VERY DISCOURAGED. Travel Trailer vs Cargo Trailer Conversion?

[Bigblockyeti]

A single axle bunk house camper would be fully set up to camp with a Murphy bed in the front and bunk beds in the back that could be removed. I would guess, based on my recent shopping, that you could get one ~3700lbs dry so you could put some stuff in there to your imposed 4000klb limit, but not much. I've seen a few I can't recall off the top of my head, that had small rear doors that bikes could be loaded into or ladders in your case. The quality issue is a big sticking point, that plus my towing constraints, I've all but given up on shopping and enjoying as much tent camping as I can bear.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Ah, padawa!!!!
You hear freedom, but the call of the chain is strong!!!

The call of the heart should not be overlooked, and the chains can be loosed!

Freedom is not about traveling, but about following the heart, Seems you know this! However the message can still be blocked by those still in captivity.

I suggest you make your living with what you love, and quit worrying about how you will survive. It will all work out in the end!!! Especially if you do as you are suggesting.

As for your accommodations, I know those that live in a converted car and would not change a thing. If However you are called to freedom, an RV park will only distract you from the end goal! Any RV that will offer acceptance in most parks, will loose value when you modify it for your needs.

I converted a cargo trailer, and stayed where I wanted to be! That However is not where most people here find comfortable, so you must choose the world you want to live in, and work towards that goal. No matter the choice you make you will have lots of company!

For the record! I like cargo trailers. I don't like adding windows! there is no such thing as stealth! I prefer tandem axle! Mine has a hatch in the floor between the axles where I can put 4 31 series AGMS. I treat mine like a garage, and will likely always keep it down the road for storage!

My suggestions are based on my love for mother earth, and my dislike for what people are doing to it in the name of their crazy ambitions!!! Hopefully things will change before you can act on your plans!!! You might search " cheap RV living " on YouTube as part of your research.

Oh yes! I just delivered my good friends 1955 classic silver line trailer to an rv park where they don't typically accept "trailers that old !". We asked them if they would tell someone with a classic model T they could not park in the park. There she sits in all her 1955 glory, for all to admire!

 

[Strider]

Indeed! I agree with thee!
The thing is: I absolutely love model building and making things. But this may have to wait. What makes it difficult is that I am not getting any younger, and every time I have been ready to start my building, as in setting up a little spot, the rug gets pulled out from under me.

I am in a holding pattern at the moment, but should know which way to go in the next few weeks: latest by end of May.

I agree with your point about the Model T. Certain vintage things, if kept in order, are more desirable than new, and can be accepted. On my journey back in the old Land Cruiser HJ45, I stopped at a hotel and asked if I could park it at the front. The clerk looked at it and said "Yeah! That makes the hotel more attractive!"

I was homeless once, for a couple of months, in Flagstaff, Arizona. 7,000 feet in elevation, in February, in a little Jeep TJ with a soft top. Slept by taking out the passenger seat and putting a cooler there, then stretching a plywood board I found from the cooler to the board in the back that stretched over the two fenders. Layers of old blankets and tarps were my bed. Surplus wool blankets kept my dog and I alive.

I will find a way.

 

[ARD]

in the interim, perhaps watch some YouTube videos on overland camping and expos. It is amazing how vehicles are being outfitted. With your artistic mind, I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Good luck.

 

[Strider]

in the interim, perhaps watch some YouTube videos on overland camping and expos. It is amazing how vehicles are being outfitted. With your artistic mind, I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Good luck.

Thanks!
Been to the Overland Expo several times. Very cool vehicles indeed!
This is my idea for my HJ45:

I have a YouTube channel where I documented driving my HJ from FL to NC and then AZ.

https://www.youtube.com/@WheresJoseToday-im1gr

I also watch 4XOverland and The Essence of Overlanding, along with Slim Potatohead. Great channels!

 

[ARD]

I will check out your channel, as well as the other channels you mentioned. Overland and Korean Tent Camping are my latest obessions.

 

[Strider]

I will check out your channel, as well as the other channels you mentioned. Overland and Korean Tent Camping are my latest obessions.

I'll have to check out Korean Tent Camping.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

in the interim, perhaps watch some YouTube videos on overland camping and expos. It is amazing how vehicles are being outfitted. With your artistic mind, I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Good luck.

On that note, consider watching "sailing uma " on YouTube!

 

[Strider]

On that note, consider watching "sailing uma " on YouTube!

Interesting.
Indeed, sailors know how to live in tiny spaces!

