5x8 Trailer build

[Spud]

Little more progress. Started making a temporary bed frame with leftover wood from my shop build, and bought a $10 table from the habitat for humanity restore to canibalize. Going to cut the table top down the middle, install a piano hinge, sand it all down and stain it black. The table will be hinged off the trailer side. I need to figure out how to make an adjustable leg for the table that is removable, not sure on that one yet. The table will fold up and live on the trailer wall outside (will mean having to clean it all the time but it'll save us space).

I also decided to shrink the bed size down to a full/double. The inside of the trailer is 56.5" wide, and a queen is 60". Full is 54", but also shorter being 74" instead of 80". That'll give us more space at the back of the trailer which is at a premium in this tiny thing.

 

[Spud]

So I'm having second thoughts about the side table, mainly due to road grime and complexity. Not sure if it'll happen.

I did though decide that I need some kind of drawer for the inside, totes work but I've always hated having to dig through them to get something. So I drew this up, just a 66x24x12 box with some cool casters I found on the back. It'll have guides on the sides to keep the box where it belongs, and a latch on the front. Just un-latch it, lift the front and roll it out. The inside walls of the box will have dados cut for 1/4 plywood dividers every 2" so it'll be easily configurable.

I also found a $2 file cabinet at the Re-Store, we needed more storage for clothes than the plastic box I had. Fits perfectly! Doesn't look great but I don't care, it's functional.

 

[mylilpwny]

Great use of that file cabinet. And for only a couple bucks if you only use it on a couple trips and change your mind and switch to something else you won't be out a bunch of money [emoji106]

 

[James Deaton]

Check out MorRyde RV slides, or SlideMaster. Expensive RVs use those in basement compartments for full slideout trays. May help you...

James

 

[Spud]

Check out MorRyde RV slides, or SlideMaster. Expensive RVs use those in basement compartments for full slideout trays. May help you...

James

Cool stuff! Definitely expensive, a 600lb capacity 60" full extention tray from slidemaster is $762, and I'd still need to build the box with dividers. Wish I could afford stuff like that.

 

[James Deaton]

I can’t afford it either... i live vicariously through other people’s budgets...

James

 

[mylilpwny]

I can’t afford it either... i live vicariously through other people’s budgets...

James

O wow how true this is lol

 

[Spud]

Changed the drawer up a little. When I bought my house 7 years ago the owners left a bunch behind, like the blue paint I used inside my trailer. I also found some plywood but forgot about it, and found it the other day. It was a bunch of 72" long 16" wide 3/4 thick board. So I made a box out of it today. I didn't cut slots for adjustable dividers but instead just screwed them in place. Since it's narrower than I originally planned I had to put the potty and stove front to back. Got 1 coat of paint on it from, you guessed it, left behind paint, needs at least 2 more coats, but it came out nice! Need to order the casters for it.

Total drawer cost is going to be $10, not bad! View attachment 71866

 

[mylilpwny]

Coming along nicely

 

[PanCan Overland]

Little more progress. Started making a temporary bed frame with leftover wood from my shop build, and bought a $10 table from the habitat for humanity restore to canibalize. Going to cut the table top down the middle, install a piano hinge, sand it all down and stain it black. The table will be hinged off the trailer side. I need to figure out how to make an adjustable leg for the table that is removable, not sure on that one yet. The table will fold up and live on the trailer wall outside (will mean having to clean it all the time but it'll save us space).

I also decided to shrink the bed size down to a full/double. The inside of the trailer is 56.5" wide, and a queen is 60". Full is 54", but also shorter being 74" instead of 80". That'll give us more space at the back of the trailer which is at a premium in this tiny thing. View attachment 70183View attachment 70184View attachment 70185

Curious, have you considered maybe a futon styled bed? Fold it up for a couch when not sleeping... Would give room for packing supplies and a hang out rather than bed for rainy days.

Love this thread, been considering a cargo trailer conversion myself.

Last, are you keeping things modular so you can double the cargo trailer for its intended purpose or are you all in?

Thanks for posting your build and progress!

 

[Spud]

Curious, have you considered maybe a futon styled bed? Fold it up for a couch when not sleeping... Would give room for packing supplies and a hang out rather than bed for rainy days.

Love this thread, been considering a cargo trailer conversion myself.

Last, are you keeping things modular so you can double the cargo trailer for its intended purpose or are you all in?

Thanks for posting your build and progress!

I did consider a futon. I decided against it or a rollover couch because I need the storage.

No, its a permanent camper. I thought about making it modular but it's too small to really use for much. I really want to have it setup so all we have to do is put food and clothes in it and go, it'll sit ready to go. I'm hoping to get a quad next year but I'll just put it in the truck if I want to bring the camp trailer (got an idea for an aluminum rack to fit the quad in my baby truck bed with the tailgate closed).

We love it so far, can't wait to get it built out more. Really looking forward to snow camping this year with it!

 

[Spud]

Got the drawer done, used the rest of some dark teal paint that was laying around, don't like how it looks but all this is temporary. The drawer works great, easy to roll, just need to make some guides and latches, then I can put plywood down for the bed and get a mattress figured out.

 

[James Deaton]

Don’t know the size of your mattress, but Amazon makes a really great futon mattress that is only about $300 and it sleeps really well. It is nice and thick and heavy with a lot of Springs.

James

 

[Spud]

Don’t know the size of your mattress, but Amazon makes a really great futon mattress that is only about $300 and it sleeps really well. It is nice and thick and heavy with a lot of Springs.

James

I'm gonna have to use a foam one, because I need to trim the front to a slight curve to fit the trailer, trying to preserve as much rear space as possible so need to get the mattress as far forward as I can. Ikea has a foam futon mattress that I think I'm gonna get, not badly priced either.

 

[mylilpwny]

I had a friend that went with a 6 inch foam mattress that they got off Amazon during prime days. They said it was pretty easy to trim to fit and his wife redid the mattress cover to fit

 

[James Deaton]

If there is an RV furniture store near you, they can usually custom make mattresses with rounded corners. That is very common in RVs.

 

[Spud]

So I'm getting some backpay, aka trailer money, lol. So I ripped the inside out so that I could do bunch of stuff. A side door will be installed, walls insulated, new wood inside (the stuff it came with was trash plywood, I'll be installing something much nicer). The rear 18" will be walled off, and the back of the trailer will become a galley with a fold-down table. Started by gutting the trailer today!

My wife is also pregnant! So I'm scrambling to figure out how to make this sardine can work for an additional body.

 

[T4D ADV]

Thanks!

For long trips, it is really comfortable, our longest 1 shot drive so far has been roughly 400 miles and we had no complaints. Back seat, honestly not sure, we never have people back there. Off road capability is awesome, the factory rear e-locker and hill descent control is pretty good. It usually gets around 16mpg city or highway, the front bumper ruined the aerodynamics so that might have to do with why it gets the same on the highway. Pulling our trailer off road it gets around 12ish.

When we bought it we were in the market for a Tacoma, and accidentally stumbled on this at a dealership. Wasn't even on my radar to look at, if you compare them to a similar equipped Toyota they're much much cheaper. But that doesn't last long, my biggest gripe is the major lack of aftermarket, you pay more to modify them since there's not much to choose from. It's cheaper to outfit and modify a Toyota. I don't regret my choice though, it's been a great truck.

Thank you for the reply. Great info.

 

[Smileyshaun]

Congrats on the baby!! little ones will fit anywhere. You could make a cot that goes across a little higher than the bed that way if the little ones not with you you could easily pop it out and it gives the little one its own space when it gets bigger.

 

[Spud]

Progress! Got the side door installed, and relocated the window