Our Trailer Project…

For some years we searched for a used trailer to camp in. Both Laurie and I love exploring the out-of-doors and of course we will forever need a base to operate out of for our photographic excursions. We never were able to find something that we were willing to part with $10K in order to own…we realized that Travel Trailers and other RVs were not made to last more than a few years. Many that we found in dealer’s lots had water damage, roof damage and structural damage. We also observed that the floorplans really sucked…very disorganized and very much lacking in practical space.

We’ve also learned while trying to camp in Minnesota is that it’s pretty unlikely that you can make it all the way through a long weekend without a significant amount of rain. In fact we’ve had at least two trips where we’ve ended up in motels while trying to dry out our gear and selves. This creature will be able to handle pretty much anything that Minnesota can throw at it…its already been scarred by quarter sized hailstones.

Our goals in building this trailer are fairly simple:

• Clean, simple & stout construction – built to last (30+ years) and easy to repair.
• As few ‘RV’ components as possible – anything built especially for an RV costs at least three times as much as something built for a home.
• Roomy and simple – an open floor plan without a lot of nooks and crannies, just plain ol’ space.
• Light and easy to tow – gasoline seems to keep going up rather than down in price.
• I want it to be green (environmentally speaking).
• I want it to be a place that we remember enjoying with our someday child(ren); a place that memories of travel are made. My (Kent’s) fondest memories of childhood are times spent leisurely traveling and camping…specifically one summer in Idaho with my Mom and Dad.
• It needs to be a nice, clean place to escape bugs, heat, cold, rain, snow, sun and (did I mention bugs?) to retreat from the elements and clean up and get a good night’s sleep.
• I want a safe place to set up and power a laptop to write stories and edit and review photographs. A mobile photo studio.

My memories of trailer life are that the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle rules. I would much rather build something than repair something, I like stuff that doesn’t take a lot of maintenance but has a lot of utility. All of the wiring is going to be installed in surface mount conduits; all of the plumbing is going to be routed inside and there will be no sewer system, we’re going to use a composting toilet and a compost heap at home; inside plumbing means that we can use it when it’s well below freezing outside.

It’s not viewable in the photo to the left but the air conditioning unit is not a unit made for a recreational vehicle costing upwards of $800, it’s a houshold window unit available at a local home improvement store for $129…less than a repair bill for the RV unit and it mounts in the rear escape window rather than on the roof.

This is a long-term project and will probably be first used this fall…cabinets are installed as we speak and I’m working on a custom-built fiberglass icebox this weekend…my low-tech solution to a $1,500 RV refridgerator. Our trips will be short as fuel is hovering at around $3.00/gal right now, but walking is good too. I’ll post more updates later.