"TrailTop" modular trailer building components

[Hardryder56]

Jeff,
OK stop it now. LOL That would work to increase the head room but I am looking at a true hard side. I will admit the things that could be built using your parts is endless.
Tom

[jscherb]

... And yeah, your plan sounds great. I'd have to really consider building a pop-up camper to insert in the bed of my Brute if it made it all the way to a kit form where I could buy all the hard and soft pieces.
--Donnie

[djb_rh]

Jeff, you are a cruel, cruel man.

In case you want to keep mocking up drawings, my other idea is a 2" receiver hitch mounted bike box. Basically an enclosed 2 bike rack using fork mounts to keep the size down. There are a couple of companies out there with not-inexpensive but nice looking swing-away pieces to go between your receiver and any receiver rack so you can still get into your car with it mounted, too. I've been pondering building one for a while using 8020 extruded aluminum and some kind of skin, but this might look and work better. I was figuring two big side-hinged doors that meet in the middle on the back, with a mount on each door for a front wheel. Then bikes inside with them each turned 180 degrees from the other to help keep the size down.

I'm 6'2" and ride mostly XL sized mountain bikes, so mine will still need to be kinda big, but average-man roadies should be able to get the size down pretty reasonable. Oh, and you'd want to put lights on it, I think, but trailer light kits to a 4 wire plug aren't very expensive.


--Donnie

[Junkboy999]

Love this thread. I bet you lay there in bed and dream up thing all the time.

What would estimate the top shell ( the one in that video of you opening the hatch ) on that jeed body to be when finished, Sides, interior if added and hatch. Rough guess.

[jscherb]

Love this thread. I bet you lay there in bed and dream up thing all the time.

Thanks. I do spend more time designing and planning than I do in construction .

What would estimate the top shell ( the one in that video of you opening the hatch ) on that jeed body to be when finished, Sides, interior if added and hatch. Rough guess.

I think maybe you left out a word, but you're asking about the weight?

About six weeks ago, I posted a guide to estimating the weight of a TrailTop: viewtopic.php?=2&t=58690&p=1067119&hilit=weight+foot#p1067119

I've gotten a few questions from people wondering how much a TrailTop weighs. The TrailTop parts weigh a little less than 1 lb. per foot (14 oz/ft actually), so it's pretty simple to calculate the weight of a TrailTop framework by estimating the number of feet required. 1/4" plywood weighs a little less than 3/4 lb. per square foot, so that's easy to estimate as well. Add a bit more for adhesive, some 1x2 cross ribs to reinforce the plywood, maybe some hardware and paint, and you can come pretty close to the weight for a basic TrailTop shell.

So the equation for TrailTop weight is:

# feet of TrailTop framing * 1 lb./foot

plus

# square feet of plywood * 3/4 lb./foot

plus 10% over that total for misc. things like adhesive, hardware, etc., plus whatever weight you add for windows and other outfitting.

For the purposes of this equation, the 36" radius TrailTop curves count as 5 linear feet, and the 12" radius curves can be calculated at 1.5' each.

Using those calculations, plus adding in the weight of the hatch (25 lbs.), the proof-of-concept will weigh about 125 lbs. when the shell is completed and skinned with plywood. You'd have to add your choice of windows and any interior you planned to that number.


Here are the calculations, based on the formulas in that earlier post:

TrailTop framing: 2 36" radius curves (10 linear feet total), 2 12" curves (3' total), the straight pieces (11' total) = 24' = 24 lbs.

The hatch weighs 25 lbs., total so far is 49 lbs.

The plywood will be a front panel (2x5 = 10 sq. feet), plus top panel (4x5 = 20 square feet), side panels (about 18 squabre feet each = 36'), for a total of 66 square feet x 3/4 lb./sq. ft. = 50 lbs.

Total so far is 99 lbs. There will be maybe 20 lbs. of framing, including the 1x2 sills and the cross-ribs in the roof, plus some hardware, so let's call it 125 lbs for the complete shell, looking as it does in this photo/drawing (I've drawn on the plywood):

[jscherb]

Someone shared this Austrailian trailer with me last night, he said he thought it could provide lots of ideas: http://uev.com.au/440-2 There's a video on the site - seems like this trailer is the "Swiss Army Knife" of offroad trailers. Lots of ideas there for things that fold out, pop-up, store away, set-up, etc. .



Here's a drawing from the site, along with a TrailTop version of it drawn to the same size:

[djb_rh]

Must be making the rounds...I just saw it for the first time via a facebook post yesterday.

It's very cool and there are some great ideas to borrow for sure, but the things that stick out at me are it's GOT to be heavy and it's definitely very expensive. It's $50k to start (well, just under that if you translate USD to AUD, but they're pretty close right now) and the decked out model is $65k! Holy smokes.

I like the slide-out kitchen, but that's the kind of thing that requires a LOT of structure and thus weight. Convenience has a price...


--Donnie

[jscherb]

It's hard to believe that not everybody has a Jeep... someone asked me to swap the Jeep for an FJ Cruiser...

[jscherb]

As long as I'm drawing things to go with FJ Cruisers, here are two more...

[jscherb]

I think the TrailDog concept looks pretty good done up to match the FJ:

[jscherb]

If you're wondering why I haven't made any progress on the TrailTop proof-of-concept build in the last week or two, it's because I'm "spring cleaning". I just can't stand to work in my workshop or garage anymore, I've got too much clutter and mess. So everything's getting organized, and lots of stuff is going into the trash or on Craigslist. Lots of mold masters from old projects will get cut up and trashed (I'll keep the molds of course). And lots of "pattern parts" (parts I picked up for dimensions, fit testing, mold making, etc.), such as Wrangler tailgates are going to be sold on Craigslist or taken to the metal recycler.

When the cleanup is done (maybe another week), I'll put a plywood skin on the TrailTop teardrop proof-of-concept, take it out of the basement workshop, and install it on my yellow trailer. It'll look something like the photo/drawing below. I'll also probably test mounting the roof-top-tent and the cargo rack on top of it. Maybe I'll even tow it around the block once or twice.



That's probably as far as I'll take the teardrop proof-of-concept build before I move on to another project, at least for now. Anyone know someone who wants a ready-to-finish TrailTop teardrop top for a Dinoot/Jeep-tub trailer?

[rowerwet]

I would be all over that if I actually drove near you often, I fly there a few times a year for work, but only as planes break out there, never something I can plan on.

[Hardryder56]

Jeff,
I would be all over that but it is 3200 mile round trip with an estimated fuel cost of 400 bucks. Bet it would be cheaper to have the parts created and shipped. Will send you a PM.
Tom

[djb_rh]

That's probably as far as I'll take the teardrop proof-of-concept build before I move on to another project, at least for now. Anyone know someone who wants a ready-to-finish TrailTop teardrop top for a Dinoot/Jeep-tub trailer?

I'm interested, but only if I can get a set of CJ fenders and hood and fender liners for a TJ to go with it.


--Donnie

[jscherb]

I'm interested, but only if I can get a set of CJ fenders and hood and fender liners for a TJ to go with it.
--Donnie

Donnie, there are circumstances in which I'd mold a set of CJ Kit parts for someone, but this isn't one of those circumstances, sorry.

In spite of possible appearances to the contrary, I don't enjoy molding fiberglass. To me it is a necessary evil - my hobby is designing things, and making fiberglass molds and parts is just a necessary step towards a proof-of-concept of my designs. I almost never mold anything more than the minimum number of parts I need to prove my designs to myself.