Micro Camper Trailer

This project is one of the more ambitious that I've done on my own. In 2019 and 2020 I had a case of wanderlust. I wanted to get out and see places and having recently graduated from college I had some free time that I wanted to fill with a project. This project fit the bill and was a logical next step after my CR-V camper build that you can read about Here.

I didn't have the money to buy a sprinter van and I liked the Idea of being able to leave this trailer at camp while I went off to do activities. My CR-V is only rated to tow 1500 lbs so the loaded weight of the trailer had to be less than that. I've always loved teardrop trailers, but I ended up going with a "squaredrop" profile to maximize storage in the galley and to simplify the design of the back door.

I built this camper on a utility trailer from harbor freight. The kit came in two boxes: one with the pieces of C channel, springs, and axel, and the other with the tires and hubs. There were a lot of bolts to put this thing together but I used an impact wrench to make it go faster.

The trailer was 4 ft wide, but I wanted my camper to be 5 ft wide. So I built a subfloor frame with beams that rested on the crossmembers of the trailer so that I could have an overhang on each side of about 8 inches. The trailer had brackets to hold a side rail made of 2x4s, so I put 2x4 legs on the bottom of my frame to help line it up on the trailer.

Another benefit to building it this way was that I could insulate the floor very well. I used 2 inches of polystyrene insulation.

I added a bottom and cut out wheel wells to allow the tires to have more travel. I then Sealed the bottom with Black-Beauty fence post paint. I used 20 gauge galvanized steel to cover the holes for the wheel wells.

It was then time to flip it over and put it on the trailer. I used 8 carriage bolts that went through the joists and crossmembers to attach it to the trailer.

The side walls are framed with 1x2's and 1x3's. The outer shell is 1/3" plywood. between the studs the side walls are insulated with 3/4" foam board. The camper shell in the background was a donor for the windows, roof vent, and various hardware.

Here is one wall up, the inside skin is 1/8th plywood. The wall is attached to the floor using pocket screws. I used pocket screws for most of the framing.

I used 2x2s for the front wall and the roof. They are also attached with pocket screws and wood glue. I spaced them every 12 inches except for where the roof vent is, that needed to be 14 inches.

I covered the inside of the front wall and ceiling with 1/8th inch plywood. This was the hardest part of the build. It took several tries and a few extra hands to get the plywood glued into place. I had to do it in two pieces because the plywood sheets are only 4 feet wide.

Here I am gluing and filling any gaps between the beams and the ceiling. Wood from home depot is not always the straightest, so there were a few gaps that I filled with construction adhesive.

At this point I hadn't planned out exactly how I wanted the layout of the inside to be. There were several times I would just sit in the trailer and look and think about what I wanted. Here my mom came to sit in the trailer and I was bouncing ideas of of her.

I brought in the bed from my CR-V camper to test the height of my shelf and how long I wanted the sleeping compartment to be. It was also just a good place to sit while I worked on the inside of the trailer.

This is my original design for the fridge slider. I wanted to be able to access it from the galley and from inside the trailer. It has two locking drawer slides so it can slide in or out. the space underneath is for the batteries. Later on I moved the batteries to tongue box and Simplified this design.

I put a shelf in the front. I considered cabinets, but I decided that a shelf would be more versatile and not take away as much from the space in the trailer. I measured the height by laying on the bed with my feet under the shelf and adding a few inches for the mattress. I included a lip on the front to keep things from falling off when moving.

The galley was the next step. I built the counter top and the bottom of the cabinets. Here I used 2 cans of beans to measure the height of the cabinets. The counter was a little higher than some might like it but it was made that way so that the fridge could fit under it with the batteries underneath.

I made the center part of the wall that divides the sleeping compartment from the galley. I decided to make a pass through with sliding doors. So I Used a router and cut 1/2" channels in the 2x2 on the top and the bottom and used 1/3" plywood for the doors. I'm fitting one of the doors here.

The next step was to run wiring for the lights, fan, and outlets. I drilled holes in the beams for the wires to pass through. In this picture the red and black wires are for 12 volt and the orange cable is for the 120 AC outlet.

After the wiring was done I could put in the insulation. I cut scores in the foam on the curve so that it could match the profile. the blue tape is there to hold it until the glue dries. In this picture the back of the outlets are visible. two 12V outlets above the shelf and one 120v under.

The outside of the front wall and the roof are the same type of 1/8th inch plywood as the inside. The curve and the beams make it strong and the foam insulation supports it between beams.

You can see the beginning of the skin going on the sides in this picture.

