Build Archives - Build Your Own Adventure

Cargo Trailer Camper: Axle Lifting Blocks

One major difference between a cargo trailer and a manufactured camper is the ride height. Campers seem to sit high up off of their axles, making them look top heavy and downright dangerous to pull. Cargo trailers are made to sit low. This makes loading and unloading equipment or vehicles a breeze. I’m a huge fan of the low ride height and the look it gives to the trailer!

That is, until we traveled to an area with lots of hills and steep campsites. We live in eastern North Carolina, an area with no hills and lots of flat ground! When we were installing our waste and fresh tanks under our new build, I was a little worried about them hanging a few inches lower than the trailer frame. After a few local trips, it appeared that everything would be fine as long as we took our time getting in and out of each campground.

When we decided to venture further west from our home, we found out exactly why that extra height is needed! As most water front sites go, there is normally a grade change from the roadway to the campsite. Our site proved to us that we were too low on that trip. As we backed in, we scraped the outlet pipe of our dump tanks on the asphalt. We made it in, but it was a nasty sound and a terrible feeling to think that all that hard work could have been ripped out from under our build.

I immediately went online and began my research on how to lift our trailer. Facebook groups are a life saver in these situations. Several folks had added axle lifts and posted all the information needed. After figuring out what axles we had on our trailer, I ordered 2 7/8″ lifting blocks.

The install took about half a day and was fairly straightforward. I used our truck to pull the trailer’s front axle up on blocks high enough to get the back wheels off the ground. I unbolted the axeles and lowered them down with floor jacks. Once down, you simply insert the lifting blocks, bolt everything up and extend the trailer brake wires. Once the back blocks were installed, I repeated the steps for the front. After the install was complete, I backed off and admired my work.

I have to admit that I wasn’t as excited about the new look of the trailer, but after a few drama free trips, I can report back that it was well worth it. We’ve had the kit for quite a while now and we have had no issues! The peace of mind has been well worth the small price tag and half a day’s work.

Big Red Update: Installing Our Awning

From the beginning of our build, I couldn’t wait to add an awning to the exterior of our trailer. I guess I think of it as the cherry on top accessory. It just gives the outside of the trailer the look of being a camper instead of a utility trailer.

Since we owned a few other travel trailers before, we had an idea of the weaknesses of modern awnings. It seemed as though the slightest wind or rain would buckle an awning. Because of this, I knew I wanted a better built system.

I started looking at motorhomes and what they used. In my mind, a quarter of a million dollar RV wouldn’t use an awning that would fail so easily.

This led to a company by the name of Carefree of Colorado. They manufacture an awning that looks like a rectangular box with no vertical legs. It uses folding arms to hold the awning out horizontally and it just looks like magic. I had to have one! That is until I priced one… $4,000 for a magical awning box?? Not happening.

I decided to go down to our local RV store and check prices there. To my surprise, the local store was able to get an awning for not much more than what I could find online and the freight charge was free!

I didn’t go with the magical box style, but I did purchase a Carefree of Colorado Awning. It’s an Altitude Series and it uses a scissor style arm that appears to be stronger than the style we owned in the past.

Once the awning arrived, I pulled Big Red to the local store and loaded it up. I spent that night reading the installation instructions and I think I slept only a few hours due to my excitement.

The next morning, I began the install! It was not terribly difficult, and with a little help from my parents, we had the majority of it completed in the first day! The most complicated part of the install was welding braces to the frame of the trailer to support the awning arms. That really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, considering the fact that I haven’t welded since high school.

Day 2 was spent wiring the awning. Normally this wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but it included a bluetooth module to allow us to control our awning from our phone. The extra wires and module were tough to hide in our thin walls, but we made it happen. After a few hours of wiring and re-installing wall panels, our awning was completed!

What an awesome addition to our trailer!! It completely changed the appearance and I couldn’t wait to get to our next campsite and relax under it!

Please continue to visit the blog to find our more about our build and to get updates on the awning. Almost two years after our purchase, I’m not sure I would do it over again. I’ll fill you in on that later!

Check out the full install video on our YouTube channel.

Big Red Update: New Tires!

How much can be said about tires? For most folks, not so much. However, If you are a member of a camping group or forum online, then you know the controversy surrounding them.

