The Jeffersons trailer

[Opiebennett]

Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to follow along.

 

[Hooligan]

We are going to need more pics of the 78/79 extended cab hiding in the backgroun.

 

[Kunker]

Yeah, Leroy has the coolist shit. Thankfully (my wife is less forgiving) I haven't found a Hough in the area to drag home yet. Awesome new trailer, and I'm looking forward to seeing the buggy and dent side in it.

 

[roundhouse]

Subscribed

 

[Austin]

Love your builds man, that Peterbuilt is sick

 

[JNHEscher]

Sub'd. Wicked build. Looks a bit like you're in the middle of nowhere southwest.

 

[DT75FLH]

Sub'd. Wicked build. Looks a bit like you're in the middle of nowhere southwest.

He's in northern NV

 

[montrose818]

i really dig trailer 4

 

[Toxicity927]

Good stuff! looking forward to this build

 

[CDA 455 II]

Damn; the build is coming along very nice!

 

[Skipped_Link]

I got a little sideways the last couple days off, I had the daughters B-day over the holiday weekend, then I had to swap the transmission in the buggy in preparation for an upcoming event later this month,
Then this days off I ended up with a nasty cold, so I just plugged away at what I could,

It was asked earlier how I planned to latch the ramp door, well that's where I picked back up on the trailer project, I had drawn these parts up a while back, then had the local waterjet guy cut them out of 1/2" 6061 aluminum plate,
The shinny bushing is 7075 aluminum & designed to roll reducing friction as the latch pulls the door in,

A couple washers retain the latch, & bushing,

Here's a short video that shows how it works,

LeroyFacebook

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Next I was able to cut & paint some 1/2" plywood, & got them installed in the garage area from the bottom of the tin to the top of the inner fender boxes, plywood was used since I figure they will end up being somewhat "sacrificial" Hopefully these pieces will take the beating & scrubbing if the rigs get into the walls while loading/unloading from time to time, we'll see how long they last, at least they're fairly easy to replace,

Then I finally got around to re-using some of the aluminum tread plate from the original door to finish off the new ramp door,

So technically I can actually load one of the rigs in it now,
And since I finally got the new transmission in the buggy it is mobile again, maybe when I get the trailer moved away from the shop I will have to give it a test fit.

I've had a lot of parts showing up over the last couple weeks as well, (water heater, furnace, holding tanks, etc.) so I messed around with the living area a bit too,
There was a TALL set of cabinets right before the step up into the "lounge area" these cabinets went from just above the counter top clear to the ceiling, even as storage, without a ladder they were useless, directly below these cabinets there was a hole cut in the countertop & a parts washer there, Obviously someone had been standing on the counter to access the tall storage area, & being weakened by the parts washer hole the counter top had buckled/collapsed,
All of this was removed,

In the pic I am standing in the "lounge area" looking down/back. The new 100 gallon fresh water tank will occupy the area where the original (smaller) tank, & parts washer were.
A small stairway will be built to take place of the upper cabinets & provide access to what's left of the upper level, which will eventually be the bedroom.

I may get to work on freshwater tank mounting & stairs next days off, but I also have to get ready for an event the following weekend, so I'm not sure how much I'll accomplish, either way updates will be posted when there's something interesting to see.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I love the latch design. Keep it up.

 

[Skipped_Link]

Fall seems like it's always a busy time, & this year is no different,
I had to take a break from the trailer project & go to an event in Mountain Home Idaho, This event is a small club event, but it is always a good time,
We ended up second place overall, which is pretty good considering the rigs & drivers that have been showing up the last few years,
Since I don't have a lot of trailer pics this update, here's a video of our rock course run,



Once back home I had to work a few days, then I was able to give the trailer project some attention,
Last update I had started working on freshwater tank placement, & getting a plan together for stairs. So I continued with that part of the project,

The fresh water tank was mounted with a couple flat straps, then a short wall was built to support the bench as it continued forward from the existing cabinets/drawers,

From there I was able to pull a few measurements, & build a stair box on the fab table in the shop.

