Skersfan's New Shuttle Pod Trailer Build...

[SWITAWI]

I 've got a few more pictures to post next, but first here's the latest info...

From 09/01/11
Skersfan - overall length tip to tail 161 inches. Height is just under 7 foot and width is 80 inches.

It is structurally strong enough to go anywhere. But due to the width, trails like the Rubicon, John Bull and others would be off limits. Towing it up Imogene Pass or Engineer Pass in Ouray would be no problem. I weighed it this morning and it hit the scale at 1400lbs with 20 gallons of water on board. My guess fully loaded it will hit 2000lbs and the axles are set up for 2700lbs.

It seems easier to tow than the box expedition trailers and I am thinking it is because of the nose on the trailer. Less wind drag. I hope to find that out by gas mileage.

I have towed it around and it will stay arrow straight at 90mph. It tows in the narrowest of drive-thru lanes. I have not had it off road yet.

It has a tempurpedic type mattress in it. and the whole front is the bedroom like any tear drop. Memory foam is 8 inches thick.

I will try to get some more pictures of the back to you guys tonight. I built the door and now have to skin it with the fiberglass.

Still a lot of work to do on it. But it is pretty quick to build compared to the box expedition trailers. And more cost affective for the builder as far as time committed.

Sleeping is a 75 inch by 48 inch area. It will have stereo, TV and lights inside. I am putting a Restava memory foam mattress in it. That will make it seem wider due to the fact that you normally do not move around much on that type of mattress.

It is wired for air conditioning with heat strip, but that is out of my budget at the moment. I am waiting on ARB awning to finish it. The top will be rubber like the new motor homes and trailers. Want to be sure to tie it all in together and not have to take the awning off.

I will be able to work on it a little tomorrow I hope, but then I am off to Utah for ten days. I will follow the thread while on vacation when possible, so if there are any other questions don't hesitate to ask.

[SWITAWI]

From 09/11/11
Skersfan - Got back this morning and have worked on it most of the day. The back door is nearly finished, with trim and seal. Still have to do the bottom of it, but will pick us some aluminum angle for the bottom. ARB awning will not get here until after the 25th, so I am starting on the top as we speak. Have a good start, will hopefully finish it tonight and have it at the bed-liner shop in the morning. Screwed up on the tire carrier, as I had the trailer setting sideways in the garage, it has a forward slant for water to run out so I welded the main bar slightly crooked, will fix it tonight also. May have time to work on it tomorrow if possible.

Still have the 120 wiring and some 12 volt to do. Trying to decide if it needs a center license plate holder with light. I am beginning to think the back is to blah for me.

Will check on the graphics for it tomorrow also. They will come as standard feature, and will be color matched to the tow vehicle. Still have some plumbing left, but after tonight I should be able to use it if necessary.

There are things on it that will be changed on the production/sale model. Just things that I do not like, but wanted to get the basic idea out to try and see how it all works.

I am putting foam rubber on the roof for insulation. It is high quality and supposed to last 30 years, I will have rolled it several times by then would be my guess.

Any comments or ideas would be greatly appreciated. I had planned on outside water access, but the wife nixed that idea. May put a single faucet for draining the tanks quickly. I have not figured out the plumbing for the sink yet. May use a small holding tank in the bottom or try to figure one out under the trailer.

Still have stereo to wire and install, TV cable to run and access from outside to it. Will pick up CB for it and a flag holder.

[Corey]

That is nice!

[SWITAWI]

You said it, Corey. By this point the bedliner had been applied and all the protective plastic had been peeled off the outer skin so this thing's really looking sharp. I'm really digging the serious BASE-CAMP nature of the build. Water, twin generators, recessed lighting, outdoor speakers, CB Radio, and an 8-inch thick memory foam mattress?.. My apartment should be so well appointed (I just have track lighting).






Sorry... Got to stop for a sec and some more...
Don't know about the rest of you, but I'm looking forward to seeing the completed kitchen and interior, some vinyl graphics splashed down the front and sides (color-coordinated to his truck), and this thing set up at an outdoor location with the ARB awning deployed.
Any suggestions on a design for the back door?

[Titanpat57]

YUUUUMMMMMMMYYY!!

Tell him to double and triple check all seams with silicone...the water has a tendency to blow in every possible crack when driving 65mph in a thunderstorm.

What a fantastic build!!

[cnynrat]

Very cool trailer!

I haven't seen Skersfan for years, glad to see he's still working at building trailers.

[Corey]

I watched Skersfan's build of the smaller Chaser/Horizon type trailer over on fjcruiserforums.com, nice to see this new model come into play.

It is really looking good.
Personally I would skip the generators if I had a setup like that, and I would go with dual batteries and a similar solar setup like I have now for my rig.

[indiedog]

Looking very good guys. Got a couple of questions for you. Why did you go for the rubber on the roof? Better water resistance? Easily replaceable? (Edit; re-read the above info so now know it's for insulation )Also, was the fibreglass applied in sheet form or laid directly to the ply? I've looked at doing something like that but it'd be a bugger to lay glass on a vertical surface.

Thanks also for the info on the shed build.

[GregB_00XJ]

LOVE this trailer... love it.

[cnynrat]

Why did you go for the rubber on the roof? Better water resistance? Easily replaceable? (Edit; re-read the above info so now know it's for insulation )

In the RV world rubber roofs became popular a number of years ago to reduce issues with roofs that develop leaks over time. This was pretty common issue with RVs/Trailers/Campers that have roofs with any sort of seam in the material. I suspect that is why Skersfan opted for using a solid sheet of rubber.