Just buy @BRTreedogs trailer he has listed in the classifieds lol
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Enclosed trailer advice
- Thread starter sf jakey
- Start date
Beendare
WKR
Update- sure
I used it for a week in late archery season- awesome. Snow, colder than normal the trailer killed living out of a tent.
FWIW, mine is almost finished. Mine is a 14' cheap enclosed trailer I got off of Copart, and built on the cheap-it's not ideal. Its effectively 12’ long inside and not wide.
I can pull my quad in there, take a shower- but when its out the bed folds down. I can clip on the shower curtain and set up the portable vinyl pan and get a warm shower- inside.
Mine has a small stand alone diesel heater that will blow me out of that trailer- I don't use it much as the trailer is well insulated.
Most of mine is electric; Cooler type refer,( on a 150# drawer slide lower right) led lights, Fan, water pump, chargers, etc...but with a LNG shower and stove. 400w of solar panels and a 100AH lithium battery supply all of the power I need- no need for a genny- I hate hearing those.
I insulated it between frame members and then added 1/2" polyiso board to break the thermal barrier from the metal frame ( important) to the 1/8" plywood paneling then foamed the cracks.
I used the cheapest thin underlayment plywood for walls and ceiling then just 2 coats of poly and it looks ok. Floor is vinyl plank. Cabinets are 1/2” birch ply. Counter is the cheapest porcelain tile at HD- -$1.59/sqft,
I did upgrade the solar charger to the Victron unit over the cheapie Renogy unit that came with the solar panels. This is a smart charger and has a readout unit ( separate) that shows how much its charging, battery power, etc.
I still need to finish the cabinets, faces are cut just not installed.
That little square in the floor is an insulated piece covering the floor drain for the shower pan. The 40g tank and 12v pump is in the bench- right side- not really in the picture.
Edit- i have been PM’d on buying this at Copart auction Sight unseen, so add this info to the data base here. That has its downsides as there can be unknown problems. In my case the wheel well was missing But there was hidden damage to the frame of the trailer.
Even if I would have paid an inspector to look it over they would not have seen that the whole passenger side frame where it meets the floor was busted loose. The trailer must have flipped on its side because it was racked a little bit out of plumb on the front half passenger side.
I did not find that out until I pulled the plywood off the frame to insulate it. It was not that difficult to fix as I can weld, so I braced it up plumb And re-welded the frame Before putting it back together. Easy really.
IMO, The key to these auctions is to get whatever it is at a steal, don’t pay too much. Factor in that the auctions will charge you a buyers fee. My buddy used to have a dealers license and those guys typically charge you fee also.
Set a limit on what you will pay and don’t talk yourself out of it- grin
I used it for a week in late archery season- awesome. Snow, colder than normal the trailer killed living out of a tent.
FWIW, mine is almost finished. Mine is a 14' cheap enclosed trailer I got off of Copart, and built on the cheap-it's not ideal. Its effectively 12’ long inside and not wide.
I can pull my quad in there, take a shower- but when its out the bed folds down. I can clip on the shower curtain and set up the portable vinyl pan and get a warm shower- inside.
Mine has a small stand alone diesel heater that will blow me out of that trailer- I don't use it much as the trailer is well insulated.
Most of mine is electric; Cooler type refer,( on a 150# drawer slide lower right) led lights, Fan, water pump, chargers, etc...but with a LNG shower and stove. 400w of solar panels and a 100AH lithium battery supply all of the power I need- no need for a genny- I hate hearing those.
I insulated it between frame members and then added 1/2" polyiso board to break the thermal barrier from the metal frame ( important) to the 1/8" plywood paneling then foamed the cracks.
I used the cheapest thin underlayment plywood for walls and ceiling then just 2 coats of poly and it looks ok. Floor is vinyl plank. Cabinets are 1/2” birch ply. Counter is the cheapest porcelain tile at HD- -$1.59/sqft,
I did upgrade the solar charger to the Victron unit over the cheapie Renogy unit that came with the solar panels. This is a smart charger and has a readout unit ( separate) that shows how much its charging, battery power, etc.
I still need to finish the cabinets, faces are cut just not installed.
That little square in the floor is an insulated piece covering the floor drain for the shower pan. The 40g tank and 12v pump is in the bench- right side- not really in the picture.
Edit- i have been PM’d on buying this at Copart auction Sight unseen, so add this info to the data base here. That has its downsides as there can be unknown problems. In my case the wheel well was missing But there was hidden damage to the frame of the trailer.
Even if I would have paid an inspector to look it over they would not have seen that the whole passenger side frame where it meets the floor was busted loose. The trailer must have flipped on its side because it was racked a little bit out of plumb on the front half passenger side.
I did not find that out until I pulled the plywood off the frame to insulate it. It was not that difficult to fix as I can weld, so I braced it up plumb And re-welded the frame Before putting it back together. Easy really.
IMO, The key to these auctions is to get whatever it is at a steal, don’t pay too much. Factor in that the auctions will charge you a buyers fee. My buddy used to have a dealers license and those guys typically charge you fee also.
