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Camping Trailer Build

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r3dd0g said:
It started wearing, then the heat took the temper out of the shaft causing it to snap on the first obstacle I tried to go over.

I'm just glad it didn't happen on that trail or to grand bench.
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You are a talented and motivated individual
 
We made it home, we fixed the axle and even did a bit of wheeling before we came back (which caused the frame to bend again).

On Saturday the brake booster developed a vacuum leak, but it didn't get too bad and we made it home with that. Somewhere around Tuba City I lost my clutch slave or the hose, so we did 300+ miles without using the clutch. Around Payson either an idler pully or a bearing in the alternator started screaming, but that made it home too. I've got a lot of stuff to fix now.

Pictures will start getting posted tonight most likely.
 
r3dd0g said:
We made it home, we fixed the axle and even did a bit of wheeling before we came back (which caused the frame to bend again).

On Saturday the brake booster developed a vacuum leak, but it didn't get too bad and we made it home with that. Somewhere around Tuba City I lost my clutch slave or the hose, so we did 300+ miles without using the clutch. Around Payson either an idler pully or a bearing in the alternator started screaming, but that made it home too. I've got a lot of stuff to fix now.

Pictures will start getting posted tonight most likely.
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Wowzers. That's a bunch of broken stuff to handle while still getting yourself home. Well done.
 
r3dd0g said:
It was stupid hot today, but I managed to get some work done anyways. I put the floor in for the fridge and built out the framework that will support the tent when it's lowered for travel. I also put some braces in for the water tank anD the fuel cell. It's all starting to come together. Here's where the fridge is going to sit:

IMG_20160807_172619286_HDR.jpg


When the bags are aired down Amber can get into it without even using a step which is awesome. The faucet and electronics panel will go in the space between the fridge and the passenger side of the trailer, the fuel cell will go on the drivers side of the fridge. I started building out some of the framework for it:

IMG_20160807_172635951.jpg


I have the partially finished water tank sitting in place. I need to make an extension for the trailer jack, the handle doesn't come up past the top of the spare:

IMG_20160807_172645876.jpg


I wanted to get a good picture of it at ride height, but it came out blurry and I think I have a bit too much air in the bags so it will probably sit an inch or so lower than this normally:

IMG_20160807_174925098.jpg
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I am thinking about getting a fridge/freezer.
What brand fridge/freezer did you use? How was the power consumption? How did it hold up to your trip?
 
DickeysK5 said:
I am thinking about getting a fridge/freezer.
What brand fridge/freezer did you use? How was the power consumption? How did it hold up to your trip?
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I have 2 fridges, both of them are the Whynter fridge/freezers. I did quite a bit of research and it seems that most of the fridges are all the same with different badges on them, the Whynter's are easy to get (special order and have them delivered to your local Home Depot or get them on Amazon).

The smaller one (65 qt) has been used and abused for about a year now. The handles suck, so I fabricated some steel ones that bolt on to the factory location and I use them to strap the cooler down so I can still get into them. This worked great until the big trip, but I bent the side of the cooler when I hit the big washout so I'm going to have to come up with a different solution. Other than that, it's been flawless (I did ruin a 12 volt power cord, but that was my fault).

We did have some issues with the big one (85qt) that's mounted in the trailer. I came up with a similar tie down system which worked great, but after a few uses one of the bars on the LED screen went out so it makes it a bit tough to read the temperature, but it's not that big of an issue. However, about 4 days into our big trip, the fridge quit running. I did discover that it would run just fine on 120V A/C and it was mounted right next to our big inverter so it wasn't really an issue.

I haven't torn into it yet, but the way it was working I think I know the problem. When I'd plug it in to 12 volt, the condensor fan kicks on, the LED readout lights up and then you hear it try to start the compressor, it beeps and restarts the whole process. After 3 cycles of this, it stops trying to start the compressor and the condenser fan shuts off. I'm thinking that the compressor is 120V and there is an inverter in there that failed so it won't run while it's on 12V. It could be as simple as a reset switch on the inverter, or I could end up buying some parts, I'm not sure.

You're not supposed to let them get rained on, although the small one has been rained on a few times, we usually try to throw a tarp over it, but it's been fine so far. The big one has never been rained on as it was more protected. We did get some water on it during one of the water crossings on our trip, enough to trip the GFC on our big inverter, but we blew it out with some air and everything was fine (this is after it stopped working on 12V).

