Stealth Camper Build

Stouttrout

Adventurer
Realizing that an offroad Teardrop will be to small for the 3 of us I have decided to take it a bit further. One day I will build one of my own designs but this will get it going much quicker and should work till i have more time. I got a 5x10 Enclosed trailer. Plan is to build a bunk for the little one and the wife and I will sleep on the floor. I am going to make a 3 piece foam mattress that will fold into a couch during the day for us to sit on. The Short list, Get it livable. The long list, solar, water, insulation, lights inside, kitchen galley on the back door, AC....

All advice and suggestion are welcome. Ideas?

With this I can camp anywhere. It will just look like a Jeep parked with a cargo trailer attached to it.

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This is a cool little awing you can mount anywhere. I can put it over the kitchen area or the off the side. Has anyone used one of these? Does anyone have anything better?

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Stouttrout

Adventurer
Gonna bolt the latches and lock them from the inside. already thought about that. Would kinda suck to be locked in while stole my Jeep :) I want this to be ready to go and very insulated. I am getting rid of an offroad popup that was built a few years ago and has good time on it but it time to move into "Open the door and sleep, close the door and drive off."
 

McZippie

Walmart Adventure Camper
I have a cargo trailer that we made two folding DIY sofa/beds for each side wall.
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Bolted a 2"x"2x6' on each side wall about 26" above floor.
Door hinged 2'x6'x3/4" plywood to above 2"x2"
On bottom of plywood at each end, bolted on folding table legs.
Had to cut the table legs a bit to match 26" height above floor.
For a center support used an adjustable tent pole that was bolted to middle outer edge of plywood with a short piece of channel.
When not using the sofa/bed, fold down the table legs and center support, so plywood seat lays flat against side wall.
We used outdoor lounge cushions for mattress/seat and back.
For day use would fold down only one of the sofa/beds.
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McZippie

Walmart Adventure Camper
For sleeping on warm nights...
A remote controlled Fantastic ceiling fan set to vent out, coupled with small inlet vents next to head of bed, will make a wonderfully cooling air flow in the exact right place.
All other doors and windows should be closed to get maximum cooling effect.
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http://www.fantasticvent.com/
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I've been thinking of building a trailer like this I just have not found the right trailer yet. How did you fit your larger tires/wheels? Did you just remount the fenders? Did you have to get a new axle so that the lug pattern matched? My plan is to have a small galley area toward the back of the trailer so that we can cook inside in bad weather and then benches and a table that converts to a bed toward the front. Are you going to add any windows?
 

McZippie

Walmart Adventure Camper
That is a great idea. Do you have pics of your trailer? How do you like it?
I won't be home for a few more day and will post pictures then. We used our cargo trailer to camp in while hauling dirt bikes or snowmobiles, so folding sofa/bed were perfect for our needs. At camp unload the motorized toys and raise the two sofa/beds.
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Never built any other camping amenities in our Cargo trailer other than the folding sofa/bed. With a cargo trailer depending on the season, who was along or where we were going, we'd load dirt-bikes/snowmobiles, bicycles, canoes, folding tables, tents, cots, coolers and camping/cooking gear in Action-Packers into the trailer. I liked camping that way, because never had to worry about stuff/gear or a travel trailer getting wrecked on rough back roads. Depending on the weather, with gear in containers and folding tables rather than built in cabinets/counter tops, we could set-up camp/cooking quickly either inside the trailer or outside.
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The days of camping in a cargo trailer and tents are long past for us. We did it when our kids were young. It was the really a great experience to seek out very remote camping areas and have a no worries Rig to get us there.
 
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Stouttrout

Adventurer
I've been thinking of building a trailer like this I just have not found the right trailer yet. How did you fit your larger tires/wheels? Did you just remount the fenders? Did you have to get a new axle so that the lug pattern matched? My plan is to have a small galley area toward the back of the trailer so that we can cook inside in bad weather and then benches and a table that converts to a bed toward the front. Are you going to add any windows?

When I ordered the trailer, I had the put 5 on 5" hubs on it. I was not sure if the tires would fit and they had no 5 on 5 rims so I had to bring some off a carhauler I have. I wanted 5 on 5 because this will match the Jeeps pattern that is pulling it and the 35's are the same as this Jeep. I will need to carry only one spare. Luckily the tire fit good with no issues so I do not need spacers. The fenders were given to me separately and had never been mounted. I "reformed" them to match the 35" tire and will mount them later. I will have small galley attached to the back door so I can swing it open and cook off it or cook inside on bad days. I have two 24" x 24" windows but I am not sure if i will mount just one or two. It will definitely have one.
 

Stouttrout

Adventurer
Started insulating the roof. I should be in the r10 or higher range on the roof.

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If I get done mowing the yard tomorrow at a decent time, I will start on the wall. i have the plywood stripped already.


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highlandercj-7

Explorer
Nice work, it's gonna be cool. I'd definately go with both windows, it will make it better with more light inside and look better on the outside.
 

elmo_4_vt

Explorer
NIce... Just got done doing one myself... Although not quite as stealthy since I put windows in mine. They work great though.

Don

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Stouttrout

Adventurer
Well, my daughter decided that her kindergarten year just would not be complete if she did not give dad a good stomach virus before summer. That set me back but today i finally got out and worked on it some. Got the other paneling off and started insulating the walls.

I do have a question. I am planning to install a small 5000BTU AC window unit in it. Does anyone know how much they need to be vented? I really do not want to mount it outside and want it to be as concealed as possible. There will be a closet in the front "V" that I plan to mount it in. I was thinking to vent it I could put a small vent from the sleeping area into the closet and put it at the bottom. Then on the outside of the trailer at the top I could put a vent. This would allow some of the sleeping cab air to enter and push the hot air out. Any advice?
 

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