1993 Bushman camper trailer refit

My LAST 10c worth.... Take note of what Bogger said.... He knows his stuff.... I feel you are pushing the boundaries a bit here..... There are certain Formulas that are used to Correctly 'Build' a Trailer..... And I feel you have broken a few of them... IMO...

Weight on towball is a real issue... Aim for the least... Not the Max... If you can't lift your trailer onto your towball fully loaded, you have a Dangerous Situation... IMO

And Yes, you will see brand new trailers and caravans with welds across drawbars... they are the ones I steer clear off...

I Wouldn't want to see you, your Missus, kids or the innocent party get hurt in any situation....

Been there done that and I live with it EVERY DAY..... and I will never forget That Day these 3 kids lost their mum and my Daughter was so close to becoming an Orphan ... 8.( O

Good Luck in your Travels. and Be Safe.. :Y:

LW....

A bit extra towball weight is a good thing,if its a bit over 10% i wouldnt worry,trailer will track better with a bit of weight then if its leaning towards light towbar for its weight,cant see any probs and looks like theyve got it sorted with rear carrier and tank anyway,well balanced.
When i built ours nuc,i went overboard really with the whole thing,its bloody heavy,got plans one day to make another,smaller and lighter,i used same size rhs on drawbar,next time ill go 75x50x3 i reckon if i can get away with it.
Used landcruiser springs and shocks which was a mistake,way to soft,airbagged it a while ago which was our best solution.
If you upgrade the springs and brake it id go for discs,i used a 2500kg-65mm drummed axle,mega strong but it weighs a ton,discs alot lighter and easier to service,lookin foward to seein it all done with rear carrier etc,top stuff

LoneWolf said:

My LAST 10c worth.... Take note of what Bogger said.... He knows his stuff.... I feel you are pushing the boundaries a bit here..... There are certain Formulas that are used to Correctly 'Build' a Trailer..... And I feel you have broken a few of them... IMO...

Weight on towball is a real issue... Aim for the least... Not the Max... If you can't lift your trailer onto your towball fully loaded, you have a Dangerous Situation... IMO

And Yes, you will see brand new trailers and caravans with welds across drawbars... they are the ones I steer clear off...

I Wouldn't want to see you, your Missus, kids or the innocent party get hurt in any situation....

Been there done that and I live with it EVERY DAY..... and I will never forget That Day these 3 kids lost their mum and my Daughter was so close to becoming an Orphan ... 8.( O

Good Luck in your Travels. and Be Safe.. :Y:

LW....

Click to expand...

I do agree with you about minimum weight on towball but with loading the camper differently the weight can easily get to the point of being unstable. I injured my back while camping and when packing to go home I was unable to place an cooler box on the front due to the frame for the hard floor (300mm for the offroad version) so I loaded it on the back where the frame was open. I travelled about 200 metres and could almost see the camper overtaking me in the rear view mirror. So it ended up that I had to bite the bullet and move the cooler to the front, the cooler weighed about 35 kg so an effective weight change of about 50 kg to the front of the hitch, no problems after that. I also drained the just behind axle water tank, about 75 kg, which would have increased the ball weight by a further 15 kg. Ken.

Bogger said:

I note you mention 250 kg ball weight ? That would be vehicle max ? Ball weight as a general rule should be 10% of trailer weight which I would expect to be under a 1000 kg = 100 kg ball weight.
In saying that, pretty sure once trailer weight exceeds 750 GVM has to have brakes fitted. Going on original trailer mass and what has been added I reckon you must be running pretty close. Using the Tregg type hitch would need to be electric. As said just trying to help out here and if you do need to fit electric brakes I have a few Tekonsha controllers and happy to send you one for free if you find it's needed. :Y:
Cheers

Click to expand...

Mate that is very kind of you to offer.. Thank you ...I just don't know if i would need it..
Lets wait and see. But TBH I am more then certain what mods we are doing are well with in the limits.

Appreciate every ones concerns and comments .. I have a mate that is doing the conversion who has a great deal of experience in building trailers. Rest assured we are doing every thing within specs and with efficiency and safty as our top the priority..
Im not at home at the moment, as we are back on the farm working to save for our next trip away..limited internet and limited time unfortunatly so please excuse me if I am tardy in my replies..
Life is what you make it and at the moment ...we are making the most of picking and packing grapes ..

Just a quick update on the trailer mods.
Since I left Feb 2nd to go down to Melbourne, no further progress has been made with the build..
All the primary welding has been finished on the draw bar ,the stabiliser legs have been fitted and some work was done but not finished on the extra fittings i.e Jerry can holders gas bottle holders mounts for the tool box etc
Still have to mount the tool box install all the electrics and repair the tent stays and a few other tasks to get it ready for a test run out bush.
At this time, every thing is on hold , as both my self and the mate have a pretty busy schedule and no time to work on finishing the project until at least the beginning of May.
The mates a bit annoyed as he wanted to get it finished before I left and get it out of his carport but wasn't going to do it by him self if I wasn't around..which is understandable.
Thankfully I have patience to spare

Did a little work Easter Saturday on the camper trailer.
We finished attaching the tool box in its permanent frame onto the draw bar and water and dusts proffed it with door rubbers from the prado I have for spares.
We have almost completed all of the right hand side Jerry can holder, now we only need to weld on 2 pieces of flat bar on the base and a chain and a pad lock for security and attache the gas bottle holder..I would like to put another Jerry can holder on the opposite side of the tool box.. but that might happen at a later date, when the mate has a lot more time to come over and help me make one and weld it on....

