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Ch. 6: Value Added Accessories for the SquareDrop Camper

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We are almost finished with the camper project. In prior blogs we talked about trailer selection, the installation of the major components, adding the kitchen and cabin features, plus putting electricity to our cargo trailer turned back country traveler.   In this chapter I want to talk about the accessory items that really make a good finish to the overall package.  Similar to the earlier blogs, a link is provided if you wish to view the item description, specifications, compare price, and purchase. Tongue Lock by Megahitch:  We might as well start at the front of the camper and talk about theft deterrence.  I did some research on this and discovered that most hitch locks are easily defeated.  One of the more common hitch locks in our boat storage lot is the yellow ball that fits into the hitch with a chrome bracket over the top holding it in place.  Several YouTube videos show persons defeating this rugged looking device with a thin piece of aluminum from a soda can; quicker tha
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Ch. 5: Electrical supply for the SquareDrop Camper.

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SquareDrop Camper ELECTRICAL: AC/DC Official Disclaimer: I am not an electrician.  All your work should be inspected by a person that knows something about the movement of electrons; hopefully contained within the insulated wire in which they are meant to travel.   Image 1 The aluminum tongue mounted storage box pictured above is the main hub for the electrical supply to the squaredrop camper; both 110 volt AC (alternating current - like your house)  and 12 volt DC (direct current - like your car).  A small two breaker AC sub-panel is equipped with two 15 amp breakers and hard wired to the male extension plug for the "shore" power. I ran 12 gauge wire which is rated for 20 amps, but went with smaller 15 amp breakers.   One of the AC circuit breakers is for the Air Conditioning plug/ USB charger s in the front of the cabin with the other breaker supplying power to one plug in the storage box (for the 12 volt battery charger ) and an additional plug in the
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Ch. 4: Kitchen work area and Interior Cabin of the SquareDrop Camper

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At the end of the bed frame we ran some 1 x 2 inch trim across the bottom, top, and sides, to hold the back wall which is made up of  half inch birch plywood; the same material on the front and side walls.  Due to the fact that the swing-gate door opening is smaller than the back wall area, the birch plywood wall is made up of 2 pieces.  We chose to make them equal in width; butting directly in the middle.  You could have one piece much bigger than the other, depending on where you want the seem.  The containers on the inside and outside were offset by a quarter of an inch to hide the seem.  Both containers styles were purchased at IKEA.  They have a wide selection of containers, the real problem is settling on the one that best fits your needs.  Go into the store with your sizes and a rough idea of what is to be stored, to assist you in making the proper selection.  The sink and preparation area is 1 x 16 shelving material with a smaller 1 x 8 pine on above.  Here they a
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Ch. 3: Bed Frame with Storage.

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As you can tell from the picture, we built the bed frame and storage before the doors and windows were installed.  The main reason for this was to make sure we were satisfied with the storage space that the 2x6 inch boards gave us, as we were considering 2x8s.  We also lived with the trailer on a couple of trips before installing the paneling in the picture below; mainly because we were not sure if we were going with paneling on the sides.  The paneling does give the cabin a nice finished look and adds to the insulation value.  On the next build we will install the paneling before the bed frame storage; much easier in that order. Each side of the bed frame is an independent box that is about 2 feet in width and 6.5 feet long made with 2x6 pine boards.  The end that you are looking at is open to the kitchen to allow for storage of cooking pans and canned goods.  Just on the other side of the power tools there is a 2x6 that blocks off the kitchen storage space from the under-bed
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Ch. 2: Size Selection, Purchase, and "Let the Conversion Begin"!

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A lot of things to consider when making the size selection for the cargo trailer to be converted.  We were trying to keep the camper small because we planned to pull it behind a two door Jeep Wrangler with a towing capacity of 2,000 lbs. and we are intending to use the combination in some moderate off-road adventures (boondocking). Looking online at other build outs, the sky is the limit.  If one had a bigger towing rig and was planning to stay on the paved roads, you could certainly go with a much larger cargo trailer.  The teardrop trailer that we rented earlier became the template that we wished to mimic.  It was roughly 5' X 8' and just tall enough to sit in. A quick search of Craigslist lead me to a local trailer lot.  They had the target sized galvanized steel trailer for $1,800.00.  After a walk around of the trailer on the lot, I asked Paul, if certain things could be modified; height of trailer lowered by a foot, supports (studs used to make the frame) added to
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Ch. 1: What is a "SquareDrop" Camper?

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For the past several years we have been dreaming of hitting the open road and taking in some of what this continent has to offer.  Many of those folks currently on this style of living can be found at  Hitch Itch .  I highly recommend you visit some of those travelers as they will give you good information on gear, camping tips, and useful websites.  It is also nice to live some of what they are doing through their blogs. In preparation on making some big decisions for our journey, a couple of years ago, Christina and I rented a 34 foot Class B motor home for a week.  We spent two nights at the F1 track near Austin, Texas, attending the Willie Nelson fourth of July picnic and then traveled to the Amarillo area to camp at Palo Duro Canyon State Park.  The motor home performed flawlessly, but I was disappointed in how it drove and the lack of maneuverability in congested areas.  You really have to plan getting in the gas stations and parking lots when in this size of rig.  The mile
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