Towjave putting in work

[Zachanadandy]

Needed to get my cabin building materials from home in CA to our desert property so the mojave had to play work truck. 12'x16' cabin hauled 600 miles with a JT? Send it. Ended up a little north of the tow rating at 8140lbs in the trailer but she handled it just fine. The little V6 would even maintain 65mph up tehachapi grade, ~4k' of elevation gain in 20 miles. Aside from the 8 mpg it was flawless. Even the 20 miles of washboard desert road wasn't bad. And the wife and I got the cabin framed and weather tight in 5 days. Not bad for a 2 person crew with no framing experience. And the wife doesn't do heights so everything from the loft up was solo. Shoutout to @Metalcloak, your 3.5" springs handled an overloaded trailer like a champion.

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[PuddleJumper]

hell yeah dude! btw don't let shadowpapa see this or he'll chew you out for towing over stick like he did me when i posted towing 8500 lbs of toyota behind me.

 

[Zachanadandy]

hell yeah dude! btw don't let shadowpapa see this or he'll chew you out for towing over stick like he did me when i posted towing 8500 lbs of toyota behind me.

Ratings are suggestions not mandates. Guess what happens when I carry a 70lb window, tools to install it, and my 260lb ass 12' up a 300lb rated ladder? Nothing.

 

[PuddleJumper]

Ratings are suggestions not mandates. Guess what happens when I carry a 70lb window, tools to install it, and my 260lb ass 12' up a 300lb rated ladder? Nothing.

Shit got done. Thats what happens. Chrysler building didn't go up in under a year cus of OHSA lol.

 

[KevinC]

I always said the Gladiator will do 1/2 ton truck stuff if asked; just doesn't do it as well. Good job getting it up there.

Curious what you are building on that nice piece of property? I see no rough in plumbing or electrical, so wondering what the finished product will be. Thanks

 

[Zachanadandy]

I always said the Gladiator will do 1/2 ton truck stuff if asked; just doesn't do it as well. Good job getting it up there.

Curious what you are building on that nice piece of property? I see no rough in plumbing or electrical, so wondering what the finished product will be. Thanks

No plumbing, this will be more of a hunting cabin. We have a 550 gallon water tank I set up in May with our outdoor shower enclosure. Camp toilet gets the job done on that side. I will wire some lights and a couple outlets to an exterior generator plug but won't have food in the cabin or need for a fridge. Only get out there about every other month for 5 days at a time. Eventually we will build our retirement home, solar, septic, well, etc on the property but don't want to finance anything so right now it's just camping/vacation property. 40.5 acres and no mortgage.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Nice pics. Your property looks amazing.

 

[Zachanadandy]

Nice pics. Your property looks amazing.

Thanks, it's been a lifetime goal. Closed on the property last year in January.

 

[MudderNuker]

Nice little setup. Our house started as our vacation home/cabin in NM at 7,300ft and it became our home after I retired in 2023. Since then we added on to it and now it sits at around 1,100 sq ft., up from 532 without the loft. Our contractor is currently working on the interiors of our 400 sq ft guest cabin. I will recommend you do a 200amp main panel regardless of the service capacity. If you plan on doing solar you'll thank me later. I wish I had known that. I am in the process of adding solar and our service is 100amp. Going by NEC rules, I can only use a 20 amp inverter unless I derate the panel and install a smaller main breaker. I will remove the electric tankless water heater for tankless gas heater we already bought in order to be able to use an 80amp breaker since the heater alone sucks everything from the main panel. My plan is to add approx. 5,000w PV on the roof and a 6KW Split phase Inverter and at least 20KW battery bank. The rule allows you to go 20 amps over a 100amp panel (panel amps x 1.20), 40 amps if 200 amp service panel. If I install a 80 amp breaker I can add a 40 amp inverter max at surge (40 amps including the 1.25 factor). Essentially an inverter that feeds around 32 continuous x 1.25 = 40amps. The system will be 48V. For cooling/heating for a small place, I would go with an ultra efficient mini split in the high 20s seer2 rating. A wood stove will provide a lot of heat and great appeal to the interior and adds to the coziness factor. Don't skimp on insulation. Enjoy the build journey!

Pending front deck roof finishing.

Little cabin with a bump out for bunks.

