First Trailer Build - Offroad Camping Rig!

[bucketfan]

Up until this point, I wasn't quite sure of the layout, or how it was going to end up looking.... Bondo, sanding, gluing, etc . Then 1 quick our of Primer and I know the project is real and going to actually happen! I almost changed my mind from Charcoal to a white finish at this point.. but Nah. Got to stick to the vision!



Then, I drove it home at night with some temporary lights on, the first 100km on the trailer. Had to leave Doug some space in his yard and it was too much back & forth to go and work on it, instead of having it right behind the house for easy work. Here she is the next day, with the first coat of Behr Deck Over (with texture) on it. Now we know its name. This is our War Rig! (If you don't get it, watch Mad Mad Fury Road!)

 

[bucketfan]

Now she's home, with no permanent electrical, no floor, no rear hatch, no door - nada. Time to get to work. From here it was 10 days of every spare minute (after work until after dark) and then 10 hour days on the weekend. That's all the time I had before my trip, so I budgeted the work out into jobs the best I could, stopped eating, no TV privileges and got to it! Haha. Here is the floor build/install process. We made a simple sub floor and put foil backed foam insulation (1") in it too.





Glued it down hard with some PL 3000 and some large stove bolts to the frame.

 

[bucketfan]

The design is to have shelves and a rear insulated wall, but to have it removable so that we can haul around dirt bikes or an ATV on the off season, so we start framing in the receiving wall, then we will use heavy duty gate hinges to lock it in place.



And here is the inside of the removable rear wall, insulated for the cold canadian fall



And, the inside insulation all ran:

 

[bucketfan]

For the door, we glued 3 pieces of plywood together and cut out the hole for the window for it. Then, a friend popped by who knows a guy at an aluminum shop (Thanks Darren!) Anyways, Darren came by, said he had an idea and came back with some great aluminum pieces for the door frame, which we painstakingly cut and angled and cut and angled til they fit well:



Then, to make a hole for the door latch I bought from a RV repair guy for 50 bucks (best purchase!)









Got bored and took it for a quick drive at this point, proud moment looking at it!



Took her home and finished the door up solo. SO proud of how it looks! Keep in mind, 0 experience or skill building anything

 

[bucketfan]

Then, it was time to pull out the rear insert, put on the interior walls, lay down the diamond plate (black) rubber floor and get the GF to clean it! :wings:



Seeing as how it was now clean and functional with a locking door, we took it out for a quick night to camp. It rained, was cold and we were toasty warm.. so you'll get an idea here of the LED lights blaring off the side (instant camp) and out the unfinished rear kitchen area..

 

[bucketfan]

While we were out camping, we swung by Dougs who seemed pretty please to see how it had come along, and pick up the last bits for the storage box way out front. We were originally going to put the box right infront of the cabin, BUT, after the quick test camp I realized we had nowhere to just throw some firewood etc. So, the thought was put the propane/battery storage box spaced 10" from the cabin, and I will later add some small bits of plywood to have a firewood (or whatever) easy outside bin. Haven't gotten to this yet tho..







It's funny, the box looks small but it actually is huge. It holds 2 * trojan T-105 batteries, a full 20lb propane tank, the solenoid, the solar panel and even a hi lift jack (which I will eventually mount to the exterior of the trailer).

 

[bucketfan]

The spare tire mount (at this point - exhausted, stressed and leaving the next DAY! ) wasn't perfect to mount on the side wall like I want, so for the first trip I attached it to the storage box and will relocate it once I am ready to figure a better mount for it. I want it to mainly rest on the side runner, but, the tire carrier I have would have it 2" out from the wall - which would add too much flex. Thinking some custom bolts may be the thing to do. Not sure yet - so, had to just do this temporarily:

 

[bucketfan]

Here are some shots of the interior. I just have 1 LED light in there which is almost too bright ( thankfully it has 2 modes ). Then, we got a Mr Heater Buddy Heater and just ran it off small tanks for the first trip. Got absolutely soaked - and that heater will turn the trailer into a drying room quickly.. just have to take out the smoke detector/carbon monoxide battery for a bit while doing so, then crack a window and put the battery back in. As this is for camping, and I'm a hunter we needed a good safe way to transport the rifles ; 3 gun locking rack under the front shelf.

 

[bucketfan]

This brings us on to the kitchen area. It still isn't finished! But you will see we put shelving in the rear (2x4 sturdy special racks), have an LED, a USB plug for charging phones, gas struts to open the rear easily and hold it open, and a drop down rear cooking shelf on small chains.

With the rear hatch let fully down to work on it:



All are kitchen tubs and coolers for 7 nights..



Oh, man, what a cozy camping kitchen. Rudimentary, sure. But cozy and functional!



I think this is glamping. Sure, 7 nights in the bush but man, this was luxo!!

Covered in frost, it was -5 celcius the night before. Funny you can see where the strapping is ran inside the wall and where the insulation is from the frost:



And, the pose with the epic sun shot before it hit the dirt roads:

 

[bucketfan]

So, now I have all the time in the world to go back and "finish" up all of the things we rushed through, and now we've had a chance to use it out - I know exactly what is next. Stay tuned for the finished kitchen - I hope to complete it tomorrow!

 

[Stranjer]

I like it. Congrats on a great first build.

Gene

 

[mxfan]

I like it also. I am in the process of building a trailer and curious how the Deckover Held up or is holding up ?

 

[bucket]

I like it also. I am in the process of building a trailer and curious how the Deckover Held up or is holding up ?

I got the textured deckover, and it goes on really thick.. a bit of a tough application. The weather turned before i had a chance to put a second coat on, so I only have 1 coat. It seems totally bomb proof and waterproof with just the 1 coat. So far, i think its amazing.. and its seen HARD bc rain and snow camping, no issues. Fully recommend.

 

[bucket]

By tough application, I just mean its fussier to roll it on than regular paint or primer. It is however, totally worth the struggle..

 

[mxfan]

how was the vertical application. The last paint i looked at like that they said do not apply vertical.