Hi new friends. We've seen a lot of great ideas online about building RV trailers and so are thinking about building this gooseneck trailer from Blue Ribbon a top horse trailer company. Any suggestions on our design?
I noticed that it specifically says no toilet/black water. That would be a non-starter for us.
Sushidog said
09:07 PM Dec 8, 2014
I assume you are going with a composting toilet?
26ft and no slides is a little on the small side for a FT rig, if that's what you intend. To each his own though.
I think you may want to consider a permanent bed, or at least an electric lift bed found on many toy haulers these days.
I do like the flat aluminum roof. I'd line it with solar panels if it was mine (to support a high efficiency mini-split DC air conditioner for off-grid use.) Since I was building it from scratch, more or less, I'd wire it for 48v dc too. Since you plan on doing a lot of boondocking, your washer/drier will probably consume too much water/electricity to be very useful unless you have hook-ups. There are smaller/more efficient clothes washing options though that have been discussed here (search for their threads).
I have a small refrigerator like the one you depicted and I have to get on my knees to get in and out of it. I'd either get a bigger one or mount it higher, with dry goods storage underneath to save on the back. You might want to consider at least a portable stove/hotplate for cooking in bad weather. I have also found a microwave invaluable just for quickly heating plates of food. They are relatively light and cheap (and can be run off of an inverter) and can be used to store light items like bread and chips when not in use.
Chip
mannyandsusan said
09:33 PM Dec 8, 2014
Yes, a composting toilet will allow us an RV experience away from the campground circuit where we would have to dump the tank periodically.
26' (18' plus the 8' bunk storage) without slide is small, but we think there are some advantages to that.... we should be able to tow more efficiently and fit in some places that bigger rigs might not. We like to keep moving so not having slides should make it easier to use on the road (you can't open a slide when parked on a street) and not having slides should reduce our build cost, keep a tighter insulation integrity and avoid any maintenance issues that might come up with slides.
The appliance shown is just a washer (no dryer and is not a combo unit) We had a closet there, but with so much available storage we thought we'd put a washer there for either the infrequent times we were hooked up to shore power or perhaps find a way to run it via our 4000 watt genset we absolutely necessary. The jury is still out on whether we can make this a reality as we have yet to talk to solar-electric vendor.
We thought about a larger refrigerator, but we're opting for a smaller one we can perhaps run off the batteries.
Thanks - Manny & Sue
Sushidog said
07:28 AM Dec 9, 2014
Manny and sue, I have a 3 cf Dometic fridge in my Aliner that runs off of propane, DC and AC power. It is an absorption fridge that is most efficient running off propane. One 20lb propane tank will last about a month, and you presumably will have 4, so.... To run your fridge off of electricity I suggest a compressor style fridge rather than an absorption style. Depending on your budget there are rotary compressor (Danfoss) fridges available that consume less electricity, but are pricy - look on the solar sites for solar fridges for some brands. Here's a link that also has a sweet solar air conditioner. www.geinnovations.net/solarrefrigerator.html Unless you want a small packaged solar system, I would plan on buying my batteries, panels, controller, etc. separately. Either install it yourself or pay an experienced RV solar installer (not a house installer) to do it for you. It will be cheaper that way, and you will get the components you want, not just what that vendor handles.
Here's a link for some inexpensive panels: sunelec.com/
Chip
mannyandsusan said
02:01 PM Dec 9, 2014
Chip, great link on the solar appliances! That is impressive.
We were hoping to avoid more venting and the leveling requirements by choosing a compressor refrigerator run of AC/DC with inverter. Any idea how long a 3-4 cu ft might run just on DC?
Do you have any other tips on what might make a trailer more self-contained and less reliant on hookups? Thanks Manny & Sue
Not the same question, but there were many good points made that would likely be relevant (e.g., weight, balance).
Sushidog said
07:52 PM Dec 9, 2014
Well, the more insulation you have the less ac and heating you need - think Styrofoam with IR reflective material. Aslo don't forget the windows. Double pained windows with an easily removabel Velcro attached Reflectix covering is ideal. Something like my rig: i53.tinypic.com/10mlhyv.jpg">
Also the larger water tank and gray tank you have the better. More food, i.e. a larger pantry and fridge will help you to stay out longer too. If this is impractical consider an ice chest for overflow, beverages, etc. I use a Coleman Ultimate Xtreme 7 day cooler as it keeps ice a day or two longer than the regular Xtreme model (though it doesn't hold as much compared to one with equivalent outside dimensions, as it has twice the insulation.) Adding fishing and hunting gear to extend your food supply works too.
