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05-21-2018, 10:41 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 103
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Are Cargo Trailer Conversions Safe?
I was at a campground this weekend and saw a 30 foot cargo trailer converted to a toy hauler/camper for 2 harleys. 3 extension cords that tripped out and a green lawn hose for water.
Ex-marine, nice folk.... but are these safe? I only saw 1 man door and 1 window, not small enough to get out. RV's require a minimum number of egress points.
I'm not against DIY but at least RV mfg have certain minimum codes to adhere to. This thing looked like a dark death trap to me. Not trying to start a war but if you want to play you should really be in rig that is properly designed and equipped for humans. Do some RV parks restrict cargo trailer conversions?
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05-21-2018, 11:40 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 2,582
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Cargo trailer conversions are somewhat popular mods for bikers. As for the safety aspect life itself is a risk. The act of riding a bike and getting nailed by a cager is considerably more risky than sleeping in a cargo trailer yet millions continue to ride dispite the risks. I for one ride a motorcycle and wouldn't hesitate sleeping in a cargo trailer conversion. Life is too short to worry about all the what-ifs.
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05-21-2018, 11:51 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
National RV Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Continuous Traveler - Oregon
Posts: 534
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Yes, there are campgrounds that will prohibit your stay without a RVIA compliance sticker.
__________________
2008 National Pacifica 40D DP, 4 slides, 1 1/2 baths; 2016 C-Max Energi
FMCA #F415856 & Thousand Trails Elite
Right, left, straight, or stay....decision of the day
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05-21-2018, 01:08 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 103
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My rig is pretty inexpensive but I'm not sure I'd want to be next to an unsafe vehicle especially if I owned a $100K rig.
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05-21-2018, 04:14 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 2,582
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How do you know its unsafe? Because they used an extension cord?
You are calling it an RV, not the industry. Reality is they are cargo trailers that have been fixed up a bit to sleep in.
In all the years I've hung out on motorcycle forums no one has ever said they were not welcome in public campgrounds because their trailer did not have RVIA stickers on them. No doubt there are some stuffy RV parks where such trailers would be looked down upon from noses afar but I doubt such a park would appeal to the motorcycle crowd anyway. If they get too close to you you could always ask them to move.
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05-21-2018, 04:33 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 740
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To each his own...
I'll bring my side of the story. We built a cargo conversion precisely because trailers with the RVIA sticker on them generally had abysmal build quality, terrible wiring, and would likely go up like a Chinese fireworks factory if a fire broke out. Literally nothing manufactured at the time, met our immediate needs and our family budget.
Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers • View topic - 4 kids+ 6 bikes+ 4 kayaks+ 1 canoe+ camp stuff=7x16 CTC
I have 4 egress points, in a 7 x 16, better wiring than any industry-built RV I've seen, a stronger frame, walls and roof, (1" welded steel tubing on 16" centers in the walls, 24" centers in the roof). Marine-grade halon fire extinguisher, smoke alarm, etc. Now it won't win a beauty contest, but no payments, and nothing, but nothing has every shaken loose in the 6 years of all kinds of on-road and off-road, forest service road travel, including day trips for kayaking and mountain biking in all kinds of conditions. I realize it's primitive, no tanks, or wet bath, but those features can be added, using quality equipment, any time we want.
I continue to be amazed and pleased at the number of folks who ask to see it when we camp, and often tell us, "It's really all you need" and similar comments.
FWIW, any "uppity" RV park that would ban me for lack of RVIA sticker doesn't deserve my hard-earned pay, and likely doesn't have the kind of folks I would want to spend time around anyhow, but rest assured, when you are stranded or broken down with a mechanical failure in your rig, I'll more than likely be the first one to stop check on you, maybe even fix your rig, while the rest of the folks drive on by.
About the only thing industry made that I would consider, (and often recommend), is Northwood or Outdoors RV. Now where do I store that soap box again?
__________________
2002 Mitsubishi Montero Limited
1995 E-150 Club Wagon Chateau 5.8L (old school cool)
2012 Cargo Craft 7x16 Camper/Toy Hauler Conversion
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05-21-2018, 05:14 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,536
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No matter the amount of modifications. A cargo trailer is still a cargo trailer unless it has been re-certified as a RV trailer.
