Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

You folks are just not nice people.

First I posted asking one question about building a simple wooden trailer to haul my camping gear behind my Goldwing Trike. After reading all of your posts and seeing all the trailers you have built I NOW HAVE TO HAVE ONE THAT I CAN SLEEP IN. LOL. You are addictive.

You ladies and men are inspirational to say the least and your craftsmanship is beyond belief. I take my hat off to you..that is if I wore a hat.

Here is where I need more help and your expert opinion. Remember I’m pulling my trailer behind a motorcycle so it needs to be small and compact and I need to watch the weight. I’m only talking a trailer that I can sleep in plus haul my chairs, cooking utensils, etc in till we get to the campsite…but basically something to sleep in.

This is what I have now to haul my camping gear in:



The trailer is a Harbor Freight 40” wide and 49” long. This is plenty wide for me since my wife probably won’t be riding the trike long distances with me although we do a lot of camping in the truck. I was thinking of extending the trailer frame by 2 feet…that would be a total of 6’ length….I’m 5’7” tall.

Here is a picture of the design that I would like to have…it’s sold on the Little Guy Teardrop Trailer website.



Since all I have to do is sleep in it I need it only tall enough that I could sit up in the bed without bumping my head. If I sit on the floor the top of my head is 36” so I was thinking building the trailer approximately 46” high, 40” wide and 72” long…inside diminsions.

I would probably only have one light inside with a 110 v plug for a portable air conditioner and fan which I haven’t decided on how to install yet. I of course would seal it and then try and have my paint of my bike matched up and paint the trailer in some type of waterproof paint.

I’m a woodworker so I have just about all the tools I would need but I’ve never built anything like this but I think I could do it.

I need your comments, suggestions, and anything else you would like to volunteer.

Thanks for your help and for all the pleasure I’ve gotten from reading your posts.

David

mlsa wrote:I’m a woodworker so I have just about all the tools I would need.... I think I could do it.
David

Welcome aboard....sounds to me like you have everything you need! Doug

David welcome ,,,, one set of plans ya might wanna look at is Lens clamshell,,, It redes a little lower so ya can see over it and opens up real nece for a sleeping hauling area,,,, plus by being small than typical 4x8 you will keep the side plane smaller so wind dont buffet ya all over th road,, Just one way to skin the proverbial cat

ride safe
chipper

Since you are towing with a motorcycle weight is going to be an issue so you’ll need to be thinking light. Roly did a little tear called Squeaka. I also wrote some about building a light-weight tear and in the design library there is some information on a couple of concepts that Andrew came up with for a light-weight trailer that depends on making a good box so that the trailer doesn’t, or isn’t presumed to carry so much of the load. Should be a fun project!

to the playground.

First thing I would do is put the air on the front---at least for transporting. That tongue looks way light for a trike, it is a trike right. Second, have you got a vw set up or a motor cycle as far as breaks and suspension, motor and stuff?

Now be sure to take lots of cause we expect you wood workers to keep that bubble in the center for sure.

If you can wait a couple of days I may have just what you want. We used a trailer identical to the one in the photo of the goldwing but have since decided flat air mattresses and getting to a campsite late at night with the required blind leading the blind in the dark tent setup and tear down just wasn't going to get it.
This trailer will weigh in at around 340 pounds with an aluminum frame. Tongue weight will be in the 45 to 50 lb range as I still have to assemble the trailer since I just painted the base coat clear coat today and need to install the mattress etc. to get the perfect balance. I will get pictures as soon as I can.
Tech

Trailer dimensions are 49 wide, 52 overall height, and 96 from tip to tip.
pictures soon

By the way we will be pulling it with a Harley Ultra Classic 110 cubic inch.

We've hooked another one!

Pretty soon we'll be banned from coming within 1000 feet of elementary schools.

