Trailer upgrades, A build thread i guess lol Options

[BillJ]

So starting down the journey to upgrade my trailer and thought i would share and see if i am headed in the right direction.

Baseline is a 2 year old 8.5x24' base grade trailer with dual 5k lb axles. I had already added a whole bunch of led lights to the ceiling last year. I also had painted the floor with texture paint for some grip and to keep wood from staining.

Here is a pic of the lights and floor from last year:



Planned upgrades:

1. Paint the walls. Going to go white and use semi gloss. (Done as of tonight)

2. Roll vinyl coin pattern in black on floor and tailgate. Ordered and coming next week. Plan to not glue it but use flashing on perimeter to keep it from curling. Also between the d rings and other accessories i think it will stay down. May get some.double sided tape as a precaution... Fingers crossed.

3. Ordered aluminum front cabinet kits from
http://www.midwestracecabinets.com. Went with both top and bottom cabinets in black. I did get the double walled doors as i can imagine things sliding around and would rather dent an inner panel than a single outer. These are very basic kits and i have to build counters and bottoms as i have a v nose trailer. I will use some black coin on the counter for durability over plywood. I am no carpenter but going to give this a shot. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif)

4. Also ordered a winch kit from the same http://www.midwestracecabinets.com site. It installs in the floor and looks pretty slick. Got the matching box for the battery and will install a solar panel on the roof to keep it charged.

5. Last definite item is an electric tongue jack. My manual one is already difficult to wind and the one i ordered plugs into the truck instead of hard wired to the trailer. Uses round 7 prong that i use already. Excited about that upgrade.

What else should i consider? Keep in mind i am trying to keep weight down as much as possible.

Walls are now painted and as you can see the floors already look trashed.

[GregAmy]

Your winch box is inline with the basement storage concept.

Don't forget the charge controller for your PV. You can't just connect it straight to your battery otherwise you'll fry the battery.

The battery will run only 12V stuff, of course: lights, winch, USB charging stations. I've installed an inverter for light-duty 110VAC stuff like laptop charging.

Most things you want (like a TV and/or coffee machine) are available in 12V, just look for RV equipment outlets. It's more expensive, of course...

It's possible to run the A/C off an inverter but unless you have some INCREDIBLE battery storage you'll only be able to run it for a very short while. Like, an hour-and-a-half is all you'll get out of a 100aH battery, which will then take three days to recharge using solar. So, not practical.

I have an external shore plug on the front of my trailer for A/C and higher-load stuff. That, and the battery, feed into an RV power center to distribute and fuse/circuit breaker 12VDC and 110VAC needs.

https://www.bestconverter.com/Parallax-6730...ml#.ZEU653bMK5M

I've also added an auto transfer switch so that my light-duty 110AC draws will switch to shore power if that's connected, otherwise it'll draw from the battery/inverter. Large 110VAC draws (like A/C and a separate dedicated large-draw power strip) are on a circuit separate from the battery so there's no crossover (i.e., the A/C and that power strip cannot draw from the battery/inverter).

https://www.amazon.com/Parallax-Power-Suppl...r/dp/B002UC6XTI

All of this stuff is common in the RV industry. And like I said: there is no end to this game... - GA