Support Trailer

You got the idea, first a 5X8, then a 6X10, then a 8X12, it never fails,been there done that!!! LOL, good luck.

We pull a Jeep Liberty when we go on longer trips. It gets filled with the excess stuff.

Another advantage of having a trailer, is making it an apartment. Having an enclosed trailer is really the way to go, then you don't need to worry how dirty everything is, when you arrive and you don't need to leave one of kids with the Truck and Trailer, to guard everything when you go camping or to sleep at night.

By using bins of equal height you can make them the base for a bed frame, by hingeing and lowering a sheet of plywood down for bed. Often older kids would rather have their own place, part of the time, and the enclosed trailer provides that opportuntiy and space. Oh, Yeah. You can carry a bunch of stuff in there too.

Pic in my sig.

b

I could not live without one. Bikes, kayaks, BBQ etc.

Last weekend we flat towed our Jeep TJ for the first time to Quemado Lake with the back seat removed (just me and the wife this time) and it was great to have a run around vehicle and an enclosed trailer also.
We also have a 5x10 single axle trailer that can handle 2 enduros and gear or 1 4 wheeler and some gear but, the 5x12 Big Tex tandem with 3500lb axles and 1 brake axle allows for 2 4-wheelers, firewood, gear, ect ect ect without being overloaded and also serves as a dolly (perfectly) to get my camper into the shop (10ft door) for winter storage:)
I don't think I'll ever leave without the Jeep again, just ordered a Smittybilt roof rack so I can load it with even more gear, 300lb capacity

bka0721 wrote:
Another advantage of having a trailer, is making it an apartment. Having an enclosed trailer is really the way to go, then you don't need to worry how dirty everything is, when you arrive and you don't need to leave one of kids with the Truck and Trailer, to guard everything when you go camping or to sleep at night.

By using bins of equal height you can make them the base for a bed frame, by hingeing and lowering a sheet of plywood down for bed. Often older kids would rather have their own place, part of the time, and the enclosed trailer provides that opportuntiy and space. Oh, Yeah. You can carry a bunch of stuff in there too.

Pic in my sig.

b

This is my thought too. I have a 22 ft enclosed that will be used for motorcycles, plan to get some windows and other necessary items and convert to a home made toy hauler (with greater capacity than most). Will also come in handy for dirt bike tracks were I may not bring the camper.

1st step is converting it from a shed back to a trailer.

Alum. 5x12 Cargo Pro . 990# dry wt.



I used plastic conduit to mount the tarp grommets with stainless bolts. I then used hooks to attach it to the trailer roof rack tie-down hooks.


This awning (tarp) is the smaller of two, I also use a larger 18x24 when it rains for days on end.


E-Track was used on the walls to anchor supports for shelves.
It can all be undone in a few minutes to be used as a full bed cargo trailer if I need it .

On my list is a support trailer as well. I plan to have it have the usual rear ramp door, but have a door on the curbside with a Fastec RV-style locking handle to open (so it can always be opened from inside.) This, coupled with heavy barrel bolts on the inside of the curbside door will ensure anyone inside can get out no matter what, but someone wanting in has to open the rear door once the rig is all buttoned up for the road.

This will give additional usable sleeping space. This also might be an idea for the OP, so the truck camper isn't as crowded, especially if a Porta-Potti is in the supply trailer. A vent (or vent set) and possibly a vent fan can't hurt either.

Eventually, I want to add solar panels, both on the top as well as on the sides, ones that can flip up. That with the usual battery/charger/inverter will allow me to have enough power for everything but the microwave and A/C when dry camping.

Thinking outside the box (no pun), with five warm bodies in an 830, I would consider a tow-along playhouse when you go camping. Some examples:
13' Scamp is very small and light and will add almost no wind resistance to your rig. Plus you could store stuff in there and not have it on the floor of the TC.
Before I bought a TC I was planning on towing one of these with my CJ8 as my RV.

Alas, the CJ8 was getting more and more lower-geared, off-road only and was wound out on the highway at 58 mph and had sold the hard top and doors. Time to look for a truck and camper. That was in 2001.
Some others are A-liner, Chalet, Trailmanor, and Rockwood.
The object would be to get a trailer with few amenities, just sleeping accommodations and maybe a porta potty. The kids will love it.
We have gone camping with our grandkids in the pickup only, no TC, and took Little Blue Bradley along as a two-9 yr.-old-girl sleeping area. I had the sides on and a tarp (a real cotton duck tarp, not a stigmatized blue plastic one) over the top with the back open. They loved it. Just because a bear wandered thru camp during the night didn't deter their delight in the sleeping arrangements. Our youngest g-son slept in the truck bed with me and my son slept on a cot....right where the bear sauntered through. No harm, no foul. Here's Little Blue Brad on the Mojave Rd. Notice the wider track than a jeep trailer, a plus for visibility in the mirrors when towing behind a TC.

I've had a lot of Jeep trailers over time and find they all have too narrow a track to be seen behind a full sized TC. It's difficult to back up when you can't see what you are towing.
Just some ideas.
regards, as always, jefe

mlts22 wrote:
On my list is a support trailer as well. I plan to have it have the usual rear ramp door, but have a door on the curbside with a Fastec RV-style locking handle to open (so it can always be opened from inside.) This, coupled with heavy barrel bolts on the inside of the curbside door will ensure anyone inside can get out no matter what, but someone wanting in has to open the rear door once the rig is all buttoned up for the road.

This will give additional usable sleeping space. This also might be an idea for the OP, so the truck camper isn't as crowded, especially if a Porta-Potti is in the supply trailer. A vent (or vent set) and possibly a vent fan can't hurt either.

Eventually, I want to add solar panels, both on the top as well as on the sides, ones that can flip up. That with the usual battery/charger/inverter will allow me to have enough power for everything but the microwave and A/C when dry camping.

I couldn’t agree more, and did it myself! (see below)

I would also add, you can then park the trailer, with solar panels, in the sun and then relocate your Truck Camper in the shade. Running your shore power cable to the trailer/solar works great!

b