24' cargo trailer with 2 Pop-out tent beds

[youwillforget]

Thanks to all the information from this site and a few others I had lots of answers when my mom dropped the "I am ready for a new trailer" bomb.

She currently has a Starcraft Starter that has served her well for 8 years but with the addition of 2 more grand kids bringing the total to 8 6 of them all want to stay with her there just isn't enough room and someone would get told no.

I took her to Elkhart Tuesday and she decided that 20' wasn't big enough and 24' was just right. The rough idea is 24' with the 2 pop-out tent beds in the back 8' then a pair of fold out bunk beds just in front of them with a 15"x30" window at each bunk (4 total) then some wall 12-18" then a 36" RV door with screen doors on each side then 18-24" of wall then 24" deep cabinets in the front with 1 15"x30" window in the counter are in the nose of the trailer. some of the other goodies are 2 14'-16' awnings one on each side, 2 fantastic fans with max air covers, A/C unit, 80' of e-track, step at each side door, coin pattern rubber flooring, cassette toilet, 3 sets of stabilizer jacks, electric tongue jack, rear ramp door so dad can load the golf cart, 50 amp converter/charger and 2 50 quart ARB fridge/freezers. They are plugged in most of the time and dad isn't so hot with 12v so I planned 2 group 31 maintenance free batteries that I only expect 1-2 good years out of and I am building a 4 6v battery cart with 3,600w inverter along with a tri fuel Yamaha generator to send with them when they do dry camp. Mom has never cooked inside the camper so no need for any water or cooking junk inside (she stripped it all out of the pop-up).

There are a few other things I forgot to list but I'm sure I missed all together so what do you think, is there anything you can think of?

We are all tent campers at heart moms health wont let her stay on the ground anymore but all of us hate wet stuff.

[youwillforget]

Thanks for the comments and input. I guess I didn’t explain some of the finer points well enough. While researching I did find out that the best of everything doesn’t always mean the top of the line gear with the best reviews, sometimes it means what works best for the owner/user.


Is it a custom or brochure?

A little of each, it is a regular 24’ cargo trailer with builder additions 2 pop-out tent trailer beds, 2 camper doors, 2 steps, 2 awnings, 2 fantastic fans, 2 max air covers, 3 pair of stabilizer jacks, electric tongue jack, a/c unit, the floor covering will all come installed.

The 80’ of e-track will be in 10’ stock on the floor when we take delivery. I will remove the inside walls to install reflective bubble insulation (builder only does white Styrofoam) some of the e-track will get installed then along with the bracing for the folding bunk beds (builder no longer offers folding bunks). I will do the 120v and 12v wiring then as well. Some of the e-track will get fastened to the under side of the bunk beds.


What will they pull it with?

Dads 1/2 ton 4x4 6 passenger truck the farthest they go is 200 miles for the October 2-3 night dry camp, other than that its 15-135 miles each way through Indiana and the rout is pretty flat. If they took it farther dad could take my crew cab dually.


Taking along 8 kids

No.

We all tent camp together Older brother has 2 girls 15 & 14 (they hardly ever go), I have 1 girl 14, Sister has 2 girls 7 & 3 and a boy 5, Younger brother has a girl 8 and a boy 6. For the most part they ride in groups with all of us usually not with their own parents the 2 boys ride with me. Older girls with my sister, younger girls ride with my brother and the baby rides with mom.


Bringing along a golf cart

Yes the generator could charge it in a pinch but the October dry camp is a State Forest managed property so they can’t take it with them to that one. The cart is a lifted 36v that seats 4 it is pretty nice and the kids all wait on the camp site numbers painted on the ground or they stand by the site markers when they want to ride = no one runs at the cart while it’s moving to get a turn.


50 quart ARB refrigerator

I found out about them researching Over Landing and used one the last 2 years going to the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab Utah and it was a dream. We decided on 2 50 quarts instead of 1 80 quart because there is slightly more room overall, we can do food in 1 and drinks in the other and the June 7+ night camp includes a day trip to another park for a family reunion. I can move the drink fridge to the bed of dad’s truck and plug it into the 12v acc plug in the bed and it will stay cold all day.


Battery Cart

I am a fabricator and certified welder, I hobby build at least 1 trailer every year and I have a few cart designs in mind. The battery tray will sit about 3 inches of the ground between the 4 John Deere lawn tractor wheels. It would be difficult to dump the cart over even at full speed across rough ground behind the golf cart. The 3600w inverter is on the cart outside the battery box inside its own box/cover. I can plug the trailer into the cart or hook the battery bank to the trailer 12v system via Anderson plugs. This cart is for me I will just send it with them on the one dry camp a year.

Giving off hydrogen

Batteries shouldn’t be charged at a rate faster than 20% of the 20 amp hour capacity so that along with the generator 15’ from the cart (standard 30amp RV whip) I have 0 concerns.


The generator CO2 & noise

Yamaha inverter generator tri fuel on Propane = no CO2 concern, kind of like propane powered forklift inside a building. Inverter generator = low db


3600 watt inverter

I want the cart to power the 30 amp RV plug, why because sometimes I’m just silly like that and the cart is for me I will just send it with them on the one dry camp a year. The trailer gets 3 inverters 1 2000w in the front so anything they can plug into a nema 5-15 receptacle you can plug into the trailer short of a compressor and they wont have to start the generator to heat something quick in the microwave for one of the kids. Each of the fold out bunks get a 400w inverter, 2 acc plugs and a USB socket via 8 gauge 40 amp fused home run wire for each side. The inverters, batteries and converter charger will also act as a UPS for their electronics during the summer with the unreliable power and A/C load on aging campground wiring.


