New Project: 1996 Wells Cargo

[iambucket]

Hey all,

I've finally acted on this idea kicking around my head since September. I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I knew I wanted to get on the road.

I'm from WA and just moved temporarily to my Aunt's in IN because she is graciously letting me use her driveway to convert something to on the road living. That something just presented itself on Craigslist: a well-preserved 1996 Wells Cargo 20x7.5 at a good price. See below:

I picked it up yesterday. I was lucky to find this trailer in great condition at about 1/3 of what a new one would cost. He even had installed lights, plugs, a fuze box, a heater/ac, and a shore plug.

I was really happy to find it, but now I'm wondering if I went too big. 7.5 by 20 will be plenty comfortable, but the whole reason we do this is to forgo comfort for freedom. I'm wondering if my freedom is going to be restricted by hauling around a 20 foot house. I'm thinking I should have looked for 7x16.

I'm still excited to do this. I've just had this voice in my head not necessarily telling me I should go smaller but wondering. I see a lot of you fixing up 12 footers and being very happy with it.

On another note, very happy to find this forum and I'll be posting updates as they come. I find it really helpful to see what you're all doing on here.

Peace,
Dan

 

[Bud Smiley]

Congratulations. I like it. I don't think you went too big. Frankly, hauling any trailer around will restrict your freedom quite a bit. An extra 6" in width and 4' in length shouldn't make or break it. You can also design your build in a modular way so if/when you find a smaller trailer, you can just move your stuff in and bolt it down. What are you towing it with?

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Welcome!! I guess it would only be too big if you couldn't tow it! Congrats on making the jump!

 

[Almost There]

Sometimes you just have to grab what's available and run with it.

It certainly does look well preserved, I only wish my little one looked that good...

Congratulations, I'm on my second Wells Cargo trailer and I won't buy anything but them.

What are you going to be hauling it with?

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard.
Very few buy their last rig first.
Try driving it around for a while to get an idea what it will be like.
Then decide if it's too big or not.
20' is not too big for me , I have a 23' class C which is about the same living space as that one.

 

[Rlmarsh1108]

Awesome I trying to find a trailer to pull behind my two door Jeep that can only pull up 2000 lb and two hundred pound [TONGUE] weight  

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[Ballenxj]

CONGRATS! Wells Cargo has a stellar reputation, and may be at the top as far as cargo trailers go.
You might consider partitioning four feet or so at the tail end to use as a garage for tools, bikes, or whatever you don't want inside with you.

 

[dr_nelson]

Welcome and congrats on acting!
After seeing a couple of other van dwellers, I am thinking I could have gone bigger and foremost 'higher' than my extended Ford e350...

 

[iambucket]

Congratulations. I like it. I don't think you went too big. Frankly, hauling any trailer around will restrict your freedom quite a bit. An extra 6" in width and 4' in length shouldn't make or break it. You can also design your build in a modular way so if/when you find a smaller trailer, you can just move your stuff in and bolt it down. What are you towing it with?

f150 2.7

 

[iambucket]

CONGRATS! Wells Cargo has a stellar reputation, and may be at the top as far as cargo trailers go.
You might consider partitioning four feet or so at the tail end to use as a garage for tools, bikes, or whatever you don't want inside with you.

Hey my Aunt just was telling me that same idea. It's great. I bet when you live in a one room place it's really nice to have an area like that for storage and for hanging up wet stuff.

She also suggesting putting a door in the partition with a screen so you could open it up on nice days.

 

[iambucket]

Awesome I trying to find a trailer to pull behind my two door Jeep that can only pull up 2000 lb and two hundred pound [TONGUE] weight  

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Have you checked out the http://www.tnttt.com forum?

 

[Ballenxj]

Have you checked out the http://www.tnttt.com forum?

I will have to check that one out myself. Thanks.

 

[Rlmarsh1108]

I will have to check that one out myself. Thanks.

Tried but it won't let me register

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[johnny b]

What's the tow rating of your F150?

That trailer looks heavy...is the plate still readable? Empty weight? GVWR?

 

[masterplumber]

I have a 7x 14 mobile tool shed I use for work - a 20' trailer is no harder to tow. My 6x12 cargo camper is easier, but mainly because it's narrower so easier to see past, and quite a bit lighter due to it not being filled with heavy tools and not built as heavily to begin with. I've actually toyed with the idea of getting a 20' trailer and combining the two functions into one trailer. Build a wall across, but at about 8' from the back. That would be my garage/workshop which would be large enough for my motorcycle on one side and a workbench/tool storage on the other. Then the front 11 or 12 feet would be my living area. I'd probably try and configure a pass thru door between the two areas also. Nice find and good luck!

