First night in 4x8 cargo trailer

[skyl4rk]

I am trying to set up a cargo trailer as a camper and spent my first night in it last night.  It was in my driveway so this is not a big adventure, just preparing for adventure.

The 4x8 is quite small but there is enough room for a 30" wide cot and bin storage underneath.  The trailer has two screened windows and a vent, with a rear door with an RV latch.  It is more of a teardrop experience than a travel trailer experience, but it is large enough to sleep and lounge in.  It is 53" high in the middle.

I started out with two sleeping bags, two blankets and two sheets, but by morning I was just using a 20F rated down sleeping bag on top of me opened up as a quilt up to my chin, with a fleece blanket covering my head down to my nose.  I was warm and comfortable with outside temps of about 32F and snow here in MI.  The cot is covered with an old backpacking air matress/Thermorest under 4" of memory foam.  I opened two windows after about a half hour because the air was getting oppressive, so it was pretty cold in the trailer.

Today I hung some curtains, installed a cable hatch in the floor, screwed a battery box to the floor, installed a battery and a 10W solar panel that I had lying around.  Not that we see the sun here in January but its the thought that counts, right?  At the moment I just need battery power to run some led lights and charge a smartphone.  I pulled an extension cord through the cord hatch and set up a small electric ceramic heater.

I am wondering if four screws through the bottom of a plastic battery box is going to be enough to hold it in place?

Also, I need to find a place for the spare tire.  Are there mounts that will bolt or clamp on to the hitch bar in front of the trailer?  I have a single bar, not the vee bar type.

Here are some pics of the trailer as I bought it. I removed the bed that was in it.

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

That rocks!

 

[LeeRevell]

Tractor Supply and similar 'farm stores', and most bigger hardware stores that have trailer sections, will have bolt-on tire mounts. Got mine at TS. Have also seen a type where-in the tire lays flat atop the tongue bar.
4'X8' is about minivan size, though you have a bit more headroom!

 

[akrvbob]

That's a great looking little trailer! Great find!

Do you have any idea of where you can find them?
Bob

 

[SoulRaven]

That looks like a great project. You're off to a good start. 

Travel Safe.

 

[Ballenxj]

Here are some pics of the trailer as I bought it.  I removed the bed that was in it.

That's pretty COOL.

 

[Spirituallifetime]

I did a search for 4x8 travel trailers and came up with this web site. These look like nice trailers and don't seem to cost much more than a cargo trailer.

http://www.runawaycampers.com/index.html

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I would not count on wood screws.  Drill all the way through the plywood floor, use 4 bolts and nuts.  Put wide fender washers under the nuts so they won't pull through the floor.  I would also use Loc-Tite on the nuts or get the self-locking nuts.

Regards
John

 

[skyl4rk]

That's a great looking little trailer! Great find!

Do you have any idea of where you can find them?
Bob

It is a 1988 Econolite, 675 lbs on the registration. I looked online but could not find much about it. It is steel, not aluminum. I didn't think it was as light as it could be.

 

[Ballenxj]

These look like nice trailers and don't seem to cost much more than a cargo trailer.

http://www.runawaycampers.com/index.html 

I like em! The shipping from East to West is what hurts.

 

[skyl4rk]

Pics from this morning are here:

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

Also, I need to find a place for the spare tire.

If the trailer tires are good, you could just leave the spare at home and bring a couple of cans of fix a flat and worry about the spare later.  That's what I would do, but of course I'm the world's worst procrastinator.

 

[Seeker]

I did a search for 4x8 travel trailers and came up with this web site. These look like nice trailers and don't seem to cost much more than a cargo trailer.

http://www.runawaycampers.com/index.html

I know a lady that bought one of those runaways and loves it.  She owns a large RV and hates everything required with its hookups when she gets to a park.
A SEEKER

 

[Ballenxj]

If the trailer tires are good, you could just leave the spare at home and bring a couple of cans of fix a flat and worry about the spare later.

Ayyyeeee, I hate fix a flat. It leaves a totally gooey, gummed up mess inside the tire. I know this from being a tire buster when I was a kid. We hated it, and I never used it since.
One other thing to think about is what if a tire blows out? That is fairly common on trailer tires unless the trailer is equipped with upgraded tires. You will then be stuck on the side of the road with your two useless cans of Fix a Flat.
Sorry, not for me.
Now you could have a plate made up that stands up at the front of the trailer with studs spaced for the trailer tire bolt pattern to keep the tire outside and hanging over the tongue area.
This is just my two cents worth. 

 

[66788]

I'm claustrophobic so your little trailer looks like an over sized coffin to me.

I'n glad it works for you!

 

[skyl4rk]

I'm claustrophobic so your little trailer looks like an over sized coffin to me.

I'n glad it works for you!

It is small.  For me it was the $1,000 entry level RV.  I had set up the back of my Nissan Versa as a sleeper by taking out the back seat.  This is bigger, almost luxurious in comparison.

You can lay down on the cot, you can sit on the cot facing the side or rear, you can sit on the pail toilet and you can stand up bent over the cot.  That is it, there are no other positions, at least for me.  Sitting on the cot facing the side is actually quite comfortable with a pillow behind you, with your back against the trailer side.

I have not tried changing clothes in it yet.

I have one of the tent outhouses (showers) and a screen tent.  I will be bringing my backpacking stuff so I can always use the small backpacking tent.

My next goal is to upgrade my towing vehicle to a van.

 

[LeeRevell]

With the plywood structure, a Handy Guy could cut out the roof and make it a pop-top or A-frame.

 

[Spirituallifetime]

Ayyyeeee, I hate fix a flat. It leaves a totally gooey, gummed up mess inside the tire. I know this from being a tire buster when I was a kid. We hated it, and I never used it since.
One other thing to think about is what if a tire blows out? That is fairly common on trailer tires unless the trailer is equipped with upgraded tires. You will then be stuck on the side of the road with your two useless cans of Fix a Flat.
Sorry, not for me.
Now you could have a plate made up that stands up at the front of the trailer with studs spaced for the trailer tire bolt pattern to keep the tire outside and hanging over the tongue area.
This is just my two cents worth. 

I once saw a travel trailer with 3 of its 4 tires blown out! Fix a Flat won't touch that! I have kept Fix a Flat on hand for when your out of options (had a flat put the spare on and now the spare is flat).

 

[Seraphim]

Nice trailer.

Plenty of places to mount a spare - Id consider at the front, over the hitch, unless you plan to mount propane tanks there. On the roof, near the front, where you step on the hitch to reach higher would also be a consideration.

In the future, a Murphy bed might be a consideration, as well.

Have fun.

 

[Seraphim]

Adding to Lee's comment, even a truck topper would add some height, at least to one portion of the trailer. just an undeveloped thought - mount a truck cap on top, cut the hole where you want to be able to stand, and use the rest of the space between the trailer roof and cap ceiling as storage.

Just a random thought...