Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

After weeks of reading various posts and pouring over the "Hall of Fame" and numerous albums on the site, I'm about ready to actually start building. I will be implementing some ideas I got from studying Hall of Famer's "Dooner's Generic Benroy", "The Eagle's Teardrop", and others:

1. A Generic Benroy style profile (but building out over wheels) - 62.25" wide x 104" long x 60" tall. I am building this project to share use with my 2 grown sons who are both pretty big guys, so the extra hight and width would be nice to have.
2. Sandwich construction walls and roof. 1/2" plywood floor with 2x2 framework beneath.
3. HF #1740 4x8 frame - frame center sections turned sideways into the frame side rails w/ new 2x4 lumber crossmember. I probably will not lower the frame by putting the axle above the springs since my tow vehicle is a high clearance 4x4 pickup (I would like to hear suggestions on this, however).
4. Estimated final dry weight around 900 lbs. Loaded weight should be similar to most TD's which will include loaded cooler, water jugs, and perhaps the battery in the galley.

I could use some help in 3 areas (and probably others I haven't thought of yet):

1. Should I overhang the frame equally front and rear or can I get away with placing all of the overhang on the front (which is my preference).
2. How far forward from the rear of the trailer body should I center my axle?
3. Does anyone see any problem with the overall plan?

Hopefully, I'll soon be gaining the experience to lend a hand to others on the board.

Thanks,

Sounds like a good plan to me. If you hang over the front you might not want to move the axles. Other wise follow the Generic plans and you will make a great TD. Course you won't need to cut the rails.

Also see this thread
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=20872

Toy,

You're only talking 8" longer than the frame, so you can put the overhang over the back, or both front and back, it should make no difference.

The generic benroy plans call for the wheels to be 33" from the rear. I would take the extra length, and split it in half.... in other words put the wheel 37" from the rear of the teardrop. If you hang the whole 8" off the rear, that would put the axle 29" from the rear of the chassis.

Of course you can adjust this number to make sure your door doesn't hit the fender, and to get the tongue weight you are after. See Andrew's balance page for more information (in the Design Library above).

I'm not sure I'd put the entire overhang over the front. I did that on my Escape Hatch, and the trailer can hit the tow vehicle when I am backing up. I put a nice big dent in my quarter panel already...

The overall plan sounds good except I don't know what your plan is for your fender wells, which are in the way of your mattress.

See my fenderwells in my album here, and how I cut out the mattress...
http://www.mikenchell.com/WWEH_Photo_Album/

Mike...

Overhanging both the length and the width of the frame isn't ideal structurally - the only strong bit of the trailer body in contact with the frame is now the galley bulkhead. But as your overhangs are fairly small and you're using 2x2 framing underneath, you should be fine.

If you wanted the strong solution, you should put all the overhang at the back (and adjust the axle position accordingly) so that the front/roof panel and the bulkhead are attached to the frame. You then wouldn't need such a strong floor, since the front and bulkhead would be supporting the body.

If you're planning to get a 5x9x5 body to weigh only 900lb loaded, you must be planning to build it pretty lightweight - but a 1/2" floor with 2x2 framing is not lightweight (though it's not wildly heavy either). You may need to rethink your loaded weight. A 5x9x5 body will weigh about 60% more than a 4x8x4 body, though obviously the HF trailer underneath won't weigh any more.

Andrew

angib wrote:If you're planning to get a 5x9x5 body to weigh only 900lb loaded, you must be planning to build it pretty lightweight - but a 1/2" floor with 2x2 framing is not lightweight (though it's not wildly heavy either). You may need to rethink your loaded weight. A 5x9x5 body will weigh about 60% more than a 4x8x4 body, though obviously the HF trailer underneath won't weigh any more.

Andrew

Andrew, I should have been more clear about the weight of the trailer. I am hoping to have the finished trailer come in around 900 lbs before it is ever loaded with camping equipment & supplies. This may be nitpicking, but, the full length of the proposed trailer is 104", or, 4" short of 9 feet. Does this sound reasonable?

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mikeschn wrote:Toy,

I'm not sure I'd put the entire overhang over the front. I did that on my Escape Hatch, and the trailer can hit the tow vehicle when I am backing up. I put a nice big dent in my quarter panel already...

The overall plan sounds good except I don't know what your plan is for your fender wells, which are in the way of your mattress.

See my fenderwells in my album here, and how I cut out the mattress...
http://www.mikenchell.com/WWEH_Photo_Album/

Mike...

Mike, I have studied your album and also the "The Eagles Teardrop" in the Hall of Fame. Both these designs influenced my thinking in being able to put a longer/wider teardrop on the 4x8 HF Frame. In both cases the overhang was in the front of the trailer. The front overhang puts the wheel wells further back in the cabin which, I feel, makes them less likely to cramp the sleeping area. I planned to have a foam mattress cut to work around the wheel wells and perhaps be thick enough to put a thin layer of foam over the top of them, making them very little problem.

So, are we saying that placing the full 8" overhang in front is really a little too much for safe backing of the trailer? Could splitting the difference and using 4" front and rear be safe for backing. I'm probably obesessing here to much, but I want to make it the very best, safest possible, so if it is best to simply put the entire overhang on the rear, I would do that.

My td is 4x8x4 with all 3/4 construction. I weighed mine with the window shaker, 125 ah battery (largest, heaviest battery the local Walmart had), and a heavy 8" foam mattress, and mine came in at 960lbs. So if you go with some lite wieght 2x2s and fill with rigid foam insulation, then glue 1/8" over both sides, I think you will be where you want in wieght. Just remember how older mobile homes were built and don't add too many extra bracing.
Good luck and have fun.