Redeth's Overland Trailer Build

[Redeth005]

As promised here are the pix!
There she is in all her glory! I can't wait to try her out on a camping trip. This CVT roof top tent extremely easy to set up. It takes approximately 5 minutes to set up without the annex. And approximately 10 more minutes or so to do the annex (only because I'm not used to setting it up yet). The annex floor has enough space to fit at least a full size may be even a queen sized blow up bed.

This is the set up without the annex.




Don't worry about that telescoping ladder, i just hadnt figured out how to properly adjust it in these pix. It looks crooked in the pix. After i had figured it out i adjusted the unused steps and moved them all to the top.






It's huge. And as you can see on the inside picture you can see how much space is still inside. I am 5'8" 260lbs. And there's enough space to fit 3 of me up there. There will definitely be plenty of space for my girl and I and with her son Isaac.


I later learned while trying to set up the annex that getting it ready would be a hell of a lot easier if i had put the annex floor in front of the side of the trailer (where the tent opens up to). Another thing is setting up the annex would be 100% easier to remove the CVT tent cover completely because the annex slides into the same channel across the side of the fold that holds the cover on. and trying to get it inside is much harder to do once it is popped open and already set up. So next time i would definitely place the annex floor. Route the annex through the channel on the side of the tent. Then open up the tent and place the ladder on the center of the annex then pull up the annex and zip it up followed by the rest of the set up. Also considering it may be windy on some days the annex stakes would be handy to place right after it is zipped to the actual roof top tent.



Here you can see where i had already fixed the ladder issue. Now it looks good!



The trailer looks tiny with this tent/annex set up lol





Today was a pretty hot day. It reached almost 90 degrees. So when when my girl, Veronica, and i were setting up the tent we quickly learned that the aluminum metal floors and telescoping ladder get extremely hot; EVEN WITH THE TENT COVER! Opening up the tent at first was pretty hard because it burned to the first touch so i cant imagine how the heck we are gonna set up camp in desert areas lol At first with the crazy heat wave that we had i realized it was pretty hot inside that tent. BUT with all the windows open the inside of the tent we saw a huge temperature drop within the first minute. Especially since the tent sit's up high we got a really nice breeze. I had all the doors(minus screens) open and it wasn't too bad. I'm sure if we added a couple 12v fans in there it would be even better!

Also like i said earlier, I am 5'8" and i was able to stand under the annex just fine. The bottom floor barely touched my head so i approve. The height i built this thing at was perfect. Going with a 3" lift on the trailer was an excellent choice.

 

[Redeth005]

Just gonna leave these links here for a while. This is gonna be some of the items i need to buy for the propane gas, wiring, and heater duct stuff that will be needed to pass from the inside of the front compartment to the outside.

Hatch:
This is what i plan to use to route the Propex heater ducting from the inside of that front compartment and allow it to pass through the wall to the outside where i can route it into the tent. then when its time to pack up i just remove the ducting and close up this port.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west...o2wnybo1GwA1bowMZp5X-nd3lrMEHNSgGABoCFHDw_wcB


I still need to find the waterproof (tight seal) wire grommets that allow the electrical wires to pass in and out of the trailer with no water leaks too. I had in mind something like this:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/pyi-...sv0jayv1gAm5TxtIQEam1rcRNgewZaG_X7xoCQ5fw_wcB


Next i am going to have to find a safe way to pass the propane line into that front compartment to feed my Propex heater. This one has to be waterproof but still be able to pass through the solid aluminum wall. I need to research this one a bit more. I'm open to any ideas or suggestions if you all have any.

 

[Redeth005]

My amazing girlfriend was kind enough to offer to buy us the high performance cooler that i wanted.
Since we have 1 kid and eventually will have 1 more on the way, plus we plan on going camping with larger groups of friends/family we decided to go with the Engel 80 Roto-molded Cooler. We watched countless of youtube comparison videos online and made up our minds that tne ENGEL coolers were the best coolers on the market and the one for us. So Here is the link to what we bought:
https://www.engelcoolers.com/engel-eng80-cooler.html

It is an 80 quart cooler so we have more than enough space inside for a long weekend (or week) worth of food. I chose this large size because ice always takes up space on coolers and usually takes up valuable space where we can be sticking drinks and food. So at least with 80 quarts we can add a decent amount of ice to keep stuff inside cold and not have to compromise bringing more food, drinks and snacks.
Here it is:






We also decided it would be wise to buy a center divider and a hanging basket for the cooler to keep the more wanted separate and easy to reach rather than having to dig around in the cooler. this will have save time grabbing things and help keep the cooler closed longer to maintain the cold temperature from so much opening and closing.





