[RIKA]

A couple of years ago I bought a 1981 Wilderness travel trailer for a place to stay on our lease. We have a large solar array to charge batteries and the woods are game rich with both small game and large as well as fish, muskrats, raccoon, beaver etc. Jack and I put up a 30 gallon barrel on a 6ft scaffold to provide water to flush the toilet (I put a 1/4in venthole on top). Our water barrel won't even flow water good but its probably something dumb I did. The rest of the water we carry in. Its an old trailer, not in the best shape but has good tires and is waterproof. Snakes and mice get in - in fact I found a shed rattlesnake skin in the bed last fall.

Now my question is, what would you do to improve the trailer if it were yours. I think I could tow it almost anywhere but can't even guess what the future will hold. It will probably stay where it is.

What I'm asking you to do is to think out of the box and to comment from your own experience or your expert knowledge.

To tell you the truth I think something bad is coming.

I thank you

RIKA

 

[41mag]

I'd add another bucket,I like to take a warm shower.At a scout campout years ago they had a contest to see who made the most effective & PRACTICAL outdoor shower.The winner used a black painted five gallon busket w/a black lid.They put a bulkhead fitting on a bottom corner,& added a shutoff valve.The finishing touch was a $2 plastic"daisy"type shower head.Left to hang in the sun for a few hours & they had plenty of hot shower water.The practical part came to the fore when they unscrewed the showerhead & filled the bucket w/stuff for transport.
:shrugs:

 

[brass hammer]

cut out a hatch

in the floor to drop out of it, if some 'gun- clod- shoots .22rf threw it while 'jack' is entertaining your evenings! the construction is 1"x1" studs [if that!] it will not hold any attached hardening, to speak of, i favor 3to4 surplus flak jackets[at head and feet, with 1 at chest area] in the bunk, while sleeping.

while awake! the gun-clod hole puncher might have ran into more than it bargined for! :twoguns:





thanks.

 

[41mag]

Yeah,a hatch!A'la Lethal Weapon!

 

[brass hammer]

ya! i seen that on the movie also!

but i've had it in the back of my mind for years[mainly, from installing so many mobile homes ]wishing there was a type of 'batpole' or something so i would not have to crawl out to go inside to check the mating of floors/walls.


ha! go figure,huh?


thanks.

 

[mrostov]

Waterford makes a very nice little wood burning stove called the 'Leprechaun'. It's a non-catalyst airtight stove that's tiny (25 1/4"H x 14"W x 20"D ) and is rated at about 33,000 BTU's heat output. It comes with a heat shield allowing you to mount it in small spaces, they say as close as 7 1/2" from a wall. It also has a flat surface for cooking or heating up stuff. It also comes with a hookup to allow combustion air to be drawn from outside the dwelling.

Lehman's sells it.

http://www.lehmans.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=705&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=

I'd also look into beefing up the battery system and get a couple of removable solar panels.

I'd also build a 12V power and charging system with a 5hp engine (Tecumseh, Briggs & Stratton, etc), a 5" pulley, and a GM alternator. If you buy an old lawnmower, you can build one off of it by replacing the blade with the pulley and cutting holes in the lawnmower sheet metal to mount the alternator face down so you can belt it off of the pulley on the vertical shaft.

 

[brass hammer]

i like the thought/concept

of your gas powered dc charger[finding a shiv/pully to mount/balance on that verticle shaft would prove ..ah...difficult]

a better option [in my view ]would be a 2500-3500watt generator, your burnin' gas anyway? with dc charger[for cloudy days] the price is down to about$300
or less these days.




i bought an onan r.v generator for my 22' r.v.about a month ago, for $550


it had 372 hours on it's hour meter when i pulled it from a bigger r.v[i had a inch and a half to spare on both sides when i crammed it in my bay]


at least i can tool down the road with the roof a.c unit blowing now!


that wood burning stove will wreck the floor plan in that little travel trailer[camper] although! it would be the most armor to get behind, as rika was wanting to harden her camper.


i got a story about a g.m alternator[later]



thanks.

 

[mrostov]

Not all GM alternators are created equal. There are some rebuilds that aren't worth spit. Certain Japanese alternators will work instead.

I like the GM alternators for these kind of projects because of the internal regulator and the fact that they are common as dirt and cheap at salvage yards.

A million years ago, I blew out the alternator in my Suzuki Samurai while I was in an out of the way place in southern Louisiana. They didn't have any replacement parts anywhere except for up north in New Orleans and then they charged me $240. After that experience, as soon as I discovered that switching a Suzuki jeep over to Chevy alternator was simple, I did it. All you have to do is modify the lower bracket and the pigtail.

As for the pulley, I there are a couple of places you can get one, like Graingers.

Such a genset is simple to make, cheap (often costing way less than $100), easy to maintain, small, and very fuel efficient. The engines can often be had for dirt cheap. I prefer the side shaft mounted ones.

Lots of sailboats now are carrying DC gensets like this with heavy duty, high amp alternators and small diesel engines, like a 5hp Mitsubishi. You can also attach other things to a system like this such as a refrigeration compressor, air compressors, etc. The fuel economy is rather impressive.

 

[RIKA]

Thanks for the ideas guys.

RIKA