Walk-in Cooler.. Trailer Build

[Dezurtrat]

This thread is going to take a little while to complete, I have a bunch of photos to upload and details i want to describe so I will try my best to add everything as fast as possible that way everything flows evenly. I've been wanting to share this for a while and contribute to Rokslide, I was not sure which forum to post it in. I figured Meat & Trophy care is where it had to go since it relates to meat and how important it is to get the meat cooled as soon as possible.

I've been bowhunting for 24 years and that was always the struggle to get the meat cooled in a timely manner especially since i'm a desert hunter and as you know during archery hunting in the desert temps on average range from 80-100 degrees. It was a chore to get the meat cooled in time, we tried lots of things, coolers with ice, dry ice, generators with chest freezers, walkin coolers that were within 100 miles of where we were hunting but, it was STRESSFUL and i know that there are a lot of people out there that have gone through the scenarios i have been in. Kill a bull at last light or first thing in the morning then the fist pumps happen and big smiles but, there is hardly any time to celebrate. 90 degrees outside with a 2-5 mile pack out, remind you i don't have a lot of shade available to keep the meet cool during the day while packing in the desert.

I don't know the countless nights that my best friend / hunting partner would be laying around at night at elk camp talking about what would be the perfect cooler for hunting season. I remembered when the first cool-bot came out and was thinking "man wouldn't that be sweet for hunting".
So for the next 4-5 years my hunting partner and i would throw ideas at each other, building the perfect trail in our heads. But obviously the thing holding me back was money unfortunately.

So about 4 years ago i was archery elk hunting the desert and dropped a 6 point bull at last light with no time to celebrate, immediately started processing the bull and began packing all night by 4 in the morning my hunting partner and i finally made it back to camp to get a power nap. He got up and went out to glass at first light and i loaded the meat to make the 6 hour round trip to a meat cooler. So roughly 1-2 hours of sleep, made the drive got the meat hung and i should have just parked the truck and slept but i wanted to get back to camp. I ended up going off the road 1 time but saved it on my way back to camp. I was absolutely spent! Was it a smart decision NO, but i wanted to get back and hopefully help my hunting partner fill his tag. I was completely out of it by the time i got back and pretty much fell on my cot and passed out. That was the final straw!

When i got home i was telling the wife about everything and later that evening she said the golden words "why don't you just build the trailer you want" and gave me the green light to make it happen. So the planning started, First a trailer, i shopped around and settled on a Mirage enclosed trailer and since I've been building this in my head for so many years i knew exactly what i wanted. 18' enclosed trailer 2 side doors on the drivers side and the SxS edition so it has taller ceilings to be able to hang meat and also upgraded to 5200# axels and had them flip them at the factory for more ground clearance. Placed the order for it and it was ready for pickup 4 months later .



Bought the cool-bot, window ac unit 12k BTU, i went 1 size up for what they recommended on square footage i provided.
Went to good ole Home Depot and got everything else i needed, i went with R-Tech R 7.7 2" thick foam board for the insulation.
For the cooler build there is a minimum of 4" of insulation lining the cooler, some areas have more, up to 8" thick.



Good ole whiskey cup holding the foam down, ready for battle

First order of war was to demo the inside of the trailer to start building the cooler. I tried and tried talking to the trailer company that i did not want it finished on the inside but they would not do it. I wish there was a way around it because i fought my tail off trying to get the rim shank nails they used to get the plywood off the walls. Whiskey cup guarding the side door for me


Next was getting my sub par carpenter skills going and building the walls for the trailer, with a curved front end i had to work my magic to build the wall. It honestly turned out pretty good i think.


Next I got the wall mounted in the front and marked and cut the hole for the ac unit in the front of the trailer. Talk about nerve racking! ran a long drill bit in each corner from the inside, connect the dots on the exterior and let her rip. I built a metal frame for the front of the AC unit with stainless steel mesh to protect it from rocks and bugs going down the road.

 

[Dezurtrat]

Next was working on the interior wall, cooler size ened up being 5' wide 7' deep and 6'6 tall. I built it to have a door to be able to access the back half of the trailer.

I ran 4x4 on top of the walls to help support the meat i planned on hanging in here, i thought about going bigger but with only a 5' spread i figured they should do the trick.


I put in a 30 Amp RV plug in the front of the trailer and ran wiring down under the floor and up into the wall that separated the cooler and ran wiring uo the front wall for a receptacle to power the cool bot and AC unit. I wanted a way to cool the back half of the trailer down when there was nothing hanging. You archery hunters in the desert know what im talking about, 90 degrees outside back at camp trying to take a mid day nap with flies bouncing off your face. So i built a insulated dutch door where i could open the top half and it would cool the back of the trailer down. Sure is nice to crawl in your sleeping back and its 40 degress in the back of the trailer for a power nap
Then the insulating commenced, taping every joint with aluminum 4" wide tape.




