I'm planning on building a custom camper for mine, already have the 20x2.125 tires/hubs and dropouts I plan to use, but money ran out this month, be continuing on in the coming month. Also need to clean out and re-arrange the garage enough to have the room to start building it. I might try to crowdfund it since I'm increasingly unable to work, am on doctors orders not to work, and so forth. Can only do so much on disability and VA bennies. Getting out there to "recharge my batteries" and get away from the stress I'm currently under is what's important for me this coming year.
Not helping my stress is that I'm so pissed off at my new landlord -- after 12 years of living here -- that I'm tempted to just make the camper and move into it, putting anything I want to keep into a storage area. Fourth landlord at the same property... I think this one is trying to harrass me into leaving so they can charge the $500 to $800 more they could probably get in todays market. Either that or they're just inept at managing properties since this is their first.
My current plan is for a 3' x 6' base platform, more than large enough for a 5'4" shorty like myself... Going to use a quartet of four foot long 2x4's as the base rails running offset on each side of the tires, then use 1x4 to flesh out the rest of the frame. Structurally at that size that's overkill. Will likely skin it with 1" thick insulating foam sheet and my own formulation of "poor man's fiberglass" -- where I use fiberglass screen material held on with BIN, a shellac based primer, and a top coat of house paint since shellac is water permeable.
...and like you I'm going LiFePo4 and will hopefully by the time it's road-worthy have 200 or 300ah or battery available for it. The difference is I'm arguing with myself about adding solar or not.
Why? I've got a level 2 charging port to 220v adapter. Toss on a 3000 watt to 12v charger, and at any non-tesla charging station I can top off a 12v 300ah battery array in what, and hour and 12 minutes? Whilst off the grid charging is appealing, I'm not sure it's worth the weight or expense. Especially when charging stations are cheap, and in some places are even free!
Seriously, the number of places with L2 stations that are free of charge is... shocking.. That's something I'd suggest adding to yours. J1772 to 220v adapters seem to run $150 to $180 US, which is a bit steep, but well worth it.
I was a bit surprised as I ordered a single socket one from Alien Rides:
Are you tired of worrying about your electric vehicle running out of juice while on the road? Our innovative charging adapter is here to put your worries to rest. Designed to keep your electric bike, scooter, or unicycle powered up no matter where you are, this adapter is a game-changer for your...
alienrides.com
Which I thought looked a bit jank on their website with the long cord as if they just took a normal extension cord and cut it down and slapped it on the J1772 plug. Even so it seemed nicer than some of the other ones I've seen listed.
However...
What they sent me a very professional looking 3 plug unit instead. I'm kind of used to these types of adapters feeling like they were made in some guy's basement who barely knows how to solder. What they sent me is nothing of the sort and seems really well made.
to the point I might end up ordering some of their brand stickers just to slap them on my trailer. When a company treats me nice sending me the next product up in their stack, I like to return the favor.
I'll have to use the crappy 3 amp chargers Aventon has since they don't even offer a 220v option or fast-charge, and have the goofy proprietary charge connector. Thankfully I'd want 110 anyways so I'd need an inverter for the trailer anyhow for things like my 1cu foot travel fridge and a microwave.
Kind of wish I could find a combination charger / inverter that accepted 12 amp 220-240 in, and had around 20 amps of 110v output available. Just to keep the wiring neater and weight down. Looks like I'll need to have both a charger and inverter though. I thought RV parts might do the trick, but they're all either "all 220" or "all 110" with no mix-and-match options. The ideal would be one I could switch between 220 and 110 input and have a 110 output.
Solar has its appeal for when one wants to go completely off the grid, but I can't help feel like the 100 to 200 watts it would provide under ideal conditions isn't worth the weight and cost compared to just plugging in at campgrounds and parking lots. Especially when an entire day of ideal conditions stationary wouldn't even top off 12v 200ah worth of cells...
More so since with my non-24 sleep-wake disorder half my riding ends up at night. Every six days I'm flipped around time-wise 180 degrees from the rest of the world.
Trying to do as much research as I can before I start building. Want to at least build the base frame before I do something like goFundMe to beg for financial aid -- that way I have something to show I'm serious about this. I'll likely be documenting the build on video too -- which will be a first for me as well.
And research like this:
Has told me that a lot of the so-called "experts" building trailers are full of it. I see so many trailers where the wheels are all the way back. when they should be center. Also why I plan on putting my batteries, inverter, and so forth between the wheels below the axle line. Apart from the bed, that's the "heavy stuff".
And why I'm glad I've got a 70+ pound e-bike for this, combined with my own weight that makes the tow vehicle heavier than the trailer is going to be, and that's important for stability. Especially when this is probably going to end up taller than it is wide, since I want at least a 40" internal cabin height... though again I plan on going at least 6" below the axle line for storage and the electricals.
Anyhow it's been fun reading your post and watching your videos, giving me a lot of inspiration and ideas.
