Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

O.K. design peaple, my tear is going to be 9' long by 5' wide. I was going to have it 4' tall but I think it might look alittle short. What ya'll think?

Here is what I did...I put a mock-up behind the tow vehicle. My original design looked good behind a sedan...but too small behind the boxy Honda Element. Thus began the butchering of the original design plans!!

Good idea, I plan on resting the walls on the floor, so I will have 4' head room, plus put a filler to hide the frame, this should give it the illusion of something taller. Thanks for the input.

Here's an example of what your trying to see. Mine is a 5x10x4high. You can't tell the difference between 9 feet and 10 feet when looking at it from 5 feet.

Sweet rig, Gage! I know it really doesn't matter, just I'm going to start framing the walls,the thought popped in. I'm getting "brain farts" every time I look at this

I went 9 long (10 with front bump out reverse curve) and 5 wide and 5 tall. I like the extra foot of height. I mocked up a traditional 4x8 on a sheet of Luan and it was jus too small.

I'm away from home and can't post a photo. I'm still building with 4 weeks untill my first trip, Charlotte Auto Fair at Lowes motor speedway. I saw several teardrops there last fall and was inspired. Two were comercial builds and one homebuilt, built in two days from an existing utility trailer. It was a 4x8 made with 3/4 inch exterior plywood and 1/4 ply top. No galley just a door cut out of the side. It got the job done.

I used 5x10 3/4 inch marine ply for "woodie" walls. There are several members that went 5x10 with 4x8 ply and worked the seams into the design. If you are going to stick build and clad then the extra foot of height is no problem.

Thanks, I'm going to go "woody" (just for you Roly ), I'm trying to keep the weight down, so I might stay at 4'. Will have to see after I make a mock up.

When I get home I will hook it up to my F150 pickup and post photo to compare the scale. Gage's 4x10 looks good behind the station wagon and the lowered hot rod F100. My 05 4WD F150 sits a lot higher.

Cool, my main t/v is a s-10 blazer, it sits pretty tall too. I also have a pt cruiser, but depending on the weight, I may not use it.

If you want to see what a full four feet will give you, take a peek at our rig. although not a Teardrop - but a breadbox - it does give you a sence of space. We decided on 4 ft so i would not have a seam to join. BTY that is a queen size bed lifted off the floor

Ralf wrote:When I get home I will hook it up to my F150 pickup and post photo to compare the scale. Gage's 4x10 looks good behind the station wagon and the lowered hot rod F100. My 05 4WD F150 sits a lot higher.

One problem with your observation. My 56' is only lowered 1 1/2" in front and stock height in the rear. My teardrop also has better than 12" ground clearence and is not affraid of any dirt roads which most 'off road' teardrops will only see. It's all in the presentation and what looks right and what doesn't.

I have to say first that Gage's rig is damn good looking. Very SWEET. My opinion and taste is for the Benroy short and fat look. That is why I went with a 4x8. In Gage's pics, his rig is at an angle giving it a shorter prorportional look. If it were straight on, it would look long and skinny to me. Nothing wrong with that, if that is what you like. That's what makes the world go around; everyone has there own likes.
My opinion is the hieght should be at least half of the length to look prorportional. So if you are going with 4' high ply with an additional 6" at the bottom, that would be right in my mind. But it is yours, so make yourself happy.

BTW, my 4x8 is really more roomy than it looks.

Dooner wrote:I have to say first that Gage's rig is damn good looking. Very SWEET. My opinion and taste is for the Benroy short and fat look. That is why I went with a 4x8. In Gage's pics, his rig is at an angle giving it a shorter prorportional look. If it were straight on, it would look long and skinny to me. Nothing wrong with that, if that is what you like. That's what makes the world go around; everyone has there own likes.
My opinion is the hieght should be at least half of the length to look prorportional. So if you are going with 4' high ply with an additional 6" at the bottom, that would be right in my mind. But it is yours, so make yourself happy.

BTW, my 4x8 is really more roomy than it looks.

You should have gotten a different camera angle to show off the pool table and the indoor pool!

Mine is 5' x 12' x 4' high. Everybody said when I finished it that they loved the long low look. But my frame is 22" from the ground.

5' high and 10' long looked proportional to me. I think the profile makes a difference in how it looks too. Ours is 6+ wide too.

The frame is off the ground with the truck but the TD is higher.