dstock
Explorer
Thanks, I only carry the one spare so everything has to match.
Added another AEV goodie yesterday, had this snorkel sitting in my garage for the last year or so...lol
Dstock's M101A1 build... or the reality, I needed a new project!
- Thread starter dstock
- Start date
Thanks, I only carry the one spare so everything has to match.
Added another AEV goodie yesterday, had this snorkel sitting in my garage for the last year or so...lol
dstock
Explorer
Thanks man! Welcome to the addiction!! Happy to help anyway I can!
dstock
Explorer
Looks great! You guys have all the fun tools!!
My only note is I know there was mention of pins in the side struts when the rack is up and the tent is deployed to take the stress off the actuators, but I would also pin it when it is in the lowered/travel position for the same reason. Bouncing down the trail is when the rack gets the most abuse. My inner lift tubes actually rested on the trailer when the rack was lowered but I still pinned them just to limit any movement. You could also weld a foot/rest on the outside edge of the lift tube for it to rest on, maybe with a rubber base on it. Possibly overkill but just the way my brain works! LOL
Looking forward to the next update!
Ryannnz
Member
Solid tip. Will do so - I have a few spring loaded pins that may work
for the lowered position Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
dstock
Explorer
Well it's been awhile since my last build update. I fixed the awning mount using some threaded tube inserts and bolted the awning to the uprights. I also added a bottom bracket to where the awning attaches just in case there is an issue with the cross piece weld. Bolting it on allows a little flex which is just inherit with the trailer. It's been trail tested now and had zero issues. This is not the best photo but you get the idea:
Next up was a project I've been wanting to do for some time. With the untimely dismount of our Roadshower, I decided it was finally time to add a water tank, a pump, and hot water on demand! We've been camping in colder weather over the last year and having hot water for dish cleanup, showers. etc., was becoming more of a priority.
I sourced a 21 gallon fresh water tank from eBay with the idea that I wanted to mount it under the trailer, just in front of the rear axle. I did this for a couple reasons, I didn't want to give up any storage inside the trailer and I wanted to keep the weight as low as possible. I feel the tank size will work pretty well for us, previously we carried 15 gallons in 3 Jerry cans plus the 7 in the Roadshower and never came close to running out.
Water tank and positioning:
I built a frame from some angle iron I had left over from the previous iteration of my trailer, and bolted that togethe. I used a bit of weather stripping and rubber pieces to prevent wear and snug things up. I also used some sheet metal in the bottom for some protection:
I drilled 4 holes through the floor of the trailer and used some 12" grade 8 bolts to mount the frame. I also attached some angle iron to the bottom of the trailer to prevent any lateral movement:
Through the wheel well, you can see how it snugged up nicely against the frame, and then I added some protective sheet metal in front of the tank to deflect and flying rocks and debris, excuse the dirty hand prints, also hose is not in final location :
Once that was complete, I ran the hoses and added a gravity fill (shown open in the second pic) and and a vent just behind the propane tank. The vent is the little black cylindrical object on the side of the trailer just in front of the reflector to keep it out of the flow of dust.
Next up was a Sureflo water pump which I mounted in a Pelican Vault case, switch for the pump is on the top rear. Intake and output hoses enter/exit the bottom. Output uses a quick disconnect fitting.
and then of course the final part, I removed the Jerry cans from the front of the trailer, built a frame and bolted up another Pelican case to house the Camplux water heater, also with quick disconnects for the water input, output and propane:
The beauty of this setup is it takes about 2 mins to set it up for instant hot water. Also, if hot water isn't needed, because I used the same fittings, I can still use the shower head directly connected to the water pump output which takes maybe 30 seconds.
A couple of things to note:
I got the Pelican Vault cases for free, I'm honestly not sure if the hinges on the water heater box are going to hold up long term but we will see. The Pelican 1550 is probably a better choice. The heater needs to mounted to the door for venting purposes.
Getting all the adapters, quick disconnects, a longer propane hose (sometimes we remove the tank from the trailer for our propane campfire) and a 118" shower hose cost more than the heater!!!! Not to mention it was a giant pain in the ass getting from BSP threads to NPT threads on the heater. It was really important to me to make setup and take down super easy, I didn't want to be fumbling with screwing things on and off, potential leaks, etc. It was all worth it to me, but YMMV.
I'm happy to give details on where I sourced all the parts but it was a combination of eBay, Amazon, a brewing supply company and a BBQ supply company in Texas...LOL. It took quite a bit of time to piece it all together but again, I'm pleased with the end result.
Next up was a project I've been wanting to do for some time. With the untimely dismount of our Roadshower, I decided it was finally time to add a water tank, a pump, and hot water on demand! We've been camping in colder weather over the last year and having hot water for dish cleanup, showers. etc., was becoming more of a priority.
I sourced a 21 gallon fresh water tank from eBay with the idea that I wanted to mount it under the trailer, just in front of the rear axle. I did this for a couple reasons, I didn't want to give up any storage inside the trailer and I wanted to keep the weight as low as possible. I feel the tank size will work pretty well for us, previously we carried 15 gallons in 3 Jerry cans plus the 7 in the Roadshower and never came close to running out.
Water tank and positioning:
I built a frame from some angle iron I had left over from the previous iteration of my trailer, and bolted that togethe. I used a bit of weather stripping and rubber pieces to prevent wear and snug things up. I also used some sheet metal in the bottom for some protection:
I drilled 4 holes through the floor of the trailer and used some 12" grade 8 bolts to mount the frame. I also attached some angle iron to the bottom of the trailer to prevent any lateral movement:
Through the wheel well, you can see how it snugged up nicely against the frame, and then I added some protective sheet metal in front of the tank to deflect and flying rocks and debris, excuse the dirty hand prints, also hose is not in final location :
Once that was complete, I ran the hoses and added a gravity fill (shown open in the second pic) and and a vent just behind the propane tank. The vent is the little black cylindrical object on the side of the trailer just in front of the reflector to keep it out of the flow of dust.
Next up was a Sureflo water pump which I mounted in a Pelican Vault case, switch for the pump is on the top rear. Intake and output hoses enter/exit the bottom. Output uses a quick disconnect fitting.
and then of course the final part, I removed the Jerry cans from the front of the trailer, built a frame and bolted up another Pelican case to house the Camplux water heater, also with quick disconnects for the water input, output and propane:
The beauty of this setup is it takes about 2 mins to set it up for instant hot water. Also, if hot water isn't needed, because I used the same fittings, I can still use the shower head directly connected to the water pump output which takes maybe 30 seconds.
A couple of things to note:
I got the Pelican Vault cases for free, I'm honestly not sure if the hinges on the water heater box are going to hold up long term but we will see. The Pelican 1550 is probably a better choice. The heater needs to mounted to the door for venting purposes.
Getting all the adapters, quick disconnects, a longer propane hose (sometimes we remove the tank from the trailer for our propane campfire) and a 118" shower hose cost more than the heater!!!! Not to mention it was a giant pain in the ass getting from BSP threads to NPT threads on the heater. It was really important to me to make setup and take down super easy, I didn't want to be fumbling with screwing things on and off, potential leaks, etc. It was all worth it to me, but YMMV.
I'm happy to give details on where I sourced all the parts but it was a combination of eBay, Amazon, a brewing supply company and a BBQ supply company in Texas...LOL. It took quite a bit of time to piece it all together but again, I'm pleased with the end result.
dstock
Explorer
Thanks! Here is the link:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/184768515793?ViewItem=&vxp=mtr&item=184768515793
It comes with various hoses and fittings, and to be honest I thought it was overkill and yet I ended up using all of them and added a 90 degree for the fill.