I put 4" of foam on the floor, I thought about trying to insulate it from under the trailer but, i think i was to worried moisture would get in and start rotting the floor or the trailer frame.

 

[Dezurtrat]

Next was sheeting the trailer, i went with 5/8 plywood on the walls and floor except the ceiling. That got 3/4" plywood to help with rigidity of the ceiling for hanging meat. I built a well? if you would call it that for the roof vent to still be able to open it and be able to circulate air in the cooler when not in use.









Did a 45-degree angle above the door so you didn't knock yourself out while exiting the cooler.

 

[Dezurtrat]

I was able to do everything by my self for this operation but, the next part i needed assistance. I lined the whole cooler with FRP paneling, most of it i was able to do my self except the ceiling. I had a co worker come by and help me hang it. The FRP paneling i would cut and dry fit the peices until i was happy with fitment. Then lay it face down and used liquid nails as the bonder. I got a 5 gallon bucket of it and used a trowel and would trowel it all over the backside. Put the panel in place and i would use a roller and roll all the air bubbles out and make sure it was adhered to the plywood.

 

[Dezurtrat]

I caulked all of the joints and i honestly think turned out to be pretty amazing looking

I had to take a break after this and figure out how i was going to hang meat. Initially i was thinking of building an internal steel frame to hang the meat.
Ended up talking to a good buddy of mine and he was talking about how awesome the E track system is he used in his trailer. Strapping a 1000# SxS down to the floor of his trailer using straps that locked into the E track that was screwed to the floor . Bingo!
So i ordered some E track online and when it showed up i cut it to length and painted it white. The reason i went with E track is the endless options of hanging attachments and being able to move meat around.





Next was tackling the exterior door to the cooler. I was a loss for words on what to do and figured to just go for it. I used liquid nails and applied 4" of foam to the door. Used 4 1/2" screws with washers to help secure it to the door.

 

[Dezurtrat]

The cooler was pretty much ready to rock and roll except some finishing touches. Antler handle for the ceiling plug and a antler handle for the dutch door

 

[Blue_dog]

This is awesome!

 

[wowzers]

That’s really slick! We’ve contemplated building a much smaller one but I like the bigger one. Wish my enclosed trailer was bigger!

 

[Dezurtrat]

Plugged the trailer into some power and played with the settings. It was around 90 outside at the time i fired it up and ran a timer to see how long it took to get down to the 34 degrees i set it at. 3 hours later and it was chilled i ordered a remote thermometer off of amazon so i had a probe hanging in the coolerand could monitor it up to 100' away which was awesome!

So this build took me 2 months to do working every weekend sun up to sun down and after work every day, the time came to use it. i bought a Westinghouse 4500 watt generator/inverter and strapped into the bed of my truck and ran a power cord down the tongue of the trailer and plugged it in. Set up my remote thermometer in the pickup and started down the freeway for the 6 hour drive to elk camp. The cooler was at 34 degrees when i hit the road. Doing 70 down the freeway i was watching the temp rise in the cooler, by the time i got to camp the cooler was up to 60 degrees.
The air forced into the front of the AC unit heading down the freeway was a no bueno! unfortunately we were unsuccessful that trip but it sure was fun to jump in the cooler when it was 95 outside and 34 in the cooler

So i had an issue to deal with, when i got home i designed a cover to go over the AC unit to protect it from getting pounded by 90 Degree head wind.
I built a light weight steel frame with diamond plate pop riveted to the frame that covered it. Turned out pretty sweet, fired up the cooler and it would not go below 45 degrees? Dawned on me it was restricting the output flow from AC unit. So i drilled out the pop rivets and removed the diamond plate panels, welded in studs off of the frame with wing nuts to remove/install the panels. Once the panels were removed the cooler dropped to 34.
Next test was the freeway, loaded the generator, got it hooked up, cooler was at 34 degrees, installed the diamond plate panels and headed down the freeway. Bingo! Cooler held 34 the whole time i was driving.

Since i was hardly using coolers anymore with the walk in cooler i was thinking why not make it that much better? I found a deal on a little chest freezer. So i built a frame on the tongue of the trailer to hold it, I put all my frozen goods in there and they stay frozen. Plus i found some ice cube maker trays on amazon that fit perfectly in there. So i was able to make my own ice as needed while at elk camp.