Before installing the stairs I hacked a hole through the side of the trailer, & installed the water heater,

On the inside the water heater sets on the bench, under the stairs,

The open area at the bottom of the stair box will be a removable access panel, in case any repair work in needed on the water heater,
If things get serious, removing the whole stair box is not really a major project,
Also you can see I have the fridge set in place to make sure everything fit,


The rise in each step is right at 12.5", that's a pretty good step, but the run worked out perfect at 3 steps & the material I was working with, plus the wife didn't grumble when she tried them out, so I can live with it.

The next two weeks I will be getting everything ready for a local event, then competing there the 15th & 16th, so it may be the end of the month before having an update worth posting.

 

[Skipped_Link]

Well the local 4wd event went well, & I even put a couple days in on the trailer,

Now that there is no reason to try & have the trailer done this year, I went ahead & started stripping out the entire lounge area & bathroom,

The walls were two layers of 1/8 wood paneling, possibly a remodel earlier in its life?

The bathroom I know was remodeled at some point, adding a larger shower, poor paint work, & some "interesting" carpentry,

The original walls & door for the bathroom were 1"x1" steel frame covered with hardwood raised panels that match the cabinet doors, then the inside walls were 1/8" masonite, Everything was extremely heavy, the door alone was probably 75 lbs or so,

The shower area had some major rework done at some point, & it seems all that work was done just to install a crappy "Durastall" shower insert,

Once I started the rip & tear process it didn't take long to figure out this was the right choice, & I hadn't even got to the toilet & plumbing part yet,

Once I did get the toilet & raised floor out, more "creativity" was found.

Obviously the whole bathroom area is going to get redone, but it also looks like things are going to be reconfigured a bit, depending on what I can source for parts,
In past remodels, & bathroom additions, a one piece fiberglass shower insert has been my go-to, they're hard to beat IMO, but I'm finding those are getting pretty hard to find, especially in the smaller sizes,
I'd really like to do a 30"x30" shower, but even finding just a shower pan is not that easy, (I have found a 30x30 from Durastall, but I absolutely hate that design, & would rather not have to buy their complete shower kit just to use the pan) So I may have to step up to a 32"x32" pan & build my own from there,

Since I'm kind of on hold figuring out what shower I am going to build the bathroom around, I crawled up in the "attic" above the lounge area, there's at leas 2ft from the interior ceiling to the exterior roof of the trailer. Good potential for lot's of storage & it already has 3/4" plywood covering the ceiling structure & insulation, the down side is it had a good amount of ducting for the HVAC system hogging most of the room,
So all of that came out,

While the current AC is functional, & I don't see any reason the heating part of the system wouldn't work, I already have plans for newer, more efficient systems, so all of the old stuff will be removed,

For example, the heater, I am going to try one of these diesel "parking heaters", they appear to very efficient, have good reviews, & are really pretty small, so finding a place to put the unit shouldn't be to bad,

After 2 weeks off from work I had to return today, this works out good for timing, now I can figure out my shower dilemma, & ponder a few other ideas that came up since working in the front half of the trailer, Like eliminating the front hydraulic jack system, that will likely serve no purpose once I start actually using the trailer, probably another 150 lbs or so I could get rid of between the pump & two pretty good sized cylinders,

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I've been searching for a 30x30 shower pan or 30x32-34" pan, but like you, have had no luck finding something reasonable in cost.

Some friends of mine put me onto washing machine bases to use as a pan. They are around that size, very cheap, and are a flexible plastic. Some framing around it, and a teak mat in the bottom, and I think it'll work well. Little hick in concept, but once built out I think it'll work well for me. Other ideas I had were to build a pan out of wood and fiberglass it, or build a pan from scratch out of stainless or aluminum.

Just an idea:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/eastman-washing-machine-pan-low-profile-1262195?cm_mmc=feed-_-GoogleShopping-_-Product-_-1262195&gclid=CjwKCAjwtfqKBhBoEiwAZuesiFyMgigYlMQVvl9vWfGJYFl5Hf-PNcYv9aN8-uP5bm38HVL_5i8FyxoCedEQAvD_BwE

 

[Dejeeper]

I use an espar deisel fired heater for the wifes grooming van. They r only really designed for a large sleeper cab at best. Depending on your sq-ft and insulation factor may need 2. Other then that they r great heaters.

