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    Posted: 07 Nov 2018 at 2:56pm

Has anybody had the same idea as mine:

Buy a cargo/utility trailer and turn it into a camper? Thoughts along this line came up in the "Your thoughts" thread.

With most that I have seen, they sit low so, the first order of business would be to get busy with a welder and some square tubing to make "risers". This would get it up high enough to allow for the tanks and plumbing underneath.

After that, it would be a weather tight, towable "blank slate" - make it how you want.

I have to believe that I am missing something or others would have already done this.



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marwayne View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2018 at 3:16pm
My son told me dad  that's what you should do. However, he has reasons for that, because I'm getting on in years and don't know how long we will be camping. So in the end he would get a nice custom trailer

If you want something done right, do it yourself.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2018 at 4:01pm
[QUOTE=David]
Has anybody had the same idea as mine:

Buy a cargo/utility trailer and turn it into a camper? Thoughts along this line came up in the "Your thoughts" thread.

With most that I have seen, they sit low so, the first order of business would be to get busy with a welder and some square tubing to make "risers". This would get it up high enough to allow for the tanks and plumbing underneath.

After that, it would be a weather tight, towable "blank slate" - make it how you want.

I have to believe that I am missing something or others would have already done this.



There is a guy on a facebook page i belong to, small travel trailers,  that does this. He is building one now. He post pics as he goes along. He does a pretty good job.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2018 at 4:22pm
I have seen a couple, but I found them to low , they were under 6' high and very poor workmanship.

If you want something done right, do it yourself.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2018 at 4:24pm
Originally posted by marwayne

My son told me dad  that's what you should do. However, he has reasons for that, because I'm getting on in years and don't know how long we will be camping. So in the end he would get a nice custom trailer


It sounds like he is almost as smart as dad!   
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2018 at 4:29pm
Originally posted by mjlrpod


[QUOTE=David]
Has anybody had the same idea as mine:

Buy a cargo/utility trailer and turn it into a camper? Thoughts along this line came up in the "Your thoughts" thread.

With most that I have seen, they sit low so, the first order of business would be to get busy with a welder and some square tubing to make "risers". This would get it up high enough to allow for the tanks and plumbing underneath.

After that, it would be a weather tight, towable "blank slate" - make it how you want.

I have to believe that I am missing something or others would have already done this.



There is a guy on a facebook page i belong to, small travel trailers,  that does this. He is building one now. He post pics as he goes along. He does a pretty good job.


Thanks but, I choose not to do FB or the other social media. But, you do confirm that it can be done and others are doing it - cool!

It seems to me if a person could get the right trailer at the right price AND buy the stuff right to outfit, it would be a neat project. I always felt that the only way I could get the "perfect" camper would be to build my own.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2018 at 4:41pm
David,

Here's a link to a You Tube guy building his own:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHF-qr0Z5AA

Years ago I converted a cargo trailer to a simple camper, I used it for a year or two, mostly fishing, no stove, hotplate. No latrine, portable and potable water, had a bunk and wired for electricity. Very simple.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2018 at 9:22pm
This is a project that I followed for a while. Completely home built. Welded aluminum frame, and parts and things from various places. AFAIK, they spent at least a year on it.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2018 at 10:45pm
I have a friend that has done a “home made camper” out of a box utility trailer. It is about 7x12, has a regular rv door and screen, 2 awning windows, a fantastic fan, simple 120 and 12 volt electrical, 2 burner coleman stove, simple solo bed, hanging clothes places and locker type storage for kitchen equipment and food. He uses a wall mounted 5 gallon water contaner with a spigot and a small sink that drains into a bucket below the countertop. He has a catalytic heater , engel ice box, one chair and collapsable table.
It is very simple and basic.

He uses it quite a bit in the 3 seasons. There is no insulation, so heat, condensation and noise are probably issues.  He also said that it is so light that it bounces around quite a bit.  I don’t remember what /if any suspension is used.

He told me he had less than $3500 invested.  I know he did most of the work himself and a lot of the pieces were reused/scrounged from wrecks

Not our style, but he does get out and go places
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Nov 2018 at 11:25pm
My grandfather, who was a custom cabinet maker, built his own tent trailer in 1953 and even sewed the canvas himself. It was pretty basic, looking at old photos and from what my mom has told me. Two twin beds folded out from each side. Later, in about 1956 or ‘57. He built a cabover camper for one of the cabinet shop trucks. It had one of the first slide outs, that contained two bunks, and had a rear kitchen. That camper is slowly disintegrating now but was really special in its day. I remember camping in that camper when I was a little kid.
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