Best width for a trailer camper?

[Magambi]

All,
The poll named 'If you were to build it all over again ...' (http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=550) shows >20% voted that they'd like a wider trailer if doing it all over again. That's the highest picked answer (except for Other).

I'd like some opinions on "How wide?". I'm particularly debating 5 foot vs 6 foot. Here's my thoughts: Five foot trailer look "right" and seems wide enough, but six foot gives a little more space for my 6'6" ogre body. OTOH, a 6 foot wide camper would mean a total trailer width (~8 ft) wider than my SUV. And the 6 footers look "fat" to me.

What are your thoughts?

Magambi

 

[EZ-TNT]

I voted 6 feet (was it a secret ballot ? but I am actually going a bit above that since I am building a 6+ X 8 standy (slouchy) on a 5 foot wide trailer with a bed/dinette across the back. So that was not a vote for a teardrop size, that would still probably be be 5+

 

[Tony Latham]

In 2004 I bought a 4-wide. We loved it. In 2013 I bumped into a So-Cal 5-wide. Three weeks later I was building our 5-wide. A foot is a mile in a teardrop.

I built a 4-wide for my sister and bro-in-law. That's what they wanted. They're skinny. He competes in 100-mile trail races. They love it and I do think it's right for them and behind their Rav-4.

I miss our 4-wide while towing. That's her over to the left in my avatar. But not while we're out camping. I'll pass on a 6-wide 'drop. I think they would be too wide. I'd need wider mirrors on my Tacoma and some of the two-tracks we travel on might be too narrow.

You can't call it roughing-it when you're laying on a queen size bed.

Tony

 

[gudmund-TNT]

I would go with a 5. My 4 ft is fine for me alone but when it comes to mattresses, 5's just have more options being you always have to cut something down to make it fit a 4 or have something custom made. If I had it to do over again, the 5 ft tear would have a removable foot panel being I have no use for cabinets in the lower area of the back of a teardrop which would make removing a mattress so easy - slide in - slide out. And with this feature - any 5 ft queen could be made to work as long as it was the right length.

 

[aguyfrom ohio]

... any 5 ft queen could be made to work as long as it was the right length.

 

[edgeau]

5 is the go in my opinion. No towing mirrors needed, tracks nicely behind the SUV and still comfortable for two inside.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[working on it]

5 is the go in my opinion. No towing mirrors needed, tracks nicely behind the SUV and still comfortable for two inside.

If I were to camp with another person, I agree that 5 or wider is better. And though I've thought of a larger size trailer (just fantasizing), my experiences with larger trailers (width) vs smaller ones make me think that I appreciate the ease of towing, turning, backing, visibility, etc.; it makes a narrower trailer easier to live with, for a solo camper. I built mine intending to go semi-offroad, and to camp where trees, sloping trails, or tight bends might make towing a wider-bodied trailer impossible. If I were a snow-bird, or full-time RV resident, then wider, for increased living space, would be my choice. I picked 4-foot as best, due to my personal experience in 4x8 solo TTT camping...it's a compromise, having less room inside vs the ease of towing it, in the shadow of my truck, but I can live with it. I've really liked not having to use extending mirrors (which may be damaged on narrow country brush-lined roads), and like to be able to track both tires' paths at the same time (necessary on some switch-back, curbed or rutted roads). I would probably be able to use a 5-wide, on all roads, but at 6 or wider, then I better not stray off the beaten path (at least not in heavy traffic, or in low vision situations). Traffic gets worse each year, as does my vision.

 

[S. Heisley]

...The width of your tow vehicle. Saves gas and you can see past and around it more easily.

 

[Magambi]

Wow, thanks for all the feedback. Some of the comments are hilarious. BTW, click the "Show results" link to see how everyone voted so far.

As I said, I'm an ogre at 6'6" 260 lb. A 4 foot may be a little tight for me and my girl (unless she sleeps on top, but I'll keep things PG for this forum ). I think a 5 foot seems a great size. I'm going camper shopping this weekend. I'll look at both the 5 and 6 foot versions, but I think I'll end up with the 5 foot.

