Where to start - Want somewhat off road capable teardrop?

[ktm_2000]

no real deal, just order direct from the factory. Right now unfinished 25mm is $90 a sheet. I get emails from them and would wait till a sale happens then buy. The rolls of 1708 fiberglass- 45/45 degree weave are a SCREAMING deal at $255 for a 90 yd roll. If you try to buy it on ebay, you'll pay $10 + a yard.

for my boat project, I went in with a buddy from work who was re-doing his boat as well, together we bought quite a few panels, 3 rolls of 1708 and 2 rolls of 1.5 oz mat. Shipping was flat rate $200 to a commercial loading dock at our work.

25mm is definitely stronger than the 19mm and is overkill for a teardrop strength wise. I was thinking of using the 25mm panels because it would act as more insulation than 19mm. If one were to put 2 layers of 1708 on both sides of a 25mm 5' wide panel with no under roof supports I would expect to be able to walk across it. For my proposed 6' wide I would probably put either a 3rd layer of glass on the bottom side of the top panels or laminate strips of 19mm on the underside in strategic places and hide my electrical wiring within those strips.

the build process would be laying up panels with 2 layers of glass on the bottom side, 1 on the top, cutting to size and assembling them with strips of glass like I did for the leaning post, then putting a second layer of glass over everything on the outside.

my thought is to do the whole thing with vinylester resin, fair it and finish it off by using a hvlp gun spraying layers of gelcoat thinned with duratec. The gelcoat would need to be put on a little too thick because even with the duratec the surface will have some orange peel texture which can be wet sanded 600/800/1000 then compounded smooth.

If one were to go with epoxy I would get a different cloth without the mat on the back side as it eats up resin and doesn't add value.

[ktm_2000]

I found a cool looking model which has the wheels integrated into the body as I was describing. I'm not sure I would want the pop top though.
https://tetonx.com/hybrid

[saywhatthat]

Wow out here to get those prices . you have to have a mask . Also a get away car

[ktm_2000]

I'm not sure where you are located, the prices I'm talking about are list prices from their website. http://www.carbon-core.com/store/

Their factory/distribution is out of Virginia, if you are left coast, the $200 shipping might be optimistic. My last order with my buddy from them was 2 pallets of material and pretty heavy, the 90 yd rolls of 1708 are 225# and we got 3 of them.

[ktm_2000]

I've also been thinking about the teton-x design, the pop top might not be all that hard to make.

What do you think about this idea for the pop-top? I saw a truck with a fiberglass tonneau cover, the center portion was raised about a 1" taller, If I scoured craigslist for a used one, I could then fill the core of that raised center portion with core material and route wires, fantastic fan, lights etc in that area. It would have a nice shape, gelcoat finish which could be painted to match the camper body and has a lip around the perimeter, which could be used to keep water out.

As for the fabric, my mom has a Sailrite sewing machine that is good for canvas work, I could probably bribe her to teach me how to sew and help with the project.

[tony.latham]

the pop top might not be all that hard to make...What do you think about this idea for the pop-top?

Building a teardrop without a roof that lifts up is hard enough. (You asked). Building a classic teardrop is large undertaking.

One of the big deals with a teardrop is that your bed is made. It's always there. There's no rolling out sleeping bags and pads. When it's time to hit the hay, you sit in the door and swing your legs in. The same thing when it's road time.

I would think the only reason for a pop-up roof is to create some kind of standy (with a 36" tall door). And if you turn your teardrop into a part-time standy, what are you going to do with your bedding?

T

[Tom&Shelly]

I've also been thinking about the teton-x design, the pop top might not be all that hard to make.

What do you think about this idea for the pop-top?

The reason Shelly and I are building a teardrop is to "upgrade" from tent camping. One of the biggest problems with a tent is breaking camp on a rainy morning, or early after a rainy night. If forced to pack the tent wet, you gotta get it back out to dry before it acquires an odor! That's why we didn't want any fabric in our build.

Of course, there are a lot fabric pop-ups. That's just our thought on the subject.

Tom

[working on it]

...The reason Shelly and I are building a teardrop is to "upgrade" from tent camping. One of the biggest problems with a tent is breaking camp on a rainy morning, or early after a rainy night. If forced to pack the tent wet, you gotta get it back out to dry before it acquires an odor! ....

* After having experienced wet/mildewed tents and pop-up trailers from the '60's, I wanted a hardshell that wouldn't get fungus and a smell after using it in bad weather. Our old canvas tent & pop-up material always was damp after a trip, and often remained that way until the next time. Still, I frequently put away my canopy and tee-pee potty tent both wet, and there's not been a problem with the polyester fabric mildewing, so far (actually, the usually high temperature in my garage afterwards dries everything out). But, the exterior paint on my trailer often gets mildew in storage, between Oct.1-April 1, when it's left unattended and unloved.

