Coyotetrips DIY Squaredrop Camping Trailer Build

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reflextive tape on the camping trailer
I added some 1" reflective tape to outline the camper at night. I also added additional lights and break lights to the top of the trailer to increase visibility.
Since I built this camper for our dog (that’s what my wife claims), we needed to slowly get her used to it. We did this by getting into it ourselves at home and getting her to go in with the lure of treats. We did that a few times, so that the first time she used it it wouldn’t be when we were camping. She went in just fine at the first camping trip and has loved it ever since. She sees it as a large dog crate that we are all inside together. I knew she would like her partially enclosed snug little corner.
getting our dog used to the camping trailer
moving the axle of the camping trailer
During the first test drive and our maiden voyage camping trip I noticed that the trailer didn't pull as nicely as I had hoped. It felt squirrelly and unstable at times, simply scary. While I had measured with a shipping scale that the trailer had about 70 lbs. of tongue weight, I read that it should be 10-15% of the complete weight. Since the camper weight in at 1100 lbs. on a truck scale, that would be around 110-160 lbs. of needed tongue weight. moving the axle of the camping trailer
moving the axle of the camping trailer
For a test I loaded steel plates into the tongue box and went for a test drive. The trailer behaved much better. That meant I had to move the axle of the trailer further back. After some calculations I came up with that I would need to move the axle back by about 12". I really didn't like the idea of modifying the trailer, but the simple design of the Harbor Freight trailer made it relatively easy to unbolt the axle, drill new mounting holes and bolt it back in place. moving the axle of the camping trailer
moving the axle of the camping trailer
With this modification the tongue weight changed from 70 lbs. (100 lbs. with added steel plates) to 150 lbs. and made the trailer very stable and easy to pull. The hitch of my little car (Honda Fit) has a maximum load of 200 lbs., so still well within the limit. This is a very important point to get right, as it is simply not safe otherwise. moving the axle of the camping trailer
light in the camping trailer
I converted one of the inside lights and one of the exterior lights to red using red plastic foil. This modification helps greatly with night vision in a completely dark campsite.
I also installed interior lights with USB outlet as reading lights right behind where our pillows are. This makes reading a book much easier and we can even charge our phones or tablets while being in bed.
light in the camping trailer
mattresss in our camper
I often get asked what I used for a mattress. I got a trifold full size mattress, which allows us to use it as a mattress as well as a couch. While it is only 4.5" thick, it is very comfortable.
To have a soft surface when we use the mattress as a couch I put in a 4'x6' 1/2" thick tile mat, which is a nice addition and much softer than vinyl on plywood.
mattresss in our camper
mattresss in our camper
We are very happy with how the whole camping trailer turned out. It sure was a lot of work, but I actually enjoyed most of it and we got exactly what we wanted for a price that we could afford. It's not off-road capable, but neither is our car. Both will do gravel roads just fine.
The only caveat was that we didn't have heat for really cold nights if we didn't have shore power at a state park, where we then could use an electric space heater (the battery could not support the load all night with an inverter). To remedy this issue I purchased a Chinese Diesel Heater and installed it in a box to make it portable. Read more about it here.

Thanks for reading through this. If you have any specific questions, just sent me an email through the "Contact" tab and I'll try my best to answer it.
You can see all the photos of this DIY Squaredrop Camper Build at my Flickr account and some photos of the finished trailer.
Good luck on your project!