Thought some might be interested in my Compact Jr. Rebuild.

I want to build a small trailer that can be pulled down just about any road, and give me total independence for at least 30 days. I've had the Compact Jr for a couple of years, while I figured out the design. I'm already well into the project, and have some pics for you.

Picture 1 and Picture 2 shows the new interior layout. From 9'oclock clockwise--

A composting toilet means no more black water is generated, and does not use any of my 95 gallons of fresh water.

A vented catalytic heater (the only one made) for dry propane heat.

Multi-use counter space with surround sound system sub-wolfer, inverter, and storage underneath.

Floor to roof pantry, with freezer/frig compressor on floor

Floor to roof 10 cu. ft. freezer/frig (almost all freezer)

Sink/Stove/Oven with storage, water pump/accumulator tank and 3 watt tri-band cell phone amplifier underneath.

Couch/Bed Platform; pulls out to butt the toilet and back cushion drops into space for sleeping, pushed in with back cushion resting on top for sitting. Lots of storage under, as well as 4-8 L-16 batteries (undecided). Above, a MX-60 solar charge controller next to a Link-10 battery monitor.

Under the floor, one 95 gallon fresh water tank, and one 95 gallon gray water tank.

Everything insulated with 2 inches of polyurethane insulation (Freezer/Frig 5 inches.)

Picture 3 shows the current pop-up "hole", and the surrounding line of pink insulation shows where I'm building the new permanent roof out to. Between the old roof and the new roof will be storage all along the left and right sides, probably using curtains as a cover. Only light stuff will be stored up here.

picture 4 shows the new roof. Vents for the toilet, heater, stove, antenna for the satellite radio, and (most important to me) a 4800 B.T.U. 24 volt DC air conditioner keeping the interior under 70 degrees F even if it's 135 degrees outside.

Finally, to power it all, eight 195 watt BP-SX3195 solar panels giving me a peak output of almost 1600 Watts. To make all these panels fit, I have a custom mount described further down.

To support all this, and have something I can tow down the worst 4WD roads, I needed a new frame, made of 2" X 4" X 1/4" steel.

Picture 5 shows the new frame and solar panel mount (unpainted as of yet) without the panels mounted. This is the travel position. Also shown is the large wheels that allow for tons of clearance under the frame, and room for the two huge 95 gallon tanks that fit just fore and aft of the axle.

Picture 6 shows the half-deployed position. The winch (or linear actuator, described later) pulls the top rack vertical, parallel with the front rack. A pin is dropped in to hold the two racks together, making one big rack. The locking pin is shown in more detail Picture 11

Picture 7 show the the bottom half of the rack fully deployed by opening the two wings on each side. Do the same for the top rack and it can then be tiled to either a fixed angle, or using a linear actuator can track the sun in the E/W axis. More on that later.

Picture 8 shows the rack from another angle, horizontal in this case.

Picture 9 and Picture 10 show the detail of the hinges. stainless washers are welded into any location where there is metal to metal rubbing.

Finally, Picture 12 shows how the 36" linear actuator will be mounted between the diagonal brace and the rear hinge of the top rack. Controlling the actuator will be the $50 Redrok Energy Solar Tracker. With actuator, I won't need the winch to deploy the array, and the tracking will gain me 10% more energy production vs a fixed angle.

Anyway, that's where I'm at now.

PS: Forgot about the shower. A marine deck fill with push-up cap leads to the gray water tank via a short length of hose to form a water trap. A shower basin with a small nipple on the bottom, is placed over the deck fill, and a curtain is hung. Problem solved.

PPS: Forgot about some fiberglass work. I'm removing the front window, and the wheel wells.

Wow that is some project! 95 gallons of water--650 Pounds---Cool.
You have obvioulsly spent a great deal of time and effort on the design....keep us posted.

Garo

I agree with Gary. Keep it coming!

Tom Trostel

I notice you're using stainless washers as rub points.

Just a word about stainless: Using stainless nuts and stainless bolts together can result in galling--the two parts seize firmly together. I'm refurbishing a trailer just now, and had planned to use stainless screws in conjunction with stainless tee-nuts. I did a test run, got the screws halfway out again, and bango! seized solid. Had to saw it apart. It was surprising to me how quickly it happened and how immovable the result was.

Thanks for the note. I'm aware of galling, and don't plan on using SS nuts or bolts. I'm only using welded-on stainless washers, as shown in some of the pictures. Do you think galling would be a problem in this case? If so, I can add nylon washers between the SS washers.

