Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The new trailer Version 2.0 is coming

Ok guys it's official 

The order is now being processed , OTTCT 2.0 is being Factory built ready for PU in April. 
This will be a supper insulated 7x18 - with 3 layers of insulation, nice solid R12+ 100% coverage. 
2000 watts MONSTER 9 panels of SOLAR. & 180,000 btu water heater & solar AC & 800 amp hour batteries. 
80-100 gallon of fresh water. 
Screwless exterior in white of course. 
Tandem torflex 3,500 lbs dexter axels @ ZERO deg & never adjust elec brakes. 
This trailer has wood walls - as metal radiates too much heat & wood insulates better. 
Also the roof Chanel is alum - less or no rust problems. 
Starting weight about 2400 lbs.

Not sure when I will start the build , but it will get done fast as I will be using most parts from OTTCT 


Stay tuned :D :D :D :goodmorning: :goodmorning:  8)

I will be starting with a nice 5,500 mile tround trip for the PU. 



Trailer will be in white , NOT RED 


Friday, January 18, 2013

Update to the Smurf's

       Well I am slowly getting done installing my second layer of foam insulation. Last night I had my very first mini test run with the new layer of foam board. It dropped down to freezing 30° and the inside temperature with only the TV and my body heat was 52° this morning. With 2 people the temp would have been 57+ deg F.  I am now even more convinced that with approximately 2 inches of foam board insulation R-10 inside the plywood, one would be able to keep warm down to 10 deg without any great effort or heating required. Its not to bad to live with 50+ deg , its not that hard to get used to, at least for me. Currently I only have R4 with 3/4" of blue foam board onside of the plywood. There is a layer of foam between the metal siding & the interior plywood.

          The same effect would also work for AC in the summer time as the foam board would keep the heat out & allow quite a large trailer to be cooled to 70 deg with only a 5,000 Btu AC running part time. I would estimate that 2,500 - 3,000 Btu would be adequate for cooling.

         As I get a chance I will also try to post some more pictures in the next day or so.


      Soon the new trailer is coming , details to follow.  Thank You - to all the  people at Carmate Trailers.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

The Smurf's are coming :-))

      Here we go , I have decided to remove all the cabinets and install a 2nd layer of insulation on the floor, walls & ceiling. The first is just not working to my satisfaction because the metal ribs under the plywood transfer to much heat or cold. IMHO the foam inside the walls is not worth bubkus !

      With the old insulation I was picking up approx 10 deg over the exterior temperature. With this new lawyer I'm hopeful that I will be able to pick up 25-30 deg. My design goal is to be able to camp out in 25 deg F and be able to maintain 50 deg F inside without any additional heating other then ambient heat from my body, tv, fridge & inverter.

       Currently also the 5,000 Btu ac is barely keeping up with the cooling load in full sun at 95 deg exterior temp, this upgrade should also have the same effect as upgrading to 8,000 Btu estimated, but for the exact same power of 500 watts.


      In the next few days I will test the insulation and will see how it goes, I still have a small section of about 20-30 sq ft to install, hopefully tomorrow.






 The foam board is from Dow Corning and has a R4 value for 3/4" thickness. 
Cost is around $15 per    4 x 8' sheet. 
Worst case I will have to install another layer - 
but I may wait to do that in my next trailer.

Stay tuned !!


Here is the wide open corner post with a hugh air gap


I installed a 2 x 3" and will install the foam around it,
problem solved





Just a few more small strips to go