living in 9'6" x 6'3" : the evolution of a mini-micro

[jleslie48]

So I've owned a 1976 13' mini-micro sunline for 10 years now. For those unfamiliar with its it is one of the smallest travel trailer's you can buy that you can stand in, and comes with a bath, kitchen, and shower all inside. Weighing in at 1250 lbs, it boasts a whopping internal dimensions of less than 10' by 6' 3". We have traveled some 20,000 miles in it and have lived in it for as long as 4 weeks continuous.

With that said after 10 years, our RV has morphed over the years as we removed what we don't use and put in things we wanted. It is surprising how much you can do with this little box to make it livable to your needs. Here is how our mini micro as evolved:

1) When we first got the TT, the carpenter who redid it had put in overhead cabinets all along the ceiling perimeter. they are great and we still have them
2) the only creature comfort we care about: a regular home window 5000 btu air conditioner is right above our heads and can cool our 72 sq feet of living space to about 60 degrees in 5 minutes. This is the only CC we want or care about

So now we take over, and the mods begin:

3) throw out the car battery setup (its always dead and very expensive) all I run new 12v and 5v lights in the cabin and they are all powered by a dewalt batteries that work great and the batteries store in one of the above head cabinets. They also have 5v drops to charge your phone. This system is only used when we are not plugged into 110v. Alas it can't run the AC unit, but most camping we do has 110v anyway or our neighbors don't mind letting us tap in.

4) bathroom and shower are thrown out too. This thing is too small to have water in it. just getting it home and leaks were springing out all over the place, the black water tank holds nothing, and I decided its not worth it. we use the camp facilities, and a 2 gallon hand carry water tank. The bathroom is now a great closet to throw the junk.

5) built-in 25lb propane tanks are always leaking. Throw them out. just not worth it and the burners take up 1/2 the counter space. We right away covered the burners with a wood top, and we cook on our portable coleman 2-burner stove that uses the 1 pint canisters for $5. We get 4 meals and 4 pots of boiling water for coffee out of a single canister.

6) after 6 years of camping like this we realized 2 things: If its raining we don't have a place to just sit with a table unless we break down the bed, which we don't like to do. Secondly, we never cook inside the TT, we always set up a table outside and that is our cooking area and cleanup station. This lead us to do what many think is the unthinkable: we tore out the entire kitchen area, cabinets, sink, hot water heater, the works. This gave a big empty spot to put in a fold-up table and room for two folding chairs. We are so glad we did this. It really opened up our tiny space.

7) this brings to today, when at 60 years old, we realized that our sleeping area of 4'x 6' 3" is just a little to cramp and we would like to spread out a bit more. How to do it? it was a mystery. After much thought, and design. we came up with a plan, so I just cut up the first bit of wood today to make this happen. I submit to all the plan to be able to expand our bed to 6'x6'3", albiet with one corner cut out. Now our head arms and shoulders can enjoy the comfort of a California King bed although our feet will not quite have that much room. The length of the sleeping are now allows to sleep diagonally so taller me will be able to utilize the mattress to a full 6'8" Here shown in the pictures is the plan. Before and after photos to be coming soon.
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