 

[Clemson13]

Sweet build. I'll be following along

 

[Skipped_Link]

Progress is progress, but it seems slow & that's why the lack of updates,
Seems especially slow when I just keep taking stuff apart,
I did finally get everything stripped out of the lounge area,

Or so I thought, shortly after this pic was taken that short wall was removed, along with the ceiling tin,

The AC/heater unit was also removed from the front of the trailer,

No pics but I did also decide to remove the pump & cylinders from the front of the trailer, With that out of the way I covered the holes in the floor where the cylinders passed through, & then insulated the front drop wall from the lounge area to the lower level, The trend of actually installing stuff continued,

Another short wall similar to that over the fresh water tank/under the stairs, was built to go over the black water tank on the opposite side of the trailer,

One major difference on this side of the trailer is how I topped off the wall, (or continued the bench forward)
Over the freshwater tank I used 3/4 plywood, since the majority of that area would be covered by the stairs anyway,
On this side I used a leftover chunk of 3/16 aluminum previously removed from the upper level, I figured in the potentially wet environment of a bath room, this might be a better option,

With the short wall & bathroom floor done, I built a new wall separating the bathroom from the lower level (kitchen area) this wall also capped the end of the existing upper cabinets,

I also installed a little bead board & trim to get a feel for how things were going to look,

Also worth noting, Those that have followed my builds for a while (clear back to my house remodel, & Peterbilt builds on pirate) probably catch the random Weimaraner photo bomb, Unfortunately she suffered a pretty sudden kidney failure & won't be gracing any more pics with her presence,
It was a rough day saying goodbye to one of the best shop dogs I ever had.

Purdie Ray,
May the sun forever shine on your nap, & you never have to get up & move because of sparks or a broom.

 

[Skipped_Link]

After a short break I continued with the bathroom build,
With the toilet area pretty well sorted, I moved on to the shower area, I decided to go with a small (24" x27") RV shower pan, by doing this I would be able to keep the whole bathroom area from sticking out any farther than the counter tops at the lower level,
After re-insulating the exterior wall where the shower would be, a piece of 1/2" plywood was screwed to the wall, this will make a decent substrate for the shower wall material that will be added later,
Next the short wall that I removed in the previous post was rebuilt, only this time it was made of ripped down 2x4's & also 1/2 ply for a shower wall base material,

And finally the interior wall was built, like the rest of the shower walls 1/2 play was put over the studs, a section was framed in for an 18" door, followed by a few studs that form a wall for the toilet section,

The fab table comes in pretty handy for carpentry work too.

I tried keeping everything one piece, from on the table clear to install, that way I knew it was square & fairly strait,

Knowing the section of the wall where the threshold would be had to come out, I pre-cut the board, but only part way,

Once the wall was installed a multi tool made short work of cutting this section out,
I'm only posting this part because this is one of those things I normally think "I should have done that" after its installed,

With that wall in place you get an idea how everything ties together,

The interior walls will all be insulated before finishing, just to offer a little more privacy in a fairly small area,

Here you can see the shower pan, & the unfinished walls, I'm still undecided on what material I will use on the walls, but I am leaning toward a glue on FRP board,

The whole bathroom area is pretty narrow, but I think I'd rather give up the space in an area that you're going to spend 5-10 min at a time, vs the lounge area where you could potentially spend hours off & on,

 

[Cowboy63b]

Progress is progress, but it seems slow & that's why the lack of updates,
Seems especially slow when I just keep taking stuff apart,
I did finally get everything stripped out of the lounge area,

Or so I thought, shortly after this pic was taken that short wall was removed, along with the ceiling tin,

The AC/heater unit was also removed from the front of the trailer,

No pics but I did also decide to remove the pump & cylinders from the front of the trailer, With that out of the way I covered the holes in the floor where the cylinders passed through, & then insulated the front drop wall from the lounge area to the lower level, The trend of actually installing stuff continued,

Another short wall similar to that over the fresh water tank/under the stairs, was built to go over the black water tank on the opposite side of the trailer,

One major difference on this side of the trailer is how I topped off the wall, (or continued the bench forward)
Over the freshwater tank I used 3/4 plywood, since the majority of that area would be covered by the stairs anyway,
On this side I used a leftover chunk of 3/16 aluminum previously removed from the upper level, I figured in the potentially wet environment of a bath room, this might be a better option,

With the short wall & bathroom floor done, I built a new wall separating the bathroom from the lower level (kitchen area) this wall also capped the end of the existing upper cabinets,

I also installed a little bead board & trim to get a feel for how things were going to look,

Also worth noting, Those that have followed my builds for a while (clear back to my house remodel, & Peterbilt builds on pirate) probably catch the random Weimaraner photo bomb, Unfortunately she suffered a pretty sudden kidney failure & won't be gracing any more pics with her presence,
It was a rough day saying goodbye to one of the best shop dogs I ever had.

