Hoping to start construction soon. Need advice for sure.

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Hoping to start construction soon. Need advice for sure.

Postby tjlmbklr » Sat Oct 21, 2017 10:19 am

I should start by saying I love the camping life, however my wife and I have not been able to get into it like we wanted based on our lifestyle. However, we do aspire to someday and we are fans of the Tiny House movement and could really see ourselves in a Tiny Teardrop (like) trailer on the weekends.

So with that said, we have been in search for a business idea for years that will allow us to maintain a open schedule and still be able to keep our full-time jobs which unfortunately is a must right now. We both thought of this at the same time when we were at the local dog park watching or dogs run around; "wouldn't it be nice to grab a coffee and relax?". It was at that point we realized a mobile coffee cart/trailer business was in our future. Currently there are 2 others in our big city doing this. I came here to tnttt because like most of you guys we need it to fit in our garage when under construction and while in storage. I am not much for drawings but am an 'imagineer' at heart and build, remodel and scrap ideas in my head constantly. I knew we needed a trailer first and I was going to start brain storming from there. We lucked out and found an old pop-up trailer, I believe an old Apache according to what Padilen said HERE during my introduction.

HERE is a very crude mock-up in MS Paint of what I want to do. Head room throughout is key. The whole roof doesn't need to lift but I feel if it goes to the edges it will be easier to seal it from roof run off. My issues now are lifting and sealing it. I am open for ideas. I have been browsing this and other sites in my free-time for weeks trying to figure this out.

The deck of the trailer now is 78" x 132" but I intend to have a seating/serving area off the back so the trailer itself will be roughly 78" x 120"(+/-).

I also intend to add more cross beams to give the trailer more support for when I add the decking. Then clean up the rust and then prime/paint it.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give us.
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Re: Hoping to start construction soon. Need advice for sure

Postby aggie79 » Sun Oct 22, 2017 9:36 am

Interesting idea! I think a service like this would be in high demand.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but if there is a local health department, you may want to see what you need in the trailer for food safety rules. Typically you have to have potable water, gray water storage, hand wash station, three compartment sink, sink grease trap, etc. I wouldn't want you to build the trailer and then get shut down.
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Re: Hoping to start construction soon. Need advice for sure

Postby greygoos » Sun Oct 22, 2017 6:09 pm

hotdogprofitspremium.com Try this website. It can point you in the right direction.I am not affiliated in any way.
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Re: Hoping to start construction soon. Need advice for sure

Postby tjlmbklr » Mon Oct 23, 2017 9:31 am

aggie79 wrote:Interesting idea! I think a service like this would be in high demand.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but if there is a local health department, you may want to see what you need in the trailer for food safety rules. Typically you have to have potable water, gray water storage, hand wash station, three compartment sink, sink grease trap, etc. I wouldn't want you to build the trailer and then get shut down.
Thanks, we know have any food service will require some health code standards. We haven't looked very deep into but it is part of our plan.

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Re: Hoping to start construction soon. Need advice for sure

Postby tjlmbklr » Mon Oct 23, 2017 9:35 am

greygoos wrote:hotdogprofitspremium.com Try this website. It can point you in the right direction.I am not affiliated in any way.
Thanks, we will check it out.

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Re: Hoping to start construction soon. Need advice for sure

Postby jandmz » Tue Oct 24, 2017 11:36 pm

You may not need the standing height headroom throughout the entire trailer. Foe example, the sleeping area wouldn't need as high a clearance as your vending area. There is a design in the "design library" for the "Compact 10" that has a retractable raised roof section that you could make just about any size and put just about anywhere on the roof. There is also a set of plans from Glen L for their 11 foot "Sequoia" camper that has a side pass-through window that looks a lot like your drawing.

https://www.glen-l.com/campers/sequoia.html

Keep us updated with a build thread when you get started.
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Re: Hoping to start construction soon. Need advice for sure

Postby tjlmbklr » Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:03 pm

jandmz wrote:You may not need the standing height headroom throughout the entire trailer. Foe example, the sleeping area wouldn't need as high a clearance as your vending area. There is a design in the "design library" for the "Compact 10" that has a retractable raised roof section that you could make just about any size and put just about anywhere on the roof. There is also a set of plans from Glen L for their 11 foot "Sequoia" camper that has a side pass-through window that looks a lot like your drawing.

https://www.glen-l.com/campers/sequoia.html

Keep us updated with a build thread when you get started.


Thanks. I will check out your link. I think for looks and functionality like keeping the roof sealed from the elements a whole lifting roof the size of the trailer itself is the best option.
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