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.
Before the Lift
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.
Before Lift Block Installation
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.
Lifting Blocks Installed
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.
Our family isn’t exactly one to share tons of information with everyone. It’s safe to say three of the five of us are introverted and the other two have their moments! So why in the world would we want to start a YouTube Channel and share things with folks we don’t even know? I’m not really sure I have a clear answer for you..
I think it started way back when I was a kid. My parents purchased a giant camcorder to record our school functions. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Any chance I got, I was holding this monstrosity up on my shoulder and trying to film anything I could. I remember watching music videos on MTV and thinking that I could probably make my own. I do remember having a buddy over and trying to make a few. We thought they were great, but I’m pretty sure they were no where close to it.
If you know, you know.
Then there was the Gateway Desktop we had. I couldn’t tell you anything about Gateway now, but at the time, I thought it was as amazing as a new MacBook Pro is today. This beast had music editing software installed from the factory! My brother-in-law and I became obsessed with mixing music imediately. I’ve always loved music, but this changed the way I saw and heard it for the rest of my life. I could imagine the wave forms in every song I heard on the radio. I could pick out exactly where I would cut it and start another song. We learned to blend the transitions and we would sit there for hours listening to our masterpiece! I still get pumped up thinking about it.
During high school and college, I spent lots of time filming wakeboarding trips with my friends. At some point, I purchased my own desktop and found Window’s Movie Maker. It was the most basic editing software, but that didn’t stop me from editing our wakeboard footage and adding music. This led to posting videos from local tournaments on a forum called End of Rope Gang. It was always a challenge to make my videos better and more exciting to watch. Unfortunately, my desktop and End of Rope are no longer with us, so all of those videos are just a memory.
This brings us to present day. Many things have changed since I was making wakeboard videos! We carry video cameras in our pockets and there’s a magic app called YouTube. If only it were around when I was in school!
As I’m sure you’ve seen or read, we’ve been camping for years. Like many RVers, we enjoy watching full time families travel and see the country. As a family, we have always dreamed of traveling further and more often, but maybe not living full time in a camper. The time came when we got a crazy idea to build our own camper. That idea led to the idea of creating a channel to share our build. Once the channel began growing, it really gave us a way to express ourselves creatively.
Editing videos and sharing our adventure has been almost therapeutic for me. I get lost in the editing process and picking music just like I did back in the day on the old Gateway. It’s a lot of work outside our everyday work life and school events, but it’s absolutely worth it. I enjoy the freedom to post whatever we want and to create at our own pace. It has been a great place for inspiration for myself and my family, and I hope that you find it to be inspirational as well.
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!
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..
We sold our camper this week. It was bittersweet. I am so excited to continue working on Big Red, and I just know it’s going to be amazing when we get done. But it’s going to be a long, hard road to see it to completion, and we are only at the beginning of this journey. Also, the camper was cozy and comfortable, and it was the vessel for many great adventures.
Now another family is going to make their own memories in the camper, and I am so excited for them. They are a young family just starting out on their camping adventures. Hearing their story made me reminisce over our years of camping.
We started out tent camping at Jordan Lake when Paige was just a toddler. The days were so much fun, splashing around in the lake and exploring the campground. But the nights were long and sleepless. Have you ever tried to sleep in a tent in the summer with no air conditioning on a cheap air mattress with a toddler? It’s not fun! I’m a little spoiled, and I told Adam if he wanted to keep camping then I would have to have a bed and air conditioning. So my dear husband sold his beloved fishing boat so we could buy a pop-up camper.
Waterfront tent site at Jordan Lake
The pop-up camper had two huge glorious beds that folded out and an air conditioner that was cold enough to make your teeth chatter. It was heaven! We started venturing out to new places, and I fell in love with camping. I had never really enjoyed traveling much before, but something about being able to take my family and our little home on wheels and set off anywhere our hearts desired just made my soul happy.