I wouldn't waste your money on the additional covers, I bought them and the zippers failed pretty quickly.

For power consumption, that depends on outside temperatures, direct sunlight and what temperature you've got the fridge set to. The compressor pulls 4.5 amps when it is running, and those are the same regardless of the size of the cooler.

You guys know how I treat my toys, so the fact that this thing has lasted a year shows it's pretty durable (not sure what's up with the big one though). If you order it through Home Depot you can get the extended warranty on it if you're worried. Personally I'd rather just replace parts as I need to (cheaper in the long run).

I really liked the ARB fridges, however I didn't like the way they open (lengthwise instead of like a normal cooler). I like the footprint of the Whynter better as well, it just works better in my case. I would never go back to a regular ice chest though, the freedom to bring warm drinks that you can cool down without having to kill all your ice is worth the price of admission to me, plus the stuff doesn't slosh around and get beat up like it does in an ice chest, much fewer broken beer cans/eggs/glass bottles etc.
 
r3dd0g said:
I haven't torn into it yet, but the way it was working I think I know the problem. When I'd plug it in to 12 volt, the condensor fan kicks on, the LED readout lights up and then you hear it try to start the compressor, it beeps and restarts the whole process. After 3 cycles of this, it stops trying to start the compressor and the condenser fan shuts off. I'm thinking that the compressor is 120V and there is an inverter in there that failed so it won't run while it's on 12V. It could be as simple as a reset switch on the inverter, or I could end up buying some parts, I'm not sure.
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I think that the Whynter compressor is the same compressor that the Compact Appliance fridges use. If that is the case, the compressor is 12VDC and the 120VAC is just using a power supply. I had the opposite problem with mine. The voltage adjust resistor was vibration worn and so the power supply was outputting low voltage, but it would run fine on DC. I'm betting you just have a bad connection in the 12VDC wiring in the fridge. Try opening it up and wiggling all the connections. A lot of the time it is also just too small of wire to the battery and the voltage is dropping at the input.
 
mlaux said:
I think that the Whynter compressor is the same compressor that the Compact Appliance fridges use. If that is the case, the compressor is 12VDC and the 120VAC is just using a power supply. I had the opposite problem with mine. The voltage adjust resistor was vibration worn and so the power supply was outputting low voltage, but it would run fine on DC. I'm betting you just have a bad connection in the 12VDC wiring in the fridge. Try opening it up and wiggling all the connections. A lot of the time it is also just too small of wire to the battery and the voltage is dropping at the input.
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Thanks for the input! I'll pull it apart eventually, but I've got such a huge list of things I need to finish and repair on the trailer and S-10 that I haven't even put any thought into it. It works, but I'm sure it would be more efficient if I wasn't going 12V to 120V to 12V again.

I forgot to mention, I took the trailer out again a couple weekends ago, first trip since the big one. The A-frame front section cracked right where the turnbuckles attach. Apparently there's more stress there than I thought.

I cut that part of the frame and managed to slide some 1.75" .250 wall DOM in both sides extending about a foot on either side of the turnbuckle mount. Then for added strength I welded a 1 foot long 1/4" thick fish plate that is centered on the mounts on the outsides of both sides. I should have made those out of 2x2 .250 wall instead of 11 gauge, but it's fixed now.
 
Thanks for the info. I am considering either the Whynter or Dometic 65 quart dual zone units. The Whynter is a little less expensive than Dometic. I don't like how the ARB units open or the price. One thing about ordering a Whytner from Home Depot is that you can have it shipped to the store and inspect before taking delivery. I have read a few reviews that said their units were damaged in shipping to their homes.
 
DickeysK5 said:
Thanks for the info. I am considering either the Whynter or Dometic 65 quart dual zone units. The Whynter is a little less expensive than Dometic. I don't like how the ARB units open or the price. One thing about ordering a Whytner from Home Depot is that you can have it shipped to the store and inspect before taking delivery. I have read a few reviews that said their units were damaged in shipping to their homes.
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If I remember right I picked the first one up at HD and got the second one delivered to my house from Amazon. Both were fine.
 
Quick question. What are the dimensions on your finished trailer body? I'm wondering if I can get all that I need in a m100 jeep trailer.
 
It's 6 foot by 5 foot. I think it's considerably larger than the M100 trailers.
 
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