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The pintle is NATO type so even new spare parts now are unavailable. In fact a guy in England wants to buy everything I take off. Right now the pintle is in good condition and is well lubed for push and pull on the brake master cylinder but I still have to lower it all to 550mm to make the trailer level so may as well go with the new surge controller and ball setup.
Next step is to order the fridge and kitchen roller slides, make my own base for fridge and order the diesel heater system, the solar system, inverter and charger, and the water heater. Going to spend some $$$$ on the water heater as it will be an instant propane unit for $950. It will vent out the side like a normal RV system does.
I am using a Dometic CX3-75 liter. Lots of room in that thing. I like Dometics service with a couple of people I know. One of them had the fridge quitin its 12v mode so they simply sent him a new fridge and never asked for the old one back so he keeps it to use on 120V.
OK moving on:reversing
1. Hitch is lowered 225mm so will be basically level behind the Jeep and the hitch is extended by 10" to make driving/reversing better.
2. Fridge slide is done and cost me about $190. Works great, slides are capable of supporting 500lbs and they really do feel like they will. Locks in both extend and retract positions. Supports are simply 3"x2" x 3/16" angle iron painted with POR15. All the hardware will be removed to paint the interior.
3. Kitchen slide is next at 4ft long. Cabinet is built except for the pullout drawers and Arborite top to be glued on. Should be ready to install tonight and then remove and varnish to seal the plywood which is Birch wood ply. Then permanetly mount the fridge to the slider tray.
4. After the kitchen is done moving to the 30gal water tank then back to the handbrake lever on the hitch and get the surge disc brakes working, mount the pintle hitch permanently and prep the outside for paint. Colour will be cream epoxy paint inside and a medium grey epoxy on the outside to match my son and my Jeeps.
Any idea what the tow weight will be when it's finished? FWIW, I cut the crank-handle off on my tongue jack so it would clear the spare tire in a tight turn, but opening the tailgate with the trailer hitched is still a no-go -- I like your extended hitch idea.
At empty weight it is 610kg (1350lbs) but am looking at about 2300-2500lbs all up. With about 150-200 on the hitch. Top and sides are going to be made of V3/16" Carbon Fiber sheets on 1x1x1/8" frame to keep it light. It will be a pop up similar to a hard top tent with hard top and canvas sides in the flexible part. In folded down it will look like all hard top.
Been working on this quite a bit even though the posts are few.
1. Have completed the kitchen and fridge slides and varnished the wood portions.
2. Removed the two slides for interior paint.
3. After a lot of pain and suffering and on the 3rd water tank it finally arrived. First one was not abke to be delivered and cancelled by Amazon, second one arrived and was broken in shipping due to faulty packaging, thrid one was good with same packaging but no damage.
4. About to set tank in place, cutout water filler in side and opening for the instant water heater. Once interior is painted everything goes in for final assembly inside excluding the gas and water piping and electrical.
5. Still deciding where to put the solar controller and the inverter/converter. They both have remotes so can be mounted under the bed as that will split in the middle and swing up on the sides to reveal the equipment underneath.
6. Not going with lithium battery due to fire risk so will use deep cycle AGM type with solar panel mounted on the roof.
7. Roof will be similar to a hard top tent setup where it will hinge at the rear with door height set and slope down stowed for travel. Then raised it will be like the hard top tents setup and raise way up.
8. Painting prep begins this weekend and will be epoxy primer with an enamel over the top. Hopefully it sprays on 1/4" thick
9. Moving to raised side/roof frame, canvas filler and roof next. Trailer frame and mechanical are almost complete,
Pics:
Kitchen side drawers not started yet Room for collapsible sink and stove on the top.
Moving on...... painting of the interior is done and drying as I type this. Decided on a colour that will almost match any coloured towing vehicle. Also have decided for sake of extra storage we are building a support frame and going with a 3 person Tepui folding tent with annex. They are on sale right now so will get one. Need a soft top tent as I need to mount sideways on the trailer. Inside the support frame will be a boxed in area with storage shelves full length and means to access the components in the bottom. No shine on this. Epoxy primer with Urethane on top. Outside will get clear stone guard perhaps. Ready for component install.
Outside painted day before yesterday with 1 x epoxy primer then yesterday with 2 x urethane. Once it is hard I will coat with clear stone guard on the front and sides. Water system is in now with plumbing about 60% complete. Paint is shinier than what appear in photo. Line below the making paper will be sprayed black POR-15 including tow bar, brake handle and hitch
Well fellow Jeepers the trailer is in storage for the winter as I get covered storage for $50/month. Am planning the weatherproof hard cover and top storage for the spring. Most of the plumbing was done prior to storage. Wiring will be easy as I used to work as an electrician. Want to be using this early summer.
07-02-2023, 04:07 AM
