Breaking Bud w/ Drop: A mobile hydroponic RV grow room trailer conversion gone mad!

The dream... started just a few years back. I was getting more into hydroponics, started designing my own homemade grow systems, and needed a safe & secure place to experiment around in. Something private, outside of the house, and a man cave like spot I could hide out in and play. Not in a greenhouse either, because I lose the sun even in the best locations here. Or a shed type structure that would be semi permanent, or tents because.. well tents are cool, but not what I was looking to put outside.

It just kinda hit me one day. There I had my older 80's 5th wheel, not really an eyesore at all, but she had a few leaks here and there that had developed since I got it. A real gem. It had been awhile since I stayed in it, due to a roof vent leak that wiped out my loft area, and it just made sense to salvage and use it for growing in. I still don't even have a hitch to pull it with.. so I moved it over next to the main power box with the bulldozer and some chains, and levelled her up on blocks.

I was only ever planning to spend a few days (lol..) and gut it all out, a few odds and ends, hookup some lights, and paint the walls. A flower room and a veg room in the front loft. The usual stuff, just neatly tucked into a travel trailer somehow, with some RDWC systems to start out with. Figured I could do it all quickly and on a tight budget. Suppose I could have.

Boy was I wrong, and little did I know what kind of project I would be getting myself into (practically rebuilding everything from the inside out, countless hours planning and hunting/salvaging for materials, piles of home depot and lowes receipts). Still, I think it's the best choice I ever made, and love the idea that I can hook up to a truck and relocate, and having a fully contained unit. I also needed something to keep me busy and get my mind off of things for awhile. The grow trailer idea fit the bill, as the more I worked on it, the more I got sucked in, and figured I might as well go all in at one point.

Till this day no one ever bats an eye either. Countless people (even sherrifs on occasion!) driving\walking by, only a few close friends or family, and maybe a few members here even know. Everyone has RV's and travel trailers parked around here in the country, and mine's just another one of many on the property anyway. You would never know whats behind the tinted looking blacked out windows. That's all I can reveal about the outside. Other than I sealed the roof with elastomeric coating and even built a 2 x 4 roof like deck with plywood and tarps over it to cover and protect my investment.

My main goal, as it has ever so evolved, is to continue to upgrade to and design an exclusively all hydro based multi-hybrid perpetual growing system, all contained within the trailer, with a easy to run schedule. Using some of the most state of the art advanced techs to date that I can muster up, and utilising every square inch as efficiently as possible. To create a turn key unit that is eventually fully automated with all the best digital and analog homebrewed environmental controls. All while collecting cheap or free materials when possible, and DIY'ing as much as I can to construct the whole system. It's turned into a never ending project though, which is fine with me. I'm hoping that by sharing this build you guys can help motivate me to continue working on it, and help me figure out some of the more complex issues I have run into. Or vice versa.

She's been sitting awhile and used as my tool storage room for the last almost 2 years now, but it's time to dust off the walls and continue implementing systems I've came up with to install. Plenty of finish work left too. It's as much of a show room as it is a grow room on wheels, and the more sophisticated it is the better to me. I've only ever started, and also harvested a few different runs in there, between different build phases as I went (which really slowed down construction at the times. Couldn't have dust in the flowers, but needed flowers).



I'm finally ready to change gears, and been clearing her out to get setup and start building/growing in there again. Trying to remember where all I left off. It's a pretty big project overall, with many complex systems I plan to make use of.

First, to start off the thread I will give a brief run down on everything that has been done so far, at least the things I can remember. Will post any pictures that I still have (lost a bunch in a hard drive crash) over the course of the build, and explain what I was doing. Then I will update as I go, starting from where I left off, and show the steps I take to getting a functional system up and running again. I'll take a bunch of new pictures too, and be sure to upload what I have real soon.





In the mean time here is a:




General overview of the trailer layout-

-7.5' x 5.5' x 6' Flower Room on the back end, added a wall to make the partition. Option to run passive, active, or sealed.

-3' x 5' x 3.5' Vegetation Chamber, framed out up in the front loft, extra work space up there too. Has lift up hinged access hatch with large viewing window. All wired and extra conduit ready for control panel box. Laminar flow style ventilation.

- Main Work area and entry way. The middle section of the trailer, the heart and epicenters of most of the systems, the main bridge of the ship (hopefully more like i'm in a submarine when it's done). Can't be complete without a rockin' stereo, and room to sit and trim. With upper/lower cabinets, and small countertops. Space for large water holding tank, places to store and hang tools and supplies. Res control tanks for both the veg/flower room's hydro systems, in their own cabinet spaces for undisturbed remote access.

-Propagation\seedling\clones\air layering station (originally the wardrobe closet).

