New to me camper, missing door.

westend wrote:
FWIW, I use a converted PUP camper as a utility trailer. It hauls better than any of the smaller utility trailers I've seen, the suspension is better. I made the mistake of trying to haul a pallet of landscape block, once. It sure loaded nice and easy but when I went to move, the tires were locked on the bottom of the bed. A quick redistribution of weight to the truck solved that.

For my utility trailer re-deck I used 5/8" pressure treated plywood. I didn't paint the bottom of the sheets as I've done in the past. As it wears, the most wear is on the topsides. The bottom is still looking good. If I were to use CDX, I'd seal the heck out of everything. The next deck is going to be pressure treated 5/4 board since I carry dirt and it plays havoc with the plywood deck, traps moisture and leads to rot.

Good luck with your trailer, looks like you have a good handle on the metal work. Oh, do you still have the stabilizer jacks on the frame? Don't cut them off, they are a Godsend. I often uncouple the trailer and use it as a dumpster for remodeling jobs. The stab jacks mean I can rehook the truck at my leisure, not to mention the advantage of having the tongue off the ground when parked.

I've converted a few old pop ups to utility trailers, I used 2x12" PT planks run front to back with 5/4 boards for sides. I flipped the axle and left cutouts over the tires with only aluminum diamond plate over the tires for maximum wheel clearance. The spring will bottom before the tire hits the aluminum.

On this one, its got 15" wheels, with huge fiberglass wheel boxes inside. There's no way to eliminate them on this set up but I wouldn't want to take away any of the capacity this will have with those bigger wheels. I figure 5/8" CDX ply will be fine, I'll paint or coat the underside with something I guess. Today's pressure treated wood does bad things to steel and aluminum, there's a big problem with it corroding fasteners and framework so I'll take my chances with exterior grade ply. I also don't want any open seams in the floor, the plan is to make this 100% weather tight.

I gave some thought to how to latch the rear upper door and the best solution so far is to use a T handle like on a garage door or pickup cap. The upper door will have a drip flap or gasket at the bottom to seal against the bottom door. I'm knocking around ideas on how to make the top door also secure the lower door by overlap.
I also considered using two T handle latches, one up high and one lower to really secure the back door and it would keep the back door from warping with age if I choose to leave the plywood door.