Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Right!!! Well into the airliner build ... her worship announces that she really cared more for a LARGER RV type trailer for hurricane evacuation... (gone over a month).... she saw a friends 100K RV and was moved in that direction... I personally think the old lady has gone bonkers... but , you know how it is ... can't shoot em' , can't ship em' off to Canada...
I immediately started looking at Jetstreams , they seem to hold their value a little better... saw all kinds of trailers .... then I thought , this is just a bigger TD , well sorta' anyway .... Why can't I build a bigger trailer just like the smaller TD's ... lot of simple ideas from the old days... Anybody ever try something this ambitious...???? Are there plans or just basic drawings for some of the older/ bigger classics .... I'm thinking about 20 feet long ...
TD technology will make this much simpler than the conventional RV ...just more space... any opinions would be really appreciated...

I have stared at my 8 x 26 flatbed I use to haul the mini barns and have played with a 8' x 8' tear body at 16' in length and still have a patio out back ! STOP THE INSANITY

I sit here everyday and wish for smaller and the rest of you guys are going BIG. I wonder if this is how the larger RV's started? You can build anything you like and haul it with anything you can afford. Just remember to store yourfuel at the beginning of the season.

Enjoy

the wife and i were thinking of building a "skollie" which is a old school bus gutted and converted into a camper
we have gone to tons of rv shows and every time i get in a 100-200k one they just seem so cheaply made and i wouldnt want ot spend that much money on one

...first let me echo what dovaka sez...at every RV show I have been to, I am appalled at the fit and finish on all of these monsters...it seems you havvta go up into the lo-mid 6 figures to get something that doesn't look slapped together and then it is merely cosmetic improvements...

now to your question....brother Len's Shasta clone comes to immediated mind...a true TTT standy...also SteveW's Puffin comes prety close as does the Winter Warrior...have ya ever seen the MAXI-TEAR.......
madjack

I'm in the group going smaller. I've had bigger travel trailers for a while(currently have a 30ft trailer right now) and they are fine for extended vacations.
But for weekend outings they are much more of a pain than they are worth. Seems like you spend half a day loading it up and another half a day unloading it when you get home.
And let's not get into the gas prices. Hauling a larger trailer will eat up a goog portion of a weekend budget.



Jody

This will be mostly for hurricane evacuation.... Last time we were gone 5 weeks , and the "Domina" just couldn't hang with my extended camping(by the end , we were all pretty crazy)...
MJ I agree , went to an RV show and it was pretty cra**y, even the big buck things weren't worth the $$$$$$... salesmen were pretty slick
I need something sorta' full size like the old travel trailers of the past .... the Airstreams are really nice , but Waaaaaaay too many Fun tickets...friends recommend a Jayco... I'd rather build something that we could customize for our needs ... not all that cosmetic fluff...a 16-20 footer should do it... now all I need is to find a monster boat trailer... full size Airliner might work ...

May have to investigate a Fema Trailer ... they're pretty cheap around here, but they're made so cheaply...just junk the taxpayers financed... would need extensive mods .... probably not worth it unless they were "giving" them away... Maybe ??? they sure have enough left over.... more Govt. waste...

Oh!!! What to do ???

We'd like to get a bigger trailer, ever since going to an RV show the wife has been hooked on the new Airstreams. Mainly, because the new interiors look so much better than the old ones. If we do get it, we'd probably use it within 200mi from home. We'll keep the teardrop for quick trips, and far away trips. The tear allows you to get in and out quickly as well as get from one place to another faster (and cheaper).

Besides, who knows if we ever do get one, it's not a high priority.

I am trying to go smaller but wife want to go bigger. I am trying to tell her we are not living in it only camping in it for a weekend to a week.

Women always seem to want 'em bigger.

Trailers! I mean Trailers.

The one and only MaxiTear. But it's not 20 feet long.

I think a lot of it comes down to what you are using it for... and what comforts you are willing to give up.

A teardrop is a way of going camping, without having to sleep on the ground. The fact that it's got air conditioning or heat is a bonus you don't usually get in a tent, in a sleeping bag.

Oh, the galley is a bonus too. You no longer have to store your stuff in the trunk of the car, and cook on a picnic table.

Hurricane evacuation, or extended camping is an entirely different animal.
There you might want more comforts, like a porta potti for example. or even a shower. A hurricane evacuation trailer would probably have interior seating, and interior cooking. Remember, we're not camping any more, but living on the road.

You can always drag your stove out and put it on the picnic table, but if the weather is bad, or cold, or wet, you'll want to be inside.

For a hurricane evacuation trailer I would suggest at bare minimum, a T@B with a porta potti. Many of the older tiny travel trailers would work too, like the Serro Scotty's or the smaller Shasta's. If you wanted to build something I would suggest a T@B clone, or a Puffin, or even a winter warrior if you want a lower profile on the road. If you really want to get daring, build a T@B XL, the one with the bathroom in the middle. And if you do, be sure to take lots of pictures.



Mike...

After spending the weekend searching RV/trailers,links , classifieds... There seems to be a glut of FEMA(a 4 letter word here) trailers , available for pennies on the dollar .... Problem is, they're way too big(20'+)to tow with my 6 cyl Silverado... ... What we need is a mid size camper, like the ones in the vintage plans dept. (Old Toaster looking things) The "domestic goddess" requires a rather complete bathroom (shower ,toilet and sink w/mirror and a place to plug in a hair dryer), a comfy bed and a lounge area(reading chair)... and a refrigerator and a small food prep area/table... I'd like to convert and modernize one of the vintage plans to a Modern Homebuilt ...for those with spoiled wives...

It seems like a sturdy wooden frame covered with 1/4' ply in and out should be sufficient ...4 wheel boat trailer should support the weight and tow easily..plenty of those left around here after the storm ... Cheap...

Anybody ever build a Big One like these...?????

tonyj wrote:Women always seem to want 'em bigger.

Trailers! I mean Trailers.

Gee Tony now ya got me laughing so hard Im hurtin...

Classic Finn

Well, they want bigger bathrooms anyway... I know bathrooms are not normally included in the smaller trailers/campers , But somebody must have come up against this problem before...
Now ...One of those Vintage plans with a bath and we're set ..

Is there another Forum for bigger trailer builders , since this seems restricted to the traditional TD's...