Cont Cargo Buggy Box

[Bggrnchvy]

Here's the modification thread I said I would put together on our Continental Cargo trailer. I won't say build, because I bought it with a lot of what we wanted, then just modified it a bit because I didn't trust the trailer maker monkey's to do any of it right (this has proven to be a very good decision).

Before the idea of kids my wife and I enjoyed a slide in pop up camper. It was light, low profile, was 8' so it let me pull my fat rig on my bumper pull easily and it had just enough room for her and I with the dog. It worked great for a number of years.




After I reinforced the legs and fixed some roof leaks I realized it needed a new home and it was time for us to step up to an enclosed trailer like the rest of our friends and family who camp and wheel with. Unfortunately, even after I would be done lightened the Chevy by turning it into a buggy it was going to be way heavier than a SxS or a sand rail so almost every toy hauler was immediately out of the question.

Enter, converted cargo trailer. We worked with a local dealer (not the best experience) who worked with the factory to basically build the trailer to what we wanted. We needed ~20' full width in the back and a basic kitchen, bath and fridge. We had them redo the arrangement and mod a series of things and ended up with this layout in a 38' tip to tail trailer:



Primary upgrades:
Change from triple 5200s to dual 8k torsion axles.
Generator package
3 prewired and braced vents
50a package
Hydraulic landing gear with outer 10k legs
18" add height
Wider and reinforced rear door
Coined floor
Painted aluminum interior
Upper cabinets shipped loose
LED strip lighting
Awning
Exterior light stubs
Kitchen with stove, sink, fridge
Bathroom with shower, toilet and storage
Heater
2nd battery (to start)

Obviously some things I wish I had changed now, but we will get there. My biggest issue is how low it was, and I wish I had them drop the tongue height. It could have been 12" shorter and given us a lot more room up top.

It took a year or so to design and have them build and ship it by the time delays were done. This is how it looked when we got it home. It lives in the side yard, but if I park it diagonally in the driveway I can work/weld on it easily.



Onto the cool stuff, modding a new trailer

 

[Bggrnchvy]

First thing was to put a generator in. I wanted to be able to work on it (which proved to be smart) so I built a slide and made sure the connections had plenty of slack to coil and come out without disconnecting anything but the tail pipe.

A neighbor gave a pile of 304 sheets from a kitchen gut he did so I cut one into the top plate.



Then I made a support structure out of 2x.125 bar.



Those got attached and some 500lb rated slides with locking tabs were bolted on and the assembly was installed in the trailer.








The 5500 barely fit and in the end it actually didn't live very long. It had a ton of hours and started ok, but shortly after needed rings and a cylinder bore so it got sold and I bought a new 4k unit that took it's place. It fits much nicer and we never really needed the 5500 watts. I just liked the idea that it was the one, less than 7k quiet genny, that had a true 220v 30a output if I wanted to drag the welder with us.

 

[Bggrnchvy]

Solar, our pop up had it and I knew I both wanted it and I wanted more. We had 120w and it was adequate, not ideal, on the pop up.

For this trailer I started a plan to build a 400w array.



I decided to build a rack that would tie into the existing bolt holes and seal with some butyl tape so I could avoid putting anymore holes in the roof than I had to.



I built it out of stainless so I would have to mess with painting it.



Bolted right onto the sides of the roof.



Panels installed.



Controller and disconnect in the jack control box. It's a short run, about 8' from array to controller so the array is in parallel so even if one panel is occluded I'm still making power. I recall it's 6awg I think. I've been very happy with it. I also put a Victron battery monitor in the kitchen so I can nerd on wattage I'm generating and battery life.

More tomorrow.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

That solar rack is awesome. I had dreamed up something similar for my rig. Glad to see the concept works well.

Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Bggrnchvy]

That solar rack is awesome. I had dreamed up something similar for my rig. Glad to see the concept works well.

Looking forward to reading more.