That's only a hair over 3 gallons a day. Enough for drinking/cooking and a quick shower every couple of days.
I wish I could take even more water, but the available larger stock tanks are not sized correctly for my use. I'll probably also take some extra 6 gallon portable tanks after I discover how much extra gray water tank capacity I have (95 gallon tanks, both fresh and gray.)

Just curious, have you figured out how much this thing is going to weigh when loaded?
Will a single axle handle that weight?

Projected fully loaded weight, loaded with food water and all other personal items is 5020 lbs. That's a 7000 lb axle on there.

I have a question somewhat related to the weight. Why, if you are going to pull 5000 lbs, would you want to be limited to the size of a Compact Jr?

Bobbie

A few reasons.

First, it's designed for one person, and I was able to fit everything in the small footprint.

The shorter length (the huge under frame clearance) allows me to pull the trailer down very rough 4 wheel drive only paths. The longer the trailer, more likely to drag the rear end, and the weaker and less stiff the frame gets. The new frame is virtually bomb-proof.

Smaller is easier to heat and cool. I only need 1000 BTUs of heat in 10 degree weather (historical low temp for my area of interest), and the 3000 BTU heater will maintain 60 degrees inside, all the way down to -50 outside! Cooling, the 4800 BTU Ac unit can maintain 70 degrees inside, all the way to 134 degrees outside -- the hottest recorded temp on I plan on hanging out around Death Valley where the record high is only two degrees behind that. Global warming, anyone A larger trailer would require more AC, and even more solar to power it.

A larger trailer would weigh more, even with the same stuff "spread out" more in a larger trailer. This might mean a need for a larger truck, and more gas usage, and less off-road-ability.

It's also easier to find a spot to camp or park in town when needed (all I need is a double space).

Lastly, because I tend to like compact designs. Just more efficient, but very un-American. For example, whenever I finally decide to build a house, it will be 600 sq. ft. or less.

I currently own a 600 sq. foot cabin.

Living "normally" in it is a challenge, even for one person.

It's different for a trailer.. hard to explain.

I have a 600 square foot cabin, and love it. Not much space, but easier to clean. Not so easy to make the beds, though, since they just barely fit into the bedrooms.

I do understand the reasons you give for a small trailer. Heating and cooling and a short wheel base all make sense. And it is nice to be able to park in a pull through double space.

Plus on the Washington state ferries I pay about 1.5 x what a car alone does instead of 3x as much or more for a longer, taller trailer.

Bobbie

Couldn't hurt. Or polyethylene washers cut from milk jugs.

If I bought an $1800 toilet, I'd probably want to sleep right next to it too.

Click to view attachment
I finally got the actuator installed. Picture 13 (also shown above) shows the rack deployed. On 12 volts, it takes about 3 minutes to go from fully horizontal to vertical. I'm guessing it will move twice as fast on the 24 volt battery pack that I'll be using in the trailer. Note that I removed the hinged parts of the solar rack, in perpetration for painting.

Picture 14 shows the end of the actuator. I'm probably going to add some extra bushings so the end of the actuator can't move on the current bushing it's riding on.

Picture 15 and Picture 16 shows the other end's mount. Note the bearing that allows the actuator to tilt in and out. I pushed it all the way out for these two pictures.

Picture 17 and Picture 18 shows that same thing, but with the actuator pushed in. Note that it hits the beam. The actuator sometimes twists into this position at the end of it's travel range. Does anyone have an idea how I can lock this better so it won't twist and knock into the beam? I thought one idea was just to place a couple of weld tacks to lock it in place?

Still waiting for the Redrok controller to get here.

Hmmm.... wonder how you would react to the $3500 air conditioner, or the $7000 in solar panels, or the $9000 in the frame and rack? Not to mention the $15,000 for a new (used) truck to pull it all.

I think what you're doing is great. The trailer you're building isn't for everybody, but the engineering that's going into it could help all of us at some time. I can see a lot of use for the technologies and use of space for the future that you're proving possible. All innovators have their detractors, don't let them bother you. If we didn't have people like you in the world we wouldn't have a lot of things and methods of dealing with problems that we do. The composting toilet is just one example of showing that there's another way besides the black water tank.

Keep up the good work and keep us posted on your progress.

WOW i am impressed with this project!!..

i agree to keep it small and energy efficient but I am curious as to what you will pull this with..

thanks and keep the photos and info coming..Dee

I agree with Byron. I figure my longest-duration boondock experience will be a week or so during the late spring, summer, and fall, so my boondocking modifications don't address black tank capacity or multiple weeks of clean water. My major mods are for a solar setup, LED lighting, catalytic heater, and a low-energy appliances that allow us to live comfortably for a week on battery with 50 amp-hours of usable capacity. So your trailer mods are overkill for my needs, but perfect for someone doing long-term wildlife research or the hermit thing.