Solar panels

They only dry camp the 1 time a year so the 2 maintenance free group 31 batteries will get them through just running the generator 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon/evening. And if they go to visit one of my mom’s sisters for a few days I don’t go to take care of all that stuff so that is why they get 2 group 31 maintenance free batteries.


Washing hands before meals is very important

Yes absolutely however the inside water is not wanted and would not be used so it’s a waste of space. We use wipes, sanitizer and water bottles tent camping. Mom ripped the sink and tanks out of the pop up, she never used them in the class A, 8' slide in or the 32' travel trailer. She hated that the 32' TT had a full kitchen and not enough beds as the family got bigger. The Class A slept 7 after she added bunk beds but she never used the kitchen.


Fantastic fans and Maxx air covers

I cheeped out on my flea market trailer build and went with off brand vents with fans and did not install vent covers like Maxx air covers and boy do I regret it.

They really just sleep in the pop up (mom’s health) and use it try to keep their stuff dry they just need to go bigger because of so many grandkids and golf cart. The truck is a short bed so the cart doesn’t fit and the Starcraft Starter isn’t stout enough to tow a second trailer behind it.

[Golden_HVAC]

This sounds really nice. Is it a custom unit or something that you can find in a brochure?

What will they pull it with? Taking along 8 kids almost means a E-350 van with towing package and the 5.4L V8 or 6.8L V10. That van can seat 10 easy, or 15 in a pinch, with all the factory installed seats in place with the extended window van. It also comes with rear A/C and heat, so everyone is comfortable while driving there.

I like the idea of bringing along a golf cart. I guess the Yamaha can charge it too? Usually 36 or 48 volts, with a 15 amp charger using 600 or 750 watts respectively.

I am courious about the 50 quart ARB refrigerator. How does that work? Compressor refrigerator that can freeze too? That would be handy, and no need to run it all the time, it is a well insulated chest type- I would guess?

I like the idea of the "Battery Cart" however it is ungamely. Or difficult to move around. Each golf cart battery is about 70 pounds, the inverter needs to be away from the golf cart battery gas, and putting it all into a cart means the cart should be strong (that means heavy). The generator should not be near the charging battery *giving off hydrogen*. Some things are just not meant to be together.

I would rather see the batteries strapped down and with hydrocaps on them. Then wire this to the inverter inside the trailer - where it will not walk away.

The generator "Should" be kept as far away as possible for both noise and CO reasons, you do not want to breath the exhaust gas. A 50' long #12 gauge extension cord will come in handy for this. Yet the RV 30' standard power cord is normally sufficient, to get the exhaust gas away, while the generator is still in your campsite.

Why the 3600 watt inverter? I have used them, and normally use my 150 watt much more than the 1,500 watt one that is built in and easy to turn on than plugging in the 12 volt to a cigarette lighter next to my TV and VCR. THis is because the larger capacitors and transformer in the 1500 watt are not as energy efficient as my Trace 1500 watt 12 volt inverter. I can measure the amp draw with a "E-Meter" and see that I can save about 1 to 1.5 amps while watching TV, using the Direct TV system or DVD, and this adds up to 10 - 15 amp hours difference per day.

I also have a pair of 120 watt solar panels, pair of 45W panels, and 75W panel, giving me up to 30 amps per hour into the batteries. This is plenty to make up 120 amp hours per day used while dry camping. The panels are installed all the time, charging the battery every day, so it will not become sulfated, and die a early death.

SunElec.com

I think you should re-consider the inside kitchen. Your mom is not getting any younger, and just as a tent is not the same as a tent trailer, the upgraded kitchen will see a lot of value once she starts using it. And resale value will be greatly reduced by having something so unique that it is only suitable for a family like yours.

Washing hands before meals is very important. Having running hot water is one of the great advantages of a RV instead of a tent. Having a stove that can be used inside or out is also very handy. You might find that you are interested in expanding the 30 gallon fresh water tank sometime, with 8 - 10 people using the water over a 3 day weekend.

I agree that Fantastic fans and Maxx air covers are a great idea for any RV. I use them a lot, and keep the fans open in the rain. Very handy.

Why a 3600 watt inverter? Are you planning on using a microwave on it? I would not recommend the microwave, and the compressor in the A/C unit can not run on a reasonable priced modified sine wave inverter at all, while a higher priced pure sine wave will run it, only a couple of hours before the 6 batteries will be dead, and you will need to run the generator anyway. I would suggest a 300 - 500 watt inverter to run things like a TV, DVD, charge cell phones, run small items. Laptops are a very energy efficient way to watch a DVD, more energy efficient than running a TV set.

The 300 watt inverter will not have much "Parasitic Loss" - that is loss from siting there with 120 volts available. While it might have a 0.5 amp draw above the energy it is putting out (say you are running a 50 watt item, that is about 5 amps in and 0.45 amps out at 120 volts AC. ) while a 3.600 watt inverter would be consuming 1.2 amps sitting there, and power a 50 watt load with 6.8+ amps in and 0.45 amps out at 120 volts AC.

You have done a lot of good planning.

Fred.