Thanks, I'm very pleased with it. If we run the heater at night on the beach and it's not completely fogged in or overcast the batteries are charged back up by 9am. Plenty of spare charging capacity, more electrical storage is definitely on the short list.

Height, I should have ordered this trailer 4-6" taller. It just doesn't have the ground clearance with the overhang to get anywhere without touching something. I could have just ordered 2x new axles, but 8k torsions, even bare, are not cheap.

Instead I just decided to build a lift block basically. I modeled a formed C channel and had a friends old shop cut it out on their table and form it up in their 10' brake. I welded in a series of gussets and ended up here:




Their brake was having a cylinder bypass issue so they had to make some slits to bend the length. I just welded up the slits.

My BIL came over and we used the hydraulics on the front and a 20t bottle jack and stands in the back to get the trailer up high enough to add 5" of lift.




Fin

 

[Bggrnchvy]

A couple of smaller projects:

Tongue lights

I hate that there is no light under the tongue. It stinks when I'm in the bin after dark or dusk. It's annoying loading and it's even terrible when I'm camping because people run into the pin drop box as it's flush with the front and black.

I grabbed a few flush mount angled LED lights and added a circuit and made an illuminated switch box so I can have light in the propane and battery bins, as well as direction light from right to left or left to right.





Step

After lifting the trailer it really needed a step. We tried just using a folding step stool and it's just not safe when your stepping out and the other option became a small pallet which was just another thing to move in and out.



I cut two pieces of 2x.25w angle with a slight downward slant to catch the frame rails and the outer trim and stiched them in.



I got lucky and the predrilled holes lined up perfect and the step just misses the propane gas line underneath.



It tucks up pretty tight, and folds out enough to make all the difference. It's quite stout.

 

[LunchBoxFab]

i like that light switch.

good work all around.

 

[CarterKraft]

Thanks, I'm very pleased with it. If we run the heater at night on the beach and it's not completely fogged in or overcast the batteries are charged back up by 9am. Plenty of spare charging capacity, more electrical storage is definitely on the short list.

Height, I should have ordered this trailer 4-6" taller. It just doesn't have the ground clearance with the overhang to get anywhere without touching something. I could have just ordered 2x new axles, but 8k torsions, even bare, are not cheap.

Instead I just decided to build a lift block basically. I modeled a formed C channel and had a friends old shop cut it out on their table and form it up in their 10' brake. I welded in a series of gussets and ended up here:




Their brake was having a cylinder bypass issue so they had to make some slits to bend the length. I just welded up the slits.

My BIL came over and we used the hydraulics on the front and a 20t bottle jack and stands in the back to get the trailer up high enough to add 5" of lift.




That is slick!

 

[Bggrnchvy]

i like that light switch.

good work all around.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRL5C33/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TYNYW1S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077R1RT2T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Easy to replicate.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

A couple of smaller projects:

Step

After lifting the trailer it really needed a step. We tried just using a folding step stool and it's just not safe when your stepping out and the other option became a small pallet which was just another thing to move in and out.



I cut two pieces of 2x.25w angle with a slight downward slant to catch the frame rails and the outer trim and stiched them in.



I got lucky and the predrilled holes lined up perfect and the step just misses the propane gas line underneath.



It tucks up pretty tight, and folds out enough to make all the difference. It's quite stout.

Same problem with mine, but none of the steps out there look stout, including that one. Two thinish strips holding the step in the air with no triangulation.

No complaints?

 

[ridered3]

Same problem with mine, but none of the steps out there look stout, including that one. Two thinish strips holding the step in the air with no triangulation.

No complaints?

Similar to the one I have and it’s stout enough. Still has some wiggle and movement when coming in and out but I haven’t broken it yet. I usually put a block of wood under the bottom step to take out most of the movement too.

Of course I also used plastic hot tub steps for outside steps on the previous trailer so got used to the bouncing from the steps.

 

[ridered3]

Thanks for starting this thread!