The tires that were on Big Red when we brought it home were the originals! They looked fantastic for nine-year-old tires, but that’s where tires will get you. Sitting out in the sun takes a toll on any tire. With the original owner only using the trailer for one season of racing and not so much after that, it just made sense to replace them.

After much thought on going back with 10-ply or upgrading to 12-ply, I did what any over thinker would do. We had Blacklion BF155ST 14-ply tires installed.

These tires are rated at 3,640 lbs. when used in a dual axle setup. They max out at 110 psi of air. That’s more than enough for our trailer and it sure gives me peace of mind when towing. The treads look like something off of a tractor trailer and the sidewalls appear to be made of titanium because I rarely see them flex. We’ve already put thousands of miles on these and they still look brand new!

Tires can be as controversial as what motor oil you are using. One thing I can tell you though, is that when maintained properly, they will normally last longer than you think. With all that said, you will be much more confident and comfortable towing with well maintainted equipment and that makes for a much more relaxing trip!

Big Red Update: Sliding Barn Door and Paint!

Once our kitchen was mostly ready, it was time to tackle another challenge. Our bathroom desperately needed a real door!! For our first few trips we used a curtain to cover the entrance, making it way too easy for the kids to bust in at any moment. Not an issue for a mom apparently, but for this dad, I was over it after my first bathroom visit!

We knew early on that we needed to come up with a compact option for our door. Ashley also knew early on that she wanted a sliding barn door for the bathroom!?!?

There were quite a few challenges with a barn door. First of all, it uses rollers that are only held down by gravity to keep the door in place. Knowing how much things move when traveling had me questioning if we would find a door smashed through our refrigerator when we got to our next campsite.

The second problem was figuring out how to fill the gap around the doorway but leave enough space to let the door slide freely. This would also keep nosy children from peeking through the gap!

But the problem that stood out the most for me was that I had never built a door! Like every other part of this build, I was going to wing it and hope for the best.

I jumped on Amazon and ordered this barn door kit, a floor guide and a handle. Then I went down to Lowe’s and picked up the lightest and cheapest trim boards that I thought could be strong enough to build a door. Luckily, we had collected a few free pallets for our build, so I decided I would use those to give our door a nice contrast to the white wood trim boards. With my trusty pocket hole kit and a miter saw, I got right to it.

I have to admit that when I started this build, I really didn’t care for woodworking. There’s something about sawdust that reminds me of beach sand. It gets everywhere and it drives me crazy when it gets in my sandals. 😆

Much like the beach, once I got over the sawdust, woodworking is actually pretty awesome. It’s a beautiful thing to take a few straight pieces of wood and create something functional. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m pretty happy with how our barn door turned out!

Like most other processes during our build, I learned something new, and I have so many ideas on how to build a better door if I ever need to. As for filling the gap between the wall and the door, well I just used standard trim around the doorway and spacers on the mount to adjust the slider out enough to keep the two from touching. It works like a charm!

While I was working on the barn door and also what seemed like weeks after, we were painting.. Probably the most boring and annoying process to me, but it had to be done. Ashley really took control of the painting and knocked most of it out while I was working on other parts of the trailer.

As with any paint project, the hard parts were the fine details and trim work. We are so lucky to live beside the best caulk installer there ever was. My dad came in and caulked all the trim and any other areas that needed it. What a difference that made! Overall, the paint really turned the look of our build around. Instead of looking like the inside of a cargo trailer, it was actually starting to look like a real living space.

Starting a build is a huge undertaking that can really make you question if you have lost your mind. When you get to certain points of your build that really change the look, it gives you a new level of confidence you need to keep going. It’s all about breaking a giant project down in to smaller pieces. Just remember that each small piece is part of a giant puzzle that has to work together. In other words, be sure the run all the wires before the walls are up..

Check out our barn door video by following this link.

Blog Update!!

It’s been nearly two years since our last post…. I would say it’s time to catch up on this blog!

We are obviously way behind on our cargo trailer build updates and all the other events that have taken place during that time. Our plan going forward is to post a mix of past and present day events. I want to fill you in on what it was like to build each part of our camper conversion and I also want to keep you up to date on what we are working on these days. This revival is going to be a team effort. I hope Ashley and I can offer different perspectives on our projects, travel and maybe thoughts about life in general.

