Just another 6 x 12 cargo conversion

[Mischief]

Hi everyone and thanks for inspiration over the past few months. I've always been a pretty minimalist traveler, from a bike and a bivy sack. But as time goes by I've realized that I don't like sleeping on the ground much. I grew into truck camping, I don't own a car,

I could just sleep in the cab.
A few years ago, we got a tacoma double cab and modified the seat hinges so the backs would recline all the way down. It's worked pretty well but more than a couple of nights isn't really very comfortable although it is dry and easy to get into/out of. With the rear seat out and a rack in front of the rear window for bedding it's pretty efficient and we'll prolly still use it for sub 24 hour overniters

Anyway, a few months ago I got the idea that we should get a trailer that we could pull with the tacoma. I went back and forth a lot whether it was a GOOD idea or just an idea. Buying new and starting from scratch just seemed over the top in both time and attention as well as money. The little teardrops are cute but if I can't stand up or pee inside then they really aren't better than just the truck. But one day I happened across a used 6 x 12 on craigslist that a previous owner had done some buildout on, my partner suggested we should go look at it and so it goes.

The PO didn't do a bad job but a lot of it needs to come out. That white inner (screen) door ?? It opens out but only 90*. It has a bolt latch at the top and the bottom but they aren't accessible from the outside except through the big square hole. I don't really know what they were thinking but for us it is pretty useless. They lined the interior with that light colored paneling but it is that pressed cardboard crap so it comes out. The roof vent is mounted in the aluminum roof skin and the ceiling paneling so it needs to be secured. That little white interior door goes into a partitioned off front section that has a portapottie in it but the PO must have been a very small person. The bed folds up and down but down it is too low to use the underside for storage, but it came with a decent futon mattress. They used a 20 gallon barrel under the little sink for fresh water but it needs to be refilled with a hose and needs an electric pump to get the water to the sink, it drains into a 5 gallon bucket. They seemed to have worked hard on it but not very efficiently. The corner trim

is cut down metal sheet rock corner so it was tedious to cut down and leaves the inevitable sharp corners. Over all, the previous build gives us a place to start and got us over the hump of doing something so it's all good. The plan is
-tandem axles, timbren is nice but the tandem set up is cheaper than a single timbren and will float much better than the stock single.
-stock tacoma wheels/tires that match the truck
-a new subframe and extended hitch for more ground clearance and tighter turning
-some insulation
-revamp of the water plumbing and a propane system for a cooktop and refrigerator
-ventilation, it must have been really claustrophobic and stuffy camping in it with no windows and only 1 roof vent
Basically tear out what we don't want and build what we do want
More later
Christi

 

[Mischief]

While waiting for the new axles to arrive I found some stock wheels/tires that match the ones we have on the tacoma on cr for $200 including the proprietary toyota lugs

and did some work on the plumbing. I built a shelf with a drawer under it for plates and utensils. With an aquatainer on top, I have running water.
I re used the 20 gal tank as a waste water tank and the 12v water pump to empty it either through a hole in the floor to the ground or into a bucket and use to douse a campfire or I can recycle the gray water into the flush tank of the portapottie

I picked up a window from a local trailer dealer

More to come
Christi

 

[Mischief]

We got progress. We raised the bed by a 2x10 so it just clears the ceiling when it's folded up and there is adequate room underneath for storage bins and coolers and water containers. We insulated the roof with bubble wrap and "reflectix" with plumber's tape for support and foil tape to seal everything up. I reinforced the loose fan mounting and installed a second roof vent with a rv style cover over one to allow it to be open in rainy weather. I opened up the front enclosure and replaced the little door with a curtain to match the window curtains. This allows much easier access for the portapottie and the refrigerator. It's a tiny dometic 3-way but I like propane so I'll plumb that after the new axles and subframe is done. I made custom sized curtain rods from 1/2" galvanized conduit

Before

After

Christi

 

[AZPAJERO]

Really great !!!

 

[Wildcat]

nice work!

 

[s.e.charles]

gettin' there

 

[Mischief]

Thanks for the comments, they make this seem less like broadcasting radio waves into space

We got axles. I wanted to use wheels that matched the truck and found a couple of good deals on cr. One full set with the proprietary lug nuts and usable tires for $200 and another full set but w/o the lug nuts for $80 so I have a full set for the trailer and 4 spares. I had to swap out the lug bolts on the 3500# axles I ordered from Southwest Wheel as they were sae and I needed metric for the toyota lugs. The shipping dept. at Southwest is kind of inept (they shipped the axles to a different customer) but Netta in customer service is a sweetheart and got it all sorted out. I built a subframe with the axles and an extended hitch

I used 4 #1000 (3 leaf) springs so hopefully with the equalizers it will ride pretty smoothly

 

[Mischief]

I also got another window put in the front door, I like to see who's knockin'
Also, you can see in the above pix, I fabbed a spring stop for each spring near the equalizers. One of the issues with tandem axles is when one spring is fully loaded and the tandem is unloaded. It sometimes lets the unloaded spring shackles flip to down instead of up and is a PITA to reverse.

 

[Mischief]

I got the fenders and fender boxes finished up and the propane plumbed for the stove and ref.

I fabbed up two interchangeable couplers, one for the Lock N' Roll on our tacoma and the other for the ball on my nephews tundra

 

[Mischief]

I fabbed a wheel chock for my motorbike

I'm planning a trip to New Hampshire with my nephew

 

[s.e.charles]

I know there's a reason for extending the trailer hitch/ tongue, but don't know what the reason is. wouldn't that create more side x side sway at highway speeds?

 

[NevadaLover]

Man that's great work, I see quite a few modified trailers like that lately and it's giving me an urge to try one myself.
You have good ideas and I may use a couple, enjoy your trailer and safe travels!

 

[ottsville]

I know there's a reason for extending the trailer hitch/ tongue, but don't know what the reason is. wouldn't that create more side x side sway at highway speeds?

Sway is more a factor of loading than anything. Happens more when you have insufficient tongue weight. Added tongue length can give more space to jack knife the trailer and many people find a longer trailer easier to back up.

 

[john61ct]

Related video, U. of Bath study on Caravan Stability
The weight and wheelbase length of the TV, as compared to the distance to the trailer axle, are all very important sway / fishtailing factors.

Separate from weight issues, just geometry.

The Aussie caravanning forums have great academic / engineering level discussions and study resources on these topics.

 

[ultraclyde]

I've been daydreaming this same kind of thing, and that's a great looking project. How does it tow on the interstate? Stable with that amount of lift or top heavy? Any chance you've had it on some rougher forest roads? Not talking rock crawling, but I've wondered how something like this handles washes and off cambers given the height.