We had caught the camping fever, and it wasn’t long before our hearts desired something bigger and better for our traveling pleasure. We bought a brand new Keystone Springdale travel trailer, and we may as well have won the lottery! The pop-up camper was more like a glorified tent, but the Springdale was like a tiny house. It had all the comforts of home, and we loved it. We traveled more in that camper than anything before or since. Any weekend we could possibly get away, we would hook that thing up and off we’d go.
Our Springdale on the way to Disney World
We traveled so much in it, though, that we began to make a wish list of features we’d love to have in a new camper. As that list grew, we decided to list ours for sale, just to see if there would be any interest. We sold it almost immediately, and quickly picked out a newer camper with all the bells and whistles that checked off most of the items on our wish list. The Grand Design Transcend was in many ways nicer than our house. It had all the finest finishes and the perfect layout for our family. I thought that it would be perfect, and that we would never want anything else. But I was wrong.
The Grand Design Transcend at home base.
I think that we just enjoy changing things up, trying something different. It’s just part of the adventure for us. We also began to realize that camping is less about having the finest things and more about enjoying the journey and making memories together. So here we are, with our biggest adventure yet sitting in our backyard, getting the makeover of a lifetime as we make a whole new kind of memories.
If you have ever thought about giving camping a try, I hope this is encouragement for you to start, at whatever point you are in life. You don’t have to have a big, fancy camper or the latest and greatest things to get started. We had just as much fun and made just as many memories in our first tent as we did in our big, beautiful camper. Start wherever you are with whatever you can afford. You can build your own adventure!
What does travel mean to you? For some it’s an escape, a chance to get away from the stress and pressures of everyday life. For others it’s an adventure, a chance to try something different or see something new. Others enjoy the social connections of traveling, meeting new people or catching up with friends or family.
For me, it’s a little of all of it; and my reasons for traveling have changed over time. Traveling, and camping specifically, has always been an escape from reality for me. I have a busy job at a school and our family has seemingly unending social obligations on the evenings and weekends. I am by nature a solitary, introverted person, and setting off with the truck and trailer has always been a way for me to escape all these demands and enjoy some quiet time with my husband and children.
For the last ten years, I have had a baby or small child on my hip. This stage of life has been the most challenging and rewarding years of my life thus far, but it is all too quickly drawing to a close. My youngest baby is almost four, and I am not needed in the ways that I have been in the past. I don’t have to stand constant watch over my children, they have a little more independence and free reign now. This has changed our travel style, too. In the past, it took all of our focus and energy just to make sure everyone stayed alive, didn’t jump into the campfire or wander away from our site. Now that everyone is a little older, we can do some adventuring together. We go on bike rides and short hikes, do a lot of swimming and exploring. It’s quite a different experience, but one I am finding that I really enjoy.
The social aspect of traveling is one that I never really cared for. After a stressful week of working and caring for my babies, spending the weekend entertaining friends and family just felt overwhelming to me. But then 2020 arrived in all its glory and sent us all for a tailspin! I hate to even say it, because I know it has caused many people much grief and heartache, but quarantine and staying at home has been good for our family in many ways. We’ve been able to spend more time together and focus on what’s important to us as a family. Our social obligations have become virtually non-existent, and I don’t feel so overwhelmed and stressed by life. Once we were able to start camping again, we found ourselves actually seeking out the company of friends and family, which was a first for us. I’ve been enjoying this time with others in a way I haven’t been able to before.
Traveling and exploring new places is such an important part of our life that I can’t imagine life without it. It brings us together and helps us to grow and learn as a family. It keeps us active and engaged in the world around us. It leaves me with a sense of good in the world, even during these difficult times. What about you? Why do you travel, and how have those reasons changed over time?
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.
Adam and Alex shining up Big Red.
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.
Down to the bare bones.
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!
West Virginia has always held a special place in my heart. I never lived there, but it’s where both of my parents were born and raised, and most of my family still lives there. Growing up, we visited frequently, and some of my most vivid childhood memories are from there- catching tadpoles in the creek that ran by my cousin’s house, riding four wheelers with my grandpa and uncle, big Thanksgiving dinners at my grandma’s table.