To waterproof the outside I used a method known as "poor man's fiberglass" which consists of canvas saturated with Titebond II which is a waterproof wood glue. After that 5 coats of latex based exterior house paint were applied, sanding between each layer.

I made my own shaker doors for the cabinets. I didn't have a table saw so I made a jig and used 1/4 inch router bit.

The upper cabinets have doors on both sides so they can be accessed from inside or outside. I put a lip on the bottom so they wouldn't need handles, and I used magnets to hold them shut.

Here I am fitting the back door. It is made with 1x2s for the vertical parts and 2x2s for the horizontal. On the outside of this I attached 1/2 inch plywood that overlapped the frame to keep out the elements.

This is the latch system I made using a t handle and 3 door latches. I used the hardware from a camper shell I got on craigslist but I adapted it to use standard door latches so the door would close without having to twist the handle, but also so that twisting one handle would open all 3 doorlatches.

I built the side doors using the same method and materials as the side walls. Prefabricated doors cost more than I wanted to pay, so I made them myself. I ordered the latches on eBay and it worked wonderfully. Here is the inside of the door before it was finished.

I decided to paint the edges black. It hid the line where the canvas overlapped and made the camper look much better in my opinion. I also painted the doors black.

I coated and painted the back door in the same way. I used piano hinges for the side doors, but I used gate hinges for the back door. I covered the top of the back door with a rubber strip to keep rain from getting in.

It was finally time to fit the windows. I used windows from a camper that I got off of craigslist. It was much cheaper than buying RV windows. I used butyl tape to seal the edges and screwed them into the window holes.

I covered the inside with marine carpet. here it is on the ceiling with the fan and the vent light installed. This also shows the sliding doors for the fridge and the galley passthrough. The inside cabinet doors hadn't been put on yet.

Here I am building the bed frame. It is a slat bed so it can be a single or a double bed. In one person mode you have convenient under bed storage, and in two person mode, you have twice the storage, but it's not quite as convenient to access.

Here is the bed frame slid out into 2 person mode. you can also see the wall carpet finished and the door jamb made from oak base boards and rubber gasket.

I made 2 Identical mattresses by cutting a queen mattress in half and sewing the cover into two covers. When I pull the bed out I can have a queen size bed. When putting them in I discovered a 3rd mode shown here that I like to call bunk bed mode. Useful for when I bring a friend but don't want to sleep in the same bed.

For the side art I designed it in photoshop and projected it onto the side of the trailer. I then used a paint brush to paint it on just like it was projected. I used a red headlamp to see what I had painted already. This allowed me to get a much better result than my ability to paint something free hand.

I painted a picture of the Tetons on the right side with a bear, and a picture of cathedral rock with an elk on the left.

I think they both turned out pretty good!

Here is my sink. I couldn't find a sink with the dimensions that I wanted so I made my own sink with a hotel pan. I cut a hole for the drain and ran the drain hose out the bottom of the trailer. it empties onto the ground, but It's near the side so I can easily put a bucket under there to catch the water. I originally used this jerry can as my water tank but later I added a 13 gallon tank under the trailer.

At this point it wasn't completely finished, but it was close. I decided to take it on a trip. I went up to Knoll Lake on the Mogollon rim. I brought my kayak and I explored the lake for a few days.

It was really nice to have this as a base camp. I had a kitchen I had a secure and warm place to sleep already set up as soon as I got there. I used the safety chains to lock the trailer to a tree. I love this awning that I got on eBay. It's designed for off road rigs and it worked perfectly for my trailer. it folds up and rolls into the bag on the side of the trailer.

The porch lights were very bright and lit up a large area around the trailer. It was enough light for whatever I wanted to do without having to bring or set up a lantern.

After the first trip I made doors to cover the under sink. By this time I had gotten pretty good at shaker doors so I think these ones turned out the nicest of them all. I added LED light strips in the galley under the cabinets and on the inside of the hatch. I also added a tongue box and moved the batteries to the front for better weight distribution.

Here is the improved fridge slider. I made it out of 1/8" thick angle iron. There is a latch on both sides so it can be accessed from inside or outside.

It allows more storage underneath than the other one did. I put the stove and some pans under there.

From here it was all just small improvements. I replaced my PWM solar charge controller with a MPPT controller and I put rain covers over the doors. I also put color changing fairy lights around the ceiling inside.

This has been one of my favorite projects to work on! I hope that you've enjoyed reading about it. Someday soon I want to make a video tour of it, but for now you will have to settle for some pictures.