But overkill for me doesn't mean bad for me. It's like a scaled-down version of the ultimate boondocking program -- The Apollo Program -- which brought us calculators, memory foam matresses, adhesives, composite materials, lightweight insulation and a host of other technologies we now incorporate into our more humble trailers. As you make your modifications, learn from (and please tell us about) your succeses, failures, and re-designs you'll find ways of doing things no one else here would ever think of, but might well solve some of our more mundane yet vexing problems in an intelligent, affordable, and appropriate way.

--Peter

Just a standard 4x4 one ton truck, like a F-150 or Chevy 1500.




Yeah, most of my mods only make sense for a full-timer that likes to boondock. But for a full-timer, it should be one of the most inexpensive and least-trouble RV to operate.

I'm still trying to figure out how I'm building my freezer/frig enclosure. If anyone knows of a website that shows details, I'd be interested. Also, the extensive fiberglass work ahead has me nervous as I've never done any before.

Very interesting project.


Do you mean half-ton truck?


If you can handle metal and wood working then you can handle fiberglass.

By "build frig/freezer enclosure" do you mean the thermal box itself or a cabinet around it? If the latter, that's easy. I have no idea about the former.

Cheers
KB

Sounds great except you might want to not have your bed right next to the potty. Maybe those kind don't stink, but I might have a "head" problem with that. -Carole

Haven't done much the last month.

I did get the Compact Jr. body temporarily mounted to the new frame. I used some 2x4 lumber as a temporary spacer between the body and the frame, to assist the under-body fiberglassing (i.e. filling in the body wheel-wells) and to allow me to lay the butyl tape along the top of all the frame members (between the body and the frame.)

The body just fits between the vertical metal supports, so my idea of using insulated window covers on the existing side windows for the hottest days won't work. I was trying to save some money. Instead I've decided to also remove both side windows and fiberglass it all in, then some time in the future, get a couple of smaller double-paned insulated windows that fit between the vertical metal supports. There's an extra $1500 in cost, at least.

Once I start the fiberglassing and insulating, I'll remove the current pop-up top, cut the 2 inch thick insulation panels so they are shaped approximately like I have illustrated on the picture in black. It's flat along the center half or so, and the angles downward to meet the current roof edge. I've then also created new storage along the entire length of the trailer, on both sides. After cutting the panels, I can then fiberglass the whole thing, using the insulation as a in-place mold. I don't have a clue how heavy of cloth to use (what oz.) or how many layers should I build up. In ideas?

Also, I mounted the top solar panels to the rack. In the picture, you can see the top rack extended fully, with one side opened and the other side closed. I was going to also mount the front panels, but I miscalculated and the front of the top panels hit the back of the front panels. I'm going to need 1 inch extension welded into the front rack's main legs (the ones bolted at the main pivot point) to give the proper space between the top and front panels.

Finally, I still have the cardboard on some of the solar panels because I have not yet attached the rubber rub-guards onto the corners of the solar panels. This is to protect the anodized finish of the solar panels for wearing away when the array is closed and the panels are stacked on one another.

(sorry, the pic is a little blurry)
Click to view attachment

I got a great deal on a Dodge 1500 4x4 standard cab/standard bed for $2500 in great condition. I'll tell you though, I find it almost impossible to back up the trailer with any accuracy. The longer wheelbase of the truck hates the shorter wheelbase of the trailer... I just go around the block When I was pulling the frame with just my tiny Kia sedan, it was still an issue, but easier. I hope I never have to back down 10 miles of a one lane road some day.



They don't stink, and I find it better than dealing with the emptying of a black water tank.

THIS IS COOL! A very nice research RV, could have used this for Grad school research, many years agol. Keep up the good work and post more pictures

roddy

Have not done much of anything on the trailer in the last two months. I got the extensions welded into the front solar panel rack and repainted those sections, so the front solar panels will now fit. I've just been nailing down more details, and reading up on the skills I'll need for the next stage of the project.:

- cut out the fiberglass wheel wells and glass-in the area flush with the rest of the body
- lay down sealant on all the frame members and lower down the body, bolting it into place
- use rigid insulation and create the shape of the new roof section (like a mold), then glass over the insulation to create the roof section
- place the new glassed over insulation on the trailer and finally glass it to the body
- remove the side and front windows and glass-in the openings

I hope to get into this fiberglassing work in the next week or two. The final stage involves ripping out all the interior woodworking and rebilding it/insulating, installing all the interior equipment, installing/insulating the tanks underneath, and finally wiring up the solar panels and the electronics that will track the sun.

