Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

WOW !!! hard work... It looks great. I am super jealous of two things really, that you've completed and that awesome roof AC/Heater. But I am also Super happy for you and the fact that your wife pitched in to throw in some personal touches... very awesome that!! Congrats!!

MAC33 wrote:WOW !!! hard work... It looks great. I am super jealous of two things really, that you've completed and that awesome roof AC/Heater. But I am also Super happy for you and the fact that your wife pitched in to throw in some personal touches... very awesome that!! Congrats!!

Thanks Mac. Honestly, it wouldn't have turned out as nice as it did without the wife's contributions and assistance. Secondly, the roof a/c - heat wasn't much more expensive than a new portable a/c and a lot less hassle than trying to install a window unit. Well worth it in the long run.

I'll have the trailer in the swap meet area of the AMCA-VJMC motorcycle show at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds all day today and tomorrow if anyone is interested in taking a look at it.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1394528210872542/

Picture from the swap meet set up yesterday:

The wife and I volunteered to run the VJMC swap booth at a joint AMCA / VJMC motorcycle show. This is exactly what the trailer was made for and it worked perfectly. Transported the bikes, locked away valuables over night and displayed the wife's hand made stained glass during periods of rain. Between the two of us we gave at least 50 tours of the trailer over the weekend and we were constantly finding people trying to get a peek inside.

Two of the bikes loaded (the wife rode hers)


Swap area set up:


My dog stuck between stored items at the end of the day:


Impromptu display area when it starts to rain:


Winner of the "Yamaha Best in Class" was my DT3 (on the yellow milk crate)

nunrleft wrote:
The red one on the right

I used to ride an '88 black Magna. Wish I had never sold it.

When I bought the trailer I told the dealer about my conversion plans, but maintain the ability to haul three bikes. He told me I'd only have enough room for one bike in a 7x14. Guess I showed him.

The wife decided she definitely wants an awning. Prices of awnings are crazy so I'm doing a conduit framed awning. Utilizing 1" EMT conduit, parts from https://www.creativeshelters.com/designapp I'll be building their 8 x 12 foot Lean-To design. I'll permanently mount the top horizontal conduit to my trailer with conduit hangers from a big box store. Total cost of parts is about $230 after I bought the conduit and hangers locally. I also picked up three 1 inch diameter adjustable tent posts from Cabella's. They are adjustable from 6 to 8 feet and will be used as my outer supports.

I'll put it together this weekend and post some pictures.

nunrleft, Howdy;

Have you done any reading on the "Bag Awnings" ?
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=62689&p=1175580#p1175580

hank

hankaye wrote:nunrleft, Howdy;

Have you done any reading on the "Bag Awnings" ?
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=62689&p=1175580#p1175580

hank

Your link doesn't work, but yes I've looked into bag awnings and I don't believe one would work for me without some serious retro-fitting. I don't have an awning rail so one would need to be installed and the top of my door is nearly 8 feet off the ground....bag awning legs aren't long enough and I wouldn't be able to open my door. Plus, I wanted an 8 x 12 awing. I haven't found a bag awning 8 feet deep. The 12 footers available are a much more expensive than what I'm paying for this. In addition, the materials I'm using will be structurally superior to bag awnings and replacement parts are readily available and cheaper.

By the way, I had some time so I mounted the conduit hangers on my trailer today. Used the existing self tapping screws and some urethane caulk to prevent any leaks. Eight of them to hold the 12 feet of conduit.

nunrleft, Howdy;

OK, All I' did was type "Bag Awning" into the Google search box at the top center of each page.
You've made up your mind so nothing more to say except, Good Luck and Happy Camping.

hank

I am watching this awning project closely. I am looking for ideas on how to have an awning cover the back barn doors when at the campsite. For me, I am thinking a 6' min by 8-10' long might work. One idea I am going to experiment with when I can get the contractors out of my garage, is to take a low end HF 10x10' canopy and add PVC tubes to the bottom of the canopy's legs and see if I can realistically get the height I need and is also eye appealing at the same time.

lrrowe wrote:I am watching this awning project closely. I am looking for ideas on how to have an awning cover the back barn doors when at the campsite. For me, I am thinking a 6' min by 8-10' long might work. One idea I am going to experiment with when I can get the contractors out of my garage, is to take a low end HF 10x10' canopy and add PVC tubes to the bottom of the canopy's legs and see if I can realistically get the height I need and is also eye appealing at the same time.

I don't see why this wouldn't work over the rear cargo door also. For us though, we seldom have the rear door open while camping.

We own two of the Harbor Freight canopies. The problem is their legs are barely strong enough to hold them up in stock form. Extending them would be a disaster. Their legs do not stand straight up and down. The HF tent is only 8 x 8, but the legs are 10 x 10.

The build went extremely well and both I and the wife are happy with the results:

Hardware and bungies from Creative Shelters.



Switched out the nuts that came with the conduit hangers with nyloc lock nuts:


7 cuts to the conduit, following the cut list provided on the Creative Shelter's website. Permanently mounted the top rail and middle rafter bracket:



Framework connected:


Tarp in place and awning up using the adjustable tent poles from Cabella's:


Finished awning:




It took about 15 minutes for two people to set up. This was the first time, so subsequent set ups will be quicker. Tear down took 10 minutes by myself. Strapping and unstrapping the tarp to the framing takes up the majority of the time.

We're both very happy. Very sturdy construction. Less than $225 in parts. Nothing was permanently altered on the trailer since we used the existing trim bolts. Poles stow under our futon out of the way and the connectors / bungies all fit into a small box.

nunrleft, Howdy;

Good looking porch roof you have yourself . Handy hint,
drop one corner when it rains so the middle doesn't get a belly in it/them.

hank

love the awning/tarp idea, thanks for sharing the link. Its a project I can afford.

I like it. I still prefer the quicker set up with a permanent unit, but your price is right. What issues might you have with the gap between the CT and the awning, rain wise?

And it has possibilites for me for the back over barn doors.