-Multipurpose room (originally the bathroom, all gutted out and plumbing pipes sealed off) for drying&curing/quarantines/breeding/experiments/motherplants, storage/various other uses, etc. Also shared ventilation up top for the veg room on the other side of the wall, and the whole outside facing wall of the room to be dedicated for a heat recovery ventilator for veg/work areas in the wintertime).

-AC\Chiller air handling space, next to flower room, (cubby hole where the old propane/12v fridge was. Already has existing exhaust vent on the roof, and large intake vent on the side that matches up exactly to the back of a 1/2 ton window ac!)

-Also a few other 'accessible from outside' hatch areas hidden away onboard to store batteries, c02 tanks, more equipment, etc. Also possibly usable are the built in tanks strapped down below (wont use the black water one nor have I ever ,maybe swap it for another RV grey water tank, lol) that could be insulated and used for a chiller or geothermal res.. For example I could cut an access slot or hole right through the floor, and down through it into the tank, and then I can dunk an AC window unit's cold coil right down into the tank full of coolant.

-Electrical: Outside I have a 220v 50 amp breaker installed on the main distribution panel, wired to a 50 amp 4 prong plug-in adapter that is mounted on a post next to the trailer. Onboard I have a 70 amp sub panel installed in the main work room (with a dual tandem 15 and also a dual 20 amp breaker, each using one of the 120 legs coming from the 4 wire extension cord . I never use all 70 of course,or even close to 30 amps really.. let alone the 50 that I could, just wired it all that way so I have an extra circuit to use outside or whatever, and know my limits and when to flip breakers). I also used a 30ft 50 amp outdoor grade extension cord that I cut the end off, and wired right directly into the sub panel box, so I can just plug it in right outside the trailer within so many feet and be good to go. A real nice fat, and weatherproof cord, coming right out of the bottom of the trailers floor through conduit. I can wind it up and store it underneath if I ever needed to move it. Everything is meticulously wired, covered in conduit along the walls\ceilings, with multiple circuits running to boxes in all the rooms\spaces, and all is brand new. I'm not using any of the original on board electrical systems what so ever.


I'll be back
-drop

Back already, we'll see how far I can get you caught up tonight.

I had found a parking spot, washed her up, and first began by covering the roof. There was a lot of work to do but i'll cut to the chase. I starting gutting from the back end first. Removing the dining table and couch which all could transform into a bed. Also the upper cabinets. The back roof area was kind of saggy, likely some dry rot from the previous owner just sealing the leak. I would have to figure something out later, but on I went with the build anyway, hoping to get the flower room done first. I foamed in the 14 inch vent duct and sealed it up, and always was open to the idea of installing an RV rooftop unit in its place.

I removed all the appliances and many different accessory type things, plumbing, wires, etc. I took out the stove, and even that section of cabinet and countertop, leaving a nice space for a 50 gallon water tank, right over the metal trailer frame rail for stability. I took out so much crap I don't even know where to start.

I then laid down new plywood over the back floor, after tearing the old doubled up sections out. The walls were pretty decent so I left the panels alone and covered them with a few coats of kilz primer. I filled in a hatch with foam that I wouldn't use. I also added blackout material over the windows, which was eventually covered with reflectix, and at a later time I went back in and added mylar/foam in the window areas for extra insulation and light block, because the sun was heating up and rippling the reflectix.

Painting, and preparing to roll out and install vinyl sheet flooring, a remnant roll I purchased for fairly cheap, enough to do the flower room and later in the loft.

Gonna tune into the show! Carry on

this will be fun and educational im sitting

Bare with me guys, a lot of side ways pics to re-format, i'll be back with another dump soon. A lot of build info to catch up on as well. Stay tuned!

Oh, and happy 4-20 my friends!

Very interesting, nice job!
And happy 420!

HAPPY 420!
subbed!

walt and jesse are back !

With a major plot twist. They be growing that funky blue cheese strain out in the desert, where no one can smell it thru the filters. Trying to get special blue RSO to cure Walt. Oh and the latest El Camino movie ends up being called Fiero instead. Haha.

I do have a class A motorhome, but couldn't justify whether or not to gut it out instead. I'm cool with a tow-able RV for now.

EDIT: I also have a lower mile 1970's class C dodge 440 powered motor home, and plan to rip the entire rotted out back living quarters off down to the frame. It will be more like a 1 ton extended cab van (with onboard generator in the extension area, with a small flatbed on the back with a 5th wheel hitch, just for towing the grow trailer.

Great idea!!!

Looking like a good start, gonna be fun following this one!

Ok, where were we?

