment

I was using my tablet for watching movies and music in the trailer, but wanted something that I didn't have to take down and set up as well as making sure it was charged. With help from google I got a JVC double din and some kenwood 6x9's to use in the trailer. The stereo had to have Bluetooth, play DVD's, USB and a 7" screen. Figuring how t mount it was next. I did not want to make a big hole in the shelf or loose storage space so back to Google I went. I found an under/over cabinet mount mainly used for marine applications on Amazon and ordered it. Fit of the radio is perfect and it does not move once bolted up. I only needed to make 4 small holes for mounting radio and a 1" hole to run the wires to the radio. The boxes for the 6x9's also came from Amazon. To mount the speakers I had to drill a couple of holes in the boxes and used the retainers for the front jacks to bolt the boxes too. I had to get longer hardware to go through the speaker box, but worked out great and the boxes are tight. I was in the back yard grilling over the weekend and had the stereo going. Sounds good and works awesome.

Stereo mounted up



The speakers



Running the wires


We have power



System ready



Even came with a remote

 

[T-Rey1]

Tie Down

So after a few times using the trailer and carrying stuff behind the battery box I knew I need some tie down points. I remembered that I had a couple pieces of track from my old fridge mount. Worked out well.