Is 4' wide, wide enough?

[Gerdo]

I am in the planing stage of my first Tear. I will start with the Comet and modify from there. Is a 4' wide Tear wide enough? Or should I think about 4'6" or 5'?

[Guest]

5' is what most 4' builders have said if they build another one.

[Nick Taylor]

Really depends on how big you are and how many people will be sleeping in it.

My trailer is 4' wide and I'm 6'5" and 300 pounds and I'm happy with it for just me and the dog.

Nick.

[Kevin A]

I am in the planing stage of my first Tear. I will start with the Comet and modify from there. Is a 4' wide Tear wide enough? Or should I think about 4'6" or 5'?

Most of the original teardrops were 4'wide, including my 37 Thims. So far the distance between my outer walls is 47 7/8" I've allowed for up to 1/16" (.0625") thick aluminum sheet when I get to the point of skinning the trailer with aluminum, and still allow me to use 4'wide aluminum on the roof. For the time being the trailer will be painted only.
.
With that said, many people on this forum are building their trailers to larger dimensions to suit their own needs. It really depends on your own personal preferences for the size trailer you want.

[asianflava]

I decided to go with a 5ft wide trailer because that came up most often in the, if you were to do it over, what would you do differently thread (I made up that title because I don't remember what it was).

There isn't as much waste as I thought (so far). I bought just what I needed for the portion I was working on. Less wasted wood, but probably more expense. The biggest waste of wood was buying a 4x8 sheet of ply for just the hatch spars.

[mikeschn]

5' is what most 4' builders have said if they build another one.

If my first Benroy had been 5' I might have never built another one!!!

Mike...

[Arne]

If you are alone, 4" is fine..... with 2 adults, I think 5 feet is a lot better. I went queen size (5 ft.) and like it...... Of course, if you are a young couple, then you might like 4'........

If you are over 50, go 5.0 ( I think there is a quotable quote hidden in there somewhere)/g/....

[beverlyt]

As Nick said, 4' is great by yourself or with a pet.

Now if you go throwing a spouse/companion in the mix, it gets pretty interesting.

Bob sleeps fine in ours. (how dare he?!!) I on the other hand, as Bob puts it, like to curl up like a cat. There just isn't much room for me to curl... thus it really is a bummer for me. By morning I'm about ready to tear a door off.

Try measuring out a 4' wide area, and try it out.

Bev

[SteveH]

As a test to see if 4' is wide enough, use the bed of a standard pickup (the wheel wells are 4' wide inside, lay a couple of pieces of wood like 1 X 12, one on each side, and then you and your partner lie down between the boards and see how you like it. That will get you a "feel" for how wide a 4' teardrop is inside.

[DestinDave]

I built a 4x10 cardboard mockup with rough cabinet layouts, set it on driveway, and got inside. Lying down, sitting up, checked the reach on cabinet doors, door clearance, etc. 4' wide is plenty good enough for me - my wife will never see the inside of it. Her idea of "roughing it" is a hotel without HBO or Room Service. May be a re-sale problem but I'm sure there are a lot of singles who go it alone...

[denverd0n]

It really is a matter of how big of a bed you want. A standard size double bed is 54" wide. A standard size queen bed is 60" wide.

The walls take anywhere from 1/2" each side as a minimum up to a couple of inches if you make them sandwich construction. So, if the trailer is 48" wide overall, your bed is going to be less than that--anywhere from 47" down to as little as 44".

Is that wide enough for you? That's something only you can answer. I decided that I wanted a full queen size mattress for sleeping on. With my sandwich wall construction that means my overall trailer width has to be 62". I think the best approach is to, first, decide what size bed you want; that will then dictate how wide your trailer must be.

[len19070]

I'm by myself also, my wife just won't sleep in one so 4' is fine for me. And since I get caught at everything I do, a girlfriend is out of the question. So I'm stickin' with 4'. I've built some 5'ers and they were nice. I liked making them the same legnth as a 4'er. they looked real LOW & FAT, with big FAT tires

Happy Trails

Len

[Woody]

I built a 4' x 10' teardrop and now am building a 5'x10'. It is not so much that the 4' is to narrow, it is the wife. When we spend the night in there, she has a tendency to curl up and I end plastered to the wall like the
"Garfield" cat that many have stuck with suction cups in their windows in cars windows. It is that bug on the windshield effect I opted to avoid, plus instead of finding an odd size mattress (other than foam)Single 39" and full size 54". A 4' foot teardrop with insulated sidewalls measures 46" wide. I still have no problem with the 4' when I am alone. It is plenty big enough, you just have to have a real good sense of humor at times when there is two of you in there

[darkroomsource]

4' is fine.
I get me, my wife, and the dog (german sheppard - at the foot of the bed), plus 4 bicycles, tents, games, toys, and everything else for as many as 7 of us (8 if you count the dog) to go for a week.

I look at my teardrop as a step up from tent camping, not a step down from trailer/motorhome camping.

If I wanted something bigger, I'd get me a airstream - and a larger tow vehicle.