Buckle up and hold on tight, because you have a lot of catching up to do! In the meantime, check out our YouTube page for updates on our projects. Also check out MomFeedsFive.com for Ashley’s awesome recipes and helpful tips on feeding our busy family.

Big Red Update- Kitchen

It’s been a while since my last Big Red update. There’s been a lot going on! We have many projects happening at various stages of completion. But my favorite part of the trailer is almost done- the kitchen!

Those that know me know that I am an avid cook. Whether we’re at home or out adventuring, I (almost) always cook and prepare meals for my family instead of going out or ordering takeout. I try to keep it simple when we’re camping, and cook outside as much as possible, but I knew I would need a functional kitchen in the trailer to keep this crowd fed and happy.

We toyed with a few different layouts for the kitchen, but we settled with an L-shaped design because it proved to be the most efficient use of space. We got this regular residential sink and faucet and put it on the other side of the bathroom wall so we could use the same plumbing and tanks.

After much consideration, I opted not to get an RV range/oven combo because of the cost and weight. We went with a set-in cooktop, and my mom got me a really nice toaster oven for Christmas that I will use for baking. The fridge was one of our first purchases for the trailer. It’s just a larger dorm-style fridge, and we hope to modify it to run off of solar when we are traveling.

I really wanted butcher block counters, but those dudes are super heavy and kind of expensive! We ended up going with a thinner board that had the butcher block look, and my mother-in-law coated that thing with what seemed like 50 coats of polyurethane(it was probably more like 10).

Adam built the cabinets himself using lightweight wood. We painted them a light sage green to add a pop of color to the kitchen, and we left some of the wood bare to tie into the counters and give it a kind of farmhouse look.

Instead of doing upper cabinetry, we went with open shelving to keep the weight down and leave the space looking more open and airy. I bought some pretty baskets and Adam added a small board to the front to hold them in place while we are traveling.

On the opposite wall from the kitchen we used the same wood from the counter and built a long, narrow bar that will serve as a dining table, work space, and junk holder. My guess is that this will probably be the most-used space in the trailer. It ties the kitchen together and makes the entire space look large and homey.

Overall, I am thrilled with how the kitchen came together and I can’t wait to get in there and really use it! I still have a few details to finish up, like the backsplash that I just can’t seem to decide on. But it’s beautiful and functional, and it just makes me smile when I walk inside.

Big Red Update- Flooring and Bathroom

Okay, guys. It’s been a while. My life has been taken over by public schooling in the time of COVID-19. But I don’t want to talk about that today. Today, I want to talk about Big Red!

Since you last heard from me, Big Red has undergone quite a transformation. He has new flooring, which really took him from looking like a cargo trailer to looking like an actual camper. We went with vinyl sheet flooring because we thought that would be the most simple, affordable, and durable option. And it looks amazing! After looking at several options, we finally decided on a gray/tan wood-look flooring, and I couldn’t be happier with the results!

After the flooring went down, Adam started working on the bathroom. I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we decided to build a bathroom from scratch. Luckily, Adam did, because he built a bathroom in his barn last year. But putting a bathroom in a trailer proved a lot more difficult than putting a bathroom in a building. It took a lot of time, patience, and money ( a lot more money than we thought!), but I think we’ve finally got it mostly figured out. It’s still not 100% done, but it’s pretty close, and everything works!

Just laying out the components of the bathroom proved to be quite a challenge. There is a storage area with an exterior door located in the front corner of the trailer, which is where we wanted to put the bathroom. So we had to work around that box when trying to lay it out. We also knew we wanted a shower big enough to actually use comfortably, which takes up a lot of valuable square footage in such a tight space! We tried probably a dozen different configurations before we finally settled on the final layout. But we finally figured it out, and we’re quite happy with the results.

Adam framed up the walls first and we started to get a sense of the space we were working with. We got a great deal on a corner shower pan on Marketplace, and we used waterproof sheeting from Lowe’s for the shower walls. Once the shower was in place it started to feel like a real bathroom!