All in all we spent $330.97 for all 3 items with free shipping

 

[Srpat]

Gi got my cvt a couple years ago. It was a huge fight to get the annex to slide i to their rail. We have the largest tent and there was no way it was ever going to go in by myself. So... I put it in and left it in. Annex, without the floor, has been attached ever since. It folds up with the tent unfolds with the tent. Our other issue was the cover is so big and heavy that we couldn't easily access the side of our trailer without taking it off, and of course, it was a PITA to take it on and off. So that's gone too. Our cover zips around on three sides and is open on the last side since we don't use the track. 2 years and no ill effects from it not being 100% sealed. I encourage you to try folding it up with the annex on to see how you like it. For us, we don't have a use for the floor, maybe your setup is different. But I know we would not use the annex if it wasn't already set up.

Nice to see your trailer finally come together.

 

[JandDGreens]

How stable does your trailer ride with the tent on board? I have kicked the idea of someday adding one to mine.

 

[Redeth005]

Gi got my cvt a couple years ago. It was a huge fight to get the annex to slide i to their rail. We have the largest tent and there was no way it was ever going to go in by myself. So... I put it in and left it in. Annex, without the floor, has been attached ever since. It folds up with the tent unfolds with the tent. Our other issue was the cover is so big and heavy that we couldn't easily access the side of our trailer without taking it off, and of course, it was a PITA to take it on and off. So that's gone too. Our cover zips around on three sides and is open on the last side since we don't use the track. 2 years and no ill effects from it not being 100% sealed. I encourage you to try folding it up with the annex on to see how you like it. For us, we don't have a use for the floor, maybe your setup is different. But I know we would not use the annex if it wasn't already set up.

Nice to see your trailer finally come together.

I like this idea. I will have to try a couple different ways. i like your idea though i bet it is nice being able to just pop i open and it being ready for use whenever! I'll have to try i out. Do you just put the CVT cover on top of the entire tent once it is folded closed? like does i just sit up there?

How stable does your trailer ride with the tent on board? I have kicked the idea of someday adding one to mine.

Honestly i cant tell you, i haven towed it with the CVT tent up here. I'm really hoping it tows fine. My family and i are going camping at the end of the month. It's a 69 mile drive away. I havent even attempted to tow the trailer on the freeway yet. So i need to see how it handles as well. I'll have to let you know. I think you're build may be a bit more stable than mine though because yours is not lifted like mine.

 

[toyotech]

Why not a 12v fridge. My 45qt has as much space to your cooler when comparing usable space. Your 80qt most likely be 40qts of ice plus weight is a lot more. My 45qt weights around 45lbs unloaded. Was around $430ish shipped.


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[Redeth005]

Why not a 12v fridge. My 45qt has as much space to your cooler when comparing usable space. Your 80qt most likely be 40qts of ice plus weight is a lot more. My 45qt weights around 45lbs unloaded. Was around $430ish shipped.


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Honestly. I just don't want to carry too many batteries on board. and i am scared of running out of juice on the batteries and if that were to happen when camping i fear my food will spoil.
The 1 or 2 batteries i plan to carry i would like to be solely dedicated to powering my electronic devices, on board forced air tent heater and exterior lighting. I don't want to run too many batteries because the trailer is already kinda heavy. but the main reason i chose this cooler vs the Engel fridge freezer combi was because i don't want my food to spoil and if i am ever in a location where my campground is surrounded by lots of trees or cliff or any other nice type of shade I'm sure my solar panel wouldn't be able to give a good charge to keep up with the amp usage

 

[toyotech]

Honestly. I just don't want to carry too many batteries on board. and i am scared of running out of juice on the batteries and if that were to happen when camping i fear my food will spoil.
The 1 or 2 batteries i plan to carry i would like to be solely dedicated to powering my electronic devices, on board forced air tent heater and exterior lighting. I don't want to run too many batteries because the trailer is already kinda heavy. but the main reason i chose this cooler vs the Engel fridge freezer combi was because i don't want my food to spoil and if i am ever in a location where my campground is surrounded by lots of trees or cliff or any other nice type of shade I'm sure my solar panel wouldn't be able to give a good charge to keep up with the amp usage

Solar panels don't have to be fixed to the trailer. Park in shade and move panels to sun. My single deep cycle can run my fridge all night and still start the truck in the morning.