Any idea of the trailers weight? Also purely out of curiosity, why did you pick Torsion axles over regular Dexter axles? That would have give. You some extra ride height right out of the gate but I’ve never owned a trailer with Torsion axles so unfamiliar territory for me hence the question.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Thanks for starting this thread!

Any idea of the trailers weight? Also purely out of curiosity, why did you pick Torsion axles over regular Dexter axles? That would have give. You some extra ride height right out of the gate but I’ve never owned a trailer with Torsion axles so unfamiliar territory for me hence the question.

A lot of the enclosed trailers I see just come with Torsion axles. Mine did.

I think it's to reduce overall height, and/or keep the interior deck height low as possible.

 

[CarterKraft]

A lot of the enclosed trailers I see just come with Torsion axles. Mine did.

I think it's to reduce overall height, and/or keep the interior deck height low as possible.

I think they ride better too, they have rebound dampening sort of shocks less violent bouncing.

 

[Bggrnchvy]

Same problem with mine, but none of the steps out there look stout, including that one. Two thinish strips holding the step in the air with no triangulation.

No complaints?

Honestly I was prepared to not like it that much, but my wife really wanted a step. Now that it is in, I have full confidence stepping down onto it and I am not a light person. Very pleased with it.

Thanks for starting this thread!

Any idea of the trailers weight? Also purely out of curiosity, why did you pick Torsion axles over regular Dexter axles? That would have give. You some extra ride height right out of the gate but I’ve never owned a trailer with Torsion axles so unfamiliar territory for me hence the question.

It's heavy, all steel framed unfortunately and I went with heavier aluminum skins. I think it's about 11k empty now, add a 1klbs in water and gear before I stick any toys in it.

I have a lot of experience with torsion axle'd trailers. We have a fleet of a couple dozen at work, all flat decks and we order them that way because the ride is so much better and we don't have to repair cracked skid pipes as a result.

It was a big selling point on this trailer, that torsion axles were standard (though I hated the idea of triples). I just wish instead of 15° up on the arms, I ordered them 15° down or maybe 30. Another benefit with torsion axles, you can order them with a bunch of different arm angles so the ride height is easily changed.

A lot of the enclosed trailers I see just come with Torsion axles. Mine did.

I think it's to reduce overall height, and/or keep the interior deck height low as possible.

The ride is much better on cargo and will help a trailer last longer. Most enclosed manufacturers only warranty leaf sprung trailers a year, but torsion trailers are often 3 or 5 year.

I think they ride better too, they have rebound dampening sort of shocks less violent bouncing.

Much.

 

[Bggrnchvy]

Here are a slew of little adds I've already discussed and some I haven't.

This is the kitchen as viewed from the door:



Hard to see there, but I put the battery monitor in the side of the lower cabinet so it was easy to read and reach (to check multiple parameters) from the door. I find myself outside more than in.

To the left of the stove on the lower cabinet as well I've mounted an internal hour meter/start/stop switch for the generator, inverter remote on/off switch (so we can save battery power while not using it), and there's a single gang outlet set with USB plugs that is run off the inverter for all the kitchen and lower bunk needs. Nice when our daughter was young to not need to run a generator to use her baby monitor or to make coffee/etc.



The bathroom vent fan was garbage. This unit I found just basically mounts over it so I didn't have to remove the old tiny 3" unit. Just clip power to it, add a plug, install this right on top. It moves a bunch of air and I can run it either way to vent or draw air in. Not the quietist though.



These two items just really help with storage. A key rack and little tray for phones or other things you don't want in the way on such a small countertop is a life saver. And the flip down rack works great in the bathroom as vanity thing.




Future projects are more electrical storage, solving the lack of well storage somehow, and building a ABS pipe dump hose holder. We use a macerator to dump at home, but it's nice to be able to dump at the campsite if we're somewhere with hookups and I never remember to pack the poo hose because we don't use it and I refuse to keep it inside.

 

[ridered3]

A lot of the enclosed trailers I see just come with Torsion axles. Mine did.

I think it's to reduce overall height, and/or keep the interior deck height low as possible.