Purdie Ray,
May the sun forever shine on your nap, & you never have to get up & move because of sparks or a broom.

Sorry for the loss of your pup, those are always the hardest.

 

[Skipped_Link]

And the final portion of this update,
I spent the last day off getting the lounge area closer to doing finish work,
The front exterior corners of the trailer are rounded, but inside they are a short 45* section, & very poorly insulated,

Looks like just random pieces of Styrofoam & carpet padding, along with bare sections of the exterior skin,

I'm not sure batt style insulation is the best for this application, but that's what it got,

If you look at some of the previous pics you'll see the corners had 2 strips of thin plywood riveted to the steel flat strap in the corners, these were removed to work on the insulation, then replaced by one solid 1/2" ply panel,

And that's where the week ended for the most part,

I did look into my AC situation a bit, the plan was a new window unit mounted in the existing AC wall opening, but I really don't get the warm fuzzies about a window unit hanging in or on the front wall while going down the road,
so currently I am leaning toward filling the existing hole in the front wall with a window, cut a new hole at the floor level so the AC unit can be fully supported on the floor, then build a bed/lounge bench around/above the unit,

I've got a few days to kick it around while at work now.

 

[Pt_Ranger_v8]

Looking at the bathroom, is the doorway just over nothing?

That's a bitch of a first step

 

[CDA 455 II]

Sorry to hear about your pupper loss. 😞

 

[PAToyota]

My condolences on Purdie Ray. Our four legged family members are as much family as any others.

What are your thoughts on using wood in the build - 2x framing and plywood? I've always thought if I did such a build I'd use metal studs to try to keep things lighter weight.

 

[Elvis-n-texas]

Sad to hear that your pup is now at puppy camp.
Lots of pools of sunlight to sleep in there.

A diesel heater works great, but be forewarned, if you duct the warm air output, use a overlap metal seal, and solid aluminum duct. The heater btu output is high enough to cause foil ac tape to outgass.

As for an ac, look at a small mini split.
Super efficient. Low startup amperage and if you ever camp in high humidity, the mini splits will keep you dry without freezing you out.

Awesome build, and I appreciate your work. I built a 5th wheel based Yota-toter.

 

[simmons3067]

Did I miss the link to the Pete build thread?

 

[Skipped_Link]

Thanks for the condolences everyone, she was a great dog, had a good run, & I didn't have to watch her get too old, but I would have gladly taken a couple more years,

Looking at the bathroom, is the doorway just over nothing?

That's a bitch of a first step

It's a doosie!
The top step of the stairs will extend the lounge level floor enough to cover the entry to the bathroom,

What are your thoughts on using wood in the build - 2x framing and plywood? I've always thought if I did such a build I'd use metal studs to try to keep things lighter weight.

I suppose it would all depend on construction & what material you used, some thin wall 1" square tube for studs could be pretty light I suppose, (that's what I plan to use when I wall off the upper level later on) I want to use a minimum of 1.5" R-max/foam insulation for sound deadening, 1.5" steel studs would certainly be heavier than wood, I would think, aluminum would be awesome, but expensive & more complicated to work with,
Most of the studs pictured are ripped down 2x4's & they're not as heavy as the same length of 1" x .120 wall square tube,
If I was going any thinner on the walls they would be steel, structurally.
I would still need something to attach/glue the shower wall to, so likely never getting away from plywood in that area,
Don't get me wrong, I'm no huge fan of wood, I don't care what kind, or how beautiful it is, it's relatively expensive these days, more susceptible to water damage, & in most cases not as strong as a comparable metal, but it has some qualities make make it more "comfortable" (sound, density, feel, etc)

A diesel heater works great, but be forewarned, if you duct the warm air output, use a overlap metal seal, and solid aluminum duct. The heater btu output is high enough to cause foil ac tape to outgass.