As I have gotten older and busier raising my own family here in North Carolina, my visits to West Virginia have gotten fewer and farther between. But this week, my darling husband grudgingly dragged the giant camper over 400 miles through the mountains to my dad’s hometown of Point Pleasant, which is in the western part of the state, right on the Ohio River.
A pit stop on travel day.
Just getting there was an adventure in itself! We started off the trip with a flat tire- luckily, Adam found it before we even left home. We had never really pulled the camper through the mountains, and we were nervous about how the truck would do. No worries there, though- the truck pulled like a champ and made it up those mountains with no problem at all! Thank goodness, because once we got over the fear and worry of towing through the mountains we were able to really enjoy the sheer beauty of the drive. Just looking up at the tall mountain peaks and down into the lush green valleys leaves me in awe every time. I haven’t had the chance to travel much past the southeastern United States, but looking out over those mountains, I feel like it has to be one of the most beautiful sites in the world.
The playground at Krodel Park.
The first few days we spent some long overdue time with family. It was so good to see my uncle, aunt and cousins. My children barely remembered them, which broke my heart a little. But after a few days of some serious fishing, ice cream dates, and water balloon fights, we were all best friends again! We stayed at Krodel Park, which is a city park there in Point Pleasant. The campground was older, with mostly permanent and seasonal residents, but they welcomed us with open arms, and the kids had a blast in the park’s splash pad and on the zipline!
After one last evening of Mothman pizza, adults hanging out on the tailgate of the truck, children running through the park, we said our sad goodbyes, promising it wouldn’t be so long before our next trip. We left Point Pleasant and headed to Princeton, in the southern part of West Virginia, a good halfway point on our journey back to North Carolina. Princeton is an awesome little town, with picturesque mountain views, friendly people, and all kinds of outdoor activities. The area is well known for its ATV trails, and we were wishing hard that we had our own ATV so that we could go riding! But the children are still a little young for that, so we decided to go to a local state park instead.
The gorgeous waterfall at Brush Creek Falls State Park.
Brush Creek Falls State Park was just down the road from our campground. We read online that it was just a short hike to the waterfall, so we decided to give it a shot. A few miles down a winding mountain road, we almost missed the turnoff and the small parking area for the trail. Thank goodness we didn’t though, because it was one of the highlights of our trip! The trail was wide and easy to navigate, nestled between the creek and a mountain ledge in the woods. It was cool and refreshing on that hot summer day. We all enjoyed stretching our legs, and even the kids were amazed by the beauty around us. The waterfall was breathtaking, the kind of view you see on a postcard, and the sounds of the water falling into the rocks just brings peace to your soul. We trekked down a steep ledge because we just had to put our feet in that water! A kind local hiker advised us that the trail continues several miles to where the creek empties out into the Bluestone River. We followed it for a while, but of course the kids got tired, so we reluctantly turned around. Still, it was a perfect escape and a wonderful glimpse of the beauty of the world around us.
Chilling out at the pool at Brushcreek Falls RV Resort.
While in Princeton, we stayed at Brushcreek Falls RV Resort, a privately owned campground just a few miles from the state park. It was a little slice of heaven tucked away on a hillside right by the interstate. They had a fabulous pool, playground, putt-putt, gem mining, and all sorts of fun stuff for the kids. There was a go-cart track on the property, and we were told that they hold races and events there, although nothing was going on that weekend. After all the traveling and visiting of the prior few days, we adults were pretty exhausted, and this was the perfect place for us to rest and relax while the kids blew off some steam.
We left Princeton and headed home, feeling refreshed. It had been a perfect week, a good mix of spending time with family, adventuring, and relaxing. It’s always nice to get home, but the heat and humidity of eastern North Carolina had me wishing for those mountain breezes. I guess it’s time to plan our next adventure!
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!
