New American fiberglass tiny trailer

[madjack]

Steve, reading your post made go back over your site with a better eye for what you are offering...inna world of barebones, cookie cutter units built to last about a year, it is refreshing to see the aproach you have taken, including everything...even the kitchen sink.

I believe that you have come up with a very unique and real "camper'...it's weight/features/pricing may not be for everyone but then what is...good luck with future success....
madjack

[caseydog]

Looks aside, it misses a large chunk of the TD and TTT market with it's weight.

Like a lot of people, I pull my TD with a passenger car. Some tow vehicles on this forum weigh less than this camper.

I'm personally not into boxy shapes, but some people are. My car and trailer are both very rounded.

I wish you luck with your product, Steve, but for your next model, I would suggest you put it on a diet.

CD

[Ira]

Hi, Steve! And welcome!

I LOVE TRIM...

Because I didn't know WHAT the hell I was doing when building mine.

[brian_bp]

The (full size?) bed, full interior bathroom, standing headroom, and exterior galley is just what quite a few people seem to want. Price is $19,000.

Andrew

I discovered in shopping for our Aliner bed sizes in campers does not relate to standard bed sizes. You have to go to a queen in "trailer" language to even approach a "full" in standard sizes. At least that's the way it was with the Aliner.

Geron

In this particular trailer, the bed is 75 tall x 53 wide, which are the dimensions of a standard full size mattress. It utilizes off the shelf full size linen.

Steve

Thanks, Steve... as I said, I want real numbers. That is indeed (with an acceptable tolerance of one inch in width) a real Full (or Double) size bed. So there's at least one believable trailer manufacturer...

[brian_bp]

Steve has been very helpful in FiberglassRV as well, explaining the design. There, the tonque weight issue was addressed, and apparently the empty tongue weight is high due to the likely loading of cargo (and water) in the galley area behind the axle. That makes sense to me.

This is presumably more familiar to current teardrop owners than to those of us who currently only have a travel trailer - my trailer's balance does not change with general cargo loading, and changes little with water. For a small teardrop, this may be okay, but at this size I would not be able to tow it empty with my van, although I could tow it with 400 lb of cargo! I don't have a solution, and this may be manageable, but it's certainly something to be aware of.

I think the short overall length (which is desirable feature in some respects) works against the control of weight distribution, as the relatively short hitch-to-axle length makes small shifts in loading have more effect. Teardrops are usually the opposite: the rear-set axle (driven by galley location and side door access) make the hitch-to-axle spacing long for the size of the trailer.

[Caradoc]

Looking over the trailer, I can start to appreciate what goes into trying to make a commercial level small camping trailer. There are also certain problems in doing so, which the homebuilt probably doesn't have to worry about.

When I buy a commercial trailer, small or otherwise, I expect it to be pretty bulletproof, and well made. This, of course, makes weight go out the window. This trailer has large studs for walls, and a strong/heavy chassis.

In contrast, as the home builder, I can get away with 3/4" plywood for the wall, it should be strong enough, but I understand the consequences of building a lightweight unit. If I was to build this commercially, I'd be roasted for building such a flimsy thing, which is what "featherweight" trailers are usually skewered for.

One of the largest reasons for building one myself, however, is that I didn't feel like reinvesting for a new tow vehicle which would be required for most any commercial trailer, including most pop-ups. I should be able to build something under 1500 lbs.

This would be a tough market to sell to.