Questions, Build a 4 x 8 Camper trailer.

[mdoverl]

I wasn't sure where to post this. 

6 months ago I got rid of my 2007 Prius and got a 2019 Kia Forte.

I'm wanting to build out a Camper on a 4 x 8 trailer and pull that with the Forte which is rated for 900 pounds.

I don't have a trailer right now.

My main question, how would everyone build out a 4 x 8 Camper for everyday living? Seems that a lot of creativity will be needed due to limited space.

 

[highdesertranger]

I would be more worried about the weight. 900 pounds ain't much. by the time you deduct the weight of the trailer you won't have much left over. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

Teardrops and Tiny Trailers foamies forum. Weight will be a major problem but possible as well as wind resistance. If you stick to maintained roads and go easy you can use an extremely light weight trailer. The question will be how long will it last and how little can you get by with. 900 lbs is the weight of everything. I built an 80” x 80” x 6’ tall box that weighed about 500 lbs. and put it on a 5’ x 8’ trailer that weighed about 300 lbs and loaded it with about 450 lbs of gear so about 1250 lbs. it was about 3’ taller than my new Toyota Tacoma with a 2.7 4 cylinder manual transmission with about 500 lbs in the bed. I could maintain 60 MPH but got like 15 MPG. You are going to be lucky to be able to tow a super light weight teardrop that allows you a place to sleep in my opinion but I will really enjoy watching you try! Let us see what you come up with after checking out TNTTT.com!

 

[DLTooley]

Tear drops are nice. I have a similar sized space in my small pickup.

Converting a cargo trailer would be simplest, including calculating the weight.

I don’t see a galley on this one, a big plus to the small teardrop design.

https://americanteardrop.com/osprey

 

[skyl4rk]

I built a 4x8 camper trailer from a utility trailer. After putting the cot inside, there was very little room left over to move around. I was able to sleep well, as long as I kept vents open for fresh air. I don't think that my design and layout was the best, I was learning at the time. It worked OK, but I consider it a learning experience and moved on to a minivan camper, which was far superior.

I don't know the weight of my trailer, but it was not lightweight. My Nissan Versa was able to tow it, but braking required thinking ahead and slowing down carefully. Modern traffic tends to brake hard right in front of you, which could have caused an accident, so I had to make sure to keep distance from other vehicles, especially driving on ice, not recommended.

There is a series on youtube where one of the Teardrops and Tiny Trailer forum members shows how to build a "foamy", that is a trailer made of foam panels glued together, then covered with fabric. This produces a strong, lightweight and insulated camper. If for some reason you don't want a van, this is probably the best low cost solution. See other videos from this channel for "how to" build a foam trailer.
Youtube video: Is a Foam Trailer Strong?

 

[bagabum]

 how would everyone build out a 4 x 8 Camper for everyday living? Seems that a lot of creativity will be needed due to limited space.

MDOVERL,  actually 4x8 is a ton of space and if you start with an all aluminum Aluma trailer, you will have some  weight  credits for the box. There 54x96 only weighs 390 lbs. Make a box from 1/4" plywood and 1"x1.5" studs ripped from WP, hand pick for the lightest. Glue every thing. Fold up table and  fold up shelf with locking brackets. Make bed from same material and it folds down to sit on 4 hinged legs. Folds up to get out of way when not in use. When bed is folded up, you basically have a 3.5' x 8' area for hanging out in. I made mine 6'4" inside height so I could stand. Put  door in  back. Had a large  shelf up front for  kitchen that just cleared bed when bed folded up. Storage nets above bed. You must think "light" via the whole build, no 2x4's, no 3/4" plywood. Floor is 3/8 plywood. Now add 2 layers of 3/4" foam board to ceiling and walls and cover with light weight carpet. I use the stuff that looks like it was made for boat trailer bunks. Easy to work with and staple in place.  Coat the trailer with 2 part epoxy garage floor paint. you wont believe how long this coating  will last as I have homemade deer hunting  stands that are in south Texas heat that are over 10 years old.

 

[bullfrog]

I think that any light weight material covered with Poorman’s Fiberglass (PMF) will be stronger, lighter and easier to repair than any manufactured RV. I used the worst possible material, Masonite ( basically treated cardboard) covered interior doors to build my campers. You can build a little bigger than a van sized box for $600 to $800. You can buy or build a decent trailer with light truck sized tires and a proper axle for $800. I recently bought a 24’ trailer with dual 5,200 lb axles to build my camper toy hauler for $1,000 there are plenty of old campers out there with water damage that have good frames and axles or you can just get a utility trailer. So for less than $1600 and your labor using a circle saw, drill, screwdriver and a paint roller and brush you can build an insulated water and air tight box mounted on a trailer. Can you get a cargo trailer you can stand in that is light weight in that size for $1,600? If you can get one and save all the work of building one. The problem is the same one most people have that are new to full timing which is you have to carry a lot of heavy stuff, which requires you have a vehicle with the load carrying/tow capacity to safely stop from highway speeds. Currently there are not many if any well built light weight manufactured RVs that will do the job so you have to try to build them if that is what you need. Yes mine have needed a few hours maintenance every year but are still doing the job after several years. Yes they are ugly but beautiful when the wind blows and it’s cold outside.

 

[ckelly78z]

Just something to consider....my 1996 F150 has a 4'x8' bed in it that will handle 1000#-1500# easily, and still get 15 mpg. You could also tow a trailer with this rig. I think your Kia is rated for a towing capacity of #2000, not #900, so maybe an existing cargo trailer conversion would be your best bet.

