Just Dreamin'

[Guest]

Chris,
Here's what I meant about being "plump"...

Look at the rear upper ellipse... It dosen't fall as much as the standard Modernistic profile.
Yes, the body is 5'wide, 11' long and about 4'9" tall.

[Chris C]

No kiddin' Ol Timer.............and some of us sooner than others.

[An Ol Timer]

Dean,
You have something on your drawing that I haven't seen on others and it has been a question of mine for quite awhile. May I ask what the maximum width from outer fender to outer fender is on your tear?

[Chris C]

Oh, that's what you call plump?! Okay. I like it...............always have liked your tear.

[Guest]

Ol Timer,
It's going to be real close to 83" to get full coverage of the tires.
There will be an inner wheel well just in front of the deco portion.
I'm toying with the idea of doing a storage compartment or ice box for drinks on both fenders, or on just one with a lift up table on the other fender with a hinge on the top edge....
Well see... I figure why not make use of the space.

[Chris C]

Dean, I've always liked your tear and never really realized it was "plump"! What have you gained by it's "plumpness"? Was there something specific you were hoping to accomplish other than the look?

[An Ol Timer]

Dean,

What I was referring to was your upper side clearance lights.

The reason for my question on width was that I have yet to see a Tear over 80" in width that conforms to the NHTSA lighting standards including manufactured ones.

Quite often I'm wrong, and I may well be on this. If so I wish that someone would explain it to me. Read the following, take a look at the site and then maybe someone can give me an explanation.
===============================================

Go to this site that has been featured on the forum so many times.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/sta ... rlrpstr.ht

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I think that too many people are looking at this chart
BASIC EQUIPMENT REQUIRED ON ALL TRAILERS
Areas 1 - 4b
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and missing this chart
WIDTH 2.032 m (80 in.) OR WIDER
Areas 6, 7 and 8
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If a tear is greater than 80" in width then additional lighting is required
and I have yet to see it on any oversized Tear.

A 5' Tear ( 60" )with fenders greater than 10" in width is oversized.

A 5 ½' Tear ( 66") would be limited to fenders of 7" width.

A 6' Tear (72") would need fenders less than 4" in width to stay within the max.

[madjack]

...O.T. a trailer can be up to 102"in wide before it considered oversized...the 80" is a cutoff on lighting requirements...anything over 80" must have top clearance and bottom marker lights and bottom rear(3) marker lights and top front clearance lights
Repeating, max allowable width is 102" and then only on designated hi-ways(all interstates and most federal hi-ways) all others(non-designated) have a max width of 96". you have 2 basic groupings for trailer lighting, which are over 80"s and under 80"s. These width include anything protruding from the sides(wheels/tires/fenders/door hdw.lights, ect,ect)
madjack

p.s. ther are some other requirements for over 80"s such as clearance lights on the front and back of fenders

[An Ol Timer]

I was familiar with the max size and was reffering to the lighting requirements. As I read it Teardrops over 80" fender to fender would be require to have extra topside lights including 3 red on the top back somewhere in the vincinity of the hatch hinge. You have to read the chart very carefully and look at the number of lights, the distance between them, etc. Checking similar shaped trailers in the diagrams also helps. I have just never seen topside lights or 3 cluster lights on any Tear over 80" in width.

[Guest]

Well,
With my wheels and fenders... I'm over 80" that's for sure.
Looks like I get to add some extra lights, eh?
I've seen those triple red lights across the upper end of trailers too...
Thanks for the tip Ol Timer.

[cracker39]

Sorry Chris,

I didn't mean to imply that if I liked it you should too. Yuo're absolutely right...everyone is different, and beauty (and preference) is indeed in eye of the beholder.

Actually, I'd love to have a 21 ft Award with a new Nissan Titan to pull it. But, then, I beleive that is called having a Champagne appetite and a beer budget.
NOT... THAT'S MORE LIKEIT!!!
So, I'll make do with my Squidget and my nearly 6 yr old Frontier. I don't mean to sound like I am putting down TDs, as I have always wanted one. But, we age and my both my wife and want something a little larger, hence my design. We're too old to not want a little more convenience and comfort than a conventional TD offers. I'm still looking forward to seeing some of the TDs you guys and gals have built and marvel at the talent and workmanship that went into them.

And, I'm looking forward to building mine someday. I hope, though it's larger than a TD, It's still small enough to qualigy me for this forum, as I love hearing all about your TDs and getting the tons of help that I need.

[Chris C]

Heck, Dale, I know what you mean. If I had the money I'd buy my Dad's 45' Prevost Coach. It's for sale and is beautiful. But I couldn't afford the fuel to drive a block, much less take a trip in it. Hope you get to build the Squidget. Looks like a good design.

[purplepickup]

Getting back to dreaming an KampMasters and such, I took some liberties with Dean's tear.

Hinge it in front, raise the outer shell up and use the newly revealed rear door for access to an enclosed rear galley and the bed in the forward compartment. When the outer shell is in it's normal position, it's a normal tear.

Like Chris said.....Just dreamin'....

[Guest]

George,
That looks pretty neat, but I've already shelved my pop-up design.

Chris,
The reason for the plumpiness was to get everything inside to fit, not for looks.

[Chris C]

Okay, just wondering. does it give you a larger galley, or is it more space in the cabin?