Oh ya, I continued tearing out a bunch of un-needed stuff from the trailer (always happening throughout the build), bits of framing and some panels. Kitchen Sink and plumbing, bathroom sink and cabinet, fresh water tank, pumps, thermostats, water heater, etc. I left the propane furnace even though the fan squeals like crazy, someday I might need it and to oil it up.

I laid the flooring outside in the sun on a couple sheets of OSB plywood to help flatten it out, and have a place to cut it on.

Took the fitted floor panels, and first laid them across the rolled out vinyl sheet outside for the template to cut with, before I glued and screwed them down in the flower room area.

Then I brought the perfectly cut flooring in and glued it down with adhesive and a trowel. Rolled it out nice with no bubbles. I later covered the wheel wells with new wood skins and flooring too, and sealed everything up with caulk. It would work for the time being!.

I seem to have lost a bunch of photos of how I fixed the back roof section, and framed the wall to partition the room off, other than a small video walkthrough I just took snapshots from.

Now I remember.. the previous owner had stored heavy items on the back of the trailer roof, kinda warped it down a bit. I'm sure the roof vent leaked at some point too but mostly dry and intact. I needed a way to prop it back up, so I stuck a 4x4 post right in the back middle of the room (over a metal frame section under the floor) and ran a beam all the way along the ceiling. I also used sideways 2x3's like rafters running the opposite way from side to side, tied into the center beam and also the top plates already in the wall and ceiling corner.

The main wall itself I just used osb, and adding framing where needed. It already matched right up to the end of the cabinets on both sides, so it was easy to do. Also the wall pretty much is centered right over the axle and wheel wells, the highest peak of the whole trailer. Really added strength with that wall
alone, let alone the beam coming off of it ,and to the back, propped up by a 4x4 post that isn't to bothersome..

It really beefed up the whole roof and entire structure, and now I could safely walk up there and work on scraping and resealing all the roof top vents when the time came, and had plenty of places to hang lights/gear off of for the new flower room.

At that point, I was starting to feel like I had a nice place to work with. I must have lost or didn't take many pictures, because there was a lot of work going on.

I definitely lost track of time figuring out all the electrical, installing the sub panel, and wiring it up to the main box with an extension cord. I know it took me awhile. Right away I ran two separate 20 amp circuits into the flower room, just on the other side of the new wall, up high toward the ceiling. One 20 amp circuit and receptical for each side of the room. Also starting branching out to other parts of the trailer. The day you get your electrical done, and done right, is always a good day!

In the new flower room, I added many rolls of reflectix insulation with mylar tape on the seams, as a way to mostly just cover up everything I had done, which was already sealed up underneath it. It has a pretty good reflective value. Spendy though, and easy to rip holes in. And curves around contours easily.

Also, there is a 1-1/2 air gap from the reflectix on the ceiling with the rafters furring it out, so its actually doing its job and has R value up there. No air gap, no R-value with reflectix wrap. Hey it looks nice and clean though!

At some point I had removed all the doors & drawers in the main room, sanded the face frames, and masked off the entire area and its rooms. I primered it all with Kilz, and applied 2 coats of some slightly off white paint I had laying around.

My main concern was to get a place to situate some huge over vegged DWC plants. And soon as possible.

I cut a hole in the wall near the old fridge space's exhaust vent, and used it as the exhaust port for the time being. I mounted a 6 inch inline fan in the flower room and ducted it up through the old roof vent.

I made a rigid dual exhaust manifold for the lights, with a section to increase headroom, and 2 intake ports on each side of the room to bring in fresh filtered air.

Last but not least, I installed a 1-1/2" ABS drain plug with cap in the floor next to the beam. Runs out the back of the trailer like a little black exhaust pipe, usually into a bucket if I use it.

I was basically set to start bringing in some plants

A few more shots of setting up the temporary flowering room. Flexible intake ducts to position the flow.

I needed a door so I re-used the old bathroom door, and framed the wall with that in mind. I added latches, and light proof foam weather seal to the door frame.

You can basically see how I framed it all out under the reflectix. On the ceiling there is a rafter where every seam with tape is. The main beam running front to back is actually a pair of 2x6 studs, so there is a channel running through if I ever want to run pipe or wires. The 4x4 post and both the wall are holding them up. Then the rafters going to the side walls. Really stout.

Great idea Drop That Sound hope it all goes the way you want it too I will take a seat here .

Right on, thank you. Welcome aboard, glad to have you guys here. Hope everyone is having a most happy 420!

Keep in mind, this is from 3-4 years ago. I'm working my way to the present state, so hold on to your seats! Might have to upload the rest of Breaking Bud season 1 tonight, we'll see. 8)

I was so stoned when I first read the thread, I completely overlooked the breaking bad reference

Nice update looks like this will get interesting