Size reality check

[IanC]

About a year ago I bought a 6x10 Wells Cargo with ramp rear door, side door and 6'6" interior height. It's been parked at a friend's house until this week. In the meantime I've spent a lot of time making plans on grid paper - in my plans that little sucker had everything including  a shower. My desk has stacks of rv equipment catalogs.

Now comes size shock. The interior on graph paper is a lot roomier than the reality. So it's back to the drawing board - first thing to go is the shower, but I think I might still get an on-demand water heater, although , years ago when I traveled the country with my horses and lived in the front tack compartment I used to heat water with an immersion bucket heater. Those things work great - if you don't keep an eye on them they will heat to boiling. I have to check how much power they draw.

Anyway, I'm very excited about getting started this weekend - I'll be taking down the plywood in prep for wiring and insulation and doing final drawings. My time line is to be finished by August when I'm putting my house on the market -paying Uncle Sam everything he wants and then I'm outta here.  Kind of hard to believe this is going to happen.

 

[highdesertranger]

you will need to run a generator for that immersion heater. I hope you post up some pics of your conversion. highdesertranger

 

[BradKW]

You can use a Hotrod to heat water with electricity...its a product designed to allow RV propane water heaters to heat via shore power when plugged in.  http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/hott-rod-water-heater-conversion-kit-6-gallon/47672

Calrod amp draw: 3.77 amps or 452 watts. The person who's posting I will link below runs this from an inverter off his alternator and it takes approx 40min to heat 5gal. With a big enough battery bank, I figure its certainly doable from the house system as well. If you have specific questions, Orton loves to talk about his mods and responds to both emails and PMs.

[font=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]The portable hot water tank will consist of 3 parts:[/font]

[font=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]1. Tank - 5.16 gallon stainless beer keg that is 9 1/4" dia. x 23 1/4" tall and weighs 12 lbs. The beer outlet is a 1 3/4" dia. hole at the top of the keg. The SS pipe and check valve have been removed from the keg. Caution: even an empty keg has high pressure in the tank. This pressure must be relieved before the pipe and valve are removed. Be sure to manually press down the rubber ball check valve to be sure pressure is gone. After the pressure is released, the pipe and valve can be extracted by removing the spring retaining ring with two small screwdrivers. I acquired the tank for free.[/font]
[font=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]2. Heating element - This is a "Hottrod" electric conversion 6 gallon water heater part # HR6. I purchased this from AdventureRV.net for $94.00 delivered. Kit was designed to replace the drain plug on Suburban and Atwood RV propane heaters so shore power can be used to heat water instead of propane. Kit includes the 450 watt Calrod heating element, a 90 deg. to 150 deg. adjustable thermostat and an electric cord. It will screw into a SS coupling added to the bottom of the keg. The thermostat will be attached to the keg side above the heating element.[/font]
[font=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]3. Pump - This is a Rule "Charge N' Flow" pump part # RP280KR. I paid $71.24 from Amazon.com delivered. The kit includes a 1 1/2" dia. 12 volt 4.7 gpm pump, 8' of hose, spray nozzle, battery, battery charger and a 12 volt plug. Pump will be installed in tank by dropping it through the beer outlet.[/font]

[font=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Two SS couplings will be welded to the tank. The one on the side at the bottom of the tank will be for the heating element and the other will be a 3/4" coupling welded on the opposite side at the top. The top coupling will have a street ell installed with a reducer for a 3/8" NPT Norgren air cylinder valve exhaust muffler part # C/S3 to let air into tank as the water is pumped out. The muffler will be removed to fill the tank with water. I will have to figure out how to suspend the pump in the tank so it does not touch the heating element at the bottom. The completed tank will weigh about 60 lbs when full of water. The water can be heated several ways: put tank in the sun, 120 volt shore power or 120 volt power from the vehicle inverter when the engine is running. The pump can be run from the house battery or from its portable battery. The portable battery is supposed to be good to pump 100 gallons. So tank can be used inside or outside of van. The thermostat will be set for about 100 deg. and only the water in the tank will be used to shower. Cold water will not be mixed with the tank hot water. About 4 gallons of water will be available.[/font]

[font=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Full Text: http://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20176[/font][/SIZE]

 

[masterplumber]

In a small trailer less is more. When I first started mine I had dreams of an RV water heater, on demand water pressure with an accumulator tank, outside shower, and a pan under the floor in the entry for an inside shower, etc, etc... I kind of did a different reality check, and thought, what do I really need to be comfortable. For me a comfortable bed, place to cook a simple but good meal, and my morning coffee were the priorities. All the other stuff is nice, but comes with an inital cost, and the cost of a more complicated rig to maintain. I think the most relaxed and comfortable I am each year is in the middle of the wilderness camped in a tent with a wood stove during hunting season, so I basically tried to duplicate that experience while on the road. Every trip I jettison more out of the trailer when I decide I'm not using something.