 

[Zephyr]

The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is basically the maximum total safe weight of your vehicle, counting the curb weight (the weight of our vehicle when empty), plus the weight of your passengers, fuel, any accessories added to the vehicle, cargo, and the “tongue weight” of a tow trailer (normally 10-20% of the combined

The Forte has a GVWR of 3700 pounds, empty weight of 2700-2900 pounds, yet a google search says it's good for towing 2,000 pounds. Maybe I don't understand how it can tow a ton. PLease educate me.

 

[Uncle Todo]

Unless you're a midget, IMHO 4X8 is too small for maybe anything other than a weekender.
I currently have no interest in towing anything, but if that were to change and pending how my van adventure turns out I'd thought a 4X8 trailer would be an excellent base for a bathroom & shower.

For a domicile however, maybe you could do something with a pop top and fold out portions like those old school mini camper trailers.
Although it's delicate balance between space and tow weight.
Maybe can do something with electric brakes?
I'd imagine car braking ability limits tow capacity although certainly not the only thing.

 

[bullfrog]

Probably the most successful small vehicle at being livable out of, is the Prius mainly due to the fact it comes from the factory with the problem of a heater/air conditioning as well as electrical power and fuel economy pretty well solved. It’s biggest problem is space and ground clearance. With the Kia I think I would be looking at the lightest smallest fold up motorcycle tent trailer if living space is a problem. If storage space for heater, solar, kitchen and water is the problem then I would say it is time to look for a larger vehicle with a higher load and towing capacity.

 

[highdesertranger]

I have no idea where these weight ratings are coming from. maybe the OP can post the actual ratings for the vehicle they have. never ever trust what anyone but the manufacturer says about weight ratings. after all you can have 2 like vehicles with 2 different ratings. highdesertranger

 

[mdoverl]

I was surprised to hear 2000-3700 tow rate. Here is manufacturer information. Don’t know if “Curb Weight” counts as tow weight.

https://www.kiamedia.com/us/en/models/forte/2019/specifications


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[Uncle Todo]

I didn't see tow weight specified in your link but googling indicates 2000 pounds.
You have to account for the tongue weight in your GVWR as well.
There should be a lable somewhere on your car that gives the tow rating for your specific model.
Curb weight is the weight of your vehicle as outfitted from the factory, basically empty weight.
GVWR is the max your vehicle is rated to carry including passengers, gear, and trailer tongue weight.

 

[mdoverl]

Thanks, I think this is it.

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[highdesertranger]

ok a little more info,

you have a GVWR of 3792 and a curb weight of lets say 2762, that leaves you with a total payload including of 1003. not much. also it appears you have a CVT transmission. if that is true I wouldn't tow anything. keep in mind that manufacturers often strip the vehicle down to get the curb weight. like empty fuel tank and no spare with no driver.

those specs you posted give no GCWR(Gross Combined Weight Rating) which suggest no towing. unless you can find a GCWR from the manufacturer I wouldn't tow. and don't go by what someone says even someone at a dealership you need to see this in writing from the manufacturer.

highdesertranger

 

[mdoverl]

Yeah, I found nothing indicating GCWR and my vehicle does have a CVT transmission. Sucks. Well, I wasn't thinking about towing anything when I got this vehicle. Wish I had now. Lesson learned.

I still have a 2007 Chrysler Aspen I was could still use.

 

[bullfrog]

^ Even Toyota has had problems with their CVT cars I believe due to overheating. Many small cars would have a hard time hauling four 200 lb people and emergency supplies.

 

[mdoverl]

For the 2019 Kia Forte I found a weight capacity of 900 pounds counting passenger and cargo, which falls in line with all data that has been looked up.

I weigh 200 pounds and a 4 x 8 trailer from Lowes weighs 300 pounds. That would leave me with 400 pounds for build-out and storage, not very much weight to work with. Also considering I was wanting to have quite a bit of solar power, at least 200 watts, which would require around 100-200 pounds of batteries I'm guessing. Leaving me with less than 200 pounds for build and storage after that.

 

[bullfrog]

A personal opinion of mine is everything wears out. How soon it wears out often depends on how hard you work it. Work being defined by how much weight and how far you move it. Most people’s expectations of what is acceptable for simple nomadic living is far beyond the old Hobo with a stick and a few belongings tied in a neckerchief to it. If you have backpacked and are only using a vehicle as a hard sided tent then a car, van or 1/2 ton truck work fine as you have enough room and weight capacity to add a little solar and carry a little more water and a bigger stove to cook with. If you intend to build in with wood cabinets, insulate, mount 400 watts or more of solar and carry several batteries, have more than a 10 gallon water supply and a 10 gallon black tank, carry tools and four seasons of clothes you need to start with something no less than 3/4 ton SUV, van or truck. Same thing with pulling trailers. When you pull a trailer you add not only what you want to haul but also the weight of the trailer. There are several advantages to pulling a trailer if you need space but there is a trade off in that the amount you can carry is decreased because of the weight of the trailer. Single axle trailers with small wheels and tires spin faster than trailers with larger wheels and tires and wear out quicker. Larger wheels and tires can usually carry more weight as well and therefore are usually are mounted on heavier axles. Many single axle trailers can be pulled with 1/2 ton vehicles. Dual axles trailers have several advantages over single axle trailers. So again my opinion is if you are going to pull a trailer most of the time it should be a dual axle trailer and should be pulled by at least a 3/4 ton vehicle.