help a newbie pick a trailer

[cgray]

I have a HF folding 4x8 trailer that i use to haul lumber into my wood shop. I am quite happy with the trailer since i can fold it up and tuck it into my garage. I do regret using 3/4" ply because it makes it really heavy and hard to unfold.

That being said, now i am looking to build a Teardrop and i feel i need to find a trailer first before i start to even think about features of my teardrop.

It sounds like 5' wide is the ultimate goal and i tend to agree. I measured a full mattress we have in the house and there is no way it would fit in a 4' area.

I do want a galley for the cooler, camp stove, cupboards etc. I am 6' tall also. So i am trying to figure out if 8' is enough.

Now my budget is about $1000.

So do i buy a 4x8 HF trailer and over build the floor so i am at 5x8 or 5x10? Or should i look for a 5x8 or 5x10 trailer at a higher cost?

Chad

[Gerdo]

Lots of good questions. You should make some decisions before you buy a trailer. Size being the biggest decision. Weight, insulation, bed size, galley size, storage all good decisions needed. If you build over the wheels there will be insets where the wheels are unless you build a raised floor, that is what I did which also gives me 5'x8'x9" of storage, but that will add to cost and weight. There are alot of TDs built on HF frames like the one you have. Where you live and camp have alot to do with the question of insulation. What will you tow with?

I went around and around with the question of bed size. I finely decided to go 5' wide so I could have my queen size. That is what my wife and I have at home so why not on the road.

[cgray]

Thanks for the response!

I am glad you mentioned weight. I left that out.

I need to keep it under 1000lbs.

[Gerdo]

Will you have a travel partner? How close do you whant to be with them? I measured my small tent and it was 4'5" wide. I could live with that. Going 5' wide is great but it will add weight, and cost (probably 20-30%) Also the building world is built on a 4x8, plywood, aluminim, filon.

[Gerdo]

You may want to reread my first post. I was editing it when you posted your second.

[cgray]

Oh yes, my wife and my 8 year old daughter will be the ones enjoying it.

We have been doing tent camping for the longest time and our daughter has no problem tenting it while mom and i are cozy in the Teardrop.

We are in Ohio and most of our camping will be in the Ohio/Idiana/NY area during the summer

We like to do weekend jaunts and a week is probably pushing our limits.

Also i plan on purchasing a new trailer. I will need my existing HF Folding trailer to haul wood.

I am leaning towards a HF 4x8 and overbuilding the floor to 5x8 or 5x10 if i can get away with it.

Thanks again!

[Miriam C.]

Chad,
5 wide is pretty comfortable. If you get another trailer you are spending 200 right off the bat. You can build light just by framing and using thinner plywood on the sides. If you insulate you are adding to the cost.

The way to get around a budget is too not finish all at once. you can build and add the insulation and inside panels as money comes available. You can finish the galley slowly. It is a matter of what you want to have first. At a minimum I would get the 12" tires.

You can do it if you scrounge for stuff

[Gerdo]

I realy like the size of mine (5'Wx4'9"Hx11'L) To figure out size I started out with a queen bed, 5'x6'6". A front closet, Air Conditioning unit, 20" deep. The front wall, 2". The center bulkhead, 1". The galley cabinets/counter, 28". The thickness of the hatch, 3".

I should have questioned the weight of everything I used. I used what I had which was probably too heavy, over built. I haven't weighed mine but I'm guessing that it weighs over 2000lbs. My floor is where I used too thick of wood. I had alot of 3/4" FRP (fiberglass reinforced plywood) so I built my sandwich floor with a sheet of FRP, 2x2s, insulation, another sheet of FRP then to build over my wheels and to create the storage "Basement" I have 2x2s and 2x3s with segmented panels of FRP.

I had mine weather tite and I was camping in it in about a month. It took me another year to get cabinet doors in it. I still have a list of things to do when it warms up again.

[cgray]

So i am leaning towards a Harbor Freight 4x8 at $250 then over building to 5x10.

All of the 5x8 and 5x10 trailers i have seen are in the $500+ range.

I will have to start laying dimensions out on paper to make sure this is all feasible.

Thanks for the initial help!

I am sure i will be back for more help.

[Gerdo]

Here you go. http://tnttt.com/viewto ... highlight= The other reason that I built over my wheels was to keep the overall width down. I didn't want to have the TD wheels wider than my Vehicle. I take it down trails and didn't want to hook a wheel on a tree. Also shooting gaps on the highway I wanted to stay thin. I did give up the Classic TD look tho.

[cgray]

Will i have any concerns about hanging my floor out over the 4x8 trailer?

I dont plan on welding more metal onto the 4x8 to make it a 5x10. I was just planning on hanging my wood floor over the sides 6" each and off the back and front of the trailer 1'.

If 1' over hang is too much i might aim for 5x9.

Thanks,
Chad

[madjack]

Chad...building with a composite floor (stick framing, ply top and bottom will allow what you want...be sure to keep axle placement in mind for proper and safe balance of weight...with a 10' camper, you will want the axle to center at around 44"s(+-) from the rear of the CAMPER....
madjack

[cgray]

Thanks Madjack!

I believe the folding 4x8 HF Trailer the axle is right in the center of the 4x8.

I will have to start drawing things out on paper.

I wonder if the non-folder HF trailer has the axle in the center or not.

Thanks for all the help!

[bobhenry]

I am building on my 2nd hf trailer and I have found crowding forward and installing a longer tongue lets the galley weight come forward onto the frame and my logic is my pillows weigh a lot less than a cooler full of beer. The stock formed steel tongue is a bit light duty and 8' of 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 square tube is only about $25 to $30 and a lot easier to install. Use high grade bolts and nylock nuts for cheap insurance. Just my 2 cents worth.

P.S. There both dead center on the 4x8's

[cgray]

Thanks Bob!

Any pictures on replacing the tounge with 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 tubing?

Are you doing a straight bar for a tounge and not two bars that Y together like HF does?