We bought this toilet from Amazon, which is super nice, and has a porcelain top that feels like a real residential toilet. We wanted to put the sink in the corner of the bathroom so it would take up less space, and Adam’s parents found us a tiny cabinet to use as the base. We had the great idea of using a stainless steel mixing bowl for the sink, but so far we haven’t quite figured out how to make that work! I’ll have to update you later on the progress of the sink…

Adam and his dad did all the plumbing work. This proved to be a bear of a job and I was glad I was not involved in that. Trying to get all the plumbing to the tanks and making sure everything drained properly took a great deal of planning and ingenuity, especially considering the low ground clearance of the trailer. Adam spent hours laying under the trailer in awkwardly uncomfortable positions, and I’m afraid he may have suffered permanent damage to his back!

We used thin paneling sheets for the walls, which are very lightweight and don’t look half bad. We tried whitewashing for the first time, and I think they look pretty good. You can still see some of the grain from the wood, but it is light and bright inside. We are planning to install a sliding barn door, which I am super excited about. I think it will be very functional in the tight space, and it will give it that farmhouse feel we are looking for.

Even though we’re not quite done, I’m amazed at how we were able to take a blank slate and design and build a whole bathroom that (mostly) works! I have to give all the credit to Adam. He has spent hours and hours working so hard to build a functional space for his family. It may be a luxury to some, but for our family, having a bathroom in the camper is pretty much a necessity. We are so excited that it’s done and so happy with how it turned out!

Big Red Update- Insulation and Electrical

It’s been a few weeks since my last update on Big Red. Life has been busy. Adam has been busy at work- we’ve had a small hurricane and a lot of rain, which always means busy times for his job. School is starting, albeit in a much different form than normal, and the usual back to school stress is amplified because of all the changes.

But we’ve still managed to get quite a bit of work done on Big Red. The roof has proven to be a formidable opponent- the flat sheet of aluminum is just not as strong or water tight as we were hoping. Adam first caulked and sealed all the edges of the roof, but to no avail. Water droplets were sprinkled all over the walls after the first heavy rain. When he got back on the roof to check it out, he saw that water was pooling in the middle of the roof. So he reinforced the center with plywood, making it a little more sturdy and also giving it a bit of a slope so that the water could drain off the sides instead of pooling in the center. He then put down heavy duty roofing tape along the entire perimeter, sealing off all the edges. Even after all that, we still found drips of water down the walls in a few spots. So we bought some roof paint, which is supposed to help with cooling along with sealing any cracks that remained. That finally seemed to do the trick, and Big Red has been nice and dry since then.

Once we were sure that there were no more leaks, we started working on insulation. It was hotter than Hades inside that big metal box! We used these foam insulation boards from Home Depot and cut them to size to fit between all the metal supports that make up the skeleton of the trailer. My dad was gracious enough to come help us one day and we knocked that out pretty quickly. It was definitely worth the effort, because you could immediately tell the difference in the temperature inside the trailer. You can actually stand inside it now without melting into a puddle!

The next project was the electrical system, which Adam was super excited about, but I was pretty nervous. I know next to nothing about electricity, and basically it just scares me to death! Adam took some time to explain the basics of electricity to me and how most RV electrical systems work. Most RVs have two electrical systems- a 12 volt system that runs off a battery, and a 30 amp system that runs off shore power. Big Red already had overhead lights that ran off the 12 volt system, but they were too dim to really light up the trailer. So we put these new, brighter lights from Amazon where the old ones were and added a few more. This required drilling holes into the ceiling panels and running wires to the new lights. After only one scary moment of burning up a fuse, I think we actually got everything wired correctly. It was quite an educational experience, and I felt pretty accomplished when we were done!

Here we are installing lights and ceiling panels.

Adam also ran wire and added electrical outlets for the 30 amp system, which will run the refrigerator, television, and other appliances we’ll need. We bought a small fridge on a great back to school sale, and Adam built a stand for it and installed it in the trailer. The little fridge and the nice bright ceiling lights are the first things that really make Big Red seem like something we can actually live in. It’s very exciting!

The current situation : insulation installed, fridge in, lights up!

This huge project that we have undertaken has been a great experience so far. Adam and I have been planning and working together, breaking things down into smaller projects that we can get done in a weekend and feel like we have accomplished something. The kids have been running around, playing and sometimes helping, always providing a distraction from the hard work and a reason to keep pressing forward. They cannot wait to take Big Red camping, and for that matter, neither can I!

And So It Begins…

Do you see a common theme here at our house???

