Trailer Build (1 Viewer)

[erymer]

Very cool explanation Rice. Saved this in the memory banks for my own build.

James a video I watched recent on the old youtube did a great job of explaining it as he is building his own expo trailer. Merrick's Garage is the channel. If I can find the exact video I'll link it.


Found it:

 

[jamesurq]

Cool video but doesn't really address the loop issue. I suppose in my example, I can just put an inline switch into the 13.6V charging output from the RV power center and turn it off when I'm using the battery to power the invertor. That avoids the loop. But my real question is, does it matter? I mean, I"m using the inverter to power a 12 volt power supply that happens to also be charging the battery.... seems silly...

 

[tstepp920]

lol.

Thing is, that 'convertor' on the left is a dual voltage. It controls all 12 volt and 110v circuits. So that "12vdc to load" and "120 load" will come out of the convertor rather than direct from the 120 socket, or output direct from the battery. I get the "shore power" functionality - that's no problem, it's just the non shore power, when I'm running the DC to AC inverter, I need to feed that power back into the "convertor". and the concern is that by feeding 110 into it, I'm now feeding 13.6dc back to charge the battery

Here's what it is:
WFCO 8700 Series 12 Amp RV Power Center Converter - S119-554718

You guys make my head hurt.........not only do I need to learn automotive engineering, now I have to be a scientist

 

[Rice]

Dude .. we're chatting about your trailer at the dinner. Question .... why all the shore power stuff? Just LED lighting, solar panels, and some batteries .... won't that cover it?

 

[jamesurq]

Dude .. we're chatting about your trailer at the dinner. Question .... why all the shore power stuff? Just LED lighting, solar panels, and some batteries .... won't that cover it?

I have the cord to make it happen. And with the lack of bathroom we'll be doing a car camping scenario when it's both of us. Also when I'm at home it can stay on charge. When it's just me camping I'll likely turn off the invertor and put a few 12v fans in place and be happy on solar. But having an invertor that'll run a small AC unit on low for a few hours at night might be a winner winner frozen chicken dinner. So there is that.

 

[erymer]

How I solved my power issues. lol

 

[jamesurq]

Good point - mine is big and noisy though - not a sweet little Honda one.

 

[Rice]

How I solved my power issues. lol

View attachment 1398049

Nice thought. My little Yamaha is super quiet. I like that mini-Honda.

 

[jamesurq]

This is what I have. It's about 70 dB or so.... not super loud, but certainly many many factors louder than either of those.
Amazon.com : DuroStar DS4000S, 3300 Running Watts/4000 Starting Watts, Gas Powered Portable Generator : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Then again, $270 with shipping to my door for a 3000w generator is a hard deal to beat.

 

[jamesurq]

So I'm picking up some 31x10.5x15 toyota bolt pattern wheels and tires today
Spacers coming in the mail in the next day or two.

This weekend I'm planning on the axle flip, spacers, wheels and tires.
Trying to mount spare
Start on solar panel and wiring
Start on bed platform

I've got an indoor 'workshop' - it's just a 10x30 storage unit but it has power so that's nice.

If anyone's around on Saturday I'd love some help. Let me know.

 

[jamesurq]

 

[jamesurq]

Got the wheels and tires. 2 with good tread. They're 'mesa atp' which is a generic tire made by cooper. They were dirty but cleaned up nice.

Also got 2 suitable spares. 1 I'm keeping and the other may be available for a reasonable price if anyone needs a 31" spare. As pictured it's a falken

 

[David70FJ40]

I realize this isn't a powered generator but I keep two of these at home for "emergencies". The Yeti 1250 has 1250 watts of power, 12v outlet, 110v outlets plus USB ports. Can be charged from a 110 v outlet or solar panels. At 100 pounds it isn't light but I would bet it would keep a camping trailer going for a weekend. I have used a portable induction burner plugged into it to cook an entire meal.

 

[jamesurq]

So I got the suspension flipped thanks to some welding help from Rice. Thanks man! With a drop spindle axle a traditional axle 'flip' would have been hilarious, but bad. So Rice burned on a couple of new plates. Got the axle installed this morning and realize that the wheel spacers I got were wrong. I got 6x4.5 to 6x5.5. Should have gotten 5x4.5 to 6x5.5. Unfortunately there's no local source that I know of so the old trailer wheels went back on in the meantime.

 

[jamesurq]

Before and after height wise.

Before:

And after. ONLY The suspension flip. No tire:

So approximately 6" of lift. Which is much more than I expected. Add the tire and it's another 1.75" ish.

What's nice is it's fully level when I tow it with the 40. So... still gonna need 8" or so of drop with Biscuit.

Now after I fill it with 1000 lbs of gear it may sag a bit.

 

[jamesurq]

Took it to the DEpot to buy some supplies and it rode really smooth very little bumping. The drop spindle axle looks ridiculous though. For $90 I may spring for the straight axle equivalent and gain the 5 or so inches of ground clearance.

 

[jamesurq]

Some small progress. Got the sleeping platform finished and installed, added some floor insulation up front and installed the battery tray and bolted in the fridge.

It's gonna be cosy

Oh and thanks Steve for the router - it's insanely difficult to use. The bit kept wandering and the height adjustment kept changing. Granted ive literally never used one before so I'm sure I'd do better next time.

 

[Rice]

Looks nice!

Have you considered putting the batts on the tongue?

Either using a small box just for the batts:

Or a bigger box that can hold additional hardware.

 

[jamesurq]

Right now the tongue won't fit a thing because of the spare tire and jack locations. Im looking at how I can change them to allow the propane tank to fit on there. I had considered putting the batteries, but it's a very small tongue. I'm planing on enclosing and venting the battery compartment to the outside just in case.

 

[Rice]

Right now the tongue won't fit a thing because of the spare tire and jack locations. Im looking at how I can change them to allow the propane tank to fit on there. I had considered putting the batteries, but it's a very small tongue. I'm planing on enclosing and venting the battery compartment to the outside just in case.

Gotcha. Maybe even a straight across wall at the front to make a nice "pantry" for Batts, inverter, misc hardware, and camping supplies.