Is this doable, or am I just nutty?

[SteveW]

Okay, so last night as I was playing around with more ideas for my trailer (why is it that the more I find out, the further from actually getting started I wind up?) and I came up with something that would, if feasible, solve a lot of our family's travel issues. We have a family of 4. We love to camp. We love to bike. We love to kayak. We prefer to travel in our MINI Cooper convertible rather than our Pontiac G6. So the problem comes in to play that using the MINI keeps us from doing most of the other activities, as we don't have the space to take much gear once all of us are loaded up.

So my brilliant (although very possibly unattainable) idea is to build a transforming trailer. A lightweight frame with just enough steel to serve its purpose without overbuilding it. A lightweight, freestanding cabin that has mounting points and can be bolted to the frame for towing/camping, but then removed as needed. A removable mounting system for Yakima bars to attach our kayak and bike carriers and/or roof box.

Has anyone done something like this before? Is this doable? Any suggestions, ideas, concerns, etc. regarding designing the trailer, teardrop, and mounting system? You guys are the experts and I'd love to hear some of your wisdom.

[PaulC]

What about a TD with roof racks for the kayak, hitch and mount for the bikes on the back, roof bars and a roof top tent on the mini. That would cover it, methinks
Cheers
Paul

[Forrest747]

How old are the kids, any chance of them sleeping in a tent. My boys are planning that. THe girls want thier own camper. we shall see. Drawings help visualize.

[SteveW]

I thought about roof racks on the TD, but the kayaks are 60 pounds a piece, plus the other gear and of course the weight of the roof rack itself. And I'd likely need to reinforce the framing of the TD to support the extra load, which would add more weight as well. The tow capacity on both our vehicles is only 1000 lbs, so we'd be way too close to the limit for my liking.

Our kids are 5 and 3.5. They don't take up much room at this point. They actually like tent camping, which is a good thing. I'm looking at a couple Coleman tents that might work well as annexes to the TD. I think I'll start playing with drawings this weekend if I get some downtime.

[Martiangod]

Build the racks to mount at the edge of roof, then the wall is the structure, no beefing up of roof required

[AceMan]

Here is a manufactured TD that is similar to the idea you have. I have seen used ones for a reasonable price.

http://www.microlitetrailer.com/downloads/wazat1-2.pdf

[mckenney56]

I haven't done it yet, but I'm about to. I have the restriction of towing with a Hyundai Accent, so the weight restrictions are also a concern of mine. Carrying boats is also my passion, so I'm with you there too. Take a look at my build journal and gallery to get an idea of what I'm planning. Mine is a fold down design. I'm shooting for towing less than 850 lbs, and that is including the 100 lbs of boats, the paddling gear, and the other camping gear I carry. My daughter is 14 now and she sleeps in her own tent. It actually worked out great once she got a little older. Her own space, like her room at home. Age 3.5 seems a little young to do that though. I'm trying to teach her how to set up the tent and take it down herself. Less work for me. She also paddles her own boat, so also less work for me.

Question about the bikes. How much do your bikes and the rack for them weigh?

[SteveW]

Here is a manufactured TD that is similar to the idea you have. I have seen used ones for a reasonable price.

http://www.microlitetrailer.com/downloads/wazat1-2.pdf

Thanks for sharing the link! That one's still a bit beefier than I think it needs to be, but at least I know it's doable!

[SteveW]

Greg, I bookmarked your build and will be following it pretty closely. Looks like you're after the exact same goal I'm looking to accomplish.

I'm figuring if I start out just making a trailer with the Yaks on it, we'll already be able to use the MINI for 3/4 the activities I mentioned (road trips, biking, and kayaking), and with the roof box on the trailer we can more readily use it for tent camping. If I can then pull off a removable TD to put on it, then I've accomplished it all. Or better yet, flop the Yaks on top of a smaller pop-up like the one you're doing and then we can do it all at once!

You've got my brain racing again. Time to pull out some more napkins to draw on.

[SteveW]

In my search for light materials, I found some offroad folks that were building pop-ups on top of jeeps and the like. I'll have to see if I can find the links again, as I think it's time for a second read.

For anyone interested, here's the forum. A lot of the folks on there tend to have pretty large tow capacities, and of course even larger budgets, but some of them are more conservative on both counts. If I find the ones that popped out at me earlier, I'll reference them here.

[mckenney56]

Greg, I bookmarked your build and will be following it pretty closely. Looks like you're after the exact same goal I'm looking to accomplish.

I'm figuring if I start out just making a trailer with the Yaks on it, we'll already be able to use the MINI for 3/4 the activities I mentioned (road trips, biking, and kayaking), and with the roof box on the trailer we can more readily use it for tent camping. If I can then pull off a removable TD to put on it, then I've accomplished it all. Or better yet, flop the Yaks on top of a smaller pop-up like the one you're doing and then we can do it all at once!

You've got my brain racing again. Time to pull out some more napkins to draw on.

I don't use napkins. I just steal a piece of paper out of the printer, get out a ruler, pencil, and a calculator and start drawing. I've got a folder with 25 or 30 drawings like that in it. Do yourself a favor, date them as you go so you can determine which one is latest design. It is sort of fun to lay them out in date order on the table to see how the design developed over time.