Tox's dream trailer

[toximus]

Umm .. dumb question, but how do you park and get out of the jeep?

All good questions and things I had to figure out too. I had created a scale drawings of the trailer and Jeeps before building. Putting the Jeep in now is really just for verifying my drawings were correct. Thankfully they are! I also made sure other things like an ATV, UTV, rock buggy, or even a car or small pickup truck would also fit just in case I'm ever hauling a friend's or life goes that way.

I accidentally pulled in slightly off center in that picture, but between the body and walls there's maybe 2ft on each side. Not enough to fully open the door, yet plenty to get out comfortably. Even being off center like that I still had enough to get out of the driver door.

 

[toximus]

There is also a winch compartment so I could pull it in without even being in the Jeep. Although, I don't think I have a need to use it.

 

[toximus]

#beliketox

Aww, well, shucks!

 

[RINC]

There is also a winch compartment so I could pull it in without even being in the Jeep. Although, I don't think I have a need to use it.

View attachment 392207

Could pull a door off before putting it into the trailer. Just thinking for me if I ever load mine in an enclosed trailer.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

There is also a winch compartment so I could pull it in without even being in the Jeep. Although, I don't think I have a need to use it.

View attachment 392207

Dude, if you never have to drag your busted junk onto the trailer, you’re not wheelin’ hard enough!



(and remember - we are all just jealous…)

 

[toximus]

Dude, if you never have to drag your busted junk onto the trailer, you’re not wheelin’ hard enough!

Hell yeah brother!

 

[toximus]

Tire chains are a go!

 

[NDSpeed]

did you install a side door, or are you just squeezing in and out when parked inside?

 

[toximus]

did you install a side door, or are you just squeezing in and out when parked inside?

Squeezing. It's really not bad with the TJ width body. The trailer is 98" wall to wall, and the TJ tub is 59" at the doors. So that leaves over 1.5ft on each side.

 

[RINC]

Squeezing. It's really not bad with the TJ width body. The trailer is 98" wall to wall, and the TJ tub is 59" at the doors. So that leaves over 1.5ft on each side.

Insert fat guy joke here.

In my OTR portion of my career, only once did I hang iron. My inexperience showed in that trip across a pass in Oregon.

 

[Apparition]

Don't forget your traction plywood.

 

[NDSpeed]

The down side to diesel is that I can't share the fuel with the Jeeps.

Not all jeeps have sparkplugs!!
Muh HaHa

 

[toximus]

Not all jeeps have sparkplugs!!
Muh HaHa

View attachment 395543

Crate 2.8?

 

[NDSpeed]

Crate 2.8?

Yup. It a R2.8

Hoping to get some time in with the CO Krew before I pack up and leave. Planning on spending the summers in AK. And traving the winters.

Thinking of a Class A Diesel pusher with the trailer with a jeep and dirt bikes.

 

[toximus]

Ugh! I don't have power at the trailer for a battery maintainer so the batteries got drained to 7-8v and had some icey slush forming on top. I'll have to figure out what's causing the drain in warmer weather and I'll probably add a battery disconnect switch so it doesn't happen again. I put them each through a reconditioning cycle and topped up the water. Until then, the batteries are coming into the workshop between trips.

 

[reddvltj]

Ugh! I don't have power at the trailer for a battery maintainer so the batteries got drained to 7-8v and had some icey slush forming on top. I'll have to figure out what's causing the drain in warmer weather and I'll probably add a battery disconnect switch so it doesn't happen again. I put them each through a reconditioning cycle and topped up the water. Until then, the batteries are coming into the workshop between trips.

View attachment 395978

I'm guessing your solar panels are covered with snow? Without some kind of charge, just the cold itself can discharge a battery over time. With everything in the trailer turned off, a radio keep alive memory, and the Carbon Monoxide detector would be the only draws I can think of (If you have any inverters wired in to run 110V that aren't manually turned off thay will also have a significant parasitic draw.

Carbon monoxide sensor @ 0.0005 amps/hr
Radio memory @ 0.007 amps/hr
Inverter (on but not in use) @ 1.0 amps/hr
Refrigerator (on and running on propane) @1.5 - 2 amps/hr
You'd need about 25 to 30 Watts to keep batteries charged with these draws. If the inverter and refrigerator are off a 1.5w woud keep your batteries topped up and from freezing.