When considering your power supply, a couple small inverters used only when needed are far more efficient than one large whole house inverter. For days when the sun doesn't shine (or you are in a forest where lots of trees are shading your solar panels) some FT RVers have decided to add supplemental wind generator like this one: Missouri Freedom Wind Turbine A 1600 w 5 bladed Missouri Freedom wind turbine for only $299. This site has some good informational videos on wind turbines: store.mwands.com/wind-turbine-products/ The nice thing about the 5 bladed models is they typically start at lower speeds than 3 bladed models do, yet don't hinder your max power output as much as 7+ blade models do. This company also sells the Skymax hybrid controllers that control both solar and wind power with one unit. PWM and MPPT models are available, but if your main source of power is solar, I recommend separate dedicated controllers.
Chip
Edit my moderator: Edited link to E-bay because it was so long it expanded the page. Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Tuesday 9th of December 2014 09:01:30 PM
Hi new friends. We've seen a lot of great ideas online about building RV trailers and so are thinking about building this gooseneck trailer from Blue Ribbon a top horse trailer company. Any suggestions on our design?
Thanks, Manny & Susan
Our gooseneck design: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxhB4C71O25gTnQ3dVNxbHZwQjQ&usp=sharing
26ft and no slides is a little on the small side for a FT rig, if that's what you intend. To each his own though.
I think you may want to consider a permanent bed, or at least an electric lift bed found on many toy haulers these days.
I do like the flat aluminum roof. I'd line it with solar panels if it was mine (to support a high efficiency mini-split DC air conditioner for off-grid use.) Since I was building it from scratch, more or less, I'd wire it for 48v dc too. Since you plan on doing a lot of boondocking, your washer/drier will probably consume too much water/electricity to be very useful unless you have hook-ups. There are smaller/more efficient clothes washing options though that have been discussed here (search for their threads).
I have a small refrigerator like the one you depicted and I have to get on my knees to get in and out of it. I'd either get a bigger one or mount it higher, with dry goods storage underneath to save on the back. You might want to consider at least a portable stove/hotplate for cooking in bad weather. I have also found a microwave invaluable just for quickly heating plates of food. They are relatively light and cheap (and can be run off of an inverter) and can be used to store light items like bread and chips when not in use.
Chip
26' (18' plus the 8' bunk storage) without slide is small, but we think there are some advantages to that.... we should be able to tow more efficiently and fit in some places that bigger rigs might not. We like to keep moving so not having slides should make it easier to use on the road (you can't open a slide when parked on a street) and not having slides should reduce our build cost, keep a tighter insulation integrity and avoid any maintenance issues that might come up with slides.
The appliance shown is just a washer (no dryer and is not a combo unit) We had a closet there, but with so much available storage we thought we'd put a washer there for either the infrequent times we were hooked up to shore power or perhaps find a way to run it via our 4000 watt genset we absolutely necessary. The jury is still out on whether we can make this a reality as we have yet to talk to solar-electric vendor.
We thought about a larger refrigerator, but we're opting for a smaller one we can perhaps run off the batteries.
Thanks - Manny & Sue
Here's a link for some inexpensive panels: sunelec.com/
Chip
We were hoping to avoid more venting and the leveling requirements by choosing a compressor refrigerator run of AC/DC with inverter. Any idea how long a 3-4 cu ft might run just on DC?
Do you have any other tips on what might make a trailer more self-contained and less reliant on hookups? Thanks Manny & Sue
I would recommend looking at this thread: http://rv-dreams.activeboard.com/t52726820/see-my-travel-trailer-plan/
Not the same question, but there were many good points made that would likely be relevant (e.g., weight, balance).
Well, the more insulation you have the less ac and heating you need - think Styrofoam with IR reflective material. Aslo don't forget the windows. Double pained windows with an easily removabel Velcro attached Reflectix covering is ideal.
Something like my rig:
i53.tinypic.com/10mlhyv.jpg">
Also the larger water tank and gray tank you have the better. More food, i.e. a larger pantry and fridge will help you to stay out longer too. If this is impractical consider an ice chest for overflow, beverages, etc. I use a Coleman Ultimate Xtreme 7 day cooler as it keeps ice a day or two longer than the regular Xtreme model (though it doesn't hold as much compared to one with equivalent outside dimensions, as it has twice the insulation.) Adding fishing and hunting gear to extend your food supply works too.
When considering your power supply, a couple small inverters used only when needed are far more efficient than one large whole house inverter. For days when the sun doesn't shine (or you are in a forest where lots of trees are shading your solar panels) some FT RVers have decided to add supplemental wind generator like this one: Missouri Freedom Wind Turbine A 1600 w 5 bladed Missouri Freedom wind turbine for only $299. This site has some good informational videos on wind turbines: store.mwands.com/wind-turbine-products/ The nice thing about the 5 bladed models is they typically start at lower speeds than 3 bladed models do, yet don't hinder your max power output as much as 7+ blade models do. This company also sells the Skymax hybrid controllers that control both solar and wind power with one unit. PWM and MPPT models are available, but if your main source of power is solar, I recommend separate dedicated controllers.
Chip
Edit my moderator: Edited link to E-bay because it was so long it expanded the page. Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Tuesday 9th of December 2014 09:01:30 PM