Set a limit on what you will pay and don’t talk yourself out of it- grin
Last edited:
Beendare
WKR
If I was going to do this again, I would opt for a bigger trailer as Treemain stated- good call.
I think Ideal is one thats wider than mine- 7’ plus wide would be nice And 16’ long. that way I could get a full bath and shower in there without it being portable. That would fit a SxS or a quad and other.
Then tall enough to put Two layers of foam board in the ceiling and one on the floor plus panelling so you don’t have to hunch over.
Aluminum frame for light weight. Tapered or bulb nose for aerodynamics.
I would still do the solar but maybe even more to add electric heating and cooling.
Lastly, I would add an awning
I think Ideal is one thats wider than mine- 7’ plus wide would be nice And 16’ long. that way I could get a full bath and shower in there without it being portable. That would fit a SxS or a quad and other.
Then tall enough to put Two layers of foam board in the ceiling and one on the floor plus panelling so you don’t have to hunch over.
Aluminum frame for light weight. Tapered or bulb nose for aerodynamics.
I would still do the solar but maybe even more to add electric heating and cooling.
Lastly, I would add an awning
Last edited:
bbrown
WKR
This is a bit long winded but I just got done building ours out and happy with how it turned out.
Our old setup was our “blue collar toy hauler” which was a 18’ dovetail trailer with tandem 7k axles that I had mounted our old pop-up camper to after cutting the tongue off and removing the axle. Worked out pretty nice and even had a nice porch but eventually the wife and kiddo wanted a bathroom and a heater so we started looking at options.
New campers are built like shit and anything that was big enough to fit our Pioneer was too heavy for my Tundra to tow. We weren’t looking for anything too fancy - no AC, TVs, generators or indoor fireplaces.
So we decided to build out a cargo trailer and the 8.5x16 would fit our needs without getting too big or heavy. I priced out buying a cargo trailer but by the time I added windows, RV style door, insulated the walls and ceiling, finished the interior, plus flipped the axles for more ground clearance the cost wasn’t much different than ordering exactly what we wanted especially if we started with a better quality trailer than the cheapy enclosed.
We had ours built with the insulated walls and ceiling with white aluminum panel on the interior. The Nudo(?) plywood floor is rubber inside and out so it will stand up to water much better than the standard plywood plus has a nice finished look inside. We eliminated the AC and roof rack plus we deleted the shore power hook up and all the interior outlets/lights that only run on 110 since we never camp anywhere that we can plug in.
I added a small room for the wife’s cassette style toilet, 16 gallon water tank with a water pump and sink that just “daylight” drains (no black/grey tanks to drag/break or drain), 2x 200ah 12v lithium batteries and a cheapy diesel heater from Amazon.
Ignore the messy wiring - it’s more tidy now that everything is done. We crammed a lot of stuff if the small space behind the kitchen drawers.
The home depot tool chest plus a couple custom cabinet fronts that I ordered from Midwest Race cabinets allows for way more storage than we had before. The electric fridge and slide workout pretty slick and with the way the lid opens both directions makes it easy to grab stuff from outside too.
For sleeping we added a couple folding beds that store vertically when the Pioneer is inside, fold down into couches for meals and games, and then lay flat for twin 40x80 beds that are surprisingly comfortable. I added the folding bed above the kitchen for the kid to sleep and once she put grows that and starts wanting to sleep out side it will be easily removable without too many extra holes in the walls or ceiling. For the record - I’m not a fan of the rug but I got out voted…
All in all I’m very happy with it and think it will fit our needs for a long time. Already spent a few nights in it and can’t wait for some spring bear trips to really run it through the paces. Definitely not the cheapest route but this way we got everything we needed/wanted and I had a fun winter project.
Our old setup was our “blue collar toy hauler” which was a 18’ dovetail trailer with tandem 7k axles that I had mounted our old pop-up camper to after cutting the tongue off and removing the axle. Worked out pretty nice and even had a nice porch but eventually the wife and kiddo wanted a bathroom and a heater so we started looking at options.
New campers are built like shit and anything that was big enough to fit our Pioneer was too heavy for my Tundra to tow. We weren’t looking for anything too fancy - no AC, TVs, generators or indoor fireplaces.
So we decided to build out a cargo trailer and the 8.5x16 would fit our needs without getting too big or heavy. I priced out buying a cargo trailer but by the time I added windows, RV style door, insulated the walls and ceiling, finished the interior, plus flipped the axles for more ground clearance the cost wasn’t much different than ordering exactly what we wanted especially if we started with a better quality trailer than the cheapy enclosed.
We had ours built with the insulated walls and ceiling with white aluminum panel on the interior. The Nudo(?) plywood floor is rubber inside and out so it will stand up to water much better than the standard plywood plus has a nice finished look inside. We eliminated the AC and roof rack plus we deleted the shore power hook up and all the interior outlets/lights that only run on 110 since we never camp anywhere that we can plug in.
I added a small room for the wife’s cassette style toilet, 16 gallon water tank with a water pump and sink that just “daylight” drains (no black/grey tanks to drag/break or drain), 2x 200ah 12v lithium batteries and a cheapy diesel heater from Amazon.