As for an ac, look at a small mini split.
Super efficient. Low startup amperage and if you ever camp in high humidity, the mini splits will keep you dry without freezing you out.

Awesome build, and I appreciate your work. I built a 5th wheel based Yota-toter.

Thanks for the info on the heater, the temps are dropping rapidly here so I imagine I'll be looing at getting it installed & working pretty soon,
The mini splits are super popular with the cargo trailer conversion crowd, I looked into them a bit, for me the biggest down side is mounting the exterior unit, there's no area outside the trailer without just hanging it off the front somewhere,

Did I miss the link to the Pete build thread?

The Pete build is an older thread on the old forum, probably shouldn't direct anyone over there, but the thread is way to big to move over here,

Project Pete

I've towed a couple pretty good loads in the last few years, nothing that the 2 tow rigs I already have can't handle, so I won't even try to justify a 3rd tow rig, I just want one, I'm hoping this will not be a long drawn out build, but we'll see how it goes, What got me looking was a truck...

www.pirate4x4.com

 

[PAToyota]

I suppose it would all depend on construction & what material you used, some thin wall 1" square tube for studs could be pretty light I suppose, (that's what I plan to use when I wall off the upper level later on) I want to use a minimum of 1.5" R-max/foam insulation for sound deadening, 1.5" steel studs would certainly be heavier than wood, I would think, aluminum would be awesome, but expensive & more complicated to work with,
Most of the studs pictured are ripped down 2x4's & they're not as heavy as the same length of 1" x .120 wall square tube,

I was thinking steel studs as opposed to structural tube. Looking around, I'm not finding much information on actual weights, but I'm seeing people saying around 10% weight savings. That's not nearly as much as I was expecting, so I guess it really doesn't make as much difference unless you're really trying to hit a target.

 

[Skipped_Link]

I was thinking steel studs as opposed to structural tube.

Ah, I see what you're saying there, those are certainly very light,
My shop interior walls were framed up with those when I bought the place, after working with them I would never buy them or use them again,

They are extremely flimsy.

 

[simmons3067]

Thanks for the condolences everyone, she was a great dog, had a good run, & I didn't have to watch her get too old, but I would have gladly taken a couple more years,


It's a doosie!
The top step of the stairs will extend the lounge level floor enough to cover the entry to the bathroom,

I suppose it would all depend on construction & what material you used, some thin wall 1" square tube for studs could be pretty light I suppose, (that's what I plan to use when I wall off the upper level later on) I want to use a minimum of 1.5" R-max/foam insulation for sound deadening, 1.5" steel studs would certainly be heavier than wood, I would think, aluminum would be awesome, but expensive & more complicated to work with,
Most of the studs pictured are ripped down 2x4's & they're not as heavy as the same length of 1" x .120 wall square tube,
If I was going any thinner on the walls they would be steel, structurally.
I would still need something to attach/glue the shower wall to, so likely never getting away from plywood in that area,
Don't get me wrong, I'm no huge fan of wood, I don't care what kind, or how beautiful it is, it's relatively expensive these days, more susceptible to water damage, & in most cases not as strong as a comparable metal, but it has some qualities make make it more "comfortable" (sound, density, feel, etc)


Thanks for the info on the heater, the temps are dropping rapidly here so I imagine I'll be looing at getting it installed & working pretty soon,
The mini splits are super popular with the cargo trailer conversion crowd, I looked into them a bit, for me the biggest down side is mounting the exterior unit, there's no area outside the trailer without just hanging it off the front somewhere,

The Pete build is an older thread on the old forum, probably shouldn't direct anyone over there, but the thread is way to big to move over here,

Project Pete

I've towed a couple pretty good loads in the last few years, nothing that the 2 tow rigs I already have can't handle, so I won't even try to justify a 3rd tow rig, I just want one, I'm hoping this will not be a long drawn out build, but we'll see how it goes, What got me looking was a truck...

www.pirate4x4.com

Thanks. I am just getting started with my first big truck. Love your semi