Posted: 8/2/2026 9:44:07 AM EDT
 Hunting season is approaching and I am burnt out on being hot and miserable. Rarely does the weather cooperate and give us a proper cold front during our hunting season. Midday is the worst, back at the campground after the morning hunt, trying to stay cool in the heat and the bugs. I finally decided I had enough. PIcked this up yesterday for 4k. Think it is a rugged rhino 5x8 I believe, 2019. That was not just for the trailer, also covered a cassette toilet, the anemic 2500 BTU AC in the pic plus a window unit. Awning. Two burner stove. Propane water heater. Sink/kitchen set-up in the rear. Got to address a few things. The solar lights are shot I believe. Probably pull one of the windows out to mount the window shaker to ditch the other AC. Guy could not find the keys when I picked it up so I will probably have to replace the door latches. |
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Originally Posted By Deny_Everything: It looks like you paid under 50% of new. As long as it's water tight and doesn't need major structural repair, looks like a great starting point to get it where you want it. Solid deal. Website says no plywood in construction so maybe hardy board. Not sure. There was sign of a previous leak around front window but the owner had resealed it. Picked it up after some heavy rain and all was dry. |
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Looks like a decent deal to me. Hopefully no hardiboard, I can't see that holding up well over the road I haven't built a small trailer like that, but I've sketched a few out and done some material and component budget spreadsheets. Scrounging enough for deals you could maybe have saved money building it yourself, but only if you place absolutely no value on your time and didn't need it till next year. A pet peeve of mine is that all of these adventure trailers are painted black; repaint with a light color and you'll have less heat to deal with. I want to try this radiative cooling paint that supposedly drops the opposite surface temperature of any surface facing the sky below ambient; Cryo Paint But anything at all will be better than black |
Lit Low Ready, LLC
litlowready.com
litlowready.com
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Instead of the window unit, I’d strongly consider using a stand alone AC unit. Guessing that’s what it has now but just upsize it one or two sizes. The camper doesn’t have a lot of cuft so maybe a 7-8k unit. Will you be on a generator or plug in power? If you ever need to use it in a cold area, you could use a small diesel heater to keep it warm. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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https://www.tinycampercompany.com/shop-tiny-camper/p/rhino-or-kong-tiny-camper Link to the model. Maybe not hardiboard but think I saw in the specs that there was no plywood used in constructions so don't know what the material is. Not sure what to do about the AC at this point. It is very anemic. I don't think the fan is changing speeds between high low and medium so it is barely putting out. Also took it off the cargo rack so I could clean up the rust on the rack. The bottom of the AC is rusted pretty back to the point that all the small legs have rusted off the bottom. I do not see another another similar ac system with ducting that I can replace it with. I'll add a another picture of the AC hooked up and running in a few minutes.  Does anyone make a portable ac unit like this anymore....It has two ducts...cold air out and warm air in so it is blowing cold and taking air out of the camper at the same time. |
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Looks like a window unit modified to work that way? Maybe I’m mistaken. Maybe get a unit like this. You’ll mount it inside but should be able to use the holes to run the piping. https://www.homedepot.com/p/sets/Whynter-9-500-BTU-Portable-Air-Conditioner-500-Sq-Ft-and-Storage-Bag-for-ARC-12SD-ARC-14S-Series/337358817 |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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I agree with ColtRifle... I'd ditch the A/C unit you have in favor of a standing roll around one that takes up little space and can be vented out the window. I have four of them for hurricane season and they will make that trailer of yours a walk in cooler worthy of hanging meat lol. I'd get a dedicated generator to run the A/C, as small and quiet as possible, and mount it where your current A/C sits. The portable A/C units can be had for well under $500. |
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If she doesn't leak, you got a decent deal. Loved the 5x10 teardrop I built years ago. The only reason I scrapped the compartment later on was because of leaks and the following mold. It is a trailer now. Not sure of you dimensions, but in my 5x10, the rear inside I built a raised sleeping shelf. It was lidded and served as storage and a place to tuck a small $100 5kbtu window unit. It was recessed into the front of that 30" deep box. To handle the hot exhaust on the rear of the unit, I ducted the intake to draw in from a screened side vent. Ducted the hot exhaust through a screened duct out under the floor. I'm your case, the simplest solution would be like we did to my brother's bug horse trailer. It was a fifth wheel type with a sleeping compartment up front. We cut a hole in the front (under the overhanging sleeping bench. Lined those edges with that U shaped rubber channel. Made a lidded/latched swing down cover door for transit. When he got to his destination, he opened the cover door and slid the AC out to fill the hole. The weight of it resting on a little frame shelf we made. Plug it in, turn it on. Some DIY tear builders build a permanent frame on the tongue like yours is sitting now, but rain proof it. A plywood or fiberglass cover that can be removed at camp. Looks like the one you have ducts in the cold side. Mine was opposite.. it ducted the hot side. |