5x10 Cargo Trailer - camper build

[cmgraves]

To start, I will do a quick background:
I have been huge into camping and outdoors (skiing and mountain biking) and road tripping for the past 20 years
Introduced my passion for the outdoors and roughing it to my two daughters from the get go (they are now 10 and 13).
Previously, this was completed on a super budget and mix bag approach (back of car, tents, lots of tarps, cooler and ice, etc.)
During the past 10 years, I dreamt of purchasing/building an 'overland' capable setup, and how this can be achieved, which always continued to changed as priorities and realties changed (but many remained the same and many would relate):

• ability to sleep 4 people comfortable and keep all our gear dry (and the 2 dogs need a spot)
• a true 4 season camper (take it to a ski hill and camp in the parking lot)
• small / light enough for ease of traveling and fuel economy (again, taking it to a ski hill parking lot) and ability to drive 10 hours without hesitation or avoidance
• room to transport all 4 mountain bikes
• a large kitchen / cooking space - my kids (and also I) eat often and eat a lot and focus on quality / homemade meals.
• robust, strong and durable to hold up to gravel roads, very mild off road, etc. but yet, be comfortable cursing 70mph on the roadway
• to be able to setup beds in under 10 mins and do it comfortable in a heavy rain
• to be a 'base camp' and all 4 can hang out in all day long comfortable during major rain or extreme weathers (both heat and cold)
• to setup camp for a week and be self contained (no shore power namely) and i have a water filter for drinking water as required
• to do this all within a $10-15K CAD budget ($7-10K USD)

Ideas that I came up with:

• truck with pop-up camper
  • (hate the fuel economy, cooking in bad weather too small, breaking down camp to only do a day trip sucks)
• truck with canopy / pull out kitchen / sleeping platform / roof top tent
  • fuel economy a tad better / very tight space and would become unorganized mess by the 2nd day / day trips difficult / not comfortable stuck inside / all 4 have to sleep in platform in winter
• suv with small trailer and 4 person rooftop tent
  • did not feel confident in the 4 season ability
• suv with a fiberglass trailer
  • did not feel confident in its ability to hold up on gravel roads and extended use (the axels are almost always at 80-90% capacity!) - and 4 bikes proved to be difficult - very hard to work on with fiberglass and the radius
• suv with a kamparoo
  • this one was my 2 choice - but the success in bad weather with cooking and staying inside was concerning. also, finding one used was nearly impossible / and storing bikes on top works, but time consuming to setup camp once you arrive
• suv with a cargo trailer converted into a camper (as the title says, this was the road i went down)

To add to the fun, my wife has been in a PhD program in Victoria, BC from 2014-2021, and Sept of this year, she was placed in Hamilton, ON to complete a 1 year residency. As trade-off to move me away from the north-east living (I freaking love the mountains and alpines), she agreed I can finally make my dream into a reality. and we would this setup to travel across Canada on a 3 week road trip (but I had to bring 10 of her huge house plants and our 5 animals (1 dog, 1 cat, 1 bunny, 1 gerbil and 1 mouse). to had to adapt to make a setup that could work for that extreme trip, but be small enough for my weekends outings once we arrived. the kids agreed I could get the cargo trailer if they got a bunny....)

challenge accepted!

So in March 2021, I bought the cargo trailer (continental 5x10 tail wind) and began the build (knowing that I had a deadline of July 10 to have it ready for a 7000km road trip and prepare to have all our items be moved (in a shipping container) be completed in order for us to hit the road. In the coming days, I will go over the build, design, layout and what works and what does not for your entertainment and hopefully resource.

for reference, the towing vehicle is a 2010 BMW x5 diesel - which i love - plenty of space for all our gear, awd and adequate ground clearance for my needs, great fuel economy for its ability (24-28mpg on highway), and the seats fold flat and is large enough for me and the 2 kids to sleep in (I am 6'2") AND bought it with the intention to have the ability to tow a trailer if need be (425 ft-lb of torque).

but namely, I took the completed trailer and vehicle out last weekend for a 5 day camping trip (without 5 animals, 10 house plants and so many other items that we shoved in the trailer so it made the destination), which included good amount rain, and the setup exceed my expectations. As i have used this forum for much needed advice, ideas, solutions and what not, I wanted to return the favour. (but lost my phone on the trip and lost majority of the pictures and will do my best to locate pics)

 

[plh]

I used to have a 5'x10' plus V nose, sold it this past June - they are not big. 1 maybe 2 adults comfortable. I can't imagine more.

 

[Rovertrader]

Following, could be quite interesting!!

 

[cmgraves]

 

[cmgraves]

Picking the trailer up back in March 2021 brand new from the dealer. This unit had exactly what I wanted in a trailer (was a custom build for a customer but the manufacturer added a roof vent by accident, which did not allow the trailer to fit in his garage.

• side door with rv door handle (door is located perfectly for my build)
• side window with screen
• barn doors on back
• 3 foot tongue (vs 4 foot tongue)
• stabilizer jacks in the back
• roof vent
• roof rack
• lights
• 3000# axel without brakes (not straight axel which kept a lower profile and very close to BMW profile)
• 15" radials
• 16" cc steel ribs (not 24" as seen in cheaper units)
• dry weight of 990 lbs

paid $5300 CAD

 

[cmgraves]

plh - at first I had the same concern that the 5x10 would be too small, and looked at a 6x10. This allows a bunk bed in the front for the kids and standing room for all members (except me). After I hooked one up and tested it, the profile was so much bigger than the bmw profile that it acted as a huge sail and going over 100kmh (63mph) was a huge struggle making driving long distant out of the question. Then one night, I came up with a very innovated solution that makes it very doable for all 4 of us to make a 5x10 trailer work and was what I implemented in my build. I wanted to share my design/layout hoping it could be helpful to others.

