Unconventional Vans & Trailers

Submitted: Friday, Mar 29, 2013 at 20:59
ThreadID: 101376 Views:3107 Replies:4 FollowUps:4
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Who else has a home made work of art/genius?
Last October our tent was trashed in a storm in Innamincka and we continued with the aid of a tarp and lots of rope (and our sense of humour!)
What to replace it with?
We currently live in a very rust-prone area and decided not to buy a van.
Hubby had built a white narrow-guage galvanised "canopy" to go on his grey home made box trailer, with the view of fishing up at the Gulf (didn't want to be croc tucker by sleeping in a tent!).
5 years later, thanks to work, he still hasn't made it to the Gulf. It's currently in the process of being fitted out as our temporary van and is about to hit western Qld in a few weeks...
It's an unusual looking canopy because it has an overhang, over the longer-than-usual drawbar, using what would have been unused space. It has windows on 3 sides and a door, all with flyscreens (thanks to a caravan wrecker). Inside it's not much bigger than a bed.
But the bed hinges and lifts for storage space and the bed can also fold from double to single to give us half our floor space back. We have a shelf above the bed. There's power and a shelf for the toaster and electric jug. There's a solar light and the tv from the bedroom is about to be given a shelf...
No fancy kitchen, but we either cook on a campfire if in the bush or on a caravan park's bbq, or we hit the local pub and support the local communities that we pass through.
There's a space in the corner at the foot of the bed for the bar fridge to fit when we have power, and we also have a car fridge. Our solar panels will be added to the roof by our next trip, in the space between the boat's "roof racks".
It's only the height of the car for wind resistance but as high as possible so we can almost stand. I'm pushing for one of those awnings you can attach to your 4WD to cover the door and give instant shade.
And it has the very distinctive painting of a fish skeleton on each side-a fisherman's sense of humour.
He loves the fact that the canopy slides off and he has a normal box trailer again...and he only pays $60 a year for the rego (it's a "camper", a box trailer and also a boat trailer, all for the one rego price!!) If it rusts, just grind it back and re-paint. Insurance? It's only a modified box trailer!
Hubby reckons that we'll certainly meet the neighbours each place we stop when they come over to see "what the heck is that?!"
I told him that we'll certainly be in the middle of everything from $5000 camper trailers to $200,000 motorhomes...but I was wondering what other wierd and wonderful unconventional home made works of genius are out there...

Robyn :)
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Reply By: Member - Joe n Mel n kids (FNQ - Friday, Mar 29, 2013 at 21:37

Friday, Mar 29, 2013 at 21:37
we never will know unless you post some pics up, i love looking at others ideas as they are what creates new designs, and most are done to solve an existing problem and a "pratical" solution is found, from that is born a solution to the existing cruddy camping methods ..........
(please post some pics)
:-)
Joe
AnswerID: 507827

Follow Up By: Robyn R4 - Monday, Apr 01, 2013 at 08:32

Monday, Apr 01, 2013 at 08:32
I tried to but I suspect that it was either my own inadequacies or the fact that I'm not a member...but I really must join soon...
A picture certainly would've saved the huge descriptions I had to do...
:/
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Reply By: The Bantam - Friday, Mar 29, 2013 at 23:40

Friday, Mar 29, 2013 at 23:40
There are some strange arrangements out there.

Ya just have to keep an eye on ebay to see some...um....er....interesting arrangements.

A couple of blokes down the road when I was a young bloke, screwed a garden shed to their 6x4 box trailer for camping / fishing weekends......now that is a cheap caravan.

I am surprised I am not seeing more roof top tents on trailers.......there are a couple of commercially built rigs like that now.

Speaking of roof top tents.......there have been a few people zippy tie a standard 2 man tent to the roof racks of their troopie when they did not fancy sleeping on the ground in crock country.

One of my brother's mates routinely rolls out his swag on the roof rack when they go up the gulf.

Some of us just don't want to be dragging a 2 tonne rolling gin palace worth more than a small house arround.

Cheers
AnswerID: 507834

Follow Up By: Robyn R4 - Monday, Apr 01, 2013 at 08:36

Monday, Apr 01, 2013 at 08:36
Fortunately the garden shed's bigger than the trailer so that thought never came up!
We did consider the roof top tent (one of only 2 things that frustrates us about the beloved Kia Sorento is the tiddly wieght that we can carry on the roof-not much more than a spare tyre!!). So, that one was ruled out. We looked at roof top tents to throw on the trailer but we had the other canopy 3/4 built and it gives more space anyway!
Zippy ties on a tent!! I knew someone would have a starnger looking contraption than us!! I'd have loved a photo of that!!
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Reply By: Member - Fab72 (Paradise SA) - Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 at 11:58

Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 at 11:58
Coolest one I ever saw was on the way to Melbourne about 2 weeks ago. It was a the fuselage of a small plane...minus wings or course.
I think it was a training rig for the RFDS of something similar. Aerodynamics have got to be exceptional one would think...and plenty of windows.

Fab.
AnswerID: 507854

Follow Up By: Member - Fab72 (Paradise SA) - Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 at 12:06

Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 at 12:06
I think it's a great idea..... bit like this.

Bit like this
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Reply By: Member - John and Val - Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 at 12:55

Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 at 12:55
Robin,

Love to see some photos.

There are some great ideas out there. An area that offers rich pickings is vehicle setups. The Rolls Royce is detailed in Mick O's blog listed in the "most popular" list at the bottom of the main blogs page (behind the BLOGS button at the top of this screen.) Our Troopy setup is there too, and there are many others in the blogs.

A multi-use trailer that can be used to take stuff to the tip today and become a camper trailer tomorrow is very appealing. I've pondered the possibility of slide-out sides on a big box trailer, and folding walls, but never got even close to prototyping.

Hope others will post their ideas - we can all benefit from others thoughts!

Cheers

John
J and V
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AnswerID: 507858

Follow Up By: Robyn R4 - Monday, Apr 01, 2013 at 08:43

Monday, Apr 01, 2013 at 08:43
I'm sorta stuck with posting photos cos I'm not a member-I poked into that section and was turned around. Perhaps I'll join sooner rather than later now, eh?!!
I've read about your troopy-you have a beaut set-up and I enjoyed reading of your ingenuity but the Sorento is a tad smaller though!!
I thought there'd have to be other creative people out there to learn from each other!
I'll join in the next few days and do the photos-with the amount of data and extremely info I've taken from this you-beaut site in the last few months, I certainly owe an annual fee at the very least!!
:)
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