All I can say is WOW!!! You've taken on quite a big task of engineering, creativity, and just plain hard work, so my hat's off to you bro. I am very curious to see how it goes for you though. So far your pics and descriptions have been great, and I'm curious to see more as the project continues. It's almost a shame that you couldn't find a Havasu with the permanently raised top so it would be one less thing for you to have to do...
Keep up the good work though, and know that there are many of us curious FBRVers who are watching with great curiousity, and sending you some great comradery & spirit! hehe
Joe

Thanks for the kind words. I'm actually really excited to start the fiberglass work, after such a long break from intensive work. I was a little burned out and needed a break, and also wanted to save up a bit more money for future work. The frame costing what it did really shocked me, and ate away much of the money I had at the time for the project.

I also lost my (off street) parking spot for my Compact Jr trailer a couple months ago, so I had to scramble to buy the truck, then scramble to quickly (and temporarily) mount the trailer body to the frame.

Anyway, hopefully I'll have more pictures of further progress, soon enough now.

It looks like it's been a long time since your last post. Have you made any more progress???

Nothing but a few small projects done in the last 6 months. I had a shoulder injury that kept me from doing much for about 6 months, then the holidays interrupted things. I just started fiberglass jobs this weekend. I'll post pictures when I have enough new stuff worth showing.

what are you going to be running electrically that you need so many large solar panels in death valley?
are you planning to run the A/C off of the solar panels?
interesting build. i like that you are doing it yourself and getting what you want though out of the norm.
keep up the nice work.

See the first post (picture 4).
Yeah, I'm planning on powering a roof-mounted 4800 BTU 24 Volt DC air conditioner, along with about 10 cubic feet of freezer space (my two biggest energy consumers.) With the added insulation, the AC should be able to maintain 70 degrees F even if it's 135 degrees outside.

10 cubic feet of freezer space? I assume for food storage for long trips!

In addition to about 10 cu. ft. of pantry space. Plans are for enough food and water for one person for a month.

Concerning the composting toilet. We have a Sun-Mar Compact installed in our 16ft Scamp. This was a unit that was used for field workers at our market garden that we previously operated. It started out as a temporary mod, but has become semi-permanent. Except for the size, it works great.

We plan to remove it, though and install a unit made for small yachts; two units come to mind, Nature's Head, or Air Head; that are about the size of a porta-potty. They also are priced considerably less than the Eco.

This will allow putting the bathroom back to the original size and configuration. It will also allow for reinstallation of the original bunk set-up or possibly a small dinette, as some others have done.

Interestingly, we owned a Compact Jr. over 30 years ago. The frame was definitely a weakness on that trailer. Upgrading the frame is the thing to do, especially if you attempt any off-road travel.

If the timing is right when get to that point I might be interested in you Sun-Mar. My home is off the grid and my present toileting is a bit too rustic though environmentaly sound.

Hi all! Long time, no post.

I've finally got back to work on the trailer. Been working on it for 6-8 hours a day, all month. I got lucky, and the highs have stayed mostly in the high low 90s most of this month.

Let's see, what did i get done:
Removed and fiberglassed in all windows, and all the other (8) other holes cut into the body for water, drains, propane lines, ect.
Removed the blue stripes from exterior.
Removed the Copact Jr. signs from the sides of the trailer.
Patched holes in fiberglass caused by the rubbing of the old frame in back.
Filled all the (dozens) of small pits on the front of the trailer caused by flying rocks and pebbles.
Removed the "rain drip edge" over the entry door.
Removed all the marker and tail lights and filled in the wiring holes.
Filled in all the (dozens) of screw holes left by all this stuff being attached to the exterior of the body.
Fixed both the front left and right corners of the fiberglass caused by former owners driving into walls. The right side you could see daylight, after digging all the Bondo and silicon sealant out.
Fixed the fiberglass over the right top corner showed a crack under all the sealant crap.
Removed all the rat fur (wow, it that a fun job)
Ripped out the carpet, and original linoleum flooring
Ripped out all the remaining wood interior, pluming, electrical system-- starting from scratch.
Sanded the whole interior, partly to remove the old adhesive, but also to level the fiberglass to make gluing on the insulation panels easier (another REALLY fun job).
Drilled the new holes to mount the body to the new frame.
Finally, today I just just removed the old wheel wells (easier than I thought it would be.)

That's where I'm at now.

Things I want to do this next month:

Fiberglass in the holes left by removing the wheel wells.
I wasn't originally going to replace the wood floor, but after looking at it without everything in the way, I've decided to pull it and lay down new 3/4" plywood.
Bed the body and frame with sealant and finally bolt down the body for good.
Build the new permanent roof and support structure and fiberglass it on.
Sand and paint the exterior.