Our new trailer’s name immediately became Big Red, for obvious reasons. It’s been a few weeks now since we brought Big Red home. We have all kinds of ideas for him. We’ve got floorplans drawn and tape on the floors of the trailer laying out our ideas. We’ve got all kinds of stuff we can’t afford in our online shopping carts, and we’re constantly scouring online marketplaces looking for deals. We’ve been watching YouTube videos and hitting Facebook for more ideas and inspiration. It’s been really fun and exciting.

The actual work going on in Big Red right now, maybe not so exciting. But they are essential, important things that must be done before all the exciting stuff can happen. And, if you ask Adam, he’d probably say that this stuff is pretty darn exciting, too!

Adam washed and buffed the entire trailer right away, because that’s just what he likes to do. The transformation was pretty amazing, though, if I do say so myself. Big Red’s coat shines like a Thoroughbred in the sun now.

We (well, when I say “we”, I really mean “he”) took all the plywood walls and ceiling out of the trailer, so it’s down to just bare aluminum and steel. It was pretty tough work getting all that down, especially in the miserable heat and humidity of July in eastern North Carolina. But we powered through, excited to see what was underneath. We found a lot of rust, but Adam say’s it’s not too bad, mainly surface rust. The bones of the trailer are still in good shape.

We painted rust converter on all the steel inside the trailer to seal and protect it. It was so hot the day we were painting that the sun would dry the converter before it even had a chance to react with the metal. We had to come back out that evening after it cooled off to get it done.

We had a nice summer thunderstorm one evening, which we were grateful for. We desperately needed the rain, and it cooled things off for a little while. However, it did lead to a very disappointing surprise. We went inside the trailer to make sure it hadn’t leaked anywhere and we found little drops of water all over the walls. The roof was leaking! Adam got on top of the trailer the next morning to see what was going on, and it seems that the water puddles on top of the roof and then seeps in any cracks it can find. Mainly the cracks are in the seams where the roof meets the walls. So Adam’s working on a plan to get those cracks sealed up and find a way for the water to drain off the roof instead of puddling up there. I guess we’ve got another project to add to the list.

We’re still very early on in this big adventure that we’ve taken on, and we’ve got so much work to do. But it’s been so exciting to just imagine all the possibilities and to come up with ideas on how to make everything work together. It’s like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle with thousands of tiny pieces. I can’t wait to show you guys what we have in store!

What Have We Done?

So, we did a thing. Kind of a crazy thing. Not super crazy, but definitely kind of crazy. We talk about doing crazy things all the time. But they are mostly just pipe dreams, escapes from reality. Then we go back to our normal life and mostly forget about those dreams.

But not this time! Maybe it’s an early mid-life crisis. Maybe the residual effects of quarantine. Whatever the reason, we went for it this time. We bought a giant red cargo trailer and we’re going to turn it into a camper!

We love camping. We started camping several years ago in a tent. That quickly morphed into a pop-up camper, then a travel trailer. We bought our current camper about a year and a half ago, brand new. It is big and beautiful, has a great layout and all the comforts of home.

So why in the world would we want to get rid of our big, beautiful camper? Why would we want to start from scratch with a cargo trailer that has no windows, no plumbing, no bathroom, no kitchen? I told you we did something crazy.

We have a really nice camper with a not-so-nice monthly payment and a lot of debt. We’ve been wanting a toy hauler, an RV with a garage and ramp so we can take our toys- golf cart, bikes, kayaks- with us on our great adventures. But they come with an even steeper price tag, and some of them are not built as well as you would think. Also, we wanted something we could tow with the truck we already have, and many of the RVs we like are just too heavy.

So we decided to start from scratch and make what we want. We paid cash for a cargo trailer that in its previous life was used to haul race cars. It is the perfect size for our family of five, and not too heavy that our truck can’t tow it. It’s basically empty inside, which is both exciting and terrifying. It’s like a blank canvas, just waiting for us to use our creativity and elbow grease to turn it into a masterpiece. Or we just make a giant, expensive mess!

I have faith in us, though. My husband, Adam, is very handy and loves a project. He just got done building his dream barn and is ready to move on to something new. My in-laws are like the handy man dream team and they are always willing to lend a helping hand. The kids and I don’t have much knowledge or experience, but we are excited to do our part.

We plan on filming and blogging this entire project. I’m sure it will have its ups and downs, so follow along with us! It should be an interesting experience, if nothing else!