Building the ultimate toyhauler!

Appears to be a lower price without shipping?

Door latch is one of the last things and third(really 4th) times a charm!

I tried a screen door latch as someone had suggested..no good. I tried a regular door knob...no good. Than I saw this latch on Ebay and sold by
www.teardroptrailerparts.com and although I had ordered a right hand I switched to a left but it was to late, They did switch it for no charge and was very happy with the service! Someone answered the phone and took care of it, nice!!!



So I had to drill another hole in the trailer which always makes me nervous...measured 5 times cut once.



Copious amounts of silicone before installation,



Outside is done, lever moves to the left so bar is not in way.



I had to shim up the door and had this left over,



3 pieces worked good but would have to shim the "striker" side,





I made a strike plate up and beveled the edge and it worked great!

So I have had the trailer out twice for day rides and everything couldn't be better with the trailer, so nice to fold the couch out sit down to get dressed and have all your gear at your finger tips.

I finally put water in the tank to check everything. The shower was great, very hot water and great pressure. The sink fittings leaked because I bought the wrong fittings, minor problem. Other than that it is just some odds and ends.

I will be sleeping in the trailer for a couple nights in 2 weeks at the first race in West Virginia so need to start making sure all is well and finishing the details.

Had some scraps of diamond plate left over so had to use them,



My old 2x6 ramp I sanded and painted,



A diamond plate strip applied, (hey it was leftover and looks cool)



Mounted on the door with other diamond plate scraps,

Just when I think you're done...

2 more little items that you may want to mount in open view:
A fire extinguisher and a first aid kit.

Good point, I was thinking that today!

loading wet bikes I've experienced slippery ramps...that diamond plate covering may be treacherous with wet tires.

This toy hauler build has made me start to think about my setup and how I want to make some changes. No need for huge trailers when you've made everything work in this design. I like it!

Youre right - wet steel/alum can be terrible. Looks like plate is on bottom side of ramp, not the top side though.

Might check out this stuff...
http://www.handiramp.net/index.php?route=product/category&path=54_95

The ramp is only 3' long and trailer is only a foot off the ground, even at my advanced age I will be able to push it up there, plus it looks cool!

I had to chase some water leaks in my sink lines which I was able to fix easily, so while I had water in the tank I fired up the water heater again. That is a great setup! The water is hot right away, I turned the water off for a second and the flame shuts off right away when it senses no water than fires right back up when the water is back on. Perfect trailer setup!

Finally got a spare tire, so had to mount it up.



Another Ebay find, PitPosse makes it and was under $20. 4 self tapping screws into a frame member.



Mounted up!





It is a belted tire not a radial (all Tractor Supply had) but should be fine as a spare.

T minus 6 days to the first real test and a quick trip tomorrow for a 1 day shakedown ride, disconnected shore power and hooked the trailer up so I could pull it out and load up. All systems are go! Well not.... no 12v anything. So I started tearing things apart, I checked the breakers and nothing,fuses..nothing. checked the battery and it was at 12.7v so the charger had been working, checked grounds, all showing 12.7 v....I was ready to burn the trailer after all the work I had in it. I took a breath and figured I would check voltage at the fuses and started pulling and checking, first 3 no volts, last one ...BLOWN. I forgot that all 12v goes through that fuse and I had left a 15 in there and had meant to change it, put in a new one and ...lights! I double checked everything and did a test with all lights on, water pump and Fantastic fan and we were good to go.

Nice Job !

My wife came up with this idea and it worked great! She made the pillows so they could be hung up while in transport mode.



Couch down,



Lounge mode,



Thats a good women!

Were loaded up for the first real trip of the year, 5 bikes, gear, food, water, ready to go!





5am departure for a 300 mile ride than practice on the track in the afternoon and race on Saturday, adult beverages Sat night and a leisurely ride home Sunday!

Wow!
I'm jealous. Still snow here. I imagine it'll be out of my yard next week. There will still be snow in the trails until mid may.

Life has gotten big this last couple months. Girlfriend is moving in, new job with more responsibility, trip to Europe in June. Its all good stuff happening although it seems I don't have time to enjoy the little things at the moment. Not to mention the projects.

Things will slow down soon.

Looking forward to the update.

DD life gets in the way of the fun stuff!

The trailer worked great, beds were very comfortable. Really no complaints other then the heater but really didn't get cold in the trailer to make it bad.

It got down to the mid 40's at night and with a blanket on top of my sleeping bag and a hooded sweatshirt I was never cold but would have been nice to have it a touch warmer inside.

I think the mattress makes a big difference because it is like having extra insulation below you, my friends in the trailer next to me slept on cots and didn't make it through the night, they ended up in there pickup and ran the heat off and on all night.

We did use this to warm up the trailer but didn't feel comfortable sleeping with it on, says it needs 2sq.inches for ventilation (which I have) and an automatic shutdown if it senses low oxygen but am not sure I want to be a test dummy if it doesn't work. It does heat the trailer fine but does give off an odor.



I slept with ear plugs in and what a difference! I wake up to every noise (and there are a lot in pits throughout the night) when sleeping at the track and I didn't hear a thing so had a good night sleep for once.

So aside from the heater issue I was very happy with everything and was comfortable all weekend long! Trailer pulled great, we did close to 700 miles this weekend with freeway driving at 75mph to West Virginia dirt roads and the trailer didn't miss a beat.

Great job on the trailer. thanks for being so thorough with your build.

Thanks KLRBaer!

It has been a pleasure to use this season, have slept in it numerous times as well as day trips throughout the year.

some newer pics,

Great build. I'll be stealing some ideas

Steal away! I stole most of the ideas myself.

So to fund a possible future toyhauler I am thinking of selling this one. I know about what I have into it and know my labor is worth nothing but am looking for input on what it would sell for? Any ideas?