I live in McMinnville, OR (home of Evergreen Aviation where the Spruce Goose lives) and am a retired Software & Mechanical Engineer.
Last year I decided to have a mini toy hauler built to my specs & Dunesport in Mesa did a pretty good job although it's no real high end trailer. I got the ramp door b/c I have a Segway based wheelchair I use on & off and at the time thought I'd be using my Ford Flex to tow it. Ford claims it'll tow #4500 but there's a big difference between 'can you' and 'should you.' I drug it back to OR with the Flex & immediately started looking for a pickup. I found a 2005 2wd F-150 with under 60,000 miles & bought it from the late owner's daughter. He kept it maintained & I have a stack of receipts from the dealer who ripped him off on a regular basis. It came with the Ford Class IV tow package (trans cooler, 3:55 limited slip rear end, & a 36 gallon tank.) For some reason the transmission was rebuilt with HD parts a year ago & he only drove it 1400 miles until I got it.
I left off the 13.5k BTU A/C unit because the entire trailer is 540 cubic feet. I'm using an 8000 BTU room A/C vented through the side but can only use it on shore power or with the propane fueled 3100 watt Champion generator/inverter that rides in the back of the truck. I had a bed slide installed along with an aluminum contractor style canopy minus racks & side windows. Now the wheelchair will use a hoist & ride back there. The canopy was painted to match the truck so it's nice looking.
The rainy season in OR is pretty depressing & that was one of the reasons I decided to take this path. I had a custom Twin size Murphy Bed built that folds down from the right side. It has 50 gallon fresh, grey & black water tanks & I upgraded to two 30# bottles on the front. The genset has its own 30# bottle & should run for 25 hours minimum in eco mode. The trailer has a 24" x 36" tub & separate toilet & I upgraded the water pump, added an accumulator tank & a 10 gallon water heater. I'm adding a microwave this weekend & it has a double door 6 cf fridge with separate freezer. There's a full screen across the back so I can turn the ramp into a patio by using two #1000 straps with safety hooks from Strapworks. I use D-rings so when the trailer is level so is the patio. One 200ah AGM Renogy battery & one of their 2000w pure sine wave inverters. I swapped all the lights to LEDs & have a wireless rear facing camera that's on constantly & displays on a monitor in the cab. It'll work with up to 4 cameras & is also a DVR. A Viofo A119 v2 dash cam w/ GPS & data logger pretty well round out the options. The pickup is an extended cab & I'd love to remove the rear seat entirely & convert it all to storage. Maybe later.
Last year I decided to have a mini toy hauler built to my specs & Dunesport in Mesa did a pretty good job although it's no real high end trailer. I got the ramp door b/c I have a Segway based wheelchair I use on & off and at the time thought I'd be using my Ford Flex to tow it. Ford claims it'll tow #4500 but there's a big difference between 'can you' and 'should you.' I drug it back to OR with the Flex & immediately started looking for a pickup. I found a 2005 2wd F-150 with under 60,000 miles & bought it from the late owner's daughter. He kept it maintained & I have a stack of receipts from the dealer who ripped him off on a regular basis. It came with the Ford Class IV tow package (trans cooler, 3:55 limited slip rear end, & a 36 gallon tank.) For some reason the transmission was rebuilt with HD parts a year ago & he only drove it 1400 miles until I got it.
I left off the 13.5k BTU A/C unit because the entire trailer is 540 cubic feet. I'm using an 8000 BTU room A/C vented through the side but can only use it on shore power or with the propane fueled 3100 watt Champion generator/inverter that rides in the back of the truck. I had a bed slide installed along with an aluminum contractor style canopy minus racks & side windows. Now the wheelchair will use a hoist & ride back there. The canopy was painted to match the truck so it's nice looking.
The rainy season in OR is pretty depressing & that was one of the reasons I decided to take this path. I had a custom Twin size Murphy Bed built that folds down from the right side. It has 50 gallon fresh, grey & black water tanks & I upgraded to two 30# bottles on the front. The genset has its own 30# bottle & should run for 25 hours minimum in eco mode. The trailer has a 24" x 36" tub & separate toilet & I upgraded the water pump, added an accumulator tank & a 10 gallon water heater. I'm adding a microwave this weekend & it has a double door 6 cf fridge with separate freezer. There's a full screen across the back so I can turn the ramp into a patio by using two #1000 straps with safety hooks from Strapworks. I use D-rings so when the trailer is level so is the patio. One 200ah AGM Renogy battery & one of their 2000w pure sine wave inverters. I swapped all the lights to LEDs & have a wireless rear facing camera that's on constantly & displays on a monitor in the cab. It'll work with up to 4 cameras & is also a DVR. A Viofo A119 v2 dash cam w/ GPS & data logger pretty well round out the options. The pickup is an extended cab & I'd love to remove the rear seat entirely & convert it all to storage. Maybe later.