I did the same thing as you, spending probably years drawing different van and trailer interiors before getting my trailer, and then I pretty much threw them all away about the time I got the insulation done. I don't see that as a waste of time as 1, it gave me enjoyment just drawing out the ideas, and 2, it helped me define what was important to me. So as you begin don't be tied to having to do it the way you initially designed it. Spend time just sitting on a 5 gallon bucket inside the space and visualize living there - where will you cook, sleep, lounge when the weather is bad, work on the computer, etc... Then take your initial ideas and modify as needed as you go. Best wishes and please post pictures as you go along.

 

[IanC]

- where will you cook, sleep, lounge when the weather is bad, work on the computer, etc... Then take your initial ideas and modify as needed as you go. Best wishes and please post pictures as you go along.

That's my thought too - at home I'm usually at the computer, in bed or making something to eat. Everything else like yard work, home repairs and endlessly (it seems ) straightening the garage and, of course going to work will be gone once I leave this behind. Hiking with the dog, fishing and doing little will be coming with me.

Thanks to everyone posting on the forum for the inspiration to do this. I wanted to take this route years before I had even heard of anyone else doing it. Who knew there is a whole network - amazing !

 

[MrNoodly]

For those who have a vehicle/trailer in hand, I suggest mocking things up with cardboard to see how much room there actually is—or isn't.

 

[Raven+Squid]

For those who have a vehicle/trailer in hand, I suggest mocking things up with cardboard to see how much room there actually is—or isn't.

This and Masterplumbers suggestion to get a 5 gallon bucket and just sit and stare and think and design inside the trailer.  You being in the space at the time of design will give you new ideas.

Maybe picking one primary feature ( like the bed or your computer area) and the design out from that.

Good luck, have a good time on the build!

 

[speedhighway46]

I would like to echo MrNoodly's suggestion abt mocking the design up prior to construction. To add, the smaller the area you have, the more important it is to get things right. My wife and I designed the layout of our Motorhome conversion together, but I could tell by the comments she was making she was having difficulty visualizing the final product.

I mocked up the entire interior in cheap strand board, and we actually used it that way most of one summer just to make sure our design worked for us the way it was supposed to.

Finally, minute adjustments and shifts of an inch or two can make a big difference in how the layout works in real life. One example; we shifted the bed 2 inches to give more room for the bedcovers fitting next to the bedside table; that was not apparent on the layout we originally did.

Then, piece by piece the strand board was replaced by the expensive material and we gradually got the entire interior completed.

 

[IanC]

"Finally, minute adjustments and shifts of an inch or two can make a big difference in how the layout works in real life."

I'm finding that (especially in a trailer as small as mine) even the thickness of the  plywood can throw the original measurements off. I'm 6'4" tall - man, do I ever envy the 5'9" guys now. What I could do with the extra inches I'd save on bed length. I can compromise on a lot of things but being able to stretch out in bed isn't one of them.

 

[masterplumber]

One of several reasons my beds are length wise instead of crossways. And they're 6' 8'' long.

 

[IanC]

Here's the design I've come up with so far for my 6x10 trailer (Actually 69"x 112") .The shower stall holds a 24x24 base  and portable potty with a sitting ledge with water tank beneath. Water pump under the sink.
Below the bed will be the battery compartment, accessible from an outside  hatch - drawers in front and a compartment accessible when the ramp door is down. One window behind the couch/bed.
Also shallow cabinets or shelves above the kitchen area
I am able to make my own awnings , so the rear ramp will become a small screen room to give the dog and cat a place to hang.

I did the drawing with a program I found online and I don't know how big the image is - hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting it

 

[highdesertranger]

little advice, I would try to get a bigger water tank in there. you don't have to always fill it up but the more water you carry the longer between resupply. highdesertranger

 

[IanC]

little advice,  I would try to get a bigger water tank in there.  you don't have to always fill it up but the more water you carry the longer between resupply.  highdesertranger

You're right. My thought was that with a van as a tow vehicle I could carry another 4 five gallon jugs.