Where are you living at right now.

[Sofisintown]

Thanks guys, fireplaces and chimneys are popular ATM. Nearly done with this one, another one to go to next week.

Just finished this 23ft high one in a nearby town. 18 Tons of hand picked local granite, hand cut and laid and all transported 3T's at a time in my little truck (pictured)

Beautiful work! Makes the plain Jane house look like a mansion!

 

[bagabum]

Bagabum: How will your rig (the basic trailer & box) compare in cost and total weight to the same size cargo?

The trailer  weighs 675, all Al except for axle and  hitch. The box I have calculated at 800 lbs without the build inside. An all aluminum cargo trailer would probably be a little lighter but I just cant deal with all of the round corners etc. I am targeting a build that is minimal heat transfer so my build is all about how well I can insulate it, I will average R-11 throughout trailer giving me a well insulated trailer. I built a similar one a few years ago in which the refrigerator waste heat and my body heat would keep it cozy on a 30 deg delta night.  (45 deg nights) My main interest though is cooling via batteries on summer nights. The box is all 90 deg corners , easy to work with but boy does it look home made, but as time goes by and your super comfortable sitting inside or sleeping, that does not matter anymore. A  white rectangular box covered with solar panels  sitting on an aluminum flatbed trailer will not compete with the beauty of a gorganthgewous 5th wheel  , but sleeping in 70 deg on a muggy 90 deg night is nice.

 

[jbart]

Spent last week in the Black Hills SD. at about 5000 ft. 80's the first 2 days and the rest in the 70's had to turn on the heat in the mornings! a Friend of mine has 2 Polaris Razors and we rode the trails. A very beautiful area, saw the Washington monument and stopped one night at the Badlands that are worth the side trip off of I90. Free camping before you get to  Badlands National Park, watch for large cell tower on left of road and take the dirt path to the cell tower and u can camp for free right on the edge!

 

[Sofisintown]

I'm home making a loo with wheels.

 

[bullfrog]

The PMF makes an air tight box. You will have to open a window to slam the door closed. Ventilation is required to keep you alive and deal with condensation, something trailer manufacturers don’t have to worry about after the first few miles down the road! Lol!!! I built my trailer with just enough room inside my head doesn’t hit the ceiling when I stand on tip toes. I figure my box around 800 lbs. but my roof will be 2 layers now as my flat roof pooled water and developed dips. My roof will slope down towards the front and at 80” wide I can fit 2- 39” 305 watt solar panels side by side and with one that hinges off the rear will have more than enough solar. My door is on the side as I put my box on an old 24’ camper trailer with the 12’ DIY camper box in front and a 12’ flat bed rear section for my Suzuki Samurai/porch. Crazy me mine is made out of interior doors filled with spray foam covered in PMF.

 

[nature lover]

Yesterday I was at my pond in Mountville Lancaster County PA now I’m in Berks County on a chicken farm. This farm also rises boys they’ve got five of them. Yeah but the guy with the pond had 10 children. We grow them big here in Pennsylvania.

 

[bagabum]

Bagabum: How will your rig (the basic trailer & box) compare in cost and total weight to the same size cargo?

(Quoting hard on this tablet)

S2D, the trailer weighs 675, the box I calculated at 1100 lbs without the build inside. One of my builds was a cargo and it came with really thick (1" ) OSB plywood floor and 1/2" OSB walls and ceiling. That stuff is full of glue and is HEAVY. So my box ends up being a 1/4" skin vs the Al on a cargo. My studs are hand picked  WP [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif](the light ones)[/font] cut to 1.5" x 2". I use the 1 3/8 drop for other things in the build. The inside skin is 5mm 5 ply (not Luan or wavy paneling). Its very light. The 2" insulation would have to be added to the cargo.   My boxes end up being very tight. An overall R-11. I even make 2" thick foam plugs to go in the 4 (same size) windows for energy loss there. I hate stripping out a cargo trailer, throwing a way all that OSB, insulating it and reskinning the inside . The floor is 2" insulated also, 1/2" 7 layer ply floor, linoleum liner on bottom to protect foam, foam in middle, all sitting on five 3/8" slide rails. The floor walking surface is  that 1/2" wood grain puzzle fatigue foam. It actually stays together on rough roads.

 

[MrNoodly]

Now I'm in southwest New Mexico, near Silver City. About 5,500 ft, highs in the 80s, lows in the 50s. No wildfires.

