Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Then I am very interested in your design. If I am going to get a teardrop into my family, I have to get my family into the teardrop. The girls are toddlers now, but a classic trailer should stay in the family for a long time, right?

I saw these here so far and they give me some ideas:
Marck's Slide Out http://free.hostdepartment.com/m/marckm/
and
Andrews Design for the 2 + 2 http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/teardrop/tear47.htm

Has anyone used the 2 + 2 design?

I want to keep a classic shape, but I am not against a popup or popout, so long as I can keep it clean.

I don't want to get TOO big, as I would like to pull it with my '63 falcon.. When the kids are gone, I might make a smaller one to pull with the MG.

I think I finally found the right group of people who won't say " why don't you just get a pop-up tent trailer" AUUUUGGHHHGHHGHGHGH

Thanks in advance.

Hey there,

I'm in the same position as you...four of us. My wife and I, and two boys. Next spring when my tear is finished, they will be 4 and 6. We are building a 5 ft wide tear. It's will be the same dimensions as a queen bed inside. Right now, we the boys occasionally crawl in with us in the middle of the night. So, I figure we can all sleep together when we're roughing it.

When they get too big...we kick them out and give them a tent.

I don't want to get TOO big, as I would like to pull it with my '63 falcon

Believe me, the slideout added about 150 to 250 lbs.

I am guessing the weight now for the tear at close to a ton.

Camp-Inn has a new trailer called the Raindrop. It has a Queen, and two small beds (one bunk) for kids. Great design and great use of space.


Check it out here... http://tinycamper.com/topsecret

Jeff wrote:Has anyone used the 2 + 2 design?

As far as I know, Ken in Houston is the only person who's building the 2+2 so far and his build album is here. He's got most of the structure done so should be able to provide some guidance on how much space he thinks there is.



Andrew

Jeff,,check out the Quick Shade version of the easy up,, The 10x10 has hard or screen sides that work real well,, Alan Gedes has used his setup with the solid sides in cold weather and it allowed him to sleep three in the shelter and two in the trailer,,, by using a small heater he left his door open and could get heat and also talk to his guest,, this might be an way to build a comfortable size tear and also have the guys close by,,
just a suggestion,,,,,,,,,,

chipper

My tear is a five by eight and we sleep 5 in it right now. Two adults and children aged 7, 3, and 6 months. I know I'm cheating to get to five.

This past weekend we took our first trip in the tear and drove down the outer banks of N.C. We all slept well with the use of a cot for my oldest son.

When stored the cot acts as a retaining wall to keep all the linnens stored on the upper shelf in place. The cot itself is locked in place with a velcro strip wraped around the two support bars near one bracket affixed to the wall. When in use it unrolls and hooks into a bracket at the top of the door arch.
I had thought that the cot would be a head bumper before useing it, but I found that it was just out of our way when sitting up. The only interference the cot caused was when would open the cabinate doors when my son was in it.

My tear is not done yet so excuse the door arches.

Pics of cot are here:
http://photos.yahoo.com/guerryspics


john

Clever cot set-up! Nice and cozy.

I'm in the planning stages right now and faced with the 2+2 issue. Here's an idea I came up with after looking at the Camp-in Rain drop. If it's been done before I'd like some feedback. Yes, it's a bad drawing, but it conveys the idea...

Ben

My teardrop sleep 4 adults/teenagers but I had to make a few compromises to get there. 1st, I didn't build a classic trailer family heirloom and 2nd, I dispensed with the kitchenette. My trailer is a very basic empty shell--with electric lights.

Rather than build a classic teardrop, I decided to build a quick prototype that we can use for a few years until the remaining kids are out on their own. I wanted to build it quickly and inexpensively so we could start using it and get a better idea of what features we want in the official heirloom version.

Eliminating the kitchenette was essiential to getting the required interior room. At first I thought it would be a big inconvenience but it hasn't turned out that way. We just use the same equipment and setup that served us for many years while camping in tents.