I think they ride better too, they have rebound dampening sort of shocks less violent bouncing.

Honestly I was prepared to not like it that much, but my wife really wanted a step. Now that it is in, I have full confidence stepping down onto it and I am not a light person. Very pleased with it.



It's heavy, all steel framed unfortunately and I went with heavier aluminum skins. I think it's about 11k empty now, add a 1klbs in water and gear before I stick any toys in it.

I have a lot of experience with torsion axle'd trailers. We have a fleet of a couple dozen at work, all flat decks and we order them that way because the ride is so much better and we don't have to repair cracked skid pipes as a result.

It was a big selling point on this trailer, that torsion axles were standard (though I hated the idea of triples). I just wish instead of 15° up on the arms, I ordered them 15° down or maybe 30. Another benefit with torsion axles, you can order them with a bunch of different arm angles so the ride height is easily changed.



The ride is much better on cargo and will help a trailer last longer. Most enclosed manufacturers only warranty leaf sprung trailers a year, but torsion trailers are often 3 or 5 year.


Much.

Makes sense all around on Torsion axles. I have no experience with them at all since both my enclosed trailers have/had regular Dexter leaf spring axles.

That’s a heavy trailer for sure.

 

[ridered3]

Got any updates on the trailer?

 

[YotaAtieToo]

I swear torsion axles riding better is a myth. At least empty. My flat deck rides like shit with them. There is no equalizer between the 2 axles so bumps that the equalizer would normally soak up are felt by each axle.

My buddy that worked on trailers every day was not a fan either.

 

[Bggrnchvy]

Got any updates on the trailer?

I pit in a digital thermostat and we went camping a few times? Not much.

I swear torsion axles riding better is a myth. At least empty. My flat deck rides like shit with them. There is no equalizer between the 2 axles so bumps that the equalizer would normally soak up are felt by each axle.

My buddy that worked on trailers every day was not a fan either.

We operate a fleet of a couple dozen trailers, with skids on board, that go up and down the state year round to service clients. Switching to torsion axled trailers stopped the fatigue cracking in the pipework pf the skids we were getting from CA freeways and we don't have to replace the shackles and pivots every year.

The hubs come off 2x a year for inspection and repack. Besides the backing plate swaps when the pads are done they don't absorb a ton of parts or suck up a lot of labor.

 

[ridered3]

I pit in a digital thermostat and we went camping a few times? Not much.



We operate a fleet of a couple dozen trailers, with skids on board, that go up and down the state year round to service clients. Switching to torsion axled trailers stopped the fatigue cracking in the pipework pf the skids we were getting from CA freeways and we don't have to replace the shackles and pivots every year.

The hubs come off 2x a year for inspection and repack. Besides the backing plate swaps when the pads are done they don't absorb a ton of parts or suck up a lot of labor.

That’s great that you are just enjoying it.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

I pit in a digital thermostat and we went camping a few times? Not much.



We operate a fleet of a couple dozen trailers, with skids on board, that go up and down the state year round to service clients. Switching to torsion axled trailers stopped the fatigue cracking in the pipework pf the skids we were getting from CA freeways and we don't have to replace the shackles and pivots every year.

The hubs come off 2x a year for inspection and repack. Besides the backing plate swaps when the pads are done they don't absorb a ton of parts or suck up a lot of labor.

They seem to work well for things that are loaded full time. Imo, they suck when they're empty. Especially on a 14k plus trailer.

I'm glad to hear you're experience though as I might be getting a new trailer at work that would be loaded heavy 99% of the time.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I've been happy with my torsion axles. They're independent, so single side bumps in the road are much smoother than my old deck over with beam axles.

My trailer is pretty heavy even empty though, so that's probably a factor.

 

[Snowy]

I’m in the same boat with torsions too, love them compared to leafs that always seemed to need a shackle or pivot when I had an open trailer. I’m about 9k empty though on triple 6k’s so that helps on any issues with empty bounce and I’m very seldom towing empty either