"TrailTop" modular trailer topper building components
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Keeping me from working on this project this week was travel; on Tuesday I traveled to Louisville to attend the RV Industry Association's annual trade show at the invitation of a company that was exhibiting there (it's a trade-only show and I'm not in the trade). The entire Kentucky Expo Center was filled with RVs and RV component suppliers, but all but a few of the RVs and trailers on display were way too big for a Jeep to tow on a trail, except these two.
On the left is the Woolly Bear Trek which is basically a chuck wagon designed to carry a roof top tent. On the right is the Tiger Moth, which has a sleeping area inside. They're very nice, but at a starting price around $12,000 probably not for everyone (not for me!)
The rest of the small campers I took photos of really would be limited to 2wd dirt roads at best, or would be too large to be towed by a typical Wrangler and too large to negotiate tight trails. Here are two that are borderline. On the left is the No Boundaries ("NOBO") 10.5 and on the right is the NuCamp Boondock Edition. The NOBO probably could negotiate a trail behind a JKU; I suspect the NuCamp would require something larger to tow on a trail.
The real reason I attended was that I was invited by the company that signed up to bring the Trail Kitchen to market. I showed a concept image of the kitchen "digitally installed" with my trailer topper project last week, here's what it looked like at the show.
I enjoyed my day at RVIA - while I did spend a little time checking out the smaller camp trailers, I spent most of my time checking out lots of RV components that might make sense in the small trailer/overlanding world. More on that shortly.
On the left is the Woolly Bear Trek which is basically a chuck wagon designed to carry a roof top tent. On the right is the Tiger Moth, which has a sleeping area inside. They're very nice, but at a starting price around $12,000 probably not for everyone (not for me!)
The rest of the small campers I took photos of really would be limited to 2wd dirt roads at best, or would be too large to be towed by a typical Wrangler and too large to negotiate tight trails. Here are two that are borderline. On the left is the No Boundaries ("NOBO") 10.5 and on the right is the NuCamp Boondock Edition. The NOBO probably could negotiate a trail behind a JKU; I suspect the NuCamp would require something larger to tow on a trail.
The real reason I attended was that I was invited by the company that signed up to bring the Trail Kitchen to market. I showed a concept image of the kitchen "digitally installed" with my trailer topper project last week, here's what it looked like at the show.
I enjoyed my day at RVIA - while I did spend a little time checking out the smaller camp trailers, I spent most of my time checking out lots of RV components that might make sense in the small trailer/overlanding world. More on that shortly.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thanks!
One of the optional features I want to add to the Trail Kitchen is a sink. I've done a prototype already, and I'm very happy with it:
The prototype spigot is gravity-fed from the Rubican container mounted on the side of the fridge, and flow is very good, but I've wanted to include a pump more flexibility in the placement of the water source - the gravity-fed prototype required that the outlet of the water source be above the sink spigot). So I met with several RV plumbing components suppliers at the RVIA show to explore options. Long story short, I've got several samples being shipped to me - below is a very small 12v pump that'll work very well for the sink.
I've also got a cool folding faucet coming my way. When I get the samples in hand and connect them to the sink I'll post about it.
ratled
Adventurer
Have you considered something like this? https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Gledto-Adjustable-Showerhead-Cigarette/dp/B07437B3NB/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1512095379&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=12v+shower&psc=1
jscherb
Expedition Leader
That may be a decent shower head, but I don't think it makes an optimal faucet for a sink. My plan is a folding faucet for the sink (stows compactly) and a separate dedicated shower head. Quick-disconnect connectors would be used so the water source can be switched between the faucet, shower head and perhaps an ordinary hose nozzle.
Another part of my plan is an automatic pressure switch that shuts the pump off when water isn't in use, and turns the pump on when the faucet (or shower head) valve is opened, so the pump can always be powered but will only run when water is demanded. The sample pump I've got coming to me has an integrated pressure switch.
Also that product is designed to draw water out of a bucket, and there's nothing wrong with that, but my idea is a water source that mounts as part of the kitchen (or elsewhere if desired, such as a tank between the trailer frame rails) and is always ready for use, no need to fill up a bucket when you want water.
You have so many great inspirations going here. Can't believe someone hasn't gotten behind some of your idea's. Keep up the good work. The tiger moth is a realĺy nice design, but poor RV industry execution. The one I looked at the kitchen draw was assembled with staples and no glue? Hope your great design work gets recognized and that you don't mind if I use your work as inspiration for my home builds.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thank you. One of the reasons I post a lot of detail is for people who want to build things themselves - maybe my details will help people with their own projects.
I took a photo of the Tiger Moth "kitchen" at the show because I was surprised at the design - it doesn't seem very functional to me. Here it is:
To me it's just a drawer to place a stove on. It has almost no counter space for food prep, so you'd almost certainly need a separate side table for that. And some of the precious little table space it has is obstructed by a jerry can hung above it for water. And look at the compartments in front of the stove. In front of the stove is a perfect place for spills from pots on the stove to go into, seems like a bad idea. And is there a fridge nearby? Anywhere? You mentioned the construction, but I didn't even look at that because I found the basic design dysfunctional.
When I designed my kitchen, the goal was having a lot of usable counter space, keeping most everything in reach - fridge and water source in particular, and having it store in a space not much larger than the fridge. This photo was taken on a recent camping trip in Death Valley; I had the kitchen in the Jeep and the RTT on top. I used all the counter space my kitchen has, plus the added shelf space that the StoreGate on the tailgate has. The fridge is right at hand, as is the water source (the spigot is just barely visible to the right of the fridge in this photo, the photo makes it look less accessible than it actually is).
Stored, it doesn't take up much more space than the fridge alone...
I'm sure there isn't one kitchen design that would make everyone happy, but I'm very happy with mine. It's proved very functional in actual use in the wild, and it installs to any flat surface so it'll go into my trailer project easily but still be quickly removable to be installed in the Jeep when I need it there instead. And the attention it drew at the show suggests other people will find it useful too.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Once the parts were on the trailer and the lid was on I made a few minor tweaks to the fit of the parts. The initial fit was excellent, I only made a few changes and most were 1/8" or less. To make final fitting easier, up until now all of the panels have been assembled with only screws and bolts - no adhesives yet. Now that the fit has been verified, the next step in the project is to bond everything together - wood-to-fiberglass bonds will be done with epoxy and wood-to-wood bonds with waterproof wood glue. Everything is disassembled now and waiting in the workshop to be bonded together.
This photo also gives an idea of the space it will take to store the camper top when it's off the trailer because the trailer is doing duty as an open cargo carrier.
This photo also gives an idea of the space it will take to store the camper top when it's off the trailer because the trailer is doing duty as an open cargo carrier.