The bottom half of the teardrop is a 5x8 utility trailer with 2' tall walls made from 1/2" plywood. Two people sleep on the floor/matress as usual. The top half of the teardrop is 5'6" wide and has a 2'6" shelf/bed running across the width at the front. When only one or two people are using the trailer, this shelf holds duffle bags, suitcases, boxes or whatever else we want to have up and out of the way. When 3 or 4 of us use the trailer, this shelf, with a foam pad, serves as bed #3. I also made an removable shelf to serve as bed #4 when all of us go on a trip. This makes the configuration much like that of the 2 + 2.

Admitidly, with all four of us, the trailer is cozy but I don't think it's any tighter than a more traditional teardrop with two people. The interior is also about 4.5' tall--that helps a lot. Nevertheless, I don't want to get stuck in a weeklong storm when all four of us are camping.

P.S. I'll be posting some interior photo's soon.

I like the ideas I’ve been seeing on the posts. Plus, finally seeing Camp-Inn’s beautiful “Raindrop” and some discussions about 4-5 person teardrops made me want to post these ideas.

I’ve been playing around with the idea of a 4 person tear for almost 2 years. Here are my 2 best ideas that meet a few requirements for me. Currently my design is 6’6” wide, 4’-5’ tall and 12’ long (144 inches). I have always loved the fiberglass egg trailers (Casita, Burro, Scamp, Trillium, Boler), but having caught “teardrop fever” 3 years ago, can’t seem to let go of the idea of building my own, customizing it myself.

http://tnttt.com/album_ ... ic_id=2235
http://tnttt.com/album_ ... ic_id=2236

I am 6’2” and so the main mattress needs to accommodate me and my wife so it must be at a minimum 5’ wide. Also if the main mattress is place width ways the trailer needs to be 6’6” minimum, and it could be made into a benches and table with storage under chairs where the wheel wells are located.

I like the idea of having a small walkway between the beds, for shoes and such and if a lower box is created, the bunk could be lowered so that it makes a seating area/couch.

I also wanted 2 beds for my 2 kids. But I think I want the 2 bunks to be big enough to sleep in for myself or my friends should I happen to go on a “fishing weekend” which means we wouldn’t have to put up a tent.

This could be made only 4 feet high inside to improve aerodynamics. Also the width could be made less if just for small children who will be “kicked” out once they are old enough to sleep in a tent, or if need for 5 just add a bunk above the main bed.

Perhaps using this interior and bunk layout with an exterior similar to Andrew’s (Angib) 2+2, especially the larger (5’) one listed at the bottom.
http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/t ... tear47.htm

I think the second scheme... (this one: http://tnttt.com/album_ ... ic_id=2236 )
has some promise. You could even have a table set up inbetween the benches for daytime use. The table could even seat 4 people.

That of course requires a 5' high trailer. You're making good design progress. Keep working on it...

Mike...

Jeff-

We sleep 4 in our Ctear. 10' long x 6' wide x 5' high. Care must be taken
when laying out the shape...

Inside is a couch that folds back into a bed (behind the door opening).

A table that drops down between flanking seats (front of the door opening)

Then a folding leaf that folds out of couch and lays flush on the seats to form one big 6' wide x 8' long sleeping area...

Cheers,

Coop

Coop,

That sounds interesting - could you post those photos to your personal gallery so we can have a look? (Click on 'Album' in the menu above and then click on 'Your Personal Gallery' - it's nearly hidden about halfway down the page.)

Andrew

Ben and Jeff's idea got me thinking:

What about a hammock? Small and easy to store and secure.

I always thought that when I went camping with the whole family, the four of us, that I would be in the side tent--and I think that's still a possibility. (I like the extra room a side tent gives you, especially stand-up room!)

But every one in my family is tiny, so with a hammock, we actually MAY be able to sleep 4 in a Cubby!