A Trailer for Our Next Chapter - Part II: Everything starts to come together

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

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.

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. 

A Trailer for Our Next Chapter - Part I: It's show time

Since April 2012, our New Horizons 5th wheel has served us well and taken us just about everywhere we've wanted to go. In 2019 we realized that if we were going to continue this lifestyle for another 10+years, it was time to start researching our next home on wheels.

This time we had the advantage of years on the road, knowing exactly how and where we liked to camp. We knew that we wanted something that was smaller, more off road capable, and with hardcore four-season capability. We soon realized that anything being offered by the world's manufacturers wasn't going to work without significant modifications, so we decided to create the specifications ourselves and find a manufacturer willing to custom build what we were after as part of the expansion of their own model line. 

We were fortunate to finally find Jamin Lambright, the owner, designer, and lead builder of Kingdom Camping. Based out of Millersburg, IN, Jamin started working in the Elklhart, Indiana RV manufacturing business while he was in high school. During that time he learned what the largest RV manufacturers were doing right and doing wrong. He took those best practices and ones he developed on his own and applied them to his own company, Kingdom Camping, with an added focus on the off road, four-season trailer market.

Up until now, Kingdom Camping has produced single axle trailers. Working with us, they are now introducing their first dual axle (four wheel) trailer, the Caravan XL.

Here are some of the specifications:

• GVWR 9,820 lbs
• 100 gallon fresh water tank and 50 gallon gray tank
• Separett Tiny dry flush toilet (no black tank)
• Cruise Master ATX independent trailing arm suspension with airbag leveling
• Maxxis Razr AT 285/70R17 tires
• Truma Combi Comfort Plus on demand heat and hot water system
• 2,020 watts of solar on top
• 1,104 amp hours of Expion lithium batteries
• 50 amp service with Victron solar components (3000W)
• 12V DC refrigerator and air conditioner
• 3.5"-6" floors/wall/ceiling with high density foam insulation 
• Aluminum framing with thermal barriers over the studs to minimize thermal bridging
• 12v tank heaters, all plumbing insulated and heat vented to all areas with plumbing below the floor (we're going for serious four season capability)
• Steel chassis hot dipped galvanized and painted black
• Stainless steel screws used throughout 
• Flip up solid surface bar table instead of dinette 
• McHitch 6.5 tonne fully articulating hitch
• Stainless steel accumulator tank
• Queen size bed in north/south orientation with room to walk on either side
• No wood or Luan plywood products anywhere in the walls/floor/ceiling
• RV Armor no maintenance lifetime roof coating
• Crane Noble Select fused fiberglass panels with Azdel backing. A thicker fiberglass panel with Aztec Gray color impregnated in the fiberglass (no paint).
• Aluminum, insulated skid plates covering the entire bottom with nothing (plumbing, wires, etc.) extending below the frame
• Heavy duty jacks capable of supporting the weight of the trailer

Some things we're doing that people will question:

How can you not have an outdoor kitchen?

Weekend warriors are enamored with fancy slide out kitchens. Living in a trailer for 365 days a year, we've found that high winds often require moving your grill to the lee side of the trailer, so a portable grill is the only way to go for us.

How can you not have a built in cooktop, oven, or microwave?

Replacing a built in cooktop can be a hassle. You have to find the perfect fit or start cutting up your countertop to make the new unit fit. A portable infrared or induction cooktop is inexpensive, easy to replace, and can be used in multiple        locations. The same concept applies to a microwave oven.

Where are all the fancy decals/wrap?

We've found that all decals and fancy wraps start off looking good (to some people) and then end up costing a lot of money to scrape off and replace as they weather and crack. They add no value for us.

Why is it so dark? Wouldn't white be better for hot temps?

We've never liked the bright white trailers that stand out like a sore thumb and can be seen from miles away. They act like flypaper attracting other other campers to your spot. We'd rather be more discreet when we camp. Excellent insulation, a 12v AC unit, inexpensive small battery powered portable fans, camping in generally cooler spots, and spending time outside will keep us from being too hot.

Only five windows? Why not windows/skylights/fans everywhere?

The fewer "holes" you build into a trailer, the better its performance will be in hot, cold and wet conditions. We have just enough windows for ventilation, views, and security. So we're going from our current 5th wheel with eleven windows down to a travel trailer with five. The roof of the trailer has nothing but one low profile AC unit, which leaves almost all of the rooftop real estate available for a huge solar array.

How can you not have a dinnette that converts into a spare bed?

