Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I reworked my design a bit and this is what I've come up with. Any critiques are welcome. I've moved away from my original design that had stud walls, and I've adopted the plywood sandwich wall technique. The studs will still be used for the roof, hatch and front. The upper cabinets are about 12" deep at the widest parts. The headboard is 6" deep. The galley's main counter is about 21" deep. The door moved back a bit to accommodate the upper cabinets but the continuous window design remains.

I like how the window and wheel spats complement an otherwise simple shape. Needs a tongue box!

Looks like the C3PO family is right at home. I really like the last design, but this one is probably more functional and safer, not personal safety but safer build.

I'm wondering if you have worked out how your doors will be framed out and sealed with the encompassing window? Will any of that window open up and be screened? (Teardrops without a lot of ventilation aren't livable.)

How long is your bed? I would think the overhead storage in the front of the cabin would give it an encroaching feeling. I'm a big believer in a headboard to put all your night junk on––since there isn't room for night-stands in a teardrop. Phones, glasses, books... (with slider storage below).





Tony

Pmullen503 wrote:I like how the window and wheel spats complement an otherwise simple shape. Needs a tongue box!

Oops! The last design had one. Forgot to add it back in. It will not be forgotten.

jsnbergman wrote:Looks like the C3PO family is right at home. I really like the last design, but this one is probably more functional and safer, not personal safety but safer build.

Yeah, the other one was a bit funkier, but less functional. I'm big on cool designs, but at the end of the day, I guess I have to actually be able to use it! Main difference is the less aggressive slope which will give more headroom.

tony.latham wrote:I'm wondering if you have worked out how your doors will be framed out and sealed with the encompassing window? Will any of that window open up and be screened? (Teardrops without a lot of ventilation aren't livable.)

See above sketch of door framing. Let me know if this is a poor plan. The windows will definitely open, I'm just not 100% sure how that will be achieved yet. I really don't want to compromise that continuous window design but if I can't get it to work, it may need to be axed.

tony.latham wrote: How long is your bed? I would think the overhead storage in the front of the cabin would give it an encroaching feeling. I'm a big believer in a headboard to put all your night-junk on––since there isn't room for night-stands in a teardrop. Phones, glasses, books... (with slider storage below).

Currently, from the front (tongue direction) to the headboard is 7'-4". The headboard is 6" deep. Would you remove the front overhead storage and only keep the cupboards over the bed?

See above sketch of door framing. Let me know if this is a poor plan. The windows will definitely open,

You're figuring it out. I use the commercial doors, so I'm not the one to ask on the door seal. Make sure those open windows are screened too...





Tony

My only concern has to do with putting on pants. In my TD, that means sitting up on the bed and sliding one leg on at a time, and kind of jumping as you scoot the wide parts in. With the cabinet over the head of the bed I would probably bang my head repeatedly on the cabinet.
I do have a couple of suggestions
1) What I've found is having some sort of basket to slide into the cabinet so you can pull them out like drawers works best. That way you can pull stuff out without having to climb back in the trailer just to grab a jacket or a toothbrush. So I would suggest finding the baskets etc you want to use and then build the cabinets to fit them. ( at least for the cabinets at the foot of the bed.
2) For the cabinets at the head of the bed, consider going with a tall slim cabinet ( a place to hang jackets and maybe towels that need to dry. If you slim them to be about the size of the headboard area, you won't bang your head, and you won't have to cram a jacket in a place it doesn't want to fit.
Tom

Might I suggest you look at commercial vinyl awning windows. You'll probably have to modify it to get that flush look but that will have the opening mechanism and screens you need. Once you've found one that will work, design everything else around that. That might mean moving the door or changing the size to fit.

Socal Tom wrote: 1) What I've found is having some sort of basket to slide into the cabinet so you can pull them out like drawers works best. That way you can pull stuff out without having to climb back in the trailer just to grab a

I like this idea!

Pmullen503 wrote:Might I suggest you look at commercial vinyl awning windows.

ahh I'm stubborn. I feel like I won't get the look I want from commercial windows, but i'll explore the options and costs.

Tongue weight might be pretty high with the axle that far back. Just a thought. I moved mine back 12 inches and putting it back where it was. When/if you add a tongue box or other items in front, the tongue weight will go up.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

kramergwt wrote:Tongue weight might be pretty high with the axle that far back. Just a thought. I moved mine back 12 inches and putting it back where it was. When/if you add a tongue box or other items in front, the tongue weight will go up.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

I used the 60/40 rule... Unless I have it backwards. 60% to the tongue 40% to the tail

Two suggestions:

1. Regarding the door, the cross-section will work for the latch side and top and bottom. On the hinge side, it can work but you'll need to use exterior hinges with the hinge centerline "aft" of the outer edge of the hinge side door lip. Otherwise, the lip will keep the door from opening. I used t-molding all around my doors and similarly had to offset my hinge centerline from the door edge. Below is a sketch of what I did. (My door sits "proud" of the sidewall by 1/8" to allow room for the weatherstripping. I did this by using a 1/8" spacer on the sidewall side of the hinge.)



2. I would reconsider using upper cabinets in the front. They will be "head-knockers" for sure. If you need the storage, you may want to use lower cabinets instead. I did this and angled back the front of the cabinets 5-10 degrees to have a comfortable backrest (with pillows).

Thanks for the input Tom. Are those cabinets on the head side or the foot side? I'm not super concerned about "headbanging" because I'm hoping to be 5' high so there should be a good 3' of clearance below them. I'm going to do a full size cardboard mockup of this thing sooner or later to feel it out.

Prior to my first post, I wanted to say that I love the clean lines of your design!

KendaldaCosta wrote:Thanks for the input Tom. Are those cabinets on the head side or the foot side?

The lower cabinets are on the head side at the front of the trailer.

KendaldaCosta wrote:I'm not super concerned about "headbanging" because I'm hoping to be 5' high so there should be a good 3' of clearance below them. I'm going to do a full size cardboard mockup of this thing sooner or later to feel it out.

A mock-up is the way to go. Sounds like you have pretty good clearance and the height should work for the upper cabinets. In your mock-up you may want to add in the height of the mattress to account for its thickness.