Magambi

 

[swoody126]

the first 2 elements that figure into the physical size of YOUR IDEAL TRAILER

TRACK of TV

BODY WIDTH of TV

when moving in out n around camping locations as well as traffic it is really convenient to have the trailer tracking in the same tracks of the TV

unless you love ADAPTING mirrors to a mid/small sized TV(which looks really wonky) a trailer body width equal to or slightly less than the width of the TV is down right handy

for example...with my Jeep Cherokee those dimensions would provide for an outside width of track/fender width @ 6' leaving a deck width of 4'± when using TV sized wheels

it would also be handy to have a trailer body width < 6' also though i would suggest just wide enough to accommodate an REGULAR SIZED QUEEN(60" ID) plus 2x the thickness of a wall based on your structural requirements

now the next question/decision to be resolved is do you run small wheels w/ the deck above the fenders or do you run TV sized wheels and locate the bed above the wheel wells which would logically provide you w/ abundant storage between the wheel wells

VISION & TRACK WIDTH along with interior bed size are 3 of my personal decision making elements

then the interior height needs consideration which for me would be full sitting height w/o having to tilt my head even w/ a hat on

what others "say is best" may(likely wont) necessarily be best for you/anyone else

YOU GOTZ2 EMPLOY YOUR OWN DESIGN ELEMENTS TO ACHIEVE WHATZ BEST FOR YOU

sw

 

[edgeau]

the first 2 elements that figure into the physical size of YOUR IDEAL TRAILER

TRACK of TV

BODY WIDTH of TV

when moving in out n around camping locations as well as traffic it is really convenient to have the trailer tracking in the same tracks of the TV

unless you love ADAPTING mirrors to a mid/small sized TV(which looks really wonky) a trailer body width equal to or slightly less than the width of the TV is down right handy

for example...with my Jeep Cherokee those dimensions would provide for an outside width of track/fender width @ 6' leaving a deck width of 4'± when using TV sized wheels

it would also be handy to have a trailer body width < 6' also though i would suggest just wide enough to accommodate an REGULAR SIZED QUEEN(60" ID) plus 2x the thickness of a wall based on your structural requirements

now the next question/decision to be resolved is do you run small wheels w/ the deck above the fenders or do you run TV sized wheels and locate the bed above the wheel wells which would logically provide you w/ abundant storage between the wheel wells

VISION & TRACK WIDTH along with interior bed size are 3 of my personal decision making elements

then the interior height needs consideration which for me would be full sitting height w/o having to tilt my head even w/ a hat on

what others "say is best" may(likely wont) necessarily be best for you/anyone else

YOU GOTZ2 EMPLOY YOUR OWN DESIGN ELEMENTS TO ACHIEVE WHATZ BEST FOR YOU

sw

Well said.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[green1-TNT]

One thing to keep in mind is that towed width doesn't have to equal camping width, there are all sorts of creative ways to expand the trailer at setup time.

My trailer is 4'6". I'm starting to think of building my own, and strongly considering going narrower to 4'. All the building materials are so much easier if you're only 4' wide. (e.g. I can't for the life of me find any reasonable roof skin any wider than that, and I hate roof seams!)

The secret is that I don't sleep lengthwise in my teardrop, I sleep crosswise with a slideout.

 

[RBB]

This may be an older post, but just for fun...

I was struggling with the same questions, but at a different scale...
Most Teardrops on here have the occupants sleeping North/South (perpendicular to the axel)...
In my build, a "standie", everyone is sleeping East/West (parallel to the axel).
In order to use "standard" mattresses, the internal width of the trailer needs to be a minimum of 75".
Here is the catch... 75" wide for mattress + 1.5" walls each side... that's 78" wide, excluding trim and other accessories. This toes the line on trailer sizes based on DOT requirements for lighting... if any part of the trailer is >80" wide, you need to add quite a bit of lighting to the build.
I have not started this part of the build myself, but I am just going to plan on being over 80" wide, and plan on including all the extra lighting in my build.

 

[Tom&Shelly]

I have not started this part of the build myself, but I am just going to plan on being over 80" wide, and plan on including all the extra lighting in my build.

So you plan to tow a nearly 7 foot wide trailer?

Sounds like a real headache to me. Just sayen'...

Tom

 

[green1-TNT]

This may be an older post, but just for fun...

