In case you’re a daily reader round right here, you in all probability bear in mind my fundraiser for getting extra “boots on the bottom” protection and product critiques. I didn’t elevate what I had hoped to lift, however nonetheless had a reasonably profitable Indiegogo marketing campaign. On this article, I’m going to offer readers an replace on how this undertaking goes and the way the primary take a look at journey went.
Constructing My Personal Trailer
Whereas I’d like to have a Rivian, F-150 Lightning, or a Silverado EV to tug gear round with, none of these choices are within the playing cards. They’re both too pricey, and within the case of the Silverado, not accessible to mere mortals (however accessible to company fleets in restricted numbers). So, I’m utilizing my Chevy Bolt EUV, outfitted with a Torklift EcoHitch, to tug a small trailer loaded with “glamping” gear as an alternative of a bigger automobile to haul a camper.
As a substitute of shopping for a trailer from a trailer producer, I did what many individuals on a small funds do: I began with a Harbor Freight trailer. They’re low-cost, they’ve a light-weight aluminum body, they usually’re sturdy sufficient for lighter hundreds. I couldn’t discover one in inventory at any of the closest shops, however noticed on the web site {that a} location an hour’s drive away had one in inventory. However, it turned out that they didn’t, and I spent weeks failing to discover a new one.
So, I needed to go used. The used one I may discover was next-to-new, however the proprietor didn’t have all the paperwork. Then, I discovered the state didn’t like what little paperwork I had, and the trailer must undergo a six-month course of to get a title and a license plate. So, I needed to half the trailer out, purchase some components from a unique trailer, add in some new components from Harbor Freight and Dwelling Depot, and present up on the MVD with a trailer that was legally a unique one. After weeks of problem, I lastly had a trailer with a license plate.
I then set to work constructing a wooden field on the trailer. Whereas I’d prefer to say that I used composites or in any other case did one thing cool to avoid wasting weight, I used to be already delayed on this by like two months, so I needed to assume quicker. I constructed an old-school balloon body wooden field, however caught with smaller studs and thinner plywood. This required heaps and many pilot holes to keep away from splitting the thinner wooden, however I nonetheless ended up with a powerful field (I added some additional reinforcement after this picture was taken:
I couldn’t construct essentially the most aerodynamically environment friendly field, however I did construct it so it principally tucked in behind the Bolt EUV’s form. Not like a Tesla Mannequin X or Y, the Bolt EUV has a a lot increased roofline within the again, which is usually dangerous for aero, however on this case, it left extra room for the trailer field within the vacuum zone behind the automobile.
The top result’s a trailer I can nonetheless transfer round by hand, even with all the tenting gear loaded inside. In my highway testing, the automobile’s dashboard reported a mean of two.2 miles/kWh at 70 MPH. A Higher Routeplanner (ABRP) confirmed a “reference quantity” (that’s purported to symbolize completely flat floor, superb circumstances, 65 MPH) of two.57 miles/kWh primarily based on OBD-II power utilization knowledge it collects. This made for a reference determine about 15% much less environment friendly than the automobile is unloaded, which is fairly spectacular for pulling a trailer.
As you may in all probability see within the above picture, there’s an enormous black tube on high of the wooden field. That’s a ten gallon Yakima Roadshower. In case you’re not acquainted with the Roadshower, it’s mainly an aluminum tube with a black coating that you could put water in, and in good solar it serves as a photo voltaic water heater. It additionally has a Schrader valve you should utilize to pressurize the tank and get water strain.
One different cool factor I used to be capable of do is design a janky mechanism to maintain the facet door open and function a small awning. The rear door swings right down to function a ramp for loading and unloading e-bikes, too! I’m finally going to improve these doorways to one thing higher, however they work nicely for now. The field can also be going to get a coat of low-cost paint.
What I Loaded Inside
In case you’re a daily reader, you in all probability noticed that numerous my latest articles have been critiques, and a few from the highest of a ten,000-foot mountain with views for dozens of miles. As a substitute of telling readers all about every bit of substances, I’ll share some hyperlinks to the gear I’ve already reviewed, after which get into the gear I haven’t reviewed but.
One piece of substances that actually got here in helpful was the EcoFlow Wave 2. Whereas we have been on high of a mountain, the circumstances turned out to be fairly terrible. Not solely does extra UV mild fall on the tops of excessive mountains (thinner air), however the entire area was experiencing document warmth. On the way in which up, I really observed temperatures climbing a we climbed the highway to the highest, which suggests there was a thermal inversion impact occurring at night time. Having air con was nice, even when we couldn’t energy all of it day and all night time (extra on that in a number of).
One other very important piece of substances was the Trelino Evo L composting bathroom. The realm we camped in had a vault bathroom, however who desires to place sneakers on and stroll 100 yards at the hours of darkness (and, on journeys aside from this one, the chilly)? Plus, this was only a take a look at journey and we plan on doing future journeys in locations with out bogs.
One other cool piece of equipment we examined (however received’t be taking up all future journeys) was the EuyBike S4 scrambler bike. The rationale I share that is to level out that we’ve efficiently taken a motorcycle alongside to evaluate in a scenic and difficult location. In case you symbolize an e-bike producer and wish your bike, scooter, or different outdoor-oriented cleantech product examined someplace good, you should definitely attain out to our workforce.
In Half 2, I’m going to debate how issues went with our Shiftpod insulated shelter, Jackery 3000 Professional energy station, and a number of the issues I’m altering for the following journey.
Featured picture by Jennifer Sensiba.
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