Big Teardrop questions.

[jml79]

Like so many others, I am in the planning and convincing stage of an eventual teardrop build. We currently own and are selling a 17' RV. After 3 1/2 years of dragging around the giant air catcher we are going back to tents for several reasons. The double bed is just to damn small, the tiny kitchen is completely useless and we setup an outdoor one anyway, we never use the dinette except to store stuff. And my word does it burn fuel. About 20L/100km to tow the beast. That's more than double what I use driving my TV on the same trip.

Things we like about the trailer. A fridge is an awesome thing to have, a close by toilet is great in the middle of the night, the trailer has lots of room to pack our outside kitchen, nice chairs and other stuff. Power is also a bonus and sometimes the A/C and Heat are nice.

Every time we look at trailers we drool over any outside kitchen. Basically we have realized that for us a camping trailer is a bed with storage and a fridge. I think this can be done with a well designed tear and as a bonus I'll own it outright.

Wish list;
King bed - a must
Fridge of some sort, either propane or 12 volt. I already have a 160w solar system and deep cycles so I have enough power.

Nice to haves;
An extra bunk or two for possible kidlets,
Lots of storage space, possibly separate from living space. Think small generator and porta potti storage.
Safe way to heat with propane.

I'm thinking a larger 6x12 or 6x14 should be able to accommodate all of this. I know she might be a bit heavy but that's ok. As long as the frontal area fits behind my SUV it should be just fine. What I'm looking for is your experience. Have there been any 6x12 or larger builds. How did they turn out. If not, why not. Point me in the best direction please.

If you have made it this far. Thank you for ready my long winded post.

[Fyddler]

http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=55017 This is my build based off of the w person standy plans bu Danlot and Campster 12 (it grew during the planning phase). Not sure about fitting a King size bed in it. The Campster 12 has bunks in the front, my kids are grown so I opted for storage.
We love it. Like you we camp to spend time outside, love outdoor kitchens.

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[Vedette]

Here are some things we know, after 3 years of TD camping,
First off, we LOVE IT!
Second we LOVE FELLOW TEARDROP CAMPERS....they are very special people. Not like those people who drag there home out into an RV park and only come out to walk there dog so it can s?$# on the grass.
Yes, we like to camp, socialize, cook and eat outside, and travel!
Teardrops allow you to do all of those thing in comfort.
Plus we get 2 miles per gallon more with our TD attached to our SUV, than we do without it???....As we are not trying to drag a large "Box Kite" down the highway!
Did I mention how much we LOVE TEARDROP CAMPING?
Next, A queen sized bed is probably more than adequate (and way more bed than a double) But if you must have a "King" then you will require a 6' wide .....but once again you will be sacrificing fuel economy and ease of towing, as it will be outside of your mirrors (if you can see it in your side mirrors, it is too wide in my opinion?)
Also, a 12V fridge is more than enough for a TD propane costs too much! And you usually don't need to freeze a Moose while camping or travelling. Stop more often for nice fresh produce!
Just a few of my thoughts after reading your post.
Good Luck with your wife.
Hope you can join us someday!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[jml79]

Don't get me wrong about the wife. She is the one who pushed to sell the RV and go back to tenting it. The porti potti is my requirement, I will not let my wife/kids wander around a strange campground at 2 AM in the dark while I sleep. Plus it opens up the ability to go off grid for a few days which is nice in the north. King bed is her minimum. I snore like a banshee and so does the dog. The King is her "compromise" to make it work.

I'm completely ok with a 6' width. I have been towing 7' and 8' trailers for years so 6' is actually a nice break. Weight isn't to big a concern either. I can honestly tow 4500-5000 lb with my TV. And I know that efficiency comes from frontal area, not weight. We have a farm and frequently tow up to (and occasionally way over with the GMC 3500) 10,000 lbs. My former truck (F150 5.0L) would use less fuel towing a horse trailer loaded to 10,000 lb than my RV at 3500 LB.

Anyway. Here are some pics of what I have come up with. The RV style A/C and Fridge are still not decided. I know how expensive they are. Basic build for this is plywood. Mainly for speed. I have been generous with the kitchen size, anything gained will be added to the centre storage area. The whole thing fits pretty much within the frontal profile of my TV. I already have the propane Stove/Oven from an old RV that we scrapped.This is based on a 6X14 frame.

[plectrudis]

Could you move the bunk bed/shelf into the nose area so that you could have room for an interior door for accessing the bathroom? If you're going to the trouble of having an indoor bathroom, you should enjoy the full benefit of night-time peeing with dry feet/no mosquito exposure :-)

I totally agree with you about cooking outdoors--why go camping if you're going to spend all your time hermetically sealed in a large tin can? Get outside! Get smoke in your hair!

Good luck with the planning!

[jml79]

That would be a great idea but I hadn't intended the space in between the bed and the kitchen as a bathroom. It is purely storage. For tables and chairs and dining shelter etc. My idea for a bathroom was simply a porta-potti in a shower tent. I'm ok if it's outdoors. It's only for those night time runs to the washroom. Plus the shower tent can double as a solar shower when we are truly off grid.

[haha49]

Why not go with the car as storage. Why make it that large when you can go shorter. Now mileage sucks the wider you go width equals drag a 5x10 fits a queen king bed width not sure you can fit it

[Socal Tom]

Search for "cabin car" it will give you some nice ideas.
Tom

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