I was struggling with the same questions, but at a different scale...
Most Teardrops on here have the occupants sleeping North/South (perpendicular to the axel)...
In my build, a "standie", everyone is sleeping East/West (parallel to the axel).
In order to use "standard" mattresses, the internal width of the trailer needs to be a minimum of 75".
Here is the catch... 75" wide for mattress + 1.5" walls each side... that's 78" wide, excluding trim and other accessories. This toes the line on trailer sizes based on DOT requirements for lighting... if any part of the trailer is >80" wide, you need to add quite a bit of lighting to the build.
I have not started this part of the build myself, but I am just going to plan on being over 80" wide, and plan on including all the extra lighting in my build.

Might I suggest slide outs? My trailer is a total of 4 ft wide, plus wheel arches. We sleep crosswise in the trailer, with a standard size double bed mattress plus an extra 6 in of length.
Despite being 4 ft wide when being towed or parked at home, at camp it is 7 ft wide.

 

[TimC-TNT]

For two... five wide. For solo camping, 4 wide.

I've built and camped in several 5' wide Benroys. My first, a woodie, has a queen mattress with <2" cut off the width. For my son's foamie we lengthened the axle so we would have 60" inside and 64" outside (2" foam walls). So five wide is very roomie and comfortable for two.

I am currently building a 4 wide foamie. I solo camp and my goal is to make this thing as light as possible and stash the minimum amount of gear in it. I'm considering cutting the mattress width from 39" to 36" to increase the storage in the sideboard that runs head to toe on the road side. It will be a modified Benroy profile and primarily pulled with a small SUV EV. I hope I've made it light enough, narrow enough, short enough and with an efficient shape to minimize the reduction in range of the car. We'll see how well all that turns out.

 

[RBB]

Might I suggest slide outs? My trailer is a total of 4 ft wide, plus wheel arches. We sleep crosswise in the trailer, with a standard size double bed mattress plus an extra 6 in of length.
Despite being 4 ft wide when being towed or parked at home, at camp it is 7 ft wide.

I thought about slide outs, but one of my build goals is to sleep 3.5 adults (well... 2 adults and 2 kids, and an 80lb dog)... and I am aiming for minimum set up time once we arrive at camp... one person needs to be able to park, level, and set up camp in 15min or less... that is my goal.. couldn't come up with a lightweight enough design that met this with a slide out. (And we already have a frame that is 74" wide!)

 

[twisted lines]

First one is 5' with Wheels and tires outside 83" Requires Extra lighting.
New one is 75" Wheels /Tires under carnage! Desire's Extra lighting.

Voted Over 6" but it's the tow Vehicle width.

 

[green1-TNT]

I thought about slide outs, but one of my build goals is to sleep 3.5 adults (well... 2 adults and 2 kids, and an 80lb dog)... and I am aiming for minimum set up time once we arrive at camp... one person needs to be able to park, level, and set up camp in 15min or less... that is my goal.. couldn't come up with a lightweight enough design that met this with a slide out. (And we already have a frame that is 74" wide!)

Ours sleeps 3 in 2 slide outs (a double bed, and an "RV bunk“). I do all the setup myself, and I highly doubt I've ever taken a full 15 minutes. Total trailer weight is 1300lbs when fully loaded. Not the lightest trailer out there, but light enough to move on level ground with a single person, and to be pulled by any vehicle (I tow with an electric sedan)

 

[Pugwinkle-TNT]

I thought about slide outs, but one of my build goals is to sleep 3.5 adults (well... 2 adults and 2 kids, and an 80lb dog)... and I am aiming for minimum set up time once we arrive at camp... one person needs to be able to park, level, and set up camp in 15min or less... that is my goal.. couldn't come up with a lightweight enough design that met this with a slide out. (And we already have a frame that is 74" wide!)

Ours sleeps 3 in 2 slide outs (a double bed, and an "RV bunk“). I do all the setup myself, and I highly doubt I've ever taken a full 15 minutes. Total trailer weight is 1300lbs when fully loaded. Not the lightest trailer out there, but light enough to move on level ground with a single person, and to be pulled by any vehicle (I tow with an electric sedan)

Would love to see a few photos of your set up!