 

[Rovertrader]

What brand is the trailer? I just picked up a '13 X5 diesel and loving it! Do you have floor plan/interior pics? Any reason not to go with the V front end? Also, why the preference for the shorter tongue- my 5x10 utility trailer has 4' and it handles/backs nicely?
Thanks- we desperately want to go back to simple, and sell the Navion after a decade with it...

 

[cmgraves]

Hi Rovertrader,

the trailer is the continental tailwind (which is owned by forest river). I was reluctant at first, but after I did major research, they build quality cargo trailers for a good price. they just cheap and terrible camper trailers.

I prefer the 3 foot tongue to reduce my overall length. also, allows for the car and trailer to be closer, which allows for a wind vortex to develop at speeds and reduce air drag. Driving down the road and around curves, it is incredible stable and handles like a champ. not a single compliant. backing up is a bit more difficult, but i still can get it to do what I want it to do. Love the fact that I can turn around in a middle of an intersection.

I would have prefer a V-nose (I expect it would have made air drag worse by a small amount) but because it creates a lot of extra room inside, which would have made a noticeable difference in my build. This one was immediately available, and if I special order (which you do with the windows and jacks and what not), would be 3-6 months out for delivery (COVID), and would have been 30% more (again COVID). So considering all, I was extremely happy that this became available.

Also, I would have gone with torsion axles instead of leaf springs. Time will till tell with tire wear, but it handles better than the bmw on gravel/washboard roads, and is not the limited factor for speed and going places.

 

[cmgraves]

Love the x5 diesel. It is a hidden gem for those that love to get away and into the outdoors (once you get past the elitism badge it carries). the last trip, the car delivered 20-21 mpg towing the trailer and all our gear. It was very smooth driving fast on the interstate and no problems on the windy backroads.

 

[cmgraves]

I did many iterations of the layout to make sure all pieces fit together. From the screen shot below of the model, it is hard to see what is going on. As I go through the build and provide pictures, it will all make sense on how it functions and how it works.

 

[calicamper]

plh - at first I had the same concern that the 5x10 would be too small, and looked at a 6x10. This allows a bunk bed in the front for the kids and standing room for all members (except me). After I hooked one up and tested it, the profile was so much bigger than the bmw profile that it acted as a huge sail and going over 100kmh (63mph) was a huge struggle making driving long distant out of the question. Then one night, I came up with a very innovated solution that makes it very doable for all 4 of us to make a 5x10 trailer work and was what I implemented in my build. I wanted to share my design/layout hoping it could be helpful to others.

Tempted to do a pop top version of your trailer. Have it popup another 3ft. Sides like a FWD truck camper.

 

[cmgraves]

As I lost majority of my pictures for the build, I will have to do my best to fill in the gaps.

The first step I tackled was insulation. There is an approximately 1" gap between the outside siding and inside wood panel. To do this, there are 4-5 different approach one could take. At first, I was going with a 1" styrofoam board and spray-on insulation. But after further consideration (and my 10 year old reminding me how bad that is for the environment) I took a more non standard approach, but is becoming significantly more popular in the van and camper builds. sheep wool matted insulation. Main reason for me was how flammable standard insulation is, and the risk of an event of a fire would be catoptric. sheep's wool is naturally flame resistance. Major additional advantage of sheep wool include breathable, mold/mildew resistance, high R-value and retains insulation properties when wet. As well, it proved very easy to install. I installed without a membrane on purpose, so it can breath and ability to dry when it gets wet. Biggest disadvantage is cost. To insulate all 3 walls and roof, cost was $120 for cheap stuff and $360 for the sheep's wool (primary cost was in shipping). Considering a $12K trailer build, $200 was worth the upgrade. I have been very impressed with the performance in both hot weather (40 Celsius) and cold weather. This winter I will test the performance in extreme cold. If required, will insulate the floor.

To start this, I had to remove all the plywood and staples (dear lord, there had to been over 1000 staples), install the insulation, and put back the wood panel (without the thin strips that act as trim to hid the screws and the joints). The roof, I used a spray on glue to hold the insulation in place while I installed a 1/4" thick birch plywood. I used birch plywood as my primary wood selection for it's lightness, strength and hardness, and for its natural beauty. The ceiling took a lot longer than I anticipated due to the curve in the roof, and how I will connect the ceiling piece with the side piece, as well as centering in cut outs for the 2 lights and roof vent. For my limited handy man abilities, I was happy with the results (but anyone with experience would have made it look twice as good and been 4x faster).

I did not have the before pic, so here is a generic stock picture of inside of a trailer for reference:

 

[cmgraves]

calicamper - the FWC popup setup on a cargo trailer build would be very beneficial. Namely reduce air drag, better road manners on highway and also, easier to store. But for me, the capital cost to do this ($1500ish) buys a lot of fuel.

also, the 5wide x 5.5tall for the back opening has proved to be very functional with loading and unloading (bikes, gear, etc.)

 

[cmgraves]

Here are some pictures showing the insulation, the ceiling and progress:

 

[cmgraves]

and a picture of insulating all 3 sides and the roof, as well finish results of the birch plywood installed on the ceiling (now I have an insulated cargo trailer!)