After retiring, we made the decision to downsize, sell everything, and embrace a nomadic lifestyle. We purchased a new 36-foot camper and set out to adventure our way around the US and Canada. This journey has quickly become an irresistible addiction that shows no signs of fading anytime soon.
We love living in our camper and the lifestyle that goes along with it. The community is amazing and we’ve made some great friends along the way. We highly recommend that you take the leap if you’ve ever dreamed of getting an RV and exploring the country. You’re not getting any younger!
In our travels we have found ourselves in situations where we wished we had a smaller camper that was more nimble and could fit into more places. For example, we’ve been in state parks where there were very few campsites that could accommodate our camper.
We love boondocking and our 5th wheel is set up with plenty of solar and batteries to live off grid for an extended length of time. The problem is we are limited to where we can go because of the campers size. We have to be careful to not get into situations that could be costly to get out of or even damage our home.
Last fall we started planning our second trip to Alaska and began thinking about getting our “summer camper” in the form of a small, nimble, easy-to-tow camper. We looked at some off-road toy haulers like the Black Series campers or the NoBo with the beast mode suspension. All great looking campers but way overpriced, in my humble opinion! Even used prices were too high. Don’t even mention the build quality! While we love our camper, we also know it has its limitations because of how it’s built. Too many things are held together with weak brad nails and a prayer.
Initially, we had envisioned our first journey to Alaska to be primarily focused on boondocking, intending to use it as a base for exploration. However, the reality turned out quite differently; over the course of our four-month stay in Alaska, we predominantly resided in campgrounds. This shift was largely due to the fact that the majority of boondocking locations we discovered were unsuitable for our larger camper. We needed something smaller.
While surfing YouTube I ran across a channel that caught my eye. The thumbnail was a young couple that looked to be about my age doing a selfie with a guy while standing in front of a cargo trailer that had a camper awning. The caption read something like “Highly Functional Camper Conversion” and as I started watching it the man said “This is Bill and Deb with I Ride Tiny House Adventures“. I was hooked.
When I get an idea (or when someone gives me an idea) that seems like a good one I can’t let go of it until I’ve explored every angle and looked at every possibility. This is what happened when I watched that first video about cargo conversions. The idea of using a cargo trailer and building a camper from scratch exactly the way I wanted was so appealing that I couldn’t pass it up. I’ve always dreamed of building my own log cabin or lodge but circumstances never came together for that to happen. This was a great chance for me to build something with my own hands and make it exactly the way I want it.
In this blog, I’ll share the process of building our conversion from the ground up… literally. I plan on putting off-road tires on the torsion suspension and giving it as much ground clearance as possible… so yep, from the ground up!
Disclaimer: while I’m quite capable as a shadetree mechanic, carpenter, engineer, electrician, plumber, architech, and whatever else I might need to be for this build, I’m not a professional at any. I always plan on making mistakes and allow for them to happen. I might not put it together the way you would and I’m certainly open to suggestions. You’ll probably have better ideas on how I should build it. In the end, I get to live in my own creation and enjoy the fruits of my own imagination and hard work. I hope you come along as I build this. I welcome your positive feedback and look forward to sharing ideas with you! I’m a great example of “If I can do it, you can too!”
