Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Using the trailer balance worksheet on the site, I determined that my TTT axle will need to be smack dab in the middle of the frame, excluding the tongue. This seems so far forward, I'm concerned I did something wrong in my calculations.

The galley is forward, and will have a convection/microwave & fridge, along with the water tanks for the sink, and a full height porta-potty closet/wardrobe up front.

Behind the door, and over the axle, is the dinette benches, which will convert into a 75 x 60 bed, and behind that is a full width/height wardrobe.

Preliminary sketches are in my album.

Any comments on the axle placement, or the design in general?

Thanks,

Leslie

Leslie,

Like the design,one thing I forgot tomention that you might want are some sort of stands to keep the trailer from tipping backwards when not connected to the tow vehicle. These can be jack Stands or trailer stabilizers that are welded or bolted to the trailer frame.

Andrew(angib) is the best person to probaly review the axle placement sheet so see if your numbers were entered correctly.

rbeemer wrote:Leslie,

Like the design,one thing I forgot tomention that you might want are some sort of stands to keep the trailer from tipping backwards when not connected to the tow vehicle. These can be jack Stands or trailer stabilizers that are welded or bolted to the trailer frame.

Andrew(angib) is the best person to probaly review the axle placement sheet so see if your numbers were entered correctly.

Since I think my calculations still have the trailer weighted with more toward the front, I'm not sure this is necessary, or am I missing something?

Of course, we would always have the jacks up when we are in/out of it, as well as during construction, but in general, the trailer shouldn't be weighted such that it would tip back if not connected. If so, it wouldn't have *any* weight on the tongue, right?

Help...now I'm confused more than I was before!

Leslie

U-haul had a 60 - 40 rule we tried to explain to the rental customers.
60% of the weight in the front 40% in the rear. This keeps the coupler and ball slightly loaded. I have seen folks load all the books and the washing maching on the rear to " save the tow vehicle " (less weight on the rear springs.) They came in quite upset after the constant tugging upward loosened the coupler enough that trailer came loose. ( Thank God for safety chains ) . A perfectly balanced trailer , I think ,would rattle like crazy.

bobhenry wrote:U-haul had a 60 - 40 rule we tried to explain to the rental customers.
60% of the weight in the front 40% in the rear. This keeps the coupler and ball slightly loaded. I have seen folks load all the books and the washing maching on the rear to " save the tow vehicle " (less weight on the rear springs.) They came in quite upset after the constant tugging upward loosened the coupler enough that trailer came loose. ( Thank God for safety chains ) . A perfectly balanced trailer , I think ,would rattle like crazy.

Yeah, that's what I thought...thanks for clarifying!

Make sure you have at least 10% of the trailer weight on the tongue. I like more weight on the tongue. If the tongue is light the trailer will sway like mad.

Gerdo wrote:Make sure you have at least 10% of the trailer weight on the tongue. I like more weight on the tongue. If the tongue is light the trailer will sway like mad.

We are at 11%, and that doesn't include the 5 gallons of fresh water that will be loaded in the tank under the sink (which is all the way up front) prior to departure.

I towed a 2000 lb. ski boat when I was younger, and remember a trip when we loaded 3 very heavy coolers in the back of the boat, which transferred a *bunch* of weight to the rear. After about 10 minutes at 60 mph, with a trailer in tow that was seemingly possessed, I learned my lesson...thankfully without injury/damage.

Heavy tongue good. Light tongue DEATH!!!

Leslie, from your desrciption and pics, that is proably about right...take alook at a lot of the canned hams and other TTs and you will notice the axle in forward position...we of TD world have axles set back somewhat because of the rear galley and it's accompanying goodies....
madjack

madjack wrote:Leslie, from your desrciption and pics, that is proably about right...take alook at a lot of the canned hams and other TTs and you will notice the axle in forward position...we of TD world have axles set back somewhat because of the rear galley and it's accompanying goodies....
madjack

Yep, just checked, it looks like all the axles are well forward. I still need to double-check my entries on the spreadsheet, though. And...after I've checked it a couple of times, the husband will do the same.

Thanks, Madjack!

Leslie,

As you have several weights up front, it isn't surprising to find the axle halfway along the body. Like Madjack said, the axle is well back on teardrops because the heavy stuff is right at the back.

What you need to do when estimating the balance, as your trailer is a bit 'non-standard', is to identify all the weights that aren't evenly spread over the length of the body.

For example, I would probably assume that the weight of the dinette woodwork and the weight of the galley woodwork were evenly spread and so I wouldn't need to consider them separately.

