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Fair warning! This is going to be a biggie Instructable. Fair warning! I suggest you read the WHOLE THING before you start building. You may also ...
Per the plans I was using I bought a 4x8 utility trailer from Harbor Freight. It has a weight capacity of 1800 lbs. Which should be plenty for my tr...
I bought some 2x2s to build a subfloor that rests on the trailer. The purpose here isnt really structural, but more to create frame that a floor can...
At this stage, I'm working on the 4x8 ply sheet that will be the actual floor. Note, the trailer itself is 4x8. To accomodate the walls that I will bu...
These trailers are small, even tiny. So any addtional cargo area helps. A frequent addition is a cargo compartment nestled under the floor, between ...
Once the subfloor frame is complete and the ply floor is complete, you can glue and screw the thing together. I used construction adhesive and deckin...
Once the tar has congealed after a day or two, then its time to insulate. Why insulate? Depending on your climate, you can have serious condensation i...
I did kind of a crummy job here. A lot of folks leave their trailer red. I wanted to make mine black. I used black spray paint and it took several ...
In my case I primed the floor, screwed it all together, and bolted it to the frame. One side note - there will be a gap between the metal crosspeices...
Now the axles on this particular trailer need some special attention. Don't be scared. Once you figger it out it'll be no problem. The axle is shi...
I knew the specs on this trailer were for a max capacity of 1800 lbs or so. I guessed my finished trailer would be about half that. So I decided to t...
I modded the profile that was in the plans I bought from Kuffel Creek.. Which is not uncommon. I wanted a more classic teardrop type shape. I mocke...
Next add on the tongue. I new my design would not be anywhere close to the max capacity of the trailer (1800 lbs or so). So I just used the stock to...
These stands come in a variety of shapes and sizes. I liked these because they are attached to the trailer. You just have to remember to retract the...
Now we can set aside the trailer for a while now and focus on the walls. I sandwiched two 1/2inch plywood sheets together and screwed in several plac...
Inside the trailer, folks frequently have a variety of shelves and cabinetry. Not to mention there is a door (typically on each side) as well. I moc...
The walls on my trailer are insulated as well. To create that space, and to strengthen the walls I used 1x3 spars. This is also important to block ...
The standard plans use 4x8 sheets of ply as the basic size of the floor and walls. But that means you sacrifice a little floor space. I also felt th...
Time for more of the pink foam. I cut to fit solid pink foam, 3/4inch. Used Titebond II glue to attach to walls. One of the features of this buil...
I decided to use 5MM plywood as the inside layer of the wall sandwich (1/2 ply, 1x3 spars & insulation, 5MM ply). Again I screwed the two pieces toge...
First thing I did was to put several coats of porch paint (green) on my floor. Some folks use linoleum or adhesive tile or whatever. I was fine wit...
This is a smaller cabinet that will be overhead of the sleepers. I added some blocking on the walls. Then crosspieces. I used more of the 5MM ply t...
I wanted to have some sort of lighting inside the cabinet. I struck upon adding LEDs to the overhead crosspiece, with a switch to turn them on. I mad...
Working off the ends of the sidewall sammich. I began to add crosspieces and more sections of the 5MM ply and insulation to build up the walls. I us...
Now there are many many ways to set up your electrical service. See the main forum ( ) for those discussions. You can either or both 12volt or 110 ...
In the main cabinet in the cabin, I added 2 more 12 volt outlets. Then ran those wires in flexible black conduit. I also added LED lights in the cr...
Now that I have the 'attic' all built, I can put in a heavy duty spar. This is a tripled-up piece of wood that will be the base for the hurricane hi...
On either side of the trailer I added an exterior light next to the door. I had left a channel inside the wall sandwich to run that wiring. I'm for...
This is essentially the ceiling inside the trailer. I used more 5mm plywood, painted with the poly stain mix. I was worried about bending the ply af...
After the headliner is installed, you can start to glue in your insulation. I used about a 2 inch of rigid foam. On the curves I used a base of 3/...
At the appropriate point, you'll have to cut a hole for a vent. I wired separate vent fans that were actually 12 volt PC fans.
With the headliner in, the vent and ceiling light installed, the insulation can be finished and the wiring can move along. I ran the wiring through ...
So it sounds weird but I wanted a bookshelf in my cubbie. Of course a bookshelf in a moving vehicle presents some concerns. So I wanted to create a ...
This was kind of tricky. I actually glued the front half down first, with some aluminum nails at key points. Once the glue cured, then I glued down ...
Now that outer roof is down, we can attach body side of hurricane hinge. I special ordered this hinge online. It comes in a beefly plastic tube, so ...
I'm using a special water-resistant type hinge for the galley hatch. Its designed so that water cannot run inside through the hinge. Available only ...
I used a piece of cardboard to trace the actual curve of the hatch. Then I transferred this to 3/8 ply, bc that is what I had on hand. I cut out ...
So I have my framework ready. Now I attach the skin. I'm using the same 5mm plywood from Lowes. Made in USA. I measured the distance I'll need and...
Once the hatch was assembled. I coated the whole thing, inside and out, w CPES. I then painted the underside with white primer. I used a spray can ...
Now we can attach the hatch side of the hurricane hinge. I clamped the hatch in place, then clamped the hinge to the hatch. I drilled pilot holes...
I deliberately kept the trailer running lights completely separate. They are run from a plug into the tow vehicle like any trailer. In this case i...
Once the hatch is built and the roof is attached and cured. And you have the hole cut for the vent fan (although you could probably wait and do at a l...
Now it is time to turn attention to the side doors. You should already have some door blanks cut from when you made the openings in the side wall. Y...
So now we have two door blanks to work with. Make sure you keep track which is passneger side and which is drivers side!! Before we can affix the ...
Once the opening was all trimmed out AND the door was all trimmed out, we could fit it together and see where to attach the hinge. I used a stainless...
Our initial plan was to sheath this thing in aluminum but we ran into two snags. 1. Aluminum was really expensive. And 2 we really wanted to start ...
Now that we are all painted and reassembled, we can do some final attachment. I used some standard windows I ordered online. They sandwich together...
I used a vent that is smaller than the standard size. It did NOT come with a fans. So I used some simple PC puck fans and small pieces of metal angl...
So now that it's painted, the windows are on, the doors reattached... it's time to take some pics. There is still some work to do, but we can get thi...
Work isn't done. Now I'll need to add some trim along the sidewalls of the hatch to keep out water. First I'll use some 1/2 inch aluminum channel f...
There are lots of different approaches to bedding. We got a great deal on a 2 inch thermopedic mattress topper. I measured the distance from insi...
I'm gonna add fenders.
I'm gonna add hooks, lights, iPad bracket.
I'm gonna finish out the bookshelves in the sleeping compartment.
I'm gonna add a metal gravel shield to bottom half of the leading edge of the trailer.
A few folks have asked for videos. So here you go! Cubbie Intro (fixed now). http://youtu.be/OpyLXvquRLQ Cubbie battery & wiring box. &am...
Look closely at fan. <br> Look close...
Look again at battery disconnect and battery tender. <br /&a...
Up close of latch and doors. <br> Another view of closed hatch. <br>
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