JiP Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Well here I am, gotten myself into another project. I bought this camper trailer from my housemate/landlord. The camper trailer was built in 1986 in South Australia and is very old school. Like the fact it opens over the back of the trailer where the new ones open over the side. The new ones also have 'D' shaped doors compared to the 'U' shaped doors on this one. The door is also located at the rear and not in the annex and the height.... its short! One positive thing is the front and rear tailgate on the trailer which makes access a little easier. In this photo the inside tailgate is still lowered, It serves an extra purpose as a "step up" into bed. It can be closed off and the tent fully sealed. Now start the mods... Firstly. The spare wheel was taking up valuable space inside the trailer. So I've mounted it under the drawbar until I can change the stud pattern & hubs on it to match the Subaru. That way if I ever need a spare I can use the one in the car. On the last camping trip I noticed my camp kitchen is falling apart. Considering it went through the 2011 floods and I got it cheap, it has served its purpose. So now I plan on making my own kitchen. So here is what i've done so far... While trying to keeps costs down I was going to use some left over paint that I have from the repairs I had to do from my old house when I moved out. The paint is green and would match the canvas but i've had a last minute change of thought. Now I've decided I'll use the stain that I used to stain the timber floors in my old trailer. This is kinda how it'll look. I'll use 4 short adjustable poles to level it off while also mounting it from the wheel arch. I've cut out a hole for the wash up basin. Under the bench I will mount both pantries that came from the old kitchen... The offcut from the wash up basin will be my new cutting board. I've also bought a drying rack to sit to the far side. Now last camping trip I had to bring my own water carriers. I bought 20Ltrs... My plan now is to build my own water tanks and mount them under the trailer at the back with the tap ends coming out under the new kitchen bench. If my calculations are correct with both tanks filled, I should have around 60Ltrs. Now I have realised how expensive this is costing, so I have limited both pipes to only having one screw end. The screw end will be on the lower side with the taps. Therefore if I ever have to drain them, I just unscrew the caps. Both pipes have their mounts on the side of the trailer... The filler end was a bit tricky. I needed to make it so one could easily fill the tanks with water, seal them as well as releasing the pressure so the water will flow out of the taps. The end result has screw caps i've had to make up with. here is the end that will come out under the kitchen. Here is how the filler end will look like... And how the taps will look once installed... A couple other mods still needed will be the repair of the fly mesh on the door entry. Sadly the zipper is in poor condition and needs replacing. I plan on NOT replacing the zipper, but instead I plan on cutting a new doorway in around the right window that will make it open under the annex. This will be better as it will give shelter if it rains. One last possible mod would be to unstitch the zipper from the annex, and stitch in a small extension that would give me extra head space underneath as i'm finding it hard to move around. As you can see, i've jacked it up to its limits... Oh and another future mod i'm hoping to make is installed a duel battery set up in the car. Tho I hope to mount the second battery on the trailer so I can power all my 12v devices while camping, yet charge the battery while driving. Hope to post another update tonight after a days worth of hard work :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Des Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 I like it. I'd buy a good old camper trailer over a new one although some of the new GIC trailers are reasonably cheap but not too sure about the quality. Do the filler ends of the water tanks stick out further than the guard ? could possibly get knocked off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altezzaclub Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Clever! Mate of mine bought a new one for $16k, its very flash. So far its sat at his place for 6months after we put it up on the front lawn once, as he works at a mine. Well, used to, last week he lost that job and now can't afford to go away in it. The plan was to go & see Lake Eyre in flood.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Helllllllllllloooooo Johnny boy. RE: Dual battery, 3/4 down THIS page are images of how you set up a dual battery. Also long time no see, need to catch up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiP Posted January 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 haha thanks guys. Yeah we need to catch up man. As for the fillers, they do stick out further than the guard but not further than the camper top. I finished the tanks today and also finished sanding the bench/put three coats of stain on it. Hope to put another 2 or 3 tomorrow before I start doing the clears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiP Posted January 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 DAMN that link makes it look so simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHATKE20S Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Nice idea with the spare wheel mate...... Those little mods are gunna make it much better for the next trip. So when are you installing the LED strip lighting in it...haha :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiP Posted January 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 haha I know man. Soon I hope. Once I have the second battery setup I hope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 DAMN that link makes it look so simple. It does and you can make it a lot cheaper if you go to a welding shop and buy MIG earth cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiP Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 YAY The new door arrived :P: And after 8 coats of stain... And now after the first coat of clear... I've just put the 2nd coat on too and i'll apply another coat each day till the weekend. :) Oh and just bought a hand water pump for the sink :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLO-030 Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Lookin' Good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiP Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Thanks mate. I've changed the brackets holding the water tanks. As you can see the difference here... And now with both changed... And the other side... And from behind... Now since i've gotten this out of the way tomorrow i will attempt the Zipper :S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 You going to put your sewing skills to work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiP Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Well why not. Its only been 14 years since I last sewed in grade 8 lOl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Well why not. Its only been 14 years since I last sewed in grade 8 lOl Oh I thought you did a whole heap of sewing recently, I was seeing if you, your mum or a shop was going to do it, let me know when you wanna do the battery too as I will come help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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