Question about Trailer Widths

[Almost There]

RE: Shower... in the winter I would plan to move south where it's warmer.  We're nomads after all!  And if not... then the old sponge bath or truck stop or gym membership solutions would be on the table.

Winter in the southwest is NOT outdoor shower weather for the most part! I carry a solar shower and it's mostly used in the summer up north when it gets warm enough to use it.

Add one of your 'I think I'd like to stay there' southwest places to your daily weather look-see and watch it over the next couple of years. Don't forget to factor in wind and blowing dust...sigh!

Gym memberships only work well if you're near a largish city. Most of us tend to be somewhere out way far from any gym. Yes, there are truck stop showers and then there's aquatic centers, YMCAs, state parks etc, etc but they all require sourcing and driving to.

If there's only one thing I would add to my converted cargo van, it would be an indoor shower!

 

[crofter]

Project M is currently shut as a non essential business. Bob made one of those DIY.
-crofter

Here is a link to similiar style build.   -crofter



Personally I make more use of steel bracing when I build anything, but that increases cost and weight. -c

 

[crofter]

....Used cargo trailers don't seem to lose value like travel trailers do....

Agreed. Used is best. You may have to roof it or fix something, but if you like the layout that is not a huge deal and could be a bargaining chip for you. 

The sticker shock when you drive away with new stuff will kill you, and making payments on new stuff will kill your RV lifestyle.

Also agree that showering outside can be cold and less than private. You can always try it and then try something else if you are not happy showering in nature.
-crofter

 

[tx2sturgis]

Finally I will get a travel trailer that will be my main abode, or, if I can get family or friends to come visit - their place while I use the truck camper for my own needs. I would like it to sleep 4. A couple and maybe two kids.

BUT. I don't want a wide trailer. The ones I like so far (Lance 1685) is 8 feet wide. If I get the Lance 1475 or 1575 they are 7 feet wide.
BUT. The beds are all east west and if I have couples join me, one will be climbing over the other to go pee in the night.
Maybe I need a Forest River trailer with two twin beds.

I believe you will be making a large mistake to choose and outfit a rig for these so-called occasional visitors, especially this situation with a couple, and their kids...I mean, seriously. WHO is going to do this?

Daytime entertaining for an hour or two is one thing, but four overnight guests, or four overnight guests who need YOUR beds for a week or two, are NOT the kind of people I would invite out to occupy my space. Let them bring a nice big roomy cabin tent if they dont have a camper.

Choose what works for you, because even if they DO want to come hang with you for a weekend, its the other 51 weekends that the camper needs to work well for YOU.

 

[swlands]

The project M weighs around 400 lb. It is a topper, with a bed over the cab. It is not a slide in camper. It is FWC's version of a toy hauler, my business has the toys that need hauling, why it threads the needle. I was thinking of a leer topper, but you can't stand up in those.

The trailer is where I will live. My brother and wife in NZ spend up to 7 months a year on the road with a caravan as they are called there. At Xmas they set it up by a river 90 minutes drive from home and we send a couple weeks there. I would love for them to come visit. For that I will sleep in the truck topper. That is just the way I roll. I live in a tiny cottage. When I have house guests I sleep on the air mattress they get my bed. Again - that is how I roll.

The trailer will have the fridge, shower, stove etc. Truck is weekend camp thing, and a good place to keep gear. We will mostly be outside unless the weather sucks.

I will do the solar myself. Not sure if that goes on the truck, trailer or both. This will no doubt be a never ending project for the next 10 years.  I am sure I will make some mistakes, but this seems to fit my unique blend of needs. I set myself a budget last year, and I will get most of it within the budget.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Ok, the brother and wife are family..(not friends as also referred to)...and I get that.....but still...having those two beds unused that each hold 2 people plus a bed in the pop-up...wow...that is a LOT of space taken up for unused beds and mostly unavailable for YOUR use the other 50 or 51 weeks of the year.

Maybe they will be fold up beds or convertible to dinettes or storage shelves....I'm sure you will figure it out.

Like you said, that's how you roll.

 

[trailer-t]

My 7 foot wide trailer has all the tires/ fenders overhanging on the outside ( I think). The lower interior walls and floor are flat with no fender bulge inside anywhere that I can recall. The so-called 8 foot is actually (I think) like 8.5 feet wide overall +/- -- or something with the fender bulges going partially inside. The 7 foot trailer (Arising brand) has only about 6 feet + 7 to 8 inches inside wall to wall on mine. My 7 foot by 12 is in storage, but that is fairly close on width I think. I want and need at least the 7 foot width myself, but it is all personal to how anyone wants to build it out. t

 

[jacqueg]

It just seems to me that bigger is always going to be better, even if you are just hauling stuff.  Room for more stuff is better!

Not necessarily. It all depends on where you want to go and how you intend to travel.

I'm in an ordinary cargo van, and I have enough room for all the stuff I want - including a sewing machine.

When I started out, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to do this full-time, year-round. Now I'm pretty sure I do. And I am on the lookout for a slightly larger rig so I could have room for an indoor table. I MIGHT buy a commercial Class C, and if I did, I would buy one no longer than 22 feet or so. Or I might buy an extended cargo van. I absolutely do not want a big rig. Less flexible as to the places I can get to, more expensive to fuel, and more awkward to drive.

A foot wider would be nice - but it's not necessary.