 

[iambucket]

What's the tow rating of your F150?

That trailer looks heavy...is the plate still readable? Empty weight?  GVWR?

7600 tow rating.

The plate is not readable. A 8x20 2017 WC is 2,660.# This is probably around that. Slightly smaller but steel roof.

 

[iambucket]

Tried but it won't let me register

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You have to email the moderator:

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?p=1036631#p1036631

 

[iambucket]

I have a 7x 14 mobile tool shed I use for work - a 20' trailer is no harder to tow. My 6x12 cargo camper is easier, but mainly because it's narrower so easier to see past, and quite a bit lighter due to it not being filled with heavy tools and not built as heavily to begin with. I've actually toyed with the idea of getting a 20' trailer and combining the two functions into one trailer. Build a wall across, but at about 8' from the back. That would be my garage/workshop which would be large enough for my motorcycle on one side and a workbench/tool storage on the other. Then the front 11 or 12 feet would be my living area. I'd probably try and configure a pass thru door between the two areas also. Nice find and good luck!

Thanks. I was curious about if this would be pushing it with towing. The weight itself is well below the capacity, but a cargo trailer is not aerodynamic. I've never towed before and am curious how that is going to be in wind and/or mountains.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Thanks. I was curious about if this would be pushing it with towing. The weight itself is well below the capacity, but a cargo trailer is not aerodynamic. I've never towed before and am curious how that is going to be in wind and/or mountains.

Well, I can't help with fighting headwinds, but if you are concerned about sidewinds, I would move past simple hitches and get something with anti-sway capability, such as an EQUALIZER hitch.

http://www.equalizerhitch.com/


Also, if you're not familiar with it, the Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forum is the best source of info for all things Ford.  You will not only find a sub-forum devoted to your year F150, but also active sub-forums devoted to towing.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/index.php

 

[iambucket]

Hey y'all,


I dropped out for a bit because I needed to figure some stuff out. Here's where I'm at:

I actually have a '15 Chevy Colorado 3.6 with towing package (rated @ 7,000#). At the time I got the trailer, I thought it was all about weight. I wasn't thinking about aerodynamics (8.5 tall by 7.5 wide BOX). I wasn't thinking about having to get it over the Rockies and the Cascades to get back home. I just thought 3,000# trailer, no problem!....There's more to it - I learned REAL fast

I started looking around and was thinking about trading for a used F150. I said that was my pull because at the time I thought that was going to happen. But after doing some more research, I found the general consensus was that for something of that size (and more importantly, with that much drag), while a 1/2 ton would work, a 3/4 would be better. Of course there are outliers on both ends. There were some people saying they did a 24' cargo with their midsize. There were some saying they like to use a full ton diesel for their 16'. But the average feedback was a 1/2 ton works but a 3/4 feels so much more up to the job.

Now I'm a safe person when it comes to physical danger. I’ll take risks in other areas, but not there. I’m the type that would like to use a 3/4 for pulling a cargo of that size. But this is starting to stray from my objective: Simplify my life to gain freedom. Also, learn to be less dependent on non-renewable resources that I have to pay other people to provide for me (like fuel). Forgo comforts (big trailer and truck) to gain mobility. 

Ultimately, I want to use this trailer as a means of traveling to different sustainable communities. Once I arrive there, I will still use my trailer as a place for me and my two cats to sleep, but I will be able to use the community’s amenities for other things. I want to have a means of preparing food, sleeping, and housing a composting toilet in my trailer for interim periods between communities, but I don’t need to plan on doing those things in my trailer full-time. It got too big. A 20 foot trailer and 3/4 ton truck is not only overkill, but goes against why I originally wanted to do this.

So now I’m thinking I should size down. Maybe I should still get a 1/2 to satisfy my desire to have a big safety cushion, but I don’t need a 3/4. As for the trailer, I marked off some different dimensions in my current 20 footer and I think 7x14 is good (plus a camper that is the width and length of my truck bed and height up to the roof for more storage).

So that’s where I’m at right now. Thank you for all the feedback you’ve given thus far. I haven’t lost any determination to do this but I’d like to trade in some comfort for more mobility and feeling safer. I think the 20 footer I got was a great find if that’s what I was looking for. My lesson was to not let “a great find” trump “what I’m looking for.” I know there’s learning curve to figuring this out so this was the first of many. I know I’ll look back at it with gratitude for what it revealed.