My primary issue right now is that I have to go into a job, and I can't leave my dogs the car.
If my HJ was finished, I could leave them in that maybe, as it would have a pop-up top and lots of ventilation. I could also have a small military or cargo trailer for my tools etc. and with a silent generator to run AC in the HJ camper.
But the HJ still has a long way to go.
I may have to get a vintage type "canned ham" deal even.
Watched Cheap RV Living about the cargo trailer conversion, and that may wind up being necessary.
I don't know yet.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

CheapRVLiving has a lot of information hidden in the interviews! Some of the important take aways would be the following.

Over all the videos, most participants say their conversion is a project that will always see improvements in the future!

Non-build out is a thing!!!

So basically a cargo is an empty canvas! It is square inside,so really easy to make it yours. No matter how you finish it, your money will find it's way back to you if you sell.

My custom built home on wheels projects are never finished. My boat was always upgraded, and my house before this life, was always being remodeled!

I can't imagine buying a painting by any other artists, I just don't fit the mold that way.

When I did the cargo, in one month it was ready to sustain us. mind you my vision for it was not what I had, but we could live in it.

This has always been my way. When I was ready to go into business, I started with a machine in the garage. Then I started marketing my abilities, even though I had to buy the tools needed for every job for quite a while.

I could have moved into the cargo in a week had I considered no build as an option. In the end it will become whatever you dream it to be.

I am partial to the bread loaf trailers. Caned Ham is only a roof leak away from a project. Neither maintain their value. But then, RV park rules and poorly built trailers are in my opinion designed to keep you a slave to the bankers!!!

I can see you are waking to this reality, and hear the frustration,that waking is presenting to you!!!

You will not break free from the chains least you change the rules you live by!

The best advice I was ever given was that anyone with a Skil could work only half a year to support themselves.

I hope my words will inspire you to break free!!!

 

[Strider]

CheapRVLiving has a lot of information hidden in the interviews! Some of the important take aways would be the following.

Over all the videos, most participants say their conversion is a project that will always see improvements in the future!

Non-build out is a thing!!!

So basically a cargo is an empty canvas! It is square inside,so really easy to make it yours. No matter how you finish it, your money will find it's way back to you if you sell.

My custom built home on wheels projects are never finished. My boat was always upgraded, and my house before this life, was always being remodeled!

I can't imagine buying a painting by any other artists, I just don't fit the mold that way.

When I did the cargo, in one month it was ready to sustain us. mind you my vision for it was not what I had, but we could live in it.

This has always been my way. When I was ready to go into business, I started with a machine in the garage. Then I started marketing my abilities, even though I had to buy the tools needed for every job for quite a while.

I could have moved into the cargo in a week had I considered no build as an option. In the end it will become whatever you dream it to be.

I am partial to the bread loaf trailers. Caned Ham is only a roof leak away from a project. Neither maintain their value. But then, RV park rules and poorly built trailers are in my opinion designed to keep you a slave to the bankers!!!

I can see you are waking to this reality, and hear the frustration,that waking is presenting to you!!!

You will not break free from the chains least you change the rules you live by!

The best advice I was ever given was that anyone with a Skil could work only half a year to support themselves.

I hope my words will inspire you to break free!!!

Years ago a friend had an old horse trailer and I thought of converting it. I didn't and he sold it. They look kind of neat-vintage sort of-compared to the cargo ones. Maybe that's an option if I can find a cheap one in good condition: depending on the weight.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Years ago a friend had an old horse trailer and I thought of converting it. I didn't and he sold it. They look kind of neat-vintage sort of-compared to the cargo ones. Maybe that's an option if I can find a cheap one in good condition: depending on the weight.

Horse trailer? You can buy one that has living quarters! You will need a bigger tow vehicle!

My cargo, tandom axel,16ft box. Curb weight 2200 lbs. GVW 7000 sprung weight. Last I weighed in 4800lbs. You will weight in much heavier with a horse trailer. I bought new in 2015 for 4800 out the door, and was able to finance. Today that trailer will sell for a tidy sum!

You will not save trying to find a bargain!!!

 

[Strider]

Horse trailer? You can buy one that has living quarters! You will need a bigger tow vehicle!

My cargo, tandom axel,16ft box. Curb weight 2200 lbs. GVW 7000 sprung weight. Last I weighed in 4800lbs. You will weight in much heavier with a horse trailer. I bought new in 2015 for 4800 out the door, and was able to finance. Today that trailer will sell for a tidy sum!

You will not save trying to find a bargain!!!

It was a two horse trailer: a small one. I wouldn't buy a big one.
I have to keep working this out.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Although car

It was a two horse trailer: a small one. I wouldn't buy a big one.
I have to keep working this out.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

It was a two horse trailer: a small one. I wouldn't buy a big one.
I have to keep working this out.

Although cargo trailers are strong, they don't compare in build. Horse trailers don't have the same market.

Resale may suffer.