Caravan SoftRoader Conversion

[Sersan]

Hi All,

First of all, sorry for my english, it's not my native language so... can be a problem sometimes

Well, I'm a offroad enthusiast and since I remember I always wanted a caravan.

So I buy it, it's a 3mts long old caravan that I intend to convert on a soft roader, I know that, because of the construction I have some limitations but I can live with that.

I will post pictures later

Thanks

 

[tarditi]

Very cool - welcome to the forum!
Good for you to do what makes sense to you. I'm not sure this post is in the right forum section though.

 

[Sersan]

Hi, thanks.

Well this was a small presentation of the "truck" that will be pulling the trailer, but the topic will be about the trailer, so, I think I'm at the right place

About the trailer, like I said earlier, it's a 3mts, 86', Vimara 300 Sport that I will be working on the next few months to convert on a budget.

 

[Sersan]

Hello again,

So, first picture of the trailer

 

[jonnyquest]

Sersan, I'm looking forward to reading more about your caravan. Some more pictures, maybe some interior shots, would be great. Subscribed. Your English is just fine!

 

[Sersan]

Hi,

I need to say that, I brought this near to nothing, so, it's not new or even close, I need to repair the floor, new backlights, new roof vent, new tyres, 1 window is broken, and I need to rebuild the interior, but, it´s a very good place to start because, it's road legal (here that can be a problem, snorkels, afertmarket bumpers, winchs, even using tyres that aren´t on the registration can give you a police ticket...) It's small enough to be easy to drive and to mantain the fuel consumption low and give me a starting point to upgrade with time.

I will post some detail pictures later

At this point, i'm repairing a part of the floor so... it's not pretty to see

Cheers

 

[Sersan]

Hi,

Well, finally I had the time to start cleaning the inside and plan the project.


I already have some ideas where I want it to go: 12v electric system with trailer battery, solar panels and the possibility to charge it directly from the grid (220v to 12v), 2 tanks of 50/70Lts (1 on each side for weight distribution), I will need to reinforce all of the structure (I was thinking to create something like a internal roll cage frame to support the walls and give them stiffness), the axle have to be rise at least 2" and I need to change it for another one more suitable with offroad (the ideal is to use the same wheels of the pulling car), it will be painted, the front window will be closed, checker plate will be added to the front and all round the sides, side awning, exterior shower connection, exterior led lights and some hatchs to get things easier.

The objective is stay low on budget and create something that can be a bug out base camp without spend a fortune.

But before anything... It will be rolling as it is (on road) on holliday in 2 weeks time. :smiley_drive:

I will be updating this topic as I go.

 

[Sersan]

First things, first..

Hi,

Before starting with big changes I need to get the old camper ready for the hollidays ahead, so, today was mostly to solve small issue.

I will use mainly leftovers materials that I have around from another projects.

- Take out wheels and brake drums to check, the brakes are fine, just needed a minor adjustment, but the tyres are burst, it will need new ones..

- Finished the floor

- Installed a door lock, a real one at least since the original is all plastic..

- Installed a new kitchen light

- Rebuild the bottom of the couch, some strutural pieces were missing

Need some new rear lights... Where can I get some led lights at good prices?

Cheers

 

[Sersan]

Hi,

I need to replace a missing side window, I already search for a replacement but it will be very hard to find one that match, so any sugestion?

 

[Sersan]

Work goes on.
Quick update:

I managed to find some exact replacement rear lights, so, for now it gonna fit (in the future it suppose to be led lights)

Painted the wheel

Installed some interior LED light (enclosured on the roof to avoid hiting with my head)

Cutting the roof

Installed and connected

And the first resident arrived..

 

[jonnyquest]

A lot of good work. You will have a nice, comfortable place when you are out exploring.

 

[Sersan]

Hi,
Thanks.
I know this are minor tasks, but have to be done also In the end I hope to be able to travel in confort. One concern that I have is to mantain the weight as low as possible, and that is the tricky part, every reinforcement, every additional equipment will put on weight.

Normally do you control the weight that you are adding to your trailers?

 

[Sersan]

Hi,

So the project still goes, slowly but moving

I trying to figure it out what is the best interior configuration.

On the front I have this 2 modules that convert from dinner table into a bed leaving the middle area open so, my idea is to "convert the converting" P) bed into a permanent bed, this way I can use the middle section (for weight distribution reasons) to put a water tank and leave the side boxs to other stuff, probably I will open a exterior hatch to keep my exterior furniture (like table and folding chairs).

 

[jonnyquest]

Will you still have room for a table and chairs? I like the idea of not having to set up a bed. It seems to me the ideal would be to park, enter your trailer, prepare a meal, sit at a table to eat, then lay down in your bed to sleep.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sersan]

Hi, this trailer have the same configuration on both ends, the difference is that, this one (front) is a king size bed, and the other end converts into a single bed so, I leave the table configuration on the back end and create additional storage on the front.