I use something like this to keep the dual batteries in an 86 Wagoneer that sits in the back country part of my mail route.
a 1.5w panel woud keep your batteries topped up and from freezing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WP95W51/?tag=wranglerorg-20

 

[toximus]

I'm guessing your solar panels are covered with snow? Without some kind of charge, just the cold itself can discharge a battery over time. With everything in the trailer turned off, a radio keep alive memory, and the Carbon Monoxide detector would be the only draws I can think of (If you have any inverters wired in to run 110V that aren't manually turned off thay will also have a significant parasitic draw.

Carbon monoxide sensor @ 0.0005 amps/hr
Radio memory @ 0.007 amps/hr
Inverter (on but not in use) @ 1.0 amps/hr
Refrigerator (on and running on propane) @1.5 - 2 amps/hr
You'd need about 25 to 30 Watts to keep batteries charged with these draws. If the inverter and refrigerator are off a 1.5w woud keep your batteries topped up and from freezing.

I use something like this to keep the dual batteries in an 86 Wagoneer that sits in the back country part of my mail route.
a 1.5w panel woud keep your batteries topped up and from freezing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WP95W51/?tag=wranglerorg-20

There's a roof over the panels. I only noticed once that a little juice was trickling in from them.

The solar panel controller has an LCD screen and bluetooth, and the generator has bluetooth. There's also the emergency brake controller that charges off the main battery and has a blinking LED. The generator does have an autostart function when the batteries get low, but that feels wasteful to enable when nobody is around it for weeks at a time.

The batteries were fine (not awesome, but fine) for a couple of weeks and then suddenly died within 24 hours. I must have left a light on when I was organizing.

 

[reddvltj]

There's a roof over the panels. I only noticed once that a little juice was trickling in from them.

The solar panel controller has an LCD screen and bluetooth, and the generator has bluetooth. There's also the emergency brake controller that charges off the main battery and has a blinking LED. The generator does have an autostart function when the batteries get low, but that feels wasteful to enable when nobody is around it for weeks at a time.

The batteries were fine (not awesome, but fine) for a couple of weeks and then suddenly died within 24 hours. I must have left a light on when I was organizing.

Ok so a remote/portable panel wouldn't be a bad idea.

Before a micro burst flipped over a 3 bay lean-to shed that housed a '57 chevy, '48 Willys, and 2 snowmobiles, we had a 25 watt panel mounted on the south side and ran charge leads to the snowmobile batteries and never once had to worry about a battery dying from months of no use. SInce then we have a small 1.5 watt on each sled... I think of it as cheap insurance considering those little power sports batteries are damn near just as expensive as a large RV deep cycle...

 

[toximus]

I upgraded the batteries to lithium and have one shake down trip on them. So far the difference is night and day and much improved — dare I say perfect. That said, I'm hesitant to recommend them until I have a more nights under my belt including extreme cold use (like -30F nights).

Let me know if you guys have any questions. I'm typing up a full post that covers all of my notes and goes over choices I made. I'll be sure to answer all of your questions in that post.

 

[TurboTJ]

I switched to lithium in my truck camper a couple of years ago. It cost a couple of grand but it was worth every penny. Before that I couldn’t get through a single cold night without the heater shutting down because of low voltage from a pair of 75 A-hr batteries. The heater requires 11V minimum and when the voltage drops below that the fan wouldn’t spin fast enough to close the airflow sensor. Come 3 am or so on a zero degree night, no heat. The only solution was to start up the engine in the truck which would bring the voltage up, or drag out the portable generator and hook that up. This was with brand new lead acid batteries. It took me a long time (and no help from the camper manufacturer) to figure out that the heater wasn’t broken, it was the batteries. I switched to lithiums and I haven’t had a lick of trouble since. My batteries have internal heaters that come on when the temperature drops below about 35F. It seems counter intuitive because you would think the heaters would drain the batteries pretty quick, but they are still good for days without solar. Besides, when it is really cold it is usually clear also so I am almost always at full charge come night time.