Invitation to comment

[CLChastain]

I would love to have folks visit my design gallery and comment on the images. I'm sure the design of my trailer is far from settled, so it would be good to have the observations of experienced builders and experienced campers. gallery/album.php?album_id=4126

[noseoil]

First, I really like the concept sketches you've done. The basic layout is good.

The air conditioner location can be a thorny issue with many compromises to be considered. All I can say is "good luck" and try to think through it as best you can. It usually ends up as a "lesser of evils" type of choice, since it needs inside room & outside airflow to function properly.

If possible, I'd like to see some rounded edges, to the front & back. It seems daunting at first, but it really is easy to do once you think through it and make the design choices. Again, a compromise & a trade-off both inside & out. There's some camber showing in the design in the front-rear view, but I wonder if it's necessary? Seldom will the trailer be perfectly level & the water will always run off at the lowest point. It's not possible to make a compound curve with a two-dimensional sheet, so fore-aft or side to side is the choice here. A very slight slope in one direction is all it needs to shed the rain.

All-in-all I really like what you have. It fits together well & the living space is good.

[CLChastain]

Thanks, noseoil. I'm considering using some or all of the roof beams from the old Aristocrat, and they have a camber to them ... not a lot; I think I exaggerated in these drawings. A lot is exaggerated in these drawings -- f'rinstance, the door and drawer pulls shown are enormous. They will actually be plain, simple, cheap, normal-sized shiny or satin nickel traditional pulls ... like dis: https://images.atgstores.com/img/p400/7 ... 53-g10.jpg

The program I used to do these drawings is Serif's Draw Plus, free version. It does have its drawbacks... It's not a design program, and all the sizes of the items shown are approximate. It is actually difficult to draw a very shallow curve, hence the rather pronounced roof camber....

Thanks for commenting. It is so helpful to see what people notice, some of which would certainly escape my notice.

[jandmz]

I like your design.

Having a bathroom is a must for us, and you will find it adds to your comfort while camping. You can save some space in the bathroom by using the kitchen sink for hand washing and teeth brushing. This would allow you to add a couple inches to the bed/sofa.

The air conditioner location on the side wall would require it to stick out beyond the wall at least a few inches, and may not be a pleasing look. On the front, you would have to make sure to seal the opening well against wind-driven rain at 60+MPH. If you could score a small rooftop unit, it would really improve the final product.

Good luck with your build.

[CLChastain]

Thanks for your comments jandmz. I'll have to think about eliminating the bathroom sink... that might be hard to get used to, ha!

I have to confess -- and this is a from a no-experience trailer traveler -- I'm real paranoid about putting holes in the roof. I've nixed skylight/vents, too, though they can provide some lovely ambient lighting that would be especially useful if I decide to go with the darker earth-tones inside. But pretty much everything is still on the table, to one degree or another, while I'm designing.

What I've tentatively decided on is putting a small window AC under the front couch/bunk near the curbside wall, and running some kind of (probably rigid foam) ducting to the side (the red outline in the illustration), with a grille over it. (I've found 5,000 BTUs with dimensions of approximately 16 x 16 inches, 12 inches tall). This would prevent outside access to the area under the seat, unless a cargo hatch were positioned streetside. But then, it could always be accessed from inside. Since there won't be any propane tanks, I'm planning a box on the tongue for things like shore power cable, water line, etc.



Anybody see anything objectionable about this location and ducting for the AC? The only thing that occurs to me is that it's near the floor and cold air sinks... so it's putting cold air where the cold air has already settled. But geepers, the whole space is less than 600 cubic feet, so how big a problem can that be?