Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Now that we've had some trailer experience , and always thinking about the next build ... I keep thinking Standy , but then a shorter , wider TD seems so much more practical ... easier to tow ,more aerodynamic, easier to build and maintain.. and fits in the garage ... Being tall , I much appreciate the idea of sideways sleeping cause' it gives us so much floor space , for other cool things , like an Igloo , food crate , the dumb dog , the cat ... longways , my head is at the front with my feet in the Galley ... well, almost !!!
Seen many Low /Wide TDs here that just look so COOL too !!! Sleek Pods !!! Unlike Standys , which always appear to contain a little Ham ..

You guys , and ladies , have any opinions on this ???

Obviously it is personal choice...but for me, low and wide won out over tall.
Fitting in the garage is very important.
Lots of room to stretch my longer than 6' body on the bed.
I payed close attention while using our standy, and very little time was spent actually standing up.
It proved out after building the cabin car replica.
I'm going on year 5 of use, and haven't found the need to stand completely straight up to be as important as one would think.
There is a point though, for everyone, where too low would simply be miserable.
At 6'-2" tall, I found that anything lower than 5' was too low for comfort in moving around.
I have a 3.5" dropped floor, which helps accomplish the minimum requirements while keeping the exterior profile looking reasonable.
I don't recall the exact measurements, but the trailer body is about 5' tall at the highest point in the front, plus the dropped floor, so around 5'-3.5" inside.

Rob

Wider for me all the way since I'm a wide body. Within the teardrop world, as long as I have enough room to sit up, another foot in height will make no difference and be wasted space. But add a foot in width, now that's very much needed and used.

There's no comparison to the amount of time one stands in an RV as compared to the total time sitting