* I think that most modern materials, or even treated canvas, will withstand a lot, if given some care. not like the old canvas at all. Using it on a pop-top trailer should be OK (I've thought about using it for side-wings hanging from my open hatch)

[ktm_2000]

We made a standie, the first trailer we built, the wife and I took it to quite a bit of places, we enjoyed it so we are no opposed to another one. The minimal requirements back then were to be able to stand up and put on clothes before heading out, minimal electrical system. Back then we also didn't have kids, now we have twin 3 year old girls.

Outside - https://photos.app.goo.gl/CVtuwtqunhrcd6yE8
Inside - https://photos.app.goo.gl/T32LLjFyvMn59JKZA


Pros - It met our requirements, it was nice to be able to stand up and put your clothes on in the morning, plenty of storage under the bed, had a couch in the front of it which could sleep one, could have built a bunk bed in the same space. Storage under front couch too.

Cons - it was not offroad capable in any way with 13" rim wheels and even though it was not really heavy guess #1500, and the front was curved, I didn't get good gas mileage towing it. without towing anything I would get 17mpg, towing the standie, 13-14mpg, towing my 6500# boat 11-12mpg. It was tough to back down, the short camper and short tongue length were rough. The storage under the main bed was a pain to use lifting up the mattress to get at the hatch underneath.

My thoughts are to make something that was not taller than the roof of my truck, 2 track road capable. I am contemplating the pop top so as our bed would stay setup all the time, the pop-top would lift up and a set of army stretchers would be setup in the lift up portions for the girls to sleep in. In my first post I stated that I wanted to be able to put a tent camper on top, this updated idea is to skip the tent camper on top and integrate it into the camper.

I'm probably driving you crazy with my ideas going all over the place, I am in the planning stages and will be until next spring I am listening to all the points you are making and truly appreciate the advice and experience which is being provided.

[ktm_2000]

video link to the teton x camper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvdyCbI8jds

2min 35 seconds, shows wheels only sticking out 3-4 inches on either side of camper
7min 25 seconds to the inside portion
13min 55 seconds to showing the integrated storage inside the front of the camper

I hope it is not taken in poor taste on this site to copy others ideas, I'm considering my design strategy as consolidating a whole lot of people's good ideas, then hopefully apply a healthy dose of KISS because I can overthink things to death and end up the last S in KISS.

[ktm_2000]

Here's an updated rendering of what I'm thinking of, no where near done but should give a decent idea.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/h5cN7cUGq6XPBjsQ8

10' long front to back, 5' tall, 77"wide

blue shaded area in back is a queen size width bed in back which would be built over the wheel wells, door would be 30" wide, 54" tall blue shaded area in front would be 30" wide couch / kid bed in front, storage underneath, rectangular box above door would be camping cot going side to side in the tent area.

For storing of cooking accommodations, a slide out would come out of the back which could up to the width of the area between the wheel wells. We would expect to use a picnic table or fold up table stored in the truck bed to do all cooking on.

I didn't incorporate the frame height dropdown in the walkable area nor did I account for the height difference to make the seats at the right height, many more renditions to come.

[pchast]

Can you enter that structure if you do not pop the top?

[ktm_2000]

yes, There would have to be some type of strap or bungee cord which could keep the canvas bunched up when the top was down. The more I think about it, if the weather was really nasty instead of putting the top up, leave it down and flip a coin for which kid has to sleep on the floor.

I love camping but my luck is downright awful when it comes to weather when I am camping. It is soooooo bad that if the weather people say it will be sunny all weekend where ever I am going, I can count on it raining at least one of the nights. So I plan for the worst.

What is not drawn / shown in the diagram is that the pop top opening would have to be a couple inches in from the outside on both sides.

I think the devil will be in the details of this design with the challenge being around how to design a method to keep water and wind from getting up under the front lip of the pop top when being towed. I'm wondering if it would be worth trying to modify the design to make the top open to the back instead?

[ktm_2000]

@tony.latham - I'm used to the northeast where getting water is not an issue. I'd love to head out your way in a couple of years and wonder about what is different about camping in the west as I am sure there are conditions differences which drive having different priorities.

How much water do you carry when you go boondocking?

Do most campgrounds have water or are there places a person could fill up 30 or so gallons of water?

thanks in advance.

[tony.latham]

How much water do you carry when you go boondocking?

Do most campgrounds have water or are there places a person could fill up 30 or so gallons of water?

We can get by on the old standard of one-gallon per-day per-person. The standard two-nighter is with the seven-gallon jug. Any longer than that we throw extra in.

Most BLM and USFS campgrounds have water.



But the boonies don't.

T