See paragraph 567.7 in the reference below.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-20...l6-part567.xml
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05-21-2018, 05:16 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 1,283
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We used a 5x8 cargo trailer as a bedroom after unloading our astronomy and camping gear for 9 years. I paid about $2400 for it and sold it for $2000. I had about $3000 worth of improvements that I installed. That includes 240 watts of solar, SunSaver MPPT controller, 1000 watt inverter, pair of Trojan T105 batteries, fantastic fan, red/white led lighting, side door and side window, insulation, furnace, padded carpeting, smoke, CO2, fire extinguisher, and propane detector.
95% of our campsites were not in campgrounds. The other 5% were public, no hookup sites.
I will be happy if my new Arctic Fox 22G looks as good 9 years later.
__________________
Jeff--
Arctic Fox 22G w/1440 watts solar/GMC2500HD Double Cab with Leer Cap w/740 watts solar
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05-21-2018, 06:11 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Vancouver Wash
Posts: 7,227
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See a lot of them in Arizona......
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05-22-2018, 08:17 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 103
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It's not my intent to rub anyone the wrong way.
I just pointed out that it looked sketchy to me. Only 2 egress points. No top vent. Extension cords tripping out. 3-inch stinky sewer vent open to my camp. Maybe 4-5 inches of clearance from plumbing pipes to street, looked like it would scrape and break on a driveway to street transition.
He blew out a tire on the trip to camp...overloaded???
While build quality is generally not good in the RV industry, circuits and systems are designed by engineers per NEC codes and sized for electrical loads and fused accordingly. While most cargo converter folks are smart and well intentioned, some may not have the skill set and/or money for a safe family camping vehicle.
Personally I would think rehabbing an older RV trailer may be more cost effective and have a better resale value as an RV. No dealer would be able to take in a cargo conversion and sell it as an RV.
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05-22-2018, 08:47 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 345
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I would say...if you don't like it...don't sleep in it. If he does...don't worry about it. He probably had the time of his life converting it and he could probably care less what anyone else thinks about it. If he's happy with...I'm overjoyed!! Live and Let Live!!
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05-22-2018, 09:28 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 2,582
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Teddyman
It's not my intent to rub anyone the wrong way.
I just pointed out that it looked sketchy to me. Only 2 egress points. No top vent. Extension cords tripping out. 3-inch stinky sewer vent open to my camp. Maybe 4-5 inches of clearance from plumbing pipes to street, looked like it would scrape and break on a driveway to street transition.
He blew out a tire on the trip to camp...overloaded???
While build quality is generally not good in the RV industry, circuits and systems are designed by engineers per NEC codes and sized for electrical loads and fused accordingly. While most cargo converter folks are smart and well intentioned, some may not have the skill set and/or money for a safe family camping vehicle.
Personally I would think rehabbing an older RV trailer may be more cost effective and have a better resale value as an RV. No dealer would be able to take in a cargo conversion and sell it as an RV.
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Again, these cargo trailers are NOT RVs no matter what you want to call them. Despite what you think they remain cargo trailers.
As for real RVs, just because it was built to a code at the factory and has all sorts of stickers stuck to to the side doesn't mean the one parked next you on the other side wasn't modified in some unsafe manor by some unskilled know-it-all. As for the blowout you can find lots of stories about that here too so why single that one out.
Unless the people in the cargo trailer invited you for a sleep over and you declined because you didn't think it looked safe don't worry about it.
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05-22-2018, 09:36 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 740
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Teddyman
3-inch stinky sewer vent open to my camp.
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While I may have been a little too enthusiastic explaining our choice in trailer design, (this is an RV forum after all), you have to admit, RVIA sticker or not, the sewer vent deal, "just ain't being good neighbors...".
__________________
2002 Mitsubishi Montero Limited
1995 E-150 Club Wagon Chateau 5.8L (old school cool)
2012 Cargo Craft 7x16 Camper/Toy Hauler Conversion
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05-22-2018, 10:27 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Carlos, Texas
Posts: 1,746
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When you think about it, they are all just cargo trailers. Its the visual effect that one would perceive for one to be better than the other. Maybe the cargo trailer guy is thinking he'd never want to deal with dragging all that stuff all over the place. From what I've seen cargo trailer can be built stronger and better than rv's as they are expected to take more abuse and overloading. With anything, it's just good planning for anything to be ventilated well if it's going to be occupied. Plenty pf people build houses by stacking shipping containers up. I can tell you that my MIL would be the first to be on the complaining list if someone did that next to her. But that's just her. I don't care of someone wants to make a house out of containers. I've been in one made out of a box car and it was gorgeous. I'd live in it the way they had it.
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