 

[bagabum]

The PMF makes an air tight box. Crazy me mine is made out of interior doors filled with spray foam covered in PMF.

Will we be competing for last place in am RV beauty contest? I love DIY home made campers. Believe me, you can tell mine is home made, it has that DIY "shrimp boat" texture look. You are correct about air tight when all of the corners and overlaps are sealed.  On my last build I had to add vents, it was amazing how fast the CO2 level would rise with just one person inside.

 

[bullfrog]

People keep mistaking mine for one of those Igloo refrigerated boxes! Lol!!! My tow vehicles give me a huge advantage in ugly contest as in “It still runs! What the heck are you towing?” My old hometown Shriners used to have a “hillbilly brigade” parade group of old model Ts and As that left a permanent impression on my youthful brain.

 

[grunt1969]

New member still planning to make the jump. Am in eastern South Carolina still working my sales job trying to save up. Rain today and tomorrow, 80 days mid 70 at night. Am at 12ft above sea level, edge of swamp at end of our street. Still living in my 20'x 15' studio apt.

 

[MrNoodly]

These days I'm on BLM land near Yuma AZ, about 200' above sea level. Mid 70s in the day, low 50s at night.

 

[user 423]

Between Sierra Vista and Bisbee, AZ. I'm renting a small guest house from friends.

Elev. is at 4600' and it's usually 8-10 degrees cooler than Tucson. 70s/40s lately but the last couple of winters we've had snow and it gets down into the 20s.

I'm trying to decide if I will head to Quartzsite in Dec. or Jan.

Cochise county has a low incidence of COVID, so I may just stay put.

After a 14 state/8000 mile trip, I'm just relaxing and doing some maintenance on my van.

 

[ckelly78z]

Still living in our old farm house on 10 acres where we have horses, donkeys, chickens, and turkeys. We just winterized our 32' bumper pull camper last week after our last outing of the season. We are in NW Ohio, where it is already down to freezing at night, but last week we were setting high temperature records near 80*. The average high this time of the year is 53*.

 

[bagabum]

 I would highly recommend arching or using a slope on the roof to prevent pooling water and to prevent dirt build up and stains. I would highly recommend also using Poor Man’s Fiberglass (PMF) if you are going to use paint anyway. It is unbelievable how much strength it will add if done properly. My box is almost exactly the same size as yours and can be jacked from anywhere when changing trailers with little or no flexing.

Thanks, [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]bullfrog [/font]I did purpose a slight arch in the roof. I'm done with "wood and trim" build out and now working on energy. Planning on 3 panels on top, 2 LiFePo's in series, 24V1500w PSW, searching for best charge controller right now.

 

[bagabum]

 My door is on the side as I put my box on an old 24’ camper trailer with the 12’ DIY camper box in front and a 12’ flat bed rear section for my Suzuki Samurai/porch. Crazy me mine is made out of interior doors filled with spray foam covered in PMF.

That 12' porch sounds awesome, I wonder which one of us would win the "ugliest DIY camper" contest? My finish looks like what I call "the homemade shrimp boat finish".

 

[shadowmoss]

I'm in my winter spot in a rv park in the East Valley part of Phoenix metro. I look out on the Superstitions mountains from my spot. Last week it tapped close to 100* for the high, now we are down to mid 70s for the highs, mid 40s for lows. I think this is around 1200' elevation. Summers I go to a small rv park at 5000' elevation. I moved down in time for the last week of really hot weather.

 

[bagabum]

I'm home making a loo with wheels.

I think I found your video   

 

[66788]

Still at an RV park in Southern Oregon. Weather is good, highs of 43, low tonight 11 degrees F. The van stays 68-70 all night long.

I bought a Volvo V70XC AWD station wagon for $10.00 and it is very good in the snow. (interesting story for another day)

Propane is $1.49 per gallon, plenty of sit down restaurants, I bought 9mm, .380, .22lr, and .45ACP within the last week, and there have been 3 Covid deaths in the entire county so far. This is a safe and comfortable place to spend the winter.

 

[Cammalu]

Ten bucks??? Dang.

I’m still in Kentucky trying to get rid of the last Dr appointments. One next week and I think I can go. Family wants me to stay for at least Thanksgiving but the feet are itching.

Went to sams club today to stock up on supplies so I don’t have to go to the little crowded stores in Quartzsite everyday. Over by the senior center is a guy that sells produce outside and I think I’ll be shopping there a lot more this year.