Camping Trailer - Post #2 - 01/02/2022

Happy New Year! New Year and hoping to have this project finished this year for some adventures outdoors in 2022. Have a soft deadline of May-ish timeframe.

First, have a series of questions I have to ask myself as they guide the rest of the design. 

1. Am I going to cut the back end up to make a tailgate?: No, too much work to reinforce

2. Am I going to have the RTT sit on top of the trailer in a fixed position, either low for easy towing or high for better position for camping?: No, its too much of a compromise to go one way or the other and plenty have made frames for the roof-top-tents for these trailers that can elevate when set up.

3. Am I going to change the wheel-tire combo out from the default 16" X 4.5" wheel with 5 X 5.5 lug pattern and 215/85R16 tires with a 17" x 10" wheel with a 6x120 lug pattern and 33x12.5" tires? Eh, Probably not. It would make sparing easier to share with tow vehicle but that can be a future thing.

So then with those questions out of the way the list of things to do is:

1. Convert 4pin trailer hookup to 7pin

2. Retrofit longer tongue (to accommodate a tongue box later on)

3. Re-add Pintle lunette ring

4. Fix tailights

5. Fabricate the RTT frame

Already bought a terminal box with a 7 pin hookup and will work wiring that now and resolving my tail light issues at the same time. Just bought the tongue extension from Compact Camping Concepts (https://compactcampingstore.com/) for the M416 as well and will install that once it arrives.

For the RTT frame, I'm thinking of going with an external frame concept using either linear actuators or gas struts. Gas struts are the cheap option and have less issues in general but only assist with raising the frame. Something like this is what I'm envisioning

Doing some quick math, the frame for the RTT is likely ~80-100 lbm and the tent is ~ 150 lbm therefore I need to offset less than ~ 250 lb, Using a gas strut like the ST440M60 (link) on each of 4 corners I'm able to negate 240 lb of the frame+tent, leading to a ~ 10lb force necessary to lift the rack the extension of 19.6".

With a 19.6" extension and placement of the rack at 13.25" above the tub of the trailer when in the down position will put the frame at ~75" above the ground when at full extension. See the beautiful paint art of the design below.

And the extended position with an overlay over the trailer below (only 1 vertical section shown)

The fabrication will likely start later this month or early next once I can get the material I need. In the meantime the tongue extension should arrive tomorrow and I'll install next weekend with the electrical. 

I'll post another update once I work the tongue extension and the electrical.