 

[Dezurtrat]

The design was perfect for the ceiling! Myself and 3 other hunting buddies went to Wyoming for a LE elk hunt. Ended up tagging out on 4 bulls and a friend of mines son had a deer tag. 4 quartered bulls and a deer hanging in the cooler and the ceiling didn't sag at all. Perfect!



Since then we have been using the crap out of this cooler and it hasn't let me down yet! It's a whole new comfort level knowing when i stick an animal and im in the middle of no where, I can get it in a cooler in reasonable time and actually celebrate and have a whiskey drink! Instead of panic and the fear of loosing the meat.







One tradition i have started is I have a sharpy in the trailer. When ever a animal gets hung in it the shooter has to write a little something on the way It keeps those memories alive every time i open it up and walk inside.

I'm still wait on finishing the back of the trail but it has 3 drop down bunks and i built a awning that can with stand a catagory 5 hurricane. I'll post more about that in a little while.

I'm still undecisive on the finish product for the back of the trailer so if any of you guys have some ideas, kick them my way!

 

[Dezurtrat]

That’s really slick! We’ve contemplated building a much smaller one but I like the bigger one. Wish my enclosed trailer was bigger!

How big is your trailer? There's always a way to make it work just have to pencil it out

 

[wowzers]

It’s 16’x7’. It’s a camper already but I could probably move the bed if I wanted to make it work.

Post in thread 'Enclosed trailer build/condensation'
https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/enclosed-trailer-build-condensation.327812/post-3403905

 

[Dezurtrat]

It’s 16’x7’. It’s a camper already but I could probably move the bed if I wanted to make it work.

Post in thread 'Enclosed trailer build/condensation'
https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/enclosed-trailer-build-condensation.327812/post-3403905

I'm sure you could definitely make something work but, you're pretty committed to your trailer build. I hate doing things twice

 

[Throwin Darts]

Man what a great job on the build!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dezurtrat]

Man what a great job on the build!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you! Like i said it was years of building it in my head and to have it in reality, I still grin everytime i open that door into the cooler. When i get to old to hunt i will still have it. In the off season from archery "rifle season" it is open to co workers and friends, All i ask is to give me a heads up to get it going and maybe leave a little bottle of whiskey in it when they're done hanging meat

 

[BigE]

Great build and write up here.

Few items to consider for future enhancements - solar panels, batteries and 12v lighting for convenience. Can take that to higher levels with enough lithium batteries, inverter for 110v, solar etc so that generator doesn't run all the time or at all.

Also what is the floor in the cooler? Is that non skid or a rubber mat?

 

[High Climber]

Amazing build Sir! I need one of those, what was the final cost on the cooler materials?

 

[TaperPin]

That’s super cool!

 

[Dezurtrat]

Great build and write up here.

Few items to consider for future enhancements - solar panels, batteries and 12v lighting for convenience. Can take that to higher levels with enough lithium batteries, inverter for 110v, solar etc so that generator doesn't run all the time or at all.

Also what is the floor in the cooler? Is that non skid or a rubber mat?

I have a RV electrical panel that has 12-12v fuses and 2-120v fuses in the panel. I plan on installing it in the rear half of the trailer and have one of 120v circuits dedicated to the Ac unit and the other 1 for a couple exterior receptacles. The 12v system i will install more interior lighting and exterior lighting, maybe a little stereo? I would like to eventually run a couple solar panels on top to trickle charge the batteries. I thought about doing a inverter but since the AC unit draws so much on compressor start up its just easier for me to just use the generator. The Rv panel i have will charge the batteries also while the generator is running. I honestly don't run the generator a lot unless there is a animal hanging. We run the cooler nonstop for 24 hours until the meat is down to 34 degrees. Once it hits that temp we run it in the morning when we get up to go glass for about 4 hours, then shit it off while back at camp then fire it up for the evening glassing session, say another 4 and shut it off when we get back. Then we don't have to listen to it all night.
The cooler is so airtight and sealed, and with the overboard insulating i did, it's amazing how long that cooler stays cooled when its not running.

As far as the floor in the cooler its a 3/8" rubber mat that i cut to fit which works awesome to keep things from sliding around and i can take it out if i need to hose things down. I carry a 5'7' tarp for when we get an animal to hang, I just lay it on the floor to catch most of the blood dripping. When we transport I take all the quarters down or whole deer and lay them on the tarp.

 

[Dezurtrat]

Amazing build Sir! I need one of those, what was the final cost on the cooler materials?

Just remember this build happened way before covid if i remember right, i think i was in the cooler around 2K. Thats just for the coolbot, AC unit and building materials.