Hi David. Just as an aside, my brother rides a Suzuki 650 Burgman and drags a trailer around that is almost 500 lb or in our speak 248 kilos. It has a total length of 9'6" with a cooler on the drawbar. In it he carries on average, 8 complete computers, (he is bearded bikie tech-head), his portable TV with a huge 12 volt battery, a single burner stove and 4.5 kilo gas cylinder, clothes, camping gear and a folding table and chair as well as a spare for the trailer.
He has towed it just over 58,000 miles so far in the last 12 months. I have ridden his Burgman with the trailer attached and honestly, you wouldn't know it was there.
So if you are towing with the Wing, I reckon you have a bit of weight in reserve, but then it depends on your laws over there.
I hope this is of some assistance, and I love your rig.

Hi David, Check out the following link it may give you more ideas of what is available.

http://www.trikesaustralia.com/

Cheers Dave

Miriam C. wrote::thumbsup: to the playground.

First thing I would do is put the air on the front---at least for transporting. That tongue looks way light for a trike, it is a trike right. Second, have you got a vw set up or a motor cycle as far as breaks and suspension, motor and stuff?

Now be sure to take lots of cause we expect you wood workers to keep that bubble in the center for sure.

Hi Miriam

The trailer frame was built to hold 870 lbs according to the spec sheet. I was thinking of reinforcing the tongue with cross braces just to be on the safe side. My trike has not only shocks but adjustable air bags for the suspension. So I can ride two up and pull the trailer with just adjusting the air bags. I have drum brakes on the trike. I know several trikers that pull popup campers without added brakes and these trailers weigh much more than what this trailer should weigh. You just have to allow a bit more room to stop.

tech wrote:If you can wait a couple of days I may have just what you want. We used a trailer identical to the one in the photo of the goldwing but have since decided flat air mattresses and getting to a campsite late at night with the required blind leading the blind in the dark tent setup and tear down just wasn't going to get it.
This trailer will weigh in at around 340 pounds with an aluminum frame. Tongue weight will be in the 45 to 50 lb range as I still have to assemble the trailer since I just painted the base coat clear coat today and need to install the mattress etc. to get the perfect balance. I will get pictures as soon as I can.
Tech

Trailer dimensions are 49 wide, 52 overall height, and 96 from tip to tip.
pictures soon

Sounds interesting. Look forward to your pics.

Errol wrote:Hi David. Just as an aside, my brother rides a Suzuki 650 Burgman and drags a trailer around that is almost 500 lb or in our speak 248 kilos. It has a total length of 9'6" with a cooler on the drawbar. In it he carries on average, 8 complete computers, (he is bearded bikie tech-head), his portable TV with a huge 12 volt battery, a single burner stove and 4.5 kilo gas cylinder, clothes, camping gear and a folding table and chair as well as a spare for the trailer.
He has towed it just over 58,000 miles so far in the last 12 months. I have ridden his Burgman with the trailer attached and honestly, you wouldn't know it was there.
So if you are towing with the Wing, I reckon you have a bit of weight in reserve, but then it depends on your laws over there.
I hope this is of some assistance, and I love your rig.

Thanks Errol. I like the trailer I have now but hey...we humans are never satisfied. I pulled this little trailer with my 1100 Shadow for years and now with the Trike. It pulls great but this will give me something to do and I do like the idea of sleeping inside off the ground.

Downunder Dave wrote:Hi David, Check out the following link it may give you more ideas of what is available.

http://www.trikesaustralia.com/

Cheers Dave

Thanks for the link Dave. They've got some really nice teardrops. I love that yellow one. lol. A person would have to be totally blind to run over that one.

Chip wrote:David welcome ,,,, one set of plans ya might wanna look at is Lens clamshell,,, It redes a little lower so ya can see over it and opens up real nece for a sleeping hauling area,,,, plus by being small than typical 4x8 you will keep the side plane smaller so wind dont buffet ya all over th road,, Just one way to skin the proverbial cat

ride safe
chipper

Thanks Chipper. I'l try and find his build and check it out.