It's just the two of us and two dogs. We don't want to have anyone else sleep in our trailer. We're trying to maximize the flexibility of a small space. Flip up tables and portable chairs do that much better than built in furniture and big custom made big sofas/recliners. They're also easier/cheaper to maintain and replace as needed.

Where's the entertainment center with TV antenna/satelite?

All of that is just more holes in the roof. We do travel with Starlink so we can camp anywhere and still have a high speed Internet connection. We will also install a modest monitor (maybe 27" or so) so we can use a bluetooth connection to project a laptop and help out the old(er) eyes when watching movies.

We'll have more renderings and photos here as well as on Expedition Portal as our build progresses. When we finally take delivery in April 2023, we'll be slimmed down from 18,000 lbs to 9,800 lbs, be six feet shorter and cut more than three feet off our height. Anywhere our truck can go this trailer will be able to follow without worry.

Tails from the Backseat: Green is Keen (Especially in the Desert)

After this past summer's extreme monsoon season in the area we like to camp during the winter, the desert is more green and lush (if a desert can be lush?) than we've ever experienced!!  

The ocotillo are vibrant green, the saguaro healthy, vital and strong, and the brittle bush and globe mallow are blooming in bright yellow and orange waves all across the desert floor!!

We even came across some blooming datura with its creamy white and purple petals, smelling oh so sweet...and lots of birds and lizards too!!!

The enjoyment of this fine "winter" weather does validate the desire to continue our snowbird adventures ...and definitely keep chasing birds!!

Our daily 3-mile+ hikes are so eventful, 

never knowing what we may come across next!!

Lizards smell better than flowers to Wesson...uh huh :-)

And where lizards rest, owls nest!

Cinchweed elusively germinates, grows, sets seeds and dies 

within the same growing season

Its seeds are dispersed and remain dormant in the ground 

until the perfect growing conditions--lucky us!

Smith ISO lizards

Flowers? What flowers??

Rare, blooming Datura smelling oh so sweet--

masking its "secret" toxicity!!

There's even Sorghum(!) growing in the desert wash this year

Not native, but curious for sure

  

Our first campsite beyond the wash is extra private this season

But Too-Da-Loo and off to "greener" pastures (ha ha ha ha!)

Because our second campsite is extra private and has SHADE...

...and is Doggone Awesome!!

Note that lush landscape even in the glow of the moonlight

The most hardy ocotillos grow to 15-feet high, this is 

the healthiest specimens we've ever seen in this area!

Greetings from a place we hold dear...

...Even the saguaro are happy we're here!! 

(clap! clap! clap!)

🎶 Celebrate Good Times Come On! 🎶  

Imagination is a Wonderful Thing :-)

(BIG) Fire on The Mountain!

 Across the Kootenay Valley from us, about 10 miles away as the crow flies, at about 5,000 feet above our elevation, is a fire in the Selkirk Mountains that has the potential to be record breaking. This fire will be national news before too long. It started about three days ago when a large lightening storm came through our region. The first small signs of smoke were visible two days ago, and now the spread, aided by hot dry weather and plenty of fuel in the forest, is accelerating.

Since it is in the national forest and doesn't threaten private property, the position of the Forest Service is to keep an eye on it, but take no action.

With temperatures forecast to be in the 90's for the next seven days, and no rain expected at all, this fire will be huge. We'll see how far it goes, but barring any unforseen rain events, it is likely the smoke will force us out a little early this year. The fire has to travel down the mountains, jump the Kootenay River and make it across the Valley farmlands before reaching us. Since we are due East of it, we should be fine (famous last woeds). Prevailing winds are usually from the South this time of year, but have shifted today and are from the North, and are likely to stay that way for at least a week.

The flare ups visible to the naked eye from our place are several hundred feet high. The only way to fight this will be from the air, and it will soon be too big for that.

Memes that made me laugh this week

My personal favorite is the last one with our dogs in it. 

For most of my life I was "on the Left". It was the side of fun. Sex, drugs, rock n roll, punk rock, edgy comedy, natural food, organic gardening, freedom of choice, speech, and thought in everything. We were all standing up to "The Man". I still stand for those things, but now I'm supposed to be on the Right because of it? When did the left become "The Man"? 

The worst phrase in any language...

is "I'm from the government..."

It's amusing to listen to our government, which abandoned billions of dollars of weapons in Afghanistan, and that sells billions more dollars of arms to countries throughout the world, try to lecture the rest of us about gun control.