So by the end of this next month, I should have the exterior completed and completely watertight. Then I get to think about the interior rebuild details. I'll be starting from a blank slate. I'll probably have to stop again at some point to allow me to save up more money. I estimate I still need to save another $14 grand to finish the project.

Will get some pics up within a day.

OK, pictures are harder to get than I thought. I keep working into the evening, so too little light to take good ones. I'll get then soon.

Ok, I'm stumped windows and eight holes? Did you remove all the windows? I know you need to insulate but ventilation and natural light are important too! Will the pop up have them?

I'm going to be adding smaller, modern, double pane windows at a later date (one on each side). So yes, right now no windows.

Added: The pop-up is being removed and replaced with a non-popup solid roof (see Picture 3 and Picture 4 for an idea (more details in my first post.)

OK, Finally have some time for photos. Not much new to see in photos, but here we go anyway.

Click to view attachmentPic 19 (original size here)

Click to view attachmentPic 20 (original size here)

Click to view attachmentPic 21 (original size here)

The first three pics show the results of all the fiberglass work, removing the windows and fixing all the holes and damage in the shell. It's a complete blank slate at this moment. I just got the wheel wells finished a couple of days ago. The body is ready for paint, after I build and attach the new roof. I also have the body finally permanently bolted down to the frame and sealed along all frame members with butyl tape. Every couple of days, I'll tighten the bolts again, until they won't tighten any further, then I'll remove the excess butyl sealant with a razor blade.

Click to view attachmentPic 22 (original size here)

Yesterday I picked up the the four 4x8 sheets of 4.5" rigid isocyanurate foam insulation boards that will be used to construct the new roof section.

--- More in next post ---

Click to view attachment Pic 23 (original size here)
Here is a better shot of the interior.

Click to view attachment Pic 24 (original size here)
This is a shot of the new 3/4" floor, and the method used to attach frame to body/floor. Note that I also filled in the entire perimeter (the gap left between the plywood floor and the figlass body) with epoxy, to the level of the floor. The seams between the three floor sections is also epoxy filled.

Click to view attachment Pic 25 (original size here)
This shows a bunch of details. First, I had a section of plate steel that went from the back of the frame to the back of the bumper. This was to support rught under the door sill area. But, I was worried about water pooling in this area and rolling under the door sill, between the plywood and the fiberglass. This area is probably the worst design element of the compact Jr. trailers.

To fix the problems, I made two changes.

Fist, after I installed the new plywood floor, I fiberglassed from under the trailer's existing fiberglass and wraped it around the plywood, and into the trailer floor about 4 inches. You can kind-of see where the fiberglass ends in the left corner, because of the sudden lighter color there. This will insure water can't get between the fiberglass and the plywood, and I think it's a simple must-do modification to any Compact Jr.

Secondly, I removed that section of steel plate that went from the back of the frame to the back of the bumper, and replaced it with a section of angle-iron that ends right under the door sill. This way, water will tend to just drip down to the ground now and has nowhere to pool.

Oh, I get it! That is why the bolts on the pop-up braces have little plastic washers in-between everything? I'm putting mine back together after the paint job and trying to just replace everything with new stuff, you know,...I need 5 of these things and 40 of these. Now I'll go pop it up and check out where the plastic washers are and fix that.

thanks,
Sharyl

This last week I've been trying to cut out the insulation to form the new roof using a skill saw. It didn't work so well, so I had to buy some new insulation boards, and the new plan is to have then all cut out on a water jet CNC machine. Shop should be done tomorrow.

Keep after it Brent. I have really enjoyed following ur project.....

I'm glad someone is enjoying my misery

The water jet CNC did the trick. All the boards are cut out.

However, the CNC could not make the ~9 degree angle cuts I needed along the bottom of the "side wall" pieces, to match match the angle of the existing fiberglass roof. So, now have to call around to find a shop that can cut a 4.5" thick board and make these angle cuts.

I haven't tried the fit yet, but they were able to make the curve cuts on the bottom of the front and back pieces to match the existing fiberglass roof. However, I haven't actually tried to see if my measurements were accurate enough for a good fit or not.

Assuming I can get the angle cuts made at some shop, and that the curve cuts are already close enough, the next step will be to use aluminum tape to hold everything together and fiberglass the exterior of the insulation "assembly". I'm also thinking of adding a couple of layers of fiberglass to in interior as well, for extra support. TBD, as the interior is already going to have a plastic sheeting applied as the finish layer either way.