Things I would look at that might not be evenly spread would be:
- Individual items in the galley (fridge, oven, water tank), though the porta-potty is probably light enough to ignore, but maybe not when it's full of liquid.
- Propane tank somewhere?
- Battery anywhere?
- Weights carried under the dinette bunks - you could quickly add 100lb back here just in clothing, a spare wheel, a jack, etc

I like the name!

Andrew

angib wrote:Leslie,

As you have several weights up front, it isn't surprising to find the axle halfway along the body. Like Madjack said, the axle is well back on teardrops because the heavy stuff is right at the back.

What you need to do when estimating the balance, as your trailer is a bit 'non-standard', is to identify all the weights that aren't evenly spread over the length of the body.

For example, I would probably assume that the weight of the dinette woodwork and the weight of the galley woodwork were evenly spread and so I wouldn't need to consider them separately.

Things I would look at that might not be evenly spread would be:
- Individual items in the galley (fridge, oven, water tank), though the porta-potty is probably light enough to ignore, but maybe not when it's full of liquid.
- Propane tank somewhere?
- Battery anywhere?
- Weights carried under the dinette bunks - you could quickly add 100lb back here just in clothing, a spare wheel, a jack, etc

I like the name!

Andrew

Hey Andrew, thanks! I was hoping you would weigh in - no pun intended.

Our supply estimates for the wardrobe along the back and the cabinets along the front are so close, it's negligible, so we didn't count it in.

Everything else we did, even the small generator we're putting on the tongue. I made allowances for the water, fridge, porta-potty, convection/microwave, battery, inverter, galley accessories, etc.

I think I counted everything but the kitchen sink! ;-) Oops, there goes the pun-ing again! No, we *did* count the sink.

I did include about 75 lbs. in the wardrobe for clothes and the dog supplies I will likely take on any trip.

I would have liked to get closer to 13 or 14%, but I think that might push it a little with our tow vehicle. It's rated to 3800 lbs. with 300 lb. tongue weight, but I know, too well, the hazards of towing to your maximum capacity. I'm more comfortable at about 70% of maximum capacity!

Thanks again...glad you like the name. It, and the logo, have a fair amount of symbolism.

agileaction wrote:

rbeemer wrote:Leslie,

Like the design,one thing I forgot tomention that you might want are some sort of stands to keep the trailer from tipping backwards when not connected to the tow vehicle. These can be jack Stands or trailer stabilizers that are welded or bolted to the trailer frame.

Andrew(angib) is the best person to probaly review the axle placement sheet so see if your numbers were entered correctly.

Since I think my calculations still have the trailer weighted with more toward the front, I'm not sure this is necessary, or am I missing something?

Of course, we would always have the jacks up when we are in/out of it, as well as during construction, but in general, the trailer shouldn't be weighted such that it would tip back if not connected. If so, it wouldn't have *any* weight on the tongue, right?

Help...now I'm confused more than I was before!

Leslie

Leslie, I'm not sure what your projected tongue weight is but Rick's point is a good one. Even if you have 200lb tongue weight when two of you get into bed it would appear that both of you could be (at some point) behind the center line of the axle and counter the tongue weight.


A couple of stabilizer jacks in the back might be a good idea.

bledsoe3 wrote:

agileaction wrote:

rbeemer wrote:Leslie,

Like the design,one thing I forgot tomention that you might want are some sort of stands to keep the trailer from tipping backwards when not connected to the tow vehicle. These can be jack Stands or trailer stabilizers that are welded or bolted to the trailer frame.

Andrew(angib) is the best person to probaly review the axle placement sheet so see if your numbers were entered correctly.

Since I think my calculations still have the trailer weighted with more toward the front, I'm not sure this is necessary, or am I missing something?

Of course, we would always have the jacks up when we are in/out of it, as well as during construction, but in general, the trailer shouldn't be weighted such that it would tip back if not connected. If so, it wouldn't have *any* weight on the tongue, right?

Help...now I'm confused more than I was before!

Leslie

Leslie, I'm not sure what your projected tongue weight is but Rick's point is a good one. Even if you have 200lb tongue weight when two of you get into bed it would appear that both of you could be (at some point) behind the center line of the axle and counter the tongue weight.


A couple of stabilizer jacks in the back might be a good idea.

Yep, and I had mentioned that we would put jacks down on all four corners when were were getting in/out, but I was confused as to his comment about the trailer tipping back when unhitched.

If it's weighted forward vs. backward, when unhitched, it wouldn't tip backward, though it might when we get into it.

That part I understood, and we've made allowances for it.

Thanks for clarifying that, though. One can never be too safe.