Cargo trailer conversions?

[ElPollo]

Any of you folks build one of these out into a camper? I’m in the midst of that now. 7x14 with awning, solar, fridge, d/c heater and a/c unit, water tank and external shower, external kitchen and a king sized bed. The options to buy a finished trailer that would do what we wanted were too expensive, not that durable, and generally came with stuff we didn’t want or need. I’m interested to hear your thoughts and experiences.

 

[JO.]

We haven't really built ours out but kept it so we could move everything out and use it as an enclosed trailer when needed. It is 7x16 w/ 7' height.

I haven't taken many pics of the inside but the bed is a queen platform base from amazon and a memory foam 6" mattress. If hunting by myself I put the bed in the garage and put in a cot with a canvas cutter on top for padding. Having some extra floor space to spread out wet gear is nice when solo. It is wired for 30 amp and has an RV AC w/ heat strip. I added a diesel heater that works good for hunting seasons. For cooking we do everything on a Coleman stove, small Blackstone, or microwave. The black and yellow totes have all of our plates, cups, utensils, general camping needs. The second one has a backup buddy heater and space heater, water hose, and battery powered pump for pop up shower. Water we just use the 7 gal jugs in the picture. Under the bed is a spare tire, tool kit and jack, folding camp chairs, and pop up awning.

We sold our larger camper that was more limited where we could take it and build quality was less than impressive. This set up works good for the wife and I and has gotten more use in the last 2-3 years than our camper did.

 

[rustneversleeps]

What brand/model cargo trailer is that?

 

[ElPollo]

We haven't really built ours out but kept it so we could move everything out and use it as an enclosed trailer when needed. It is 7x16 w/ 7' height.

I haven't taken many pics of the inside but the bed is a queen platform base from amazon and a memory foam 6" mattress. If hunting by myself I put the bed in the garage and put in a cot with a canvas cutter on top for padding. Having some extra floor space to spread out wet gear is nice when solo. It is wired for 30 amp and has an RV AC w/ heat strip. I added a diesel heater that works good for hunting seasons. For cooking we do everything on a Coleman stove, small Blackstone, or microwave. The black and yellow totes have all of our plates, cups, utensils, general camping needs. The second one has a backup buddy heater and space heater, water hose, and battery powered pump for pop up shower. Water we just use the 7 gal jugs in the picture. Under the bed is a spare tire, tool kit and jack, folding camp chairs, and pop up awning.

We sold our larger camper that was more limited where we could take it and build quality was less than impressive. This set up works good for the wife and I and has gotten more use in the last 2-3 years than our camper did.


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Nice. Looks like one of those from Colorado Trailer Inc. They seem to be well built, but are pricey. Like everything else, there are good cargo trailers and crappy ones, and you get what you pay for. We opted for a well-built version with less features because we wanted to build it up to our own specs. The key is really to look for trailers that have good “bones”. Solid frames with 16” spacing, same spacing on the walls with 1x1.5” tubing in the walls and a good solid 3/4” plywood floor. I have the walls ripped out of mine at the moment to insulate it. Going for about R-9 in the walls and floor and R-11 in the ceiling.

Next step for me is one of the most expensive, the electrical system. We are planning to add enough solar and battery to cover all our electrical needs for extended periods of time, which includes heating, cooling, a refrigerator, lighting, etc.

We have never owned a camper trailer and are still camping on the ground in tents. The motivation behind this build is a) We are getting older and tent camping and packing were getting harder. And B) my wife was diagnosed with a disorder where exposure to sunlight causes her immune system to attack her joints and internal organs. We still like to get out for extended trips, but I needed to be able to get her out of peak sunlight hours and to still be able to get in and out of the places we like to go. This won’t go all of those places, but it will be more capable and durable than most RV trailers and it won’t cost us $70-100k.