The Dream
Do you know what it is like to wake up and look out to see a bald eagle in a tree above you, calling to it’s mate, who is about to swoop down and grab the next fish? That is what we saw. Three pairs in the Northwoods of Minnesota. We were in awe as one, then another would dive down , grab a fish, and settle on an island and eat a fresh meal.
Mrs. Bigwoods and I love to camp. We keep it simple. Easy cooking, light weight and going for nature walks. We also love to canoe in hopes of seeing a bear or a moose or even a wolf. We have searched for pictographs (Native drawings on rocks) in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. We also love to go fishing and watch the loons.
After all these years, it is just me and the Mrs. enjoying nature and a campfire, listening to the haunting call of a loon.
We have been tent camping for years, but it is getting much harder nowadays. A Tiny Trailer would be just the thing to enjoy the Northwoods and fishing we love to do.
The Plan
I am finally ready to get some wheels on the ground. I have been turning things over in my mind to find a design that would suit me and meet my needs. My requirements are geared toward camping with our canoe and a trailer. I want to go 5’ wide, so will be building over the wheels. Amenities will be few as they are not required for the kind of camping we do.
The styles that are considered are the traditional Benroy, Weekender, Grasshopper and even the Sunspot. Andrew has a canoe carrier on his site and that would work also. The design I have chosen is a combination of the canoe carrier and the Rimple. I like the curved look of the Rimple and it allows for a wide area between the front and rear canoe racks. The rear of the trailer will have flat doors for the galley, like a chuck wagon style that will allow access to the galley with the canoe in place.
I am CAD challenged so I snatched the design from Andrews site. I’ll have to figure out the hatch and other modifications as I go.
Other requirements are insulation from the cold, lighter weight, and simplicity. I think I will plan for AC/DC from the beginning as we will probably add a small heater that will make fall camping easier for Mrs. Bigwoods.
The outside will be a woody style with a big ol’ moose or eagle painted on the side and a painted green top. That will blend in with the trees at campsites and looks nice too.
The theme will be Northwoods as that is where the trailer will live. Mrs. Bigwoods has picked out fabric for the curtains and will start a quilt with that theme. Inside I see moose, pine trees, bears and canoes. The interior will be finished with birch and we are going for a warm, inviting look for us northern campers.
The galley will be a Formica shelf and drawers and be quite traditional. Easy to clean. We will use our propane stove and want to put it on a pullout drawer. I was going with a simple Coleman cooler, but think I will try a nice built in insulated to the hilt. I will be thinking bear proof. I am building in a water tank and a sink also. The décor will be carried through in the galley area.
The Method
Above all, I look at this as a forum build. I have the ability and the tools, but I will be researching and asking advice and will run a thread to show progress with photos and description and tons of questions. Kinda like sitting around the campfire and having a chat. My goal is to complete the build and go camping and make it to a gathering to meet some of the folks on the forum.
To get to the Northwoods you need a map and to accomplish my build I will use the Generic Benroy plans. It will be used like a map so that a step by step build, in the proper sequence, will be followed.
The Place
I have a terrific shop to use. It is in the back of my Quonset, which is 80’ long. The shop is 30’ X 25‘. I have accumulated the tools necessary with a table saw, planer, miter saw and various hand tools, routers, and drills. I have been acquiring items I need for the build. I have a bunch of rough ash I can plane, several wood pieces I picked up, several electrical items and heater.
Shop from the front with my Massey tractor. The lighted area is the heated shop. I don’t heat it in the winter unless I have a large repair job. The shop is 30’ X 25”. It was designed to build ultra light airplanes.
Front of Quonset.
Even my shop is in the woods.
The shop area get pretty messy in the winter. It is hard to clean when it is below zero.
That is the plan. The HF trailer will just jump start the build. Keeping it on the forum is a commitment to keep working and to get it finished. Any way it turns out, I plan on pulling a tear up to the Northwoods for some fine camping and just enjoying nature, eagles, loons, and being with Mrs. Bigwoods.
I can smell the coffee brewing and hear the campfire cracklin’, after a good nights sleep in The Northwoods Tear.
Addendum
After doing more research on the forum, I'm thinking I might want to widen the frame and instead of having the wheels under the frame, push them out to accommodate some nice fenders.
Toypushers Fenders
I found the Jim Marshall did a terrific job with his frame and the Vol-N-Tear, so This may be just the thing to accomplish this plan.
http://www.tnttt.com/gallery/image.php?image_id=5364
Here is my attempt to make a CAD rendering.
Jim did not want to widen the entire frame and change the tongue, so he built a carrier and widened the axle. The would allow the wheels to be outside of the frame.
Mrs. Bigwoods is thinking the Generic Benroy shape would look better with the fenders. She may be right about that and I could put a rack on the Benroy shape also. This will be one of the discussions as we talk around the campfire as the build takes place.
She is finally getting excited about my obsession with these little trailer and we are eager to "git r done" and get camping.