 

[Zachanadandy]

Nice little setup. Our house started as our vacation home/cabin in NM at 7,300ft and it became our home after I retired in 2023. Since then we added on to it and now it sits at around 1,100 sq ft., up from 532 without the loft. Our contractor is currently working of the interiors of our 400 sq ft guest cabin. I will recommend you do a 200amp main panel regardless of the service capacity. If you plan on doing solar you'll thank me later. I wish I had known that. I am in the process of adding solar and our service is 100amp. Going by NEC rules, I can only use a 20 amp inverter unless I derate the panel and install a smaller main breaker. I will remove the electric tankless water heater for tankless gas heater we already bought in order to be able to use an 80amp breaker since the heater alone sucks everything from the main panel. My plan is to add approx. 5,000w PV on the roof and a 6KW Split phase Inverter and at least 20KW battery bank. The rule allows you to go 20 amps over a 100amp panel (panel amps x 1.20), 40 amps if 200 amp service panel. If I install a 80 amp breaker I can add a 40 amp inverter max at surge (40 amps including the 1.25 factor). Essentially an inverter that feeds around 32 continuous x 1.25 = 40amps. The system will be 48V. For cooling/heating for a small place, I would go with an ultra efficient mini split in the high 20s seer2 rating. A wood stove will provide a lot of heat and great appeal to the interior and adds to the coziness factor. Don't skimp on insulation. Enjoy the build journey!

I appreciate the input. This will never be more than our hunting/vacation/ guest cabin. It's 192 sqft to stay under the permit requirements. No plumbing. The only electrical will be a couple lights and outlets tied to a generator plug. The actual home build is at least 10 years out and will end up much like what you have planned.

 

[MudderNuker]

I appreciate the input. This will never be more than our hunting/vacation/ guest cabin. It's 192 sqft to stay under the permit requirements. No plumbing. The only electrical will be a couple lights and outlets tied to a generator plug. The actual home build is at least 10 years out and will end up much like what you have planned.

I see. A couple of solar panels and a portable battery bank/inverter should be enough to power the cabin and take with you to prevent theft. I think Ecoflow, Goal Zero and Jackery are good options. A composting toilet would probably work for you.

 

[Jrcurrier]

Put it up on AirBnB and make some money off of it when you’re not using it.

 

[Zachanadandy]

Put it up on AirBnB and make some money off of it when you’re not using it.

Hard pass. This is my sanctuary. There are very few close friends that are invited period. If I wanted an income property I would have bought a cheap pre-made kit or tiny house. This is ours for us and that's it.

 

[yoda13]

I’m going to be honest, I am totally jealous right now

 

[Moby]

Nice little setup. Our house started as our vacation home/cabin in NM at 7,300ft and it became our home after I retired in 2023. Since then we added on to it and now it sits at around 1,100 sq ft., up from 532 without the loft. Our contractor is currently working on the interiors of our 400 sq ft guest cabin. I will recommend you do a 200amp main panel regardless of the service capacity. If you plan on doing solar you'll thank me later. I wish I had known that. I am in the process of adding solar and our service is 100amp. Going by NEC rules, I can only use a 20 amp inverter unless I derate the panel and install a smaller main breaker. I will remove the electric tankless water heater for tankless gas heater we already bought in order to be able to use an 80amp breaker since the heater alone sucks everything from the main panel. My plan is to add approx. 5,000w PV on the roof and a 6KW Split phase Inverter and at least 20KW battery bank. The rule allows you to go 20 amps over a 100amp panel (panel amps x 1.20), 40 amps if 200 amp service panel. If I install a 80 amp breaker I can add a 40 amp inverter max at surge (40 amps including the 1.25 factor). Essentially an inverter that feeds around 32 continuous x 1.25 = 40amps. The system will be 48V. For cooling/heating for a small place, I would go with an ultra efficient mini split in the high 20s seer2 rating. A wood stove will provide a lot of heat and great appeal to the interior and adds to the coziness factor. Don't skimp on insulation. Enjoy the build journey!

Pending front deck roof finishing.

Little cabin with a bump out for bunks.

I have to ask what part of New Mexico? We retired to Western New Mexico (Catron County) also in 2023, and I’m just curious. Nice looking setup…

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