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| Detail showing the new T-nuts attaching bunk |
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I was all about ready to rent a U-Haul cargo trailer to transport some commissions from Tucson to Flagstaff when I thought, "just a second, I already have one." In addition to its primary virtue as an ultra-light tent trailer the Viking Express Camper can also be converted to a cargo trailer. In about two hours I had drilled out all the rivets that attach the two bunks themselves to long piano hinges, leaving the hinges still attached to the chassis, and substituted them with T-nuts (no teeth, but use a little glue) and 1/4-20x3/4" Phillips pan machine screws. I removed the two longitudinal bars that support the cargo cover from the bunk surface and mounted them as shown above to the sides of the chassis. The only added component for the conversion was a 1x2 piece of pine to raise the bar, so to speak, on the lower side. The cargo bed cover thus becomes a cover for the entire trailer, and I would recommend that loads be kept low anyway and not weigh more than the combined bunks and fabric. For another small retrofit to make your bed larger in the Viking Express Camper see:
Viking Express Bed Extension
Singular wooden ware + hand carved teaspoons at: FlyingCircusStudios.Etsy.com
