Well done so far. I'm following to hopefully get inspired to outfit my unfinished 24' enclosed trailer.
Well done so far. I'm following to hopefully get inspired to outfit my unfinished 24' enclosed trailer.
I'm very curious to see what you have in plan for both power and storage in the front.
My wife recently purchased me a winch for our anniversary (she's definitely a keeper). I need to figure out how to store the batteries, winch, and run power to charge everything. I prefer keeping things clean and out of sight, but I'm not sure if I want to spend the money on aluminum base cabinets.
What did you have in mind? What are your storage / working needs?
I bought a trailer 3-4 years back and intended to "outfit" it like this... never happened :(
In reply to Jgardne1:
Box on the tongue against the trailer?
Mount winch and batteries in the box and run the winch cable through into the trailer by cutting a hole through. Easy access and out of the way.
The trailer got a dry run this weekend.
Tows like a dream of course, and plenty of room. When I arrived.
And then we prepared to camp out for the autocross the next day. This week features a double thick queen size air mattress, some sheets and my 30 degree sleeping bag.
Snug as a bug. The car was able to stay in the trailer, just pushed back a little more to keep it from wanting to spoon me. It was about 50 degrees out so I closed the roof vent and left the door open a crack. No fume issues.
Things I learned. Nothing. The LEDs worked great even just using alligator clips to attach them to the battery. I can't wait to finish the wiring.
A tongue box is definitely in the future for the battery, extra tie downs and the winch.
Dave,
I believe in your earlier post you said you purchased 6 light strips. In your most recent photos I only see two visible light runs. Did you double or triple down on the two main light runs?
What made you decide to place the lights length wise in two long runs instead of four or six runs? Did you consider or try horizontal runs across the roof supports?
I think this is a great use of LED light strips, trying to learn from your decisions and experiences this far.
Thanks for keeping the thread updated.
The rest of the lights haven't arrived. I ran them lengthwise because it was the least amount of work. and if the hot ends are all toward the front it makes wiring easier as well. Purely convenience there. I was also able to run them above the "rafters" so they're quite secure.
When the extra lights come in there will 2 more lengthwise runs closer to the sides of the trailer and 2 run around in the front of the trailer. The goal is an even dispersion of light and LEDs are pretty directional.
Got a little stuff done with the trailer. Need a switch box, didn't have any project boxes around. Made a box out of .040 Aluminum.
Fun fact: Forstner bits will make nice holes in sheet aluminum. Just take your time and don't apply too much pressure. Also don't use expensive forstner bits.
I'll try out this layout for a while and see how I like it. If it's all good I'll transfer it over to a nicer box.
I promptly ran out of wire of course, and NAPA was closed. I buy all my wire from NAPA. It seems to be nice quality and the insulation is nice and flexible.
Two strings of LEDs will share a single feed and a 5 amp fuse on the distribution box. Each string is rated to take 2 amps. The 12 volt outlet will get a 15 amp fuse and the USB outlet gets a 5 amp fuse.
Had to thrash things together a little before my final hillclimb of the season, which was this past weekend.
Tongue Box (Plastic for now)
One lawn mower battery
Hooked up the anderson plug from the truck and BAM, nothing bad happened. The battery charges nicely.
At the hill
Having all four on when it's actually dark is too bright. Luckily each strip is on its own switch. One strip is still a little bright at midnight.
Do you ever work on the car in the trailer? I'd recommend one strip on teh floor. So you have under lighting...
Here's the "bedroom" area of mine. Got a cheap carpet from Walmart to make it a little more comfortable and to cover the coin vinyl flooring.
The Tow Mater pillow is not only cool, it's practical. You can throw the whole thing in the washer and not have to mess with pillowcases.
I'd take a picture of the "bathroom" area, but I'm sure y'all already know what an empty Gatorade bottle looks like.
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