At four months, the planning stage for our new trailer seemed to take a long time, but that time was well spent. When everything from the initial five pages of specifications starts coming together, the project moves fast. All of that advance planning results in a smooth, efficient build.
The frame has been welded, smoothed out, suspension prepped, and made ready for the hot dip galvanization process. Holes were made to for future wiring and to allow molten zinc to drain during the galvanization process.
Six tanks are used to chemically clean and prep the frame for the 875 degree zinc tank. After removal and cooling, the frame is ground smooth at any points where too much zinc has dried in small clumps. Paint specially formulated to adhere to galvanized steel will be used to coat the entire frame. The black paint is for appearance rather than performance. This galvanized frame is coated inside and out, it will not suffer from rust and will outlive us.
We like still photos, but here's a link to a good video of this process.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/732216828274165/?s=single_unit
Materials are converging on Kingdom Camping in Millersburg, Indiana. Wall/roof/flooring materials, toilet, faucets, shower, suspension and hitch kits, solar system components, and hundreds of other bits and pieces.
This is the top load rated model of the McHitch, a fully articulating off road hitch from Australia. It's rated to 13,200lbs (heavy duty galvanized steel), so it should handle everything we'll ever throw at it.
The CruiseMaster ATX airbag/shock trailing arm suspension with hydraulic brakes (also from Australia). It will give us four wheel independent wheel travel, height ride adjustment, and campsite leveling.
The CruiseMaster suspension has an onboard air compressor that can also be used for airing up tires and blowing off dust.
Boxes and boxes of Victron solar components
Our solar panels are a unique find in that they offer excellent efficiency, high Watt/sqft, and fit exactly into the footprint of the roof without any wasted space. Getting 2,020W onto the roof of a trailer this size is an accomplishment. It's a nice bump up from our current set up of 1,200W.
Our lithium batteries are from a newer company called Expion. They pack more storage power into a smaller footprint than you typically see. The internal cells are a proprietary design intended for harsh, vibration intense environments. Each battery stores 368 amp hours (Ah). With three batteries, we'll be storing 1,104 Ah. Again, a nice bump up from our current system with 600 Ah of lithium battery storage.
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Soon the frame will be back in the shop and ready for the ATX suspension mounting. Our special order of Crane Noble Select fiberglass composite should be delivered around February 8th.
In the next two weeks we should see the suspension/tanks/floor installed on the chassis while the cabinets are being built and the walls/roof are being framed. Lamination of the walls and roof could be done as well. So far, it looks like we're still on track for an end of March or first week in April.
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