I am all ears and eager for some suggestions!

I recently purchased a new trailer, and it is fantastic... The tack room is probably 8' and is a gooseneck.  I camp in my trailer at shows and for a month or so in the spring when I head south for competitions.  So I'm going to be basically living in this thing!  Can anyone suggest concepts, ideas, etc for building my own living quarters in this space? 

So far we've accomplished some things... Have a bed in the nose, A/C and power, insulation, carpet, and mini fridge. 

Can anyone offer some suggestions?  Stories?  THANKS!!!

Here you go...this was a great inspiration to me!

http://todd.redwrench.com/index.htm

I camped for 3 years with a friend that bought a basic trailer and slowly had the LQ done.  She sadly made mistakes along the way, but it has turned out quite nice. 

The 2 biggest mistakes were not setting the trailer up for propane.  She has an electric fridge which is essentially a cooler when camping unless there is electric available.  She does have a generator, but you can't run it non-stop and most of the places in FL, don't have electric.  The other is she didn't insulate the trailer at the beginning, but had it done later which cost alot more.

    Once you start camping you will find that you will probably want all the extras as it does make camping so much easier and nicer.  Put in propane for a fridge, hot water heater, and cooktop if you can.  The cowboy showers (in the horse area) work fine, though not quite as nice as a shower inside the LQ.  Storage is always an issue, so plan on as much of that as you can fit, and countertop space is vital. 

 I have a small  weekender (5' LQ) as it has a cowboy shower. But I have propane fridge, hot water heater, & cooktop, dinnette which I wasn't sure if I'd like and I love it.  The top gives me a nice area to sit and prepare meals.  Also have AC, microwave, screen door, pass-through door, awning, generator, and cabinets for storage, though I could use more. Lastly I have a haudraulic hitch which is wonderful!!  No cranking for me. It's just a 2H, but since I only have 1 horse it works out just fine.   I only need electric or the generator for the microwave, AC, and a small electric heater and can be self sufficent if there isn't any electric and have gone on small trips without starting the generator.  

   Check out other trailers, talk to the owners, people love to show off their trailers and will tell you the pros and cons of each.  This website is a wealth of info and there are many on here who have done incrediable LQ's.  Good luck and happy camping.  

Hey there HHFarm,

As someone else has already posted, "maccwall" was also my inspiration for my DIY LQ.  My photos are posted on Webshots  http://community.webshots.com/user/kdlackey1?vhost=community    Maybe you can get some ideas.  It was great fun and talk about instant gratification!  It was great to see the progress made at the end of every day spent working.  You can doit!  Good Luck!

Thanks for the complements, Dunagain.  We did everything ourselves.  My husband did the construction, electric, plumbing and I did the decorating part.  I made the cabinet doors, the bench cushions, window headers and covers, and did the tiling. 

We hauled the trailer to an RV shop that used to do trailer conversions and they were happy to list all the  valves and fixtures we needed for the combo potty/shower and ordered them for us from their wholesale connections (Country RV in Sequin TX).  They also gave us installation tips.  They made money, we got valuable help.  Tip: You will save money on faucets and shower heads, etc., at your local home improvement store rather than buying over priced and cheaply made RV fixtures. 

KDL, awesome job, we are currently doing my DR in my trailer. We aren't quite through yet, I did use Todd's web as inspiration, I love yours also. I have kept a photo journal, not quite as extensive as yall's but it will go in my memory bank for sure.  I looked and looked for the soft ceiling vinyl with no avail, and opted for faux leather covered luan that I got at Lowes, it is a chocolate color.  My cabinates were pre-fab, my boot box and microwave were made by our builder.  I am so excited I can hardly wait.

Our main deal now, is I'm all electric, I did not want propane or a generator, I only haul to one or two night shows, with just my son.  We are working on the proper way to wire up my box and make sure it is correct for RV hook-ups. 

Good luck, keep up  the good work to all, this has been a real experience for me, with alot of trial and error, but doing it on our own we know we don't have  a cheaply fabricated interior.  I have a few photos if you'd like me to email them to  you..  Renee J.

We are in the  porcess of converting our 95 Sooner dressing room in to a week end LQ.  It has a tapered nose with curve corners at the ceiling.  What did ya'll do to frame that in?  Does anyone have pictures of that step?  I have the insulation in except for the curved ceiling in the nose.  I figured i would need 2 sided tape to get that to stay before the frame goes, so am waiting until I am ready for that.  I have the old carpet off the floor and have insulated the floor and cut the wood base for that.  It was already wired and has a window unit a/c, however, they put it on the long wall side and it is in a spot that hogs precious wall space.  We left the hooks and blanket bar on the horse wall because it is welded to good and it would be hard to get off.  Guess we will work around those.  We did get the clothes bar off the ceiling.

We are going to put down a wood laminate flooring.  I did find a DVD with great footage of how she did hers, but there wasn't details on the ceiling.  that will be a honey do job, so I want to have something to show him.   We show POA shows and the places we show have showers, so we will jsut do the week end thing with a place to sleep and keep cool.  I have a little dorm fridge and microwave already, so we will work with what we have on hand.

Thanks in advance for all your ideas and help!

Jeanne

Hello "4everenbluejeans" and welcome to the forum,

When we insulated the curved areas where the walls meet the ceiling, we used the foil-bubble type insulation, two layers of it.  Since it is flexible, you can make it fit most anywhere.  You may have to notch it at the front where the nose tapers, but it will be much easier than trying to make the foam board fit.  When framing, possibly you could place fur strips along the ceiling and nose floor to "straighten out" your curved corners and fasten your paneling or whatever you're using for walls, to the front of the fur strips and make straight angles instead of curves. (very hard to describe without pictures or drawings).  You would only lose a few inches of space. 

Or, maybe, depending on how long the nose is so you still have enough length for a mattress, make a 90 degree angle wall across the nose at the point that the curved wall starts.  Put a door in it and use the very front of the nose for storage.  You could still insulate it, but you wouldn't have to worry about paneling it and making it pretty.

Sorry if that makes no sense at all.  Just some ideas for you to kick around.  You may find some pics of what we did at the Webshots site that will help.

Good Luck 

Thanks!!  My son came over today and we  played with scraps of wood to see what we will get for corners.  It comes to almost a 90 degree with a slight gap.  I have friends tha used rope in their house instead of crown molding, and my light came on.  Wouldn't rope be a cool edging for a trailer?  I will have to try that. I need to move the conduit and stuff before I can start the furing strips.  I hate workign with wood, so this will be a honey do job, unless I get brave.  Our frame work is close together on the long wall and the uprights are not solid like on a steel trailer, they are more of a c purlin.  I have a huge admiration for someone who has done this and stayed married and sane

We have to work around the breaker box & an A/C hole at 32" high and very close to the long wall.  It would be easier to start fresh.

I love the bubble insulation idea for the roof of the nose and the curves!  thanks.  I have a friend that might have some scraps from their barn.  Did you put the flooring down before doig the furring and walls?

Happy trails

jeanne

I did go look at the pictures on wegb shots.  Can I print some for my non comptuing husband?

Hey Jeanne,

Print all the pictures you'd like.  I did the same thing from "Maccwall"s pics to show my husband.  I'm glad I could help.  The rope sounds like a cool idea.  If you are asking if we put the OSB flooring down in the nose before we fur'ed out the walls, yes.  On the floor of the LQ, we already had a factory plywood base.  We built the sofa/bench, shower, closet, and bath cabs and bench prior to putting down the laminate flooring. The only thing on top of the laminate is the kitchen sink cabinet, drawers and the stuff in that corner.  We wanted the fridge and water heater on top of the laminate.  It was that much less expensive flooring we had to buy.

By the way, we also put a layer of the foil bubble insulation next to the aluminum roof and the then 2 layers of blue foam board.  The ceiling is over R21. 

Good luck and keep us all posted on your progress.

Umm...  that was probably a bar / handle to help you pull yourselves into the sleeping area. : ) It does double as a place to hang clothes on hangers though.

I wish I had one!!

My GN was / is a barebones model. No carpeting, no insulation, nada in the 4' shortwall DR. MacWall and some others have been my inspiration.

The darn bar was way over from the so called step that it wasn't worth having!  I am going to cut out the blanket bar next, but leave the hooks on the slant wall. They will be handy for something.  I want floor space for a sleeping bag.  I am trying to figure out what to use on the ceiling.  I saw some white plastic/vinyl stuff today, but I wasn't sure I liked it much. What are some things that work nice and don't break the bank?  I got screws today for the floor ( .50 each! OUCH) and then some for the furring strips and some more furring strips.  I work on it a few hourse each eve, as it cools off by then and I give riding lessons in the mornings.

I love the fold up bed that is on a site that Todd had on his links page.  Anyone have any deminsions for something like that?  I won't do an upper bunk, don't want the grand kids falling off.  I can see us getting this all neat and seling it because we want more room.  My husband woud shoot me for sure!

i will try to get some  pictures of the mess I'm making to share.

It's so nice that so many have shared ideas and tricks to those of us just venturing out.

Jeanne

Another question for you experienced pros.  I am close to having all the furring strips in and got my sweet husband to drill the flooring down.  ( I don't have the extra push needed to do that part).  The trailer has a place over the entry door and another one in the noxe that holds factory lights on an angle.  How did you handle going around those things if you have them?  Should I pertend I don't see them and leave them plain and uncovered? I was all set to go with the 90 degree angle where the walls meet the ceiling, but it won't work there.  Can I cry now or do you guys have a simple solution?  I can see why LQ conversions are so darn high.  If I ever order a new trailer again, I will request a naked dressing room to work with.

Oh, question 2, did you use paneling adhesive and nails on the paneling or just nails? We got a knotty pine look for the walls and a lightly patterned white/tan for the ceiling.  Not something I went crazy over, but it was on hand, afforadable and I can live with it one week end at a time.

It has turned very hot in western OK this week, so I am only wokring on the trailer in the early eves when it starts to cool down some.  I had to quit early last night because my help was a coming 3 yr old grand daughter! Not much gets done with her help, unless you call losing screws and tools helpful.

Jeanne

Hello Jeanne

We had the same predicament.  Here is an idea for your lights over your doors.  My husband took off the outer plastic frame which allows the lights to fit in the rounded area at the top of the walls.  Somehow he popped it off.  The remaining light is usually a sealed component.  So he then carefully drilled a hole on each end through the clear front cover and all the way through the white opaque back.  Be sure and pick a spot where you know you won't drill through any wires.  He then ran the wires behind the paneling and mounted the lights with screws a little lower on the wall over the door.   In our case, we put crown molding at the top of the wall and ceiling.  I can't figure out how to add pictures here, but there is a photo of this where my LQ pics are posted.  Or, let me know your email address and I will send that pic to you.

Also, we did not use paneling adhesive on the walls, just brad nails.  We did use adhesive and screws when we covered the door since you can't use fur strips there.

Denise

Thanks Denise, here is my email address.  Jstucker @ copper.net  Remove the spaces and it should wokr.  I wasn't usre if this site would show it.

I looked at you web shots and could not figure it out from those.  I'll take pictures of mine and send you when we write privately. 

Now if it will just cool off a bit quicker at night. It has gotten so hat now.  I guess summer had to happen down here some day.  We jsut were never ready for it. 

I have the light losened away from the bracket.  The little wire is short.  I can get my son to re wire it if needed.  I just need for Ted to come and do the work for me, but he said the idea is to save $ LOL

I hang wallpaper and people often ask if they can do the striping to save $.  Sure I tell them.  YOu know that in a few days or hours, they call and ask me to do that part of the job too!  I know how they feel now.

Jeanne

Hi everyone, well my LQ is coming along slowly, its just a weekend job for us.  Talking about ceilings, I found some cool panel type board at Lowes that looks like brown leather, it is really cool up there, againist the light colored bead board, the only drawback is it was $28 a sheet and I had to order six sheets.  My cabinets are in place, micro and fridge stationary along with my 10 gal. hot water heater for my cowboy shower.  I ordered a copper sink from ebay that is hexagonal with stars embossed in the sides. My counter tops will be black formica to match the micro and fridge and the copper sink will be drop dead georgeous..

I've got it all wired 30 amp without a converter, I'm all electric, thanks Denise for the encouragement.  I hope to take photos tomorrow to share. 

I was unsure of window coverings so I found spring rods and took three thick woven placemats in a dark sage green and stenciled brown stars on the bottom, and stitched leather strips to roll them up when I wanted light, it is real rustic looking and works with my Star theme throughout.  My sconces have white shades that I stenciled stars on  also.  It is so cozy in there I can't wait for my first show.  Renee

Ah, yalll sound like you are doing great on your trailers.  I had a rough week on mine.  Cut some stuff too short and forgot that the darn ceiling arches, which caused a ruckus on the wall panel that not only was a pain due to the arch, but the darn 58" hook rack.  I wonder how big of a rope I'llhave to use for my moulding?*^$#^&)!(*^$%!% Next trailer will be bare bones dressing room with nothing to take out first!  Husband says this is the last one he will help me with  

I am not so sure I could stomach another one for a few years.  Maybe by then it will be like giving birth, you foget the pain and do it again

We get get some wall panels up and I don't like the ceiling color with it.  We went with a faux look that is not expensive.  I am going to paint over it and do a faux leather look.  It's easy to do and I already have the base color and galze from another project.

I did get nearly all of the laminate flooring in.  I did not read the directions first, and then discovered I need to do the plank ends that join for each row before adding the side row.  So I learned you can hit them and start over.  Gee, I would  have finished it up if not for that.  I ran out of day light.

We work in the morning on week ends, then break, go out again later and work until we poop out or the sun goes down.  My dad is pushing 87 and he wants to help me, so he is designing the boto box/bed combo and my cabinets.  Mom is tickled he has a project and I just hope he doesn't kill himself doing it.  He has cancer and is running on a bad heart, but happy as can be to be useful again. 

Horse.com has some cute rugs in the new catalog for $20.  We are leaning towards a bandana & denim look.  I have an embroidery machine and can do the curtains with a paisley motiff.  Of course, I have a ways to go to do the fun stuff! 

If you order anything from www.horse.com on line, please consider using the country care code of SUNNYSIDE.  They give a percentage to our therapy program and all the proceeds go directly to offering no cost lessosn to challenged riders.  Thanks so much.

have a great day and great fun.  Jeanne