Ignore the messy wiring - it’s more tidy now that everything is done. We crammed a lot of stuff if the small space behind the kitchen drawers.
The home depot tool chest plus a couple custom cabinet fronts that I ordered from Midwest Race cabinets allows for way more storage than we had before. The electric fridge and slide workout pretty slick and with the way the lid opens both directions makes it easy to grab stuff from outside too.
For sleeping we added a couple folding beds that store vertically when the Pioneer is inside, fold down into couches for meals and games, and then lay flat for twin 40x80 beds that are surprisingly comfortable. I added the folding bed above the kitchen for the kid to sleep and once she put grows that and starts wanting to sleep out side it will be easily removable without too many extra holes in the walls or ceiling. For the record - I’m not a fan of the rug but I got out voted…
All in all I’m very happy with it and think it will fit our needs for a long time. Already spent a few nights in it and can’t wait for some spring bear trips to really run it through the paces. Definitely not the cheapest route but this way we got everything we needed/wanted and I had a fun winter project.
Last edited:
I have an 8.5x24 trailer with an extra 6 inches in height. Needed the extra height to fit my SxS in since it's 75 in. tall. Previous owner had already put bunks in the v-nose, screened windows and RV style door. 24 ft. sounds long, but it tows easily and I'm not taking in on rough narrow forest service roads. It's long enough that I can take the SxS and ATV or 2 ATV's depending on needs.
Beendare
WKR
Nice job @bbrown…clean looking
bbrown
WKR
They are from RecPro if I remember right. Honestly they are too much money for what they are and I’m curious to see how they stand up to use but it was the best option we could find
Beendare
WKR
Edit- those CO trailers are nice but a tad pricey for a base trailer. They do have a used one for $10k on their lot. A new CO trailers 16’ is $28k. Ive seen comparable new trailers for less than 1/2 that.
If you plan to build out one of these you will want to strip the walls to get electric or plumbing inside for a clean install.
Seems to me the only way to buy these RVs and trailers is used.
Last edited:
Peytb10
FNG
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2024
- Messages
- 61
I agree with this. Climbing around the sides gets old
Beendare
WKR
The Co trailers look good…..but also heavy and expensive.
If a guy is building out the interior for a camper he might want to get plumbing, gas, and wiring in the walls for a clean install…so having all that done would not help a guy like myself. Different strokes.
If a guy is building out the interior for a camper he might want to get plumbing, gas, and wiring in the walls for a clean install…so having all that done would not help a guy like myself. Different strokes.
bbrown
WKR
You are not wrong - I think they run $2-4k over what they should be listed at but as @manitou1 listed they do come with a lot of features and extras to help offset the added cost. I figured by the time I bought a good quality enclosed trailer and added all the extras I would be $3-4k cheaper than the completed Colorado trailer so I just had to decide how much my time was worth.
One upgrade not mentioned was the torsion axles and they seem to be a big upgrade over the standard tube/spring axles not only for the added ground clearance but the improved handling on and off road.
There is a couple nitpicks I have with their build quality but those are pretty minor and mostly aesthetic.
Have you had a chance to run that diesel heat on the lithium battery?
I'm looking to go to a lithium battery in my trailer since the old battery is toasted. I'm just not sure what size to go with. Was looking at 200 AH. It would be nice too run for 5 days or more and not need to run the generator to charge the trailer.
Last year was first experience with a diesel heater. It was more than enough heat in my 25' enclosed trailer. I picked up a second one on sale to have as a backup or second heater incase of a really cold trip.
I'm looking to go to a lithium battery in my trailer since the old battery is toasted. I'm just not sure what size to go with. Was looking at 200 AH. It would be nice too run for 5 days or more and not need to run the generator to charge the trailer.
Last year was first experience with a diesel heater. It was more than enough heat in my 25' enclosed trailer. I picked up a second one on sale to have as a backup or second heater incase of a really cold trip.
I know guys that air down to get in the trailer. Also some rigs are so wide with the longer suspensions they put plywood wheels on or use a ratchet strap to pull it together.
Or just an excuse to put a fancy aftermarket cage on.
I passed on a nice 20ft rig a couple years back , it was a Toyota trd trailer. Had the winch boxes all the good stuff. Just a 72" opening from top to bottom. My machine is stock and just would not fit. I believe a 84" is the way to go. More wind resistance but there is always a compromise. Still have not found one, but I will keep looking.
Blockcaver
WKR
Weldor, you can order extra-height trailers inn 6" increments. My Cargo Mate was 6' (72") stock with 5'10" rear barn doors. I needed 6" more for my stock RZR so ordered the trailer 6'6" (78") inside height. Fits the RZR fine and much nicer to camp in. One of many advantages to ordering the trailer just as you want it (I think I had a posting in this thread on various options I'd ordered....10 years ago and still happy with it).
Downside is taller burns a bit more gas towing it....and cargo trailers lower your fuel economy a lot based on mine, unless towing behind the tall cabover camper in the slip stream.
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