Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Here is a lurking wannabe still in the planning stages. Instead of building boxes below the floor, I was thinking on a full basement built on the frame, then have a "first floor" about 10-12" above that. This way you get room for a footwell and storage, and some utility room in the rear. Nothing will be lower than the frame. May possibly angle the bottom upwards from just rear of the axle to the back of the camper for going over small bumps. I do realize that the side would have to be made out of at least five foot material, if not a little more for inside headroom. I was thinking of the rubber torsion bars suspension to get a lower stance. So if some one could keep a rookie from making a few mistakes, what do you think of this idea (although I'm sure it is not new) and how much ground clearance would you need in most campgrounds? I do not plan offroad excursions. Would the ground clearence equal to the tow vehicle be enough? I guess it would also depend on the distance from the back axle of the tow vehicle to the trailer axle. Anyway, as you can see, I'm probably trying to overthink this thing when I should be looking at the tried and true, but was wondering.
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Richard, You seem to have taken care of the first set of issues, which are getting it low enough to not need a ladder to get in. The back counter might be quiet high though. the floor on mine is 18" off the ground and the counter is about 37". Way too tall.

Build it for what you need and want. You are the one sleeping in it.

A full basement?? Here comes the pool table and jukebox!

Miriam C. wrote:Richard, You seem to have taken care of the first set of issues, which are getting it low enough to not need a ladder to get in. The back counter might be quiet high though. the floor on mine is 18" off the ground and the counter is about 37". Way too tall.

Build it for what you need and want. You are the one sleeping in it.

Thanks for the reply. Actually, I was not planning on any doors on the sides at all! To hard to build! It will be so low that all you have to do to get in is step up on the roof, open a hatch, and drop in! Army tank style! Don't need no stinkin' ladder! Too much weight. Actually, thanks for the tips on what to look out for. We plan to go to the North Meets South this weekend to check out some of the Teardrops. I hope to get a few measurements and ask a few questions. The only Teardrops I have ever seen in person are the ones that Gander Mountain sales. We love camping, but would like to be able to set up and break camp quiker while traveling. I guess I better rethink the hatch thing and go back to doors. Dropping in on the bed with muddy shoes will not go over very well.

Ricky

Our teardrop has a basement and we love it. Our basement pulls out . We have pictures of it in our album.

Chris

planovet wrote:A full basement?? Here comes the pool table and jukebox!

Hello Mark, thanks for the humor. I really had not considered a pool table because I'm a Table Tennis man myself! But you know, they do make a Ping Pong able that sits on a pool table! Actually, I have been following your build with interest. In particular, the way you are installing your air conditioner. That is the same place that I want to install ours. I see how you will be venting the side and bottom of the unit. I'm also still thinking about having the AC outside and hook it up via flexible hosing. That way, we could leave it at home when we don't think we need it. But you know, you can work up a pretty good sweat playing ping pong, even in cold weather, even in the basement, so I think your way may be the ticket.

Ricky

Italia wrote:Our teardrop has a basement and we love it. Our basement pulls out . We have pictures of it in our album.

Chris

Your design is very close to what I've been thinking about all along. Very nice tear. I want the bottom as low as it reasonably can be. Then have the basement with the cabin on top. The reason I want it low is so the roof want be so high. (Actually, I think they look cool low, too) I was thinking five foot walls with the overall height of about 5'-8 or so. Do you know what your ground clearence is? Is it enough?

Thanks,

Ricky

Thanks! While I haven't tried the air conditioner yet I'm hoping that it will work as designed. It will take up valuable galley space but I wanted a more "permanent" installation. I need it to be cold for me to sleep well (much to the dismay of Cindi) and I didn't want to worry about setting it up each time. Time will tell to see if it does what I want.

With a ping pong table you will definitely need an AC

[quote="planovet"]Thanks! While I haven't tried the air conditioner yet I'm hoping that it will work as designed. It will take up valuable galley space but I wanted a more "permanent" installation. I need it to be cold for me to sleep well (much to the dismay of Cindi) and I didn't want to worry about setting it up each time. Time will tell to see if it does what I want.

I have to admit, I don't want to have to be setting the the thing up either. Camp set-up and takedown, or lack of the two, are two of the main reasons I want a Teardrop. I'll be watching to see how it does.

You may need to get Cindi a light blanket!

I have a basement in my tear. I used the frame off of a pop-up and the wheel wells are inside. I was loosing about two feet to the wheel wells. I decided to build a floor over the top of the wheel wells and use the space underneath as storage. The access to this area will be through a trap door under the counter top in the galley. I still built a foot well with the ability to stand a table in the hole and a smaller storage box for smaller items. The basement will probably be used for my hiking/walking sticks, cords and larger items. It raised the floor up about ten inches. My wife is very short and she has no problems getting into the camper. I think it will work out well. One suggestion is to make sure that you have some type of containment system in mind. You don't want those ping pong balls rolling all over under there. I hope to post pictures soon.

Dragonryder wrote:I have a basement in my tear. I used the frame off of a pop-up and the wheel wells are inside. I was loosing about two feet to the wheel wells. I decided to build a floor over the top of the wheel wells and use the space underneath as storage. The access to this area will be through a trap door under the counter top in the galley. I still built a foot well with the ability to stand a table in the hole and a smaller storage box for smaller items. The basement will probably be used for my hiking/walking sticks, cords and larger items. It raised the floor up about ten inches. My wife is very short and she has no problems getting into the camper. I think it will work out well. One suggestion is to make sure that you have some type of containment system in mind. You don't want those ping pong balls rolling all over under there. I hope to post pictures soon.

Or the pool balls! Thanks for the input and information. I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures. One of the reasons I started this thread is to find out how low you can get your trailer to the ground and still not be dragon a lot. If it were fairly low, my height challanged wife should not have an issue crawling in either!

I used an old pop up frame and the bottom edge of the frame is only 11" off the ground and I have a small basement that hangs bellow the frame that's 7 1/2" off the ground and I've never bottomed that out. So I figure you could get by with a real low rider if you wanted to at least as low as 7.5", I've never even bottomed that on speed bumps.

Italia wrote:Our teardrop has a basement and we love it. Our basement pulls out . We have pictures of it in our album.

Chris

Chris,

How low to the ground is your TD. Do you have any worries about scraping the bottom?

Cliff,
The ground clearance of our teardrop varies with the tongue hieght. When we are on the road we drive nose up to raise the lowest point .The true teardrop shape allows this, a flat bottom tear would bring the rear closer to the road than the front when the front was elevated. When parked in a level position the clearance is approx. 6", Yes we have concerns about scrapping bottom and watch the road for debris and potholes but so far we haven't had any problems on paved roads. On unimproved roads up in the mountains where we love to camp, my wife Chris doesn't want me to risk it, so I am thinking of building a high ground clearance tear with water and gas cans and a small basement above the floor height
,roof rack for additional storage and a spray on tough hide style exterior coating.-Dano and Chris

Our tear has a 6" basement from the front to the axle, it is a very useful storage area. a 2 foot section between the doors has bomb bay doors and a floating floor section that allows you to step in a sit down without your knees up around your ears, a rv table stand is mounted to floating floor section and makes a comfortable place for a game of cards when the weather is not to kind. I also used a dropped axle from a dodge caravan to get the weight as low as possible ,and to date ,I have not dragged bottom.