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[Redeth005]

Solar panels don't have to be fixed to the trailer. Park in shade and move panels to sun. My single deep cycle can run my fridge all night and still start the truck in the morning.


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Really? wow that's really nice! Maybe i should have gone with the electric after all lol oh well... Is okay. I had planned to mount the panel on the front compartment with adjustable angels. i would like to run a portable panel if needed that could be set up away from the trailer if i needed more juice.
This is something like what i had in mind.


and i was thinking about buying or making an adjustable solar panel mount like this one.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KV30GIC...a-309877294306


By the way which deep cycle batter are you running? i would love to only have to run 1 battery instead of 2 deep cycle. I had in mind to use 1 or 2 blue top Optima batteries. Only because i don't need to maintain them. They have never let me down on any of my vehicles.

 

[toyotech]

Really? wow that's really nice! Maybe i should have gone with the electric after all lol oh well... Is okay. I had planned to mount the panel on the front compartment with adjustable angels. i would like to run a portable panel if needed that could be set up away from the trailer if i needed more juice.
This is something like what i had in mind.


and i was thinking about buying or making an adjustable solar panel mount like this one.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KV30GIC...a-309877294306


By the way which deep cycle batter are you running? i would love to only have to run 1 battery instead of 2 deep cycle. I had in mind to use 1 or 2 blue top Optima batteries. Only because i don't need to maintain them. They have never let me down on any of my vehicles.

With your current set up. You might be able to get away with a single battery. Your biggest draw will be the heater. The fridge doesn't run all night. It cycles in and off vs your heater that runs a fan all night.

I have a die hard platinum battery.

All that ice and space a 80qt takes vs two batteries and a 45qt fridge. Plus never buy ice ever again. Once you get a fridge. You'll never go back to ice.

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[toyotech]

Price has gone up since I gotten mine. https://www.amazon.com/Whynter-FM-45G-45-Quart-Portable-Refrigerator/dp/B002W8BLUG?th=1&psc=1


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[huntsonora]

Incredible build!

 

[Redeth005]

Working on. The cooler slide out. I bought 2 full size 'home kitchen style' bamboo chopping boards at IKEA for about 30 bucks and the 2 of them side by side ended up being the exact dimensions that I needed for the footprint of the Engel Deep Blue 80 cooler. Both chopping boards together measure out to be 18&1/8" × 36&1/4".


Each chopping board will be able to be removed individually if needed. And I'm contemplating adding brackets underneath to be able to have 2 removable basins which I can utilize as space to wash utensils and such. On the space past the chopping boards I have a 10"×21" space which I plan to use as a spot for a small spice rack, and pantry. I can possibly add a storage for disposable cups and plates because I am able to build this cabinet space up to 20-22" high. We'll see. A lot more to come for this portion of the build.



Aside from starting the slide out My Engel Deep Blue 80qt cooler came in this weekend Thanks to my lovely girlfriend who is just as anxious to see this trailer build complete as I am. I think she is just as anxious to try it out too It has so much space. I love the fact that it has a divider to keep items separate and the basket to keep items on top for easy access. Also has a built in emergency bottle opener!









More or less an idea of how it will be


...and how it will fit inside. I'll definitely have to add some hoops so i can strap the cooler into place



Here's the basic outline of how i want it

 

[Redeth005]

Got some more done. I'm kinda on a deadline with this particular portion of the build. I need this slide out finished by this weekend because next weekend (June 23, 24 & 25 we are heading to Lake Elsinore to camp with the family. i want the slide out to be complete so i can strap the cooler in place on the trailer. If not i will have to take it in my truck because i don't want it flopping around on the trailer floor

Anyway are the beginning stages of the cooler slide out. I have the frame of it made already I just need to weld some mounting nuts to the actual area on to the trailer so I can adjust it back and forth as needed to center the slide out where I need it to be. The smaller space next to the chopping boards is going to be where I mount the spice rack and pantry box. I still need to create that.








Those Slide out rails have a weight capacity of 500lbs. MORE THAN ENOUGH! and they extend out 36" which is basically he length of the Engel cooler.




There is how she will sit inside the rear compartment.


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Something else that i ordered this past week were 3 matching hitch locks. They all use the same key, and all 3 match the hitch lock that i use for my front bumper license plate/winch anti-theft plate.


on my front bumper




Gotta keep theives away from stealing my winch.


I seriously wish my truck still looked this clean. I really need to make time to repaint my bumpers, sliders and hard top. Everything is so faded now.