Camp Trailer with a Roof Top Tent (RTT) build thread
 

So we all hit that point where we look at the back of our Rover and realize the boot is full of camping gear.

So we start putting stuff on the roof rack, and that is good.

Then we start taking our kids to the events and they want a shower, hot food etc etc.. All of the sudden MRE's and cold beer is not all your packing to eat. You are looking at a rack full of stuff and a full boot.

So you start looking at things like a roof top tent and you realize you loose most of your rack space. So you start thinking about a trailer, and it could carry gear, the tent and maybe a shower set up.

Then you are at Lowe's looking at trailers on sale since Harbor Freight is out of the trailer game for now. Then you find one that looks a little rough. You start talking to the Lowe's guy and find out it got vandalized then he starts offering a discount.... Next thing you know this little 3.5'x5' trailer is $250 out the door and you are at the register....

Than you come in the next day to pick it up and they can't find the keys so after 1 hour plus they give up and offer to refund your money. Instead you tell them no worries you will come back tomorrow.

So there I am tonight and 45 minutes later I finally have my trailer, and a free 1 7/8" tow ball since you brought your 2" they told you it was and $25 gift card.

So now I have a trailer in the driveway and a picture in my head.

Things I want to build in

Roof Top Tent
Fresh water tank
dual battery system
electric lift system for the RTT and rack.
Batwing awning, with wall kit (from our friends at Trail Tailor)
mount for fuel can and back up water can
spare tire
enclosed tub with tail gate.
fender shelves with front storage boxes
32" tires on Rover rims
shower system
water heater
propane tank
solar panels to charge the system
LED lights
Paint matched color wise to the LR3 (Bonatti Gray)

This will be a slow build as funds allow, and it will come along in stages.

So far the trailer and tent are the only 2 items knocked off of the list.

So for the style of the trailer, I was going for a knock off M416 style originally. Then I stumbled across a trailer that had a lot going for it that I liked made by one of our very own Trail Tailor (aka Jason, with his permission I'll post a picture of it). I already warned him I was going to shamelessly pull from his design.

The tub of the trailer will likely be 16" deep with a 8" tall lid for a total of 24 inches. I will be extending it 1 foot in length making it 6' long and adding a hinged tailgate. All the mesh will be removed and replaced with sheet metal.

The tent I'll be using is by Adventure Sole with the Annex as well.

ECHO RT - Adventure Sole Rooftop Tents

and here is the basic trailer that will serve as a base for this. It's amazing how small it looks behind the LR3.

So aside from paint damage and a lot of fading from sitting on the lot unwanted for 18 months the tail lights were destroyed and the wiring was mauled.

So I ordered a new light kit with wiring from Amazon
I'll be switching it out eventually for a 7 wire system so the LR3 can charge the battery system in the trailer while driving.

Tomorrow I'll see how much of a pain getting it registered and plated in GA will be. If it is to annoying I'll just do it in Indiana my home of record.

I'll get the lights installed on Sunday after it arrives.

Then we will see where the adventure leads

Get er done!!!

Trying man, doing things around the house today mostly to appease swmbo that was less then excited to see the trailer...

Failed at getting it registered today. Georgia apparently has 2 DMV's one for Driver's licenses and one for everything else. The everything else one is apparently the one I need and it is not open on weekends. So Monday it will be for that.

Started a spreadsheet of the items for the build with links and costs so I can see what I'm up against and its really not to bad so far. Need to go price out the steel next week.

Trail Tailor (Jason) gave me permission to post some of his trailer build pics. So this is the general idea I'm going for. It will not obviously be to the high standard that Trail Tailor achieves as I have none of the talent he does.

I want to box in the front fender shelf area to house a marine battery on each side though.

So I got a few minutes to work on the trailer today after all.

So I went after stripping the ruined lights and wiring from the trailer. The new LED Light kit will be here tomorrow so I'm ready to install it

So the lights finally showed up with about 40 min of daylight left. So I decided to wait till tomorrow...

Kidding got right to work on it. The lights were on in minutes along with the license plate bracket. Ran all the new wiring but didn't cut it off yet just did some butt connectors. For a couple reasons just making the lights functional is the plan for now.

A couple reasons why, going to use the trailer for a few small projects in the next couple weeks and for going back to Indiana for Christmas, having lights is good.

The other is I will be changing up the frame length and how the wires are ran so I want to leave the wires long until I have the lights in their final place.

So we can check new LED Lights off the list.

Also took a look at a few different storage options for inside the trailer for camp gear that will be stored inside it, that will keep it safe, dry and critter free.

Home Depot has some great deals going on their Husky work boxes, that are decently stout and have a rubber water seal. Should be perfect for what I need.

Found a YouTube video that shows the linear actuators that I want to use to raise the tent up once I get to my camp site from the travel height.

I'm curious if the additional bars are needed or if the actuators would be fine supporting the load. They are rated at 175lbs each. I can see the point of a physical lock out for safety though.

IDK 100% for sure, but most L actuators I've seen require some final lockout support(like in the video). IMHO, even if they could hold the weight with no support for the little added cost and engineering time I would install the supports. Those in the video look like they would be a little flimsy fully articulated. It's your call.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...318c2f2469.png
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...c75525cab7.png

And getting back to how I like to help spend your money, I say build one of these beasts :pointup:;)

I'm JK, but look at those actuator made from rectangle tube stock. I'm thinking those are not going to flex. Price just went waaaaay up.