We also finished painting the draw bar with 2 coats of undercoat and 3 coats of top coat in black.. Looks pretty good but used up a lot of aerosol spray cans from bunnings.. which are not cheep..
Next stage will be to install the deep cycle battery,solar controller,SSW invertor, an isolator switch for inverter, and the fuse block for the electrical circuits with in the trailer and a few other odds and ends, before tackling the wiring inside the trailer that will service the water pump , L.E.D lights and power points.


I'm planning to make a stone guard from material bought from bunnings , still deciding between square aluminium or round PVC pipe for the frame ..


Yesterday the next door neighbour and I started building the slide out kitchen in his work shop. We had to modify the original plan to a slightly smaller version to accommodate the porta-potty which will travel next to the front door of the trailer when travelling , then taken out and housed in the shower toilet tent when we are camped out.
I only lost about 450mm in length from the kitchen but now we will be able to completely remove the kitchen and relocate it under the kitchen/dinning gazebo, when its erected over the draw bar end of the trailer.
Its a better more practical option, as it will not take up needed space inside the trailer tent canopy that can be used for storage etc and it will avoid cooking smoke and smells inside the living sleeping area.
Just need to Jerry rig insect screens for the the Gazebo later to make it a lot more comfortable..
Front view.
On the right hand side is the recess for the gas stove , underneath we will place a cupboard.

Side view 1
On the left hand side we plan to put 2 draws on the top level with the stave recess and underneath a larger storage cupboard.

Side view 2
We are going to put the detachable top cover of the kitchen on this side when its out and unpacked to use as preparation or serving area.

Bench when deployed, will sit level with the top left of the kitchen , not as shown in this picture.

Working with Don the next door neighbour for the next few days to finish the kitchen.
Going to try and get the two tent struts fixed so we can put the canvas back on.
After that I have to concentrate on getting the electrics sorted out ..
This is what I have to work with ..

Don't forget to run an Anderson plug towards the front so you can charge via alternator whilst driving.
Nice to arrive at campsite with fully charged batteries, then just maintain with solar.

I wired 3 anderson plugs together on a short lead for a double addapter. :Y:

Spent the whole morning driving all over Newcastle trying to find the elbow joints for my camper trailer tent poles ..
Nothing Nadda Zero Zilch
Very frustrating

Redfin said:

Don't forget to run an Anderson plug towards the front so you can charge via alternator whilst driving.
Nice to arrive at campsite with fully charged batteries, then just maintain with solar.

Click to expand...

Yeah I have Anderson plugs so another item added to my too do list

If you can find the same size tube , it is easy to bend on a piece of round material the same diameter as your bend. A pully is great as it holds the tube in place as you bend.

My issue with the van that I just purchased was that there were very few charging/12V/5V outlets (2 *12V cig outlets only).
Given that I'll run:
TV (12V)
Fan (12V)
UHF Radio charge (12V)
Laptop charge (12V)
GPX4500 charge (12V)
Phone charge (2* 5V through adapter)
That was woeful.
Make sure you put in plenty of charging points, or you'll be up all night swapping things over.
You also want them where they're useful to you - not at the end of the universe!!!
I bought two dual 12V outlets from Jaycar.
For fuse and switch panels, I reckon Blue Seas are the best with integrated resettable fuses (Marine rated, but not over the top. These are 4 way, but you can get greater.
https://www.autoelec.com.au/blue-sea-4x-switch-switches-panel-fused-caravan-ma

nucopia ,

Have you tried a canvas / canopy maker....
One of the places that service the yachting industry for making Bimini tops ...
Maybe they have a tube bender with different size forms for bending ....
Or maybe a sparkle with a tube bender for metal conduit .....
They may be able to bend some tube ........just a thought.....

Cheers Nanjim
Jim

Nanjim said:

nucopia ,

Have you tried a canvas / canopy maker....
One of the places that service the yachting industry for making Bimini tops ...
Maybe they have a tube bender with different size forms for bending ....
Or maybe a sparkle with a tube bender for metal conduit .....
They may be able to bend some tube ........just a thought.....

Cheers Nanjim
Jim

Click to expand...

Yeah Nanjim
I have a gal pipe that I'm going to use, I just need to find a local bloke that can bend it for me ..probably the metal place in the industrial area might be the go ..
it will increase weight but in the long run be more durable I guess.

Mate,
I have 4 radius bends that I have saved for you.
They are from a boat Bimmi top. LOL
What is the outer diameter of the pipe on the strait bit.

Or,
Get a bit of pipe,
Pack it full of wet fine beach sand using a bit of dowel
and bend it around some thing round....

And use one of these.
Buety is you can use a standard 7 pin flat but also
include a heavy set of wiring to take care of charging while driving
without too many leads hanging of the trailer.
I have my fridge running while driving and shortly a charging circuit to
top up the batteries as well.
The cabling is a bit expensive but this is an area that you do not take
any short cuts.

nucopia said:

Redfin said:

Don't forget to run an Anderson plug towards the front so you can charge via alternator whilst driving.
Nice to arrive at campsite with fully charged batteries, then just maintain with solar.

Click to expand...

Yeah I have Anderson plugs so another item added to my too do list

Click to expand...