Silver Shadow Question(s)

[Strop]

Can anyone tell me the depth of the underfloor storage, and the thickness of the lid/floor they use in the Silver Shadow by Little Guy?

Also:-

How useful have people found it?
Does the loss of space impact greatly on interior space?
Does the loss of space mean that you need that stargazing window to open it up?

Thanks

Laurie

[tony.latham]

Laurie:

I had a 2004 Silver Shadow made by Hunter. Lil Guy bought them out. For me, the underfloor storage was such a pain to get at that I didn't use it. I'd have to lift the mattress up and then the plywood that covered the space. It was too tough to get the plywood to nest back where it belonged.

I don't know how close Lil Guy's Silver Shadow is to the originals, but If I recall, the space was about 6" deep.

I built my 5-wide that mimicked a lot of my old Hunter's details. In fact I was bouncing back and forth with my tape measure during the build. But I sure left the under mattress storage out.

Tony

[Strop]

Thanks Tony,

Cold rainy day so watching you-tube today and saw it and got me thinking. After watching a few (lot) of videos I saw on the 2015 model that they have moved to a split mattress and put hinges on the lid so getting it back into place was easier. Probably listening to complaints from previous users.

I can see that the doors on the units appear to be smaller 26"x36" and they are also mounted higher.

The false floor appears to be about 7mm (1/4") , maybe 10mm ply.

Thanks

Laurie

[rockinrobin]

I have owned two Pleasant Valleys, and a Silver Shadow, currently have a 2008 Pleasant Valley. The mattresses that come with the trailers are not thick enough for me, so I have to add a couple of layers of foam. I have never used the under floor storage, because it is just too much trouble to get to. This winter I am going to run a return duct in the under floor storage area to the foot end of the bed, for the pet cool that is mounted in the tongue box. Ronnie

[ParTaxer]

I agree! I have a 2006 Silver Shadow and never use the storage area. I recognized this problem early on and put memories
of my life and my time in college and fishing with my dad in there like a time box. I think of them as good luck.

Mike

[wincrasher]

On the newer trailers they have put a hinge down the center between the panels so they stay in place. They also put a hole in the board to use as a hand hold. Makes it easier to open. It would be a better to put these on struts to hold them open.

THe cover boards look to be 1/2" ply. Could be 3/8's. Definately thicker than 1/4". The well is about 4" deep.

[Verna]

I love my under mattress storage in my Little Guy Silver Shadow. It has 1/2" thick birch plywood for the top, a piano hinge between the two halves. and it is 3 1/2" deep. I keep my Solar panel on one side with tools, and the other side has my Paha Que 12x12 canopy, Paha Que 5x7 ScreenRoom and my Tail Veil. I lift the mattress first, hold it up with my head (yes, I do!), and then I lift the plywood, and I put a 12" long 1" dowel with rubber feet in it to hold the plywood and mattress up. It's nice to be able to have all three of the outdoor shelters in one place.

[Strop]

Verna and wincrasher, thank you for those measurements. I had drawn the underfloor storage into my plan at 6" plus floor and had come to the conclusion it was too much. Verna my thoughts when I first saw it was to do exactly what you are doing. Solar Panel - Coleman Event Tent some power cords and hoses and all out of the way till needed, but always with the teardrop. Pack up once and job done.

ParTaxer, put away like a memory till you need to use it.

Rockinrobin, thank you for that information. I am not on the small side ( 6' 3" - 230lbs) so that extra 2" of room will go to a mattress increase, though when I drew the plan up with the cupboard design I was thinking of using, I was a bit worried about foot room at the end. Even went and got the tape measure to measure the length of my feet. Got a few odd looks at home.

I showed my wife last night and she grabbed onto the stargazer window option so now seeing if I can source a window like this in Australia. Not much luck at the moment. I can see the advantage of it opening up the interior during the day but not of much use of a night. If you had small windows on the side rather than large doors that might be different though. I can only find one report of one being broken whilst being towed but will look a bit more today.

Verna great idea for the strut - included in the design.

If anyone who has one wouldn't mind what is the height of the checker plating on the front.

all the best

Laurie
(Always expecting people from the USA to think I am female. I'm not....)

[Bill and Elaine]

We had a 2011 LG Silver Shadow. Since the trailer had installed window shades, so it was cumbersome to use the sub-floor storage area. I was concerned we'd break off the shade mechanism when we lifted up the floor boards. Plus we always tried to keep the bed made and looking nice for the all to frequent teardrop tours.

So we just filled ours with several sheets of foam board to insulate the floor.

[Strop]

I definitely won't need the floor insulation. I was actually thinking that I could go back to a 12mm floor instead of 17mm as the storage area without insulation should work as an air pocket of insulation. Every mm/inch counts on these things I have decided.

I am building and stealing ideas, no wrong term, utilising the creativity in the world, to come up with a hybrid. Though a donkey is a hybrid of a horse isn't it.

Anyway, I think good old material curtain it will be for me. Have to save money somewhere.

Laurie

[tony.latham]

"I definitely won't need the floor insulation. I was actually thinking that I could go back to a 12mm floor instead of 17mm as the storage area without insulation should work as an air pocket of insulation."

I'm a big believer in wall and ceiling insulation. For the floor? My 7" of foam works fine.

Tony

[Vedette]

We don't have a Silver Shadow and I don't know much about them.
But we do have under floor storage and we love it! Don't know what we would do without it! I designed it to hold two plastic storage totes designed for bed linens in your bedroom (under bed storage totes 34 1/2"x 18 1/2" x 7 1/2" deep). Under floor Storage area is 36"x44"x8" (his & hers)
Our Mattress is three piece, with a cloth hinge cover. The lids are constructed from light weight aluminium sq. tubing and 1/8" aluminium covers hinged in the middle with a piano hinge for easy access. Small finger hole is all that is required to lift them. My only regret is that they don't have gas rams to hold them up, but I was not willing to sacrifice the space loss.
Under floor storage is at the top of the list for our next build.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[Strop]

I have another request from you lovely people. I like the front of the unit and I am looking at incorporating it into my design.

Could someone or everyone :-) measure the height of the checker plate at the front of the cabin. Also, if possible, could someone take some photos of the joins where the checker plate and roof come together. Photos from the front much appreciated.

Any other measurements gladly taken also.

Thank you