A folding travel trailer on top of a 28' pontoon boat.

[curtiscapk]

Ron,

freaking awesome one question though
are you putting rails all the way around?

[RonKMiller]

You betcha - the fun thing is you won't be able to see the tires or the hitch from the sides at all. Nothing like stealth mode!

[WaltF]

Wow, that video REALLY makes me want to get up to Lake Powell this summer. I MUST get my boat up there in 2011. It'll be a great break from the heat in the summer.

Lake Powell is fricken Awesome!!
250 miles long...
More shore line the all of Calif...
Most of the water is 200+ foot deep...
110 degrees...
No Alligators...

Hung out on a house boat for a week a couple years ago.


...just Awesome!

[badmoonrising]

^ I want one o' those. Told Cheryl I wanted to sell the house and liveaboard...she said no...

[margaritaman]

^ I want one o' those. Told Cheryl I wanted to sell the house and liveaboard...she said no...

Because you will have those naked chicks partying day and night and she won't get any sleep. Can't blame her!

[greezzmunkei]

This is a phenomenal project. I'm following your post pretty closely and contemplating puting something like this together myself. Keep the updates coming.

[Dan L]

Ron,

This is a great project and good read, I just found it and had to read it start to here, (and hopefully to launch).

I have no dought that it will be very nice when you get her finished.

Though I gotta admit, to my way of thinking, the basic premise is wrong.
To me, there's nothing wrong with having more then 1 toy.
I'd of kept the camper for land and built the toon/camper specific for water, but that's me.

I like how you've identified each issue and worked out a solution that solves the issue.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Dan

[RonKMiller]

Now we can actually get into the trailer on the starboard side - a rather important thang...

The port side is the same, except there is no walkway (and none needed). If necessary you can "tip toe" along the port side when it is opened.

Also visible in the album are the grab rails I added to the trailer. Note that there has been no cosmetic work done at this point, lots of detailing to follow.

Besides mounting the front roof all of the major projects have been completed. The boat has a valid Arizona registration and has been Coast Guard inspected and approved. It will insure with my carrier as a "houseboat".

More pictures here: https://picasaweb.google.com/MillerRonK ... to3MgZT3OA#

[RonKMiller]

Ron,

This is a great project and good read, I just found it and had to read it start to here, (and hopefully to launch).

I have no dought that it will be very nice when you get her finished.

Though I gotta admit, to my way of thinking, the basic premise is wrong.
To me, there's nothing wrong with having more then 1 toy.
I'd of kept the camper for land and built the toon/camper specific for water, but that's me.

I like how you've identified each issue and worked out a solution that solves the issue.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Dan

You missed the whole point of the project: The 16 foot Chalet travel trailer loads and unloads on land at will from the front by rails and 16 foot ramps. There a 4, 1 ton stabilizer jacks at the corners of the pontoon trailer. A winch/pulley system does all the work by pushing 1 button. I've not shown details of that design since I consider it proprietary if and when I go into business with my concept.

So, I get a three toys in one: camper, toon and houseboat. I doubt if I'll use the toon as a day cruiser like 99% of members here do since my good water is an 8 hour drive (and worth every mile). One things for sure if I do use it that way - it will fly minus 2,000 lbs.

[Dan L]

Hey Ron,

No, I didn't miss it. I understand very well what you're doing. And I do think it's a great project.
I just would rather have 2 or 3 specific purpose toys rather than 1 toy that did 3 things.
But again, that's me.

But, more pics please.
As an engineer, I really enjoy seeing how you identify issues and come up with solutions to solve them.

Dan

You missed the whole point of the project:

[RonKMiller]

A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts, "Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?"
The man below says, "Yes, you're in a hot air balloon, hovering 30 feet above this field. "

"You must be an engineer", says the balloonist.

"I am", replies the man. "How did you know?"

"Well", says the balloonist, "everything you have told me is technically correct, but it's of no use to anyone."

The man below says, "You must be in management."

"I am", replies the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well", says the man, "you don't know where you are, or where you're going, but you expect me to be able to help. You're in the same position you were before we met, but now it's my fault. "

(hey, it's the only "engineer/pilot" joke I know....) Cheers.

[Dan L]

[RonKMiller]

It's hard to believe how cool it is under this polycarbonate.

It feels like full shade, but without the infrared heat bearing down on your head like typical full shade covers. AMAZING. According to their literature it rejects 99.9% of UV radiation. Transmits 35% of visible light. You don't feel like you are in a cave. These pictures were taken at noon in the May Arizona sun - extremely intense.

I came so close to using a sunbrella type fabric instead - even though it can handle intense sunlight Sunbrella is insanely expensive, not to mention the amount of sewing labor involved. It took me about 2 hours to install this SunTuf with a torque sensing drill and neoprene/self drilling sheet metal screws start to finish, and that included trimming it!

I would never even consider a "traditional" bimini or shade roof ever again after using this.

I'm probably going to "curve" the sides down a bit farther in the future (kinda like the rear) since it softens the look and provides even more shade. Oh yeah - it bends.

IMG_20110509_121442.jpg (81.41 KiB) Viewed 3443 times

ENJOY THE FINAL VERSION, STILL NEED TO DO LOTS OF POLISHING AND PAINTING...

https://picasaweb.google.com/MillerRonK ... 57Xn3feMKw#

[rrhodes]

SO how do you get it off of the Toon?

[RonKMiller]

Off the front.

4, 1 ton jacks installed on each corner of the toon trailer for stability on land.

wheel guides.

16 foot ramps off the front.

1 ton electric winch and pulley system which I am not willing to disclose at this point.

Piece o' cake. One button on OR off.