DIY Crawler Hauler & Bugout Camper BUILD 

My take on DIY campers is , if you get in it, it doesn't leak, you can stay warm and dry and get a good night's sleep and it looks good on the outside, you're good to go. Looking good. Be proud.

An angled wind cover for your propane tanks would help secure them and add some storage space.

Wow, out of all the RU-vid videos out on the net related to bug out, van life, hauling your toys this one takes the cake! My friend I absolutely love this build and you have every right to be proud of this beautiful work of art and so practical, so personal thank you for shearing! I will gladly give a thumbs up and subscribe because you sir took the time to share this ultimate utility trailer with us, Happy Trails

Space the bed about six inches or the height of the mattress and put piano hinges on the frame so you can Murphy the bed for more room and storage. Your project looks awesome and it has me motivated to start one myself.

I'm so glad to see the entire community offering up suggestions instead of talking smack, at the end of the day the options are endless and only you can decide what is best for you and your budget. No matter what you decide be proud of your work, I think you've don a great job so far!

Looks good, as long as it suits your needs that’s all that matters.

You should turn the bed into a murphy bed so you can make the frame it sits on now into a couch/storage area. In the corner across from the door put in a counter top with the fridge under it and set up a rack on the deck side under the one you already have for an outdoor kitchen area with like a grill and sink that can be put away so you can water to the kitchen for cooking and washing hands and stuff. Also set up an outdoor shower off the the driver side of the deck with some type of rack to hang a curtain. You would still have plenty of room for cabinets around the top. Just some ideas I had while watching but you have a great design so far just a few tweaks would make this thing amazing

I THINK it's GREAT.. I would have tried the window shades, on the bottom, so they pulled up, that way no one can see in.. And you dont need to get down to see out.. I guess it would have both advantage & disadvantage..to the pull up aspect.. Looks great to me.. Putting more of you, and less money, has always been my choice.. Great work..

I use to be the draftsman for H&H trailers, my father was the engineer for featherlite trailers. I suggest one thing. your roof needs to have alum to make a water proof barrier with drip eves. and glue and seal no screws.

Very cool. Everything you need to survive comfortably in remote locations.

That's a nice looking bit of kit, looking forward to seeing the finished setup.

Really nice. You can see the thought and care that has gone into this project. Good luck; hope it turns out just the way you want. Appreciate the video.

I give you points just for doing it yourself. Then I give you points because it’s cool. Then I give you points for doing a good job. Happy trails

I’d build a fold down table (like a Murphy bed) to help keep an open space when not needed.

I can't believe I haven't found you sooner, I've looked up so many videos, Bug out related, Camping, Hauling, You name it I've probably looked it up. You have literally done what I'm currently working on doing and I'm pretty stoked to see your outcome! I haven't watched your other videos on this build yet, But I'm going to check them out right after this video.

Super cool! Add an awning off the back over the trailer for a covered deck!

Great job! You should patent that design. Motorcycle/jet ski version, etc. Love it!

I did all this in 2003 when I was faced with getting my camper & ATV's to the hunting lease, in one trip, 350 miles away. This was just before even toy haulers came on the market. Commercial campers are made of balsa wood & paper-mache. I settled on a 16' cargo trailer & I still use it. It has two beds with memory foam mattresses, HVAC, a 21 CF Fridge, 6' kitchen countertop, sink & outdoor cooking setup. The whole rig cost $5200 finished. I have put thousands of miles on it. Necessity is the mother of invention.

That’s really ingenious. You have the best of both worlds. Nice Job

This is awesome! I've never seen anything like this and it makes so much sense. I have seen things kind of similar but the cargo area is enclosed which would take away your outside deck capability. This is very well thought out.

Think about designing the ability to put up a canopy over your Jeep/deck area. This would allow for shade from the sun or rain if needed or wanted. You might want outdoor cameras for security of the back area along with lights. You might also want a window looking out towards the jeep deck area. Great design for your hauler. Thanks for sharing.

AUsome! I’d love to have that sweet cabin. ❤️

Thanks for sharing all of your successes and mistakes of the work

Super simple addition: cover up those tanks/pipes. God forbid all that work you put in gets f’d by a rock or something

Love your trailer. Get a mini split. A/c with heat pump.can run it off your honda. Get the extended run gas cap.game changer. Diesel water and air heater would work well.

Life is a trip!!! Then you take one !!!! Your on your way to HAPPY CAMPING YOUR DOING A GREAT JOB.

My recommendations for a bathroom is a bedside commode or a 5 gallon bucket with a seat lid. Either one cleanup is so much easier and less smell unless you spend the real big bucks for a composting toilet. Line with a trash bag and fill it with kitty litter. I'd also go mini split or window ac over a over priced inefficient rv rooftop model. Good luck with the rest of the build.

Very impressed with your build. It’s actually given me new ideas for OGL options, thank you and congratulations!!!

Very well thought out, keep doing what you are doing it's coming together well. When you are pushing this much innovation, small mistakes will happen, don't let it get you down because this is going to be one heck of set up, I can already envision it.

WHAT a professional build, God blessed your hands young man, I would just like to mention to anyone new to welding, to disconnect the towing vehicle from the trailer when welding, in order to protect your alternator, from a power surge while welding, just in case anyone did not know, it can be hard pushing a vehicle and a trailer at the one time guys, take it from me and I am a woman,

Nice rig I want to build one similar got lots of ideas watching ur videos n I love how u get help from ur old lady n she flips u off in the pic lol

I have been building one also after converting a fifth wheel to regular. The tips on weight and windows wow thanks! That is a beautiful sleeper and hauler! Multi-purpose is so awesome

I would do low powered cameras for your blind spots on the outside of the trailer. So you can see all around you while you are in the trailer and not just the windows

Regulators mount up!!!! Gotta be handy with the steel if you know what I mean to earn your keep. It was a clear black night, a clear white moon Warren G was on the streets, trying to consume some skirts for the eve, so I can get some funk just rollin' in my ride, chillin' all alone Sorry all the talk about the regulators I just couldn’t resist the urge lol. Dig this trailer though I mean totally dig it. I don’t do much rock crawling but I would love to especially if I owned this. When I was younger and raising my boys we did a lot of riding (dirt bikes and quads) and I had a 14’ covered trailer that I always day dreamed of converting it into a sleeper but we already had a travel trailer so it never went anywhere but a dream. Glad to see you did it and thanks for sharing it with us.

Nice! Built a camper out of a cargo trailer years ago, before "tiny houses" were fashionable, so I know what you're going through. You've done a good job with not only the build, but with the video too. Like how you intersperse pics throughout while you're talking... really good job. Thanks for posting!

Looks Great!! Even the most simple projects can be very time-consuming because of all the planning and you have to think quite a ways down the road kind of like your steps being wider than your door. My buddy used to say if you think a project will take two weeks you need to double that and then go to the next unit of measure so a two-week project will actually take four months. Lots of truth to that statement!!

By far the best diy crawler hauler in RU-vid. Good job man!

The box reminds me of a sleeper cab for a semi. All the correct angles for that sort of thing. Nice build.

Hi, all and all looks really very good. Keep up the good work.

You can use crown molding around the windows to have more of a landing then you can put qtr inch around the window to fill the gap but this is an accomplishment to be proud of.

This is a seriously impressive build my friend. Be proud of it.

Wow.. you literally built this how I planned for years. Thats WILD and also amazing

I am glad I found your channel. I am beginning a build like yours using a 14 ft. dump trailer as the platform. Building the bug-out part on a skid that loads and unloads . Your build has given me so much information and I really appreciate your hard work. Well done!!!!

Move the ladder to the curbside and install a camper awning on the back.

Awesome build !!! Proud of you for making it come to life!

Nice job! Whatever keeps you from being cold and miserable in a tent is a win in my book.

U did a great job I'm impressed

Good job , heavy duty and would never find a r.v. type as nice as this , besides a perfect two person bug out rig . Love it ...

A suggestion for your concideration, make a fold down table/cat walk that is level with the bottom of your door. As a table it could be used outside for whatever you wish. As a cat walk you could go from inside to the bed of your trailer without having to step down to the ground. My thoughts on the fold down is to make it like the seats from an old military duece and a half, with several hinged legs to match up with pockets on the FRAME of your trailer.(At an angle)

Would love to see the build. Maybe when we get back up to Douglas to visit our kids. I'm sure our boy would love this for his Jeeps.

If you can't find it, design and build it yourself. This is how business start-ups happen... out of necessity. Thanks for sharing your journey!

Awesome build. I would recommend using some pvc sheets, you can cut them on a table saw and bend them with a heat gun to match the curvature of your windows to hide the insulation. After that you can install your windows, trim, and caulk.

you can add a bat wing awning over the deck and a stand up outdoor shower that mounts the water up top to heat from sun/solar.

Nice build, but lot of work and certainly quite some money. I live in Germany, here the car's registration tells you the weight you need for the hitch - usually it ranges from some 100-200 lbs. Never heard of a car with 800 lbs on the hitch. You are absolutely right about a trailer beeing a death trap if not properly balanced, so please check again. Healthy and successful new year 2021 for you, your family and all your friends!!

My only suggestion bud, is to put some sheet aluminum on the face of your sleeping cab to reduce wind drag of that bed-liner coating. It won't hurt you in short runs, but could add up in lost mileage and fuel costs for longer hauls. Otherwise, as a journeyman carpenter and fabricator it looks like a winner to me! Enjoy the benefits of your hard work!

Slick! Maybe have a way to have a canopy over the Jeep part in case it's raining so you can sit around.

Hell of a job so far. I’d rethink the black color. It does look cool but I bet that’ll get really hot in warm weather.

Really like this. I am surprised more commercial companies don't make things similar to this. Looking forward to the final iteration!

Nice nice nice, what a good idea to make a little camper on your trailer nice job, good for long drives, or even camping

Awesome set up! Maybe weld up a light frame around rest of deck weld some eyelets on the legs and you can throw a store bought tarp over it and bungee it down-great protection from sun and wont fly away in wind-keep up the great work!

That’s pretty awesome. There’s a ton of space above the hood of your jeep when it’s on there, you could have even put a bed that extended from the camper out and sat right above the hood of the jeep and giving yourself a bunch more room. You could even punch a piece of PVC through there, 3 or 4 inch and fabricate a little tiny 12 V fan that could run off of your batteries and have a screw on cap that would weather seal it. I would do a couple of outside lights and maybe even some kind of rear hatch so you can go straight out the back to get to your trailer deck, that way if you were parked in the snow or mud you wouldn’t have to walk in it to get up on the deck. Then I might do some kind of awning over the deck you could even have something that attached to the ramps when they are up that would hold the other end of the awning and cover pretty much the whole deck. Also maybe a little barbecue or something on there that could hang off the side and be out of the way. You could also put some kind of removable bench seat over one of the wheel wells in case you had people hanging out with you. And I would try and do some kind of solid anchor mount behind your toolbox to connect a winch to in case you break something and have to winch the jeep up on the trailer. A couple lights outside would be cool and an electric pass through in case you need to plug something in when you’re on the back deck. I would consider making your generator mount removable, something you can quickly pop off so you can put it on the ground. The vibration isolators will help but if you’re trying to sleep in there it might still be a pain. If you just had something with a lock on it that you could quickly pop off and just set it on the ground leaving it connected that might be something you’ll really appreciate later. Lol. There are a ton of possibilities. I would also consider an outside shower on the side, you can get little propane water heaters that work really well, maybe some steel plates on the deck in case you break something on the jeep I need to work on it you could get a couple jackstands on there and be able to get under the jeep and be on the trailer to swap out a you joint or something instead of having to lay in the mud to wrench on it. I’m sure you’ll just keep adding on to it over the years as you use it. For your water if you could just do a portable tank system and put it in the back of your truck when you’re using the trailer, you could do an electrical connector to run a little pump or whatever but just keep a water tank in your bed. You could just have a second module that you can store the rest of the time but when you take the truck in the trailer out it could just pop in the back of the truck.

I'd leave.....to never return...if I had that.. so awesome... this is a must have! Great,great job brother!

Wow you have excellent building skills

May I recommend a Diesel Air Heater which you can get on Amazon for less than $150 and only needs 12v to run the blower and glow plug. It is made for campers and big rigs for comfort heat. I use mine to run a 10x12 greenhouse.

If you haven't already, I would invest in an Equal-i-zer anti sway hitch. It will add to your safety and comfort. I would also see if there is a retractable awning that would fit your rig. Maybe have one on the door side and one in the rear. Also look into either shocks or Sumo springs for both your trailer and tow vehicle.

Super cool, for the plumbing, I would get a rain gutter for the back and build a rain barrel catch with a pump sink leading to it so you can have a sink inside

The beauty of the set up you have is it so easy to adapt, so well done, and thank you for sharing. from Scotland.

Really cool build and it looks like your attention to detail is very high. One thing I would suggest is changing your position on regulated vs non on running the propane in. I understand the desire to have each accessory run on it's own regulator. But in reality, they probably all operate at close to the same pressure anyway. Most propane accessories have an operating pressure of only about 1/3 PSI. While the tank itself, on a warm day, could exceed 150PSI of head pressure. As you set it up, it will work but if you put the regulator outside and run the accessories with their regulators removed, it will also work, as long as they have the right operating pressure given to them. But if you have a leak on a hose inside the cabin, at tank head pressure it will leak propane almost 500 times faster than at operating pressure.

Looks good dude! Theres a company up here in the attic (Canada), that builds these. Right around 20k to buy... Thats about 15 bucks American

Hey, thats cool. Stop downing urself. I think its great. Batterys can go in the toolbox, lowes has diamond plate u can cover the generator. U could do a french bed that folds down from the wall. U can get a 500 gal plastic tote with the metal shell for 50.00 used. Fill it right before u get where ur going. Lowes has aluminum block battery accessory things with a flat head screw to add wires easily. Diesel heater for 110.00. love your ideas!! Im a 30yr otr trucker/ham operator/inventor lol

Perfect job! I personally would build a cage around the propane tanks that can quick realease with clips. Again great job!

Get some aluminum trim coil in black, cut a strip, 2-3” wide, whatever you need, it will bend around your window interior and finish that edge off..

I’d like to see a cover or shield for the tanks, so that there is n risk of anything kicking up from the road and damaging the tanks and out of the direct sun/heat. You could also mount a fold down table/work bench off the side which can fold down when you are parked.

Sweet you could heat that ol boy with a candle looks nice and cozy.

Don't listen if there is negative comments , you've done a great job better than most people could do and it's what suits you not anyone else. . Also if something isn't right you can change it as you see fit.

Definitely need to install amber clearance lights on all 4 roof corners, the DOT will ticket you for not having them

Looks great, my only suggestion is try to find things used. I’ve been traveling and full time rving for 4 years and RVs are like boats, parts cost twice as much. If you are lucky, you might find an rv salvage place that sells used items. For bug out situations, I highly recommend a composting toilet. For can build them for $15

Pretty cool build. Thanks for saying no one asked for the video. Every video on RU-vid starts with people have been asking .

Great build so far, can't wait to see how it all comes together. Safe travels.

The algorithm Gods have blessed you sir...

Do a fold down table so when not in use just fold hit up out of the way. Nice build

This is so cool man. This type of build would be great a great idea for guys that hotshot on the highways. Great video man

I love it! I wish I could build something like that! You have thought of so many things to use in the future. I especially love the insulation used and the metal band all around your little cabin!

Should have done a fold up bed that folds into the back wall so you can put in a booth type dining table

Maybe you could make a step that hangs off the stake pockets of the trailer, looks good though!!!

Honestly you ( 99%) cant cheaply build something as small as practical as these camper companies. I think itd be better to buy a cheap pop up camper to throw on the front. Everything is ready to go, and you can utualize the full trailer if need be. I'm still going to sub and follow the build. Keep it going my dude

Like the modular idea.. be really slick to add tanks onto cube and just lift on and off w forks when wanting cube.. great setup

Build a hinged step like ladder that folds up to just under the window of your door that would also act as a lock to keep people out when parked and not in use or if you leave your camp.

Cool build! Two recommendations for you after watching: Since you have carte blanche to put an A/C wherever you want, I'd go with a "window" mount A/C unit in the rear of the camper, as they are roughly $500 cheaper than the traditional RV roof mount A/C's. As for entry steps into the camper- look into brophy or torklift "scissor" steps that are big in the truck camper world. G/L with the build!!

Cool build, thx for posting it. The reason you normally have a regulator at the tank in an RV or a boat is because the tank pressure is around 125psi. Downstream of the regulator is only a few psi. If you have a failure in a high pressure line, you'll hit the Lower Explosive Limit long before the ethyl mercaptan in the propane tells you there's a problem.

Very nice; to trim inside windows, get pool noodles and cut in quarters or thirds cutting the diameter then stuff in the gap, glue in, paint to match.

I want to see some recycled slide outs....keep that pro file while trailering but more comfort when at rest.

Love the build! You asked for recommendations and I have 2. You told you use a buddy-heater and that's fine, but I'm not a big fan of it. Better look into a diesel, or even better a propane heater. They don't poisen you with carbon monoxide and they don't create moisture inside. If you choose to use the buddyheater PLEASE buy a carbon monoxide and smoke detector. Just to be safe.

Definitely unique build. Looks good

this just now popped up in my recommended and i just noticed its 2 years old..im sure by now you have completed it and have had many wonderful journeys it it..great job.

I think I would add a cover for your propane that all four seasons, Put a window on the back of your cabin so you can still look out the back, and probably made the cabin into a faraday cage just for giggles so you can still put you electronics and not have to worry about them. put some solar power on your roof, probably put some 5gl cans for water with a foot pump and a little sink and counter top for cooking inside too during the cold months. But over all pretty darn cool.lol just saw the wife in a pic cute, lol that's funny! :)

Use glue on veneer that matches your inside siding, you could also buy wood grain tape from trailer manufacturers

Hm if you scrap the bed as it is and scrap the upper cabinets you could do a pull down bed or the electric lowering euro bed. That way you could have a lounge area with a coach or even a diner arrangement so you can chill inside in bad weather, eat dinner at the table, play a game of cards or edit your videos. I think you even got space for a workbench/cooktop/countertop opposite where your bed is now. When evening comes drop down the bed via pulleys and go to sleep. Next morning, heist the bed up and you got an entire living room. Don't clutter the camper with cabinets. Bring only what you need in plastic containers rather then cabinets that eats a lot of real estate.

Lol... The pic of your missus flipping the bird 👌😂😂

Good Look.... Watching from the Caribbean 🇻🇨