Cover and tarp on for winter!

This camper is ready for winter! This is identical to the set up I used, with no problems, on my Scotty for two winters. There's plenty of cold and heavy snow here in Cleveland Ohio.

This horse trailer/cargo trailer cover is waterproof and breathable. The heavy silver tarp on the roof will help the heavy snow slide off. Because I have two roof vents I did not want snow to accumulate between them and just sit there, even with the trailer higher in the front then in the rear.

The main cover has a zippered door opening on the passenger side for easy access and the rear has a zippered opening for the barn doors. For peace of mind I also, like the Scotty set up, used two extra large containers of Damp Rid for the interior.

See you in the spring.

Cover for the Cargo Travel Trailer

After the last trip this fall I will be covering the cargo trailer. I ordered a cover that has a zippered door to make entering the trailer easy. Like the Scotty I'll add a heavy duty silver tarp ,just for the roofline, so that all the heavy snow just slides off.

End of First Season: Unused bunks make for great storage.

We used to keep our clothes in the truck when traveling with the teardrop or when I met up to camp with my nieces and nephews. With no kids on a trip I can roll up the thermarest mattresses, add the dog crate and will now easily be able to put the comforter, pillows and clothes up on the top bunks on an adult only trip!

End of First Season: More Storage

A smoke colored low garbage pail from Ikea makes a great place to throw the dog's stuff. It's level with the bunks and looks nice.

Two rows of the organizer hold small items just beside the fridge.

End of First Season: Safety First

Added fire extinguishers to front and rear of camper.

End of First Season: Kitchen storage changes

I added a nylon bolt though the front of the sliders so they stay put while traveling.

A cut up over the door organizer gave me more storage space on the inside of the cabinet doors. Worked perfect because I needed to move the crates back a little to add the bolts.

The open shelves in the front were rearranged and now hold a lot more. The blue bins, on the floor, stay tucked away for travel and then get moved outside for dish washing. Once the bins are removed it makes for a great space to tuck the shoes out of the way. A fan, a heater and a 2 qt crock pot are also stashed on the floor along with a collapsible garbage can.

The middle shelf had a Rubbermaid slider but I opted for an Ikea serving tray loaded with the toaster, mixer, recipe folder and measuring cups. The tray comes out in camp and makes it really nice to load whatever is needed for mealtime and then taking everything outside to the picnic table. Next to the tray a shoe organizer from Ikea holds the coffee pots and french press.

It's nice seeing what works and doesn't after the first few trips. It's also nice to keep as much in the trailer as possible and less goes into the tow vehicle. I want to get to the point where I load groceries, into the cabinet and fridge, and pull out for the next adventure!

Trailer set up: first trip

With my side rails and cargo box on the truck I was able to get good gas mileage. Local driving gets me about 18.2 MPG. Adding the rails and box gave me 15.7 MPG. Not bad for such a tall trailer.

Everything worked very well. Did not even need to set up my awning. No bugs during the day so the kids came and went with the door open. At night we took advantage of shore power and ran the AC.

The Home Depot fridge worked well. I used my kayak straps to secure it while towing. The microwave was helpful too.

I added a board to the front of the steps. I was worried about them being open and one of the kids catching their foot if they missed a step.

The back doors open gave us such a cool breeze that nothing else was needed. Made it feel open. The kids and stuffed animals loved the upper level too!!!!!!!!

First Trip a lot of Fun!

Working on awning set up

I still have not got the correct diagonal pole configuration yet. I'm close but it continues to then droop downward.

Because I have an awning rail on both sides I tried a regular set up in the back yard. It works fine. I will just add a roller to the rv door so it does not tear the awning on the passenger side.

If i add an awning to both sides then all the openings and side tables are protected in the rain.

Extra storage pockets on rear door

Second drip rail in place.

Cargo tongue box and roof vents installed

A vent was cut behind the box for the battery storage.

How did I ever camp without a storage box up front?????

I added smoke colored vents to the roof. It's nice to have them open evn in the rain!

Rear cargo door makes access easy

Steps make it safer for all the kids going in and out of the trailer.

There will be lots of comings and goings from the camper door. The black stool or drop down step are not enough for everyone to enter and exit safely.

Thank goodness I have plenty of open space in the bed of the pick up truck to bring these steps along!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Interior 110 ceiling lights installed

I asked the factory to not install the traditional 4' lights. I thought that would be too much for this smaller space. Instead they ran the wires from the wall switch and pulled them through the ceiling for me.

I picked closet lights with pull chains. This gave me a chance to test the whole electrical system. Everything is a go!

Rear half wall

Just need to add corner pieces around the cargo door but the FRP panels look nice in the back.

The next section of screening is ready to go up. A rainstorm chased me inside before completing!

Time and Temp?

When I sold the Scotty I let it go with a nice matching clock and thermometer. It fit perfect covering speaker holes.

Just used velcro to mount this matching pair up front.

Rear door screens

The screen was installed on the upper section. I'm using a track system I found at both Home Depot and Lowes. The cap is already in place on the upper section. The middle track has two slots so I can add the lower section screening and then cap that off too.

Easy to do. Track and cap are about $3.70 each and come in 8' lengths. Used pet screening as it will be stronger and it worked real well in Kate's convertible teardrop that we built several years ago.

Mattress cut up into cushions

The 6" Walmart memory foam mattress is nice. I gave it a few days to air out and removed the zippered cover. Just like the Scotty foam I used clamps and boards as a guide for cutting the queen bed into several sized cushions for the dinette area. Dinette by day, queen bed by night!

Paddy gives the set up two paws up.

Space for Fridge, tv, dvd player and radio

The fridge will be placed in front of the white partition. The tv, dvd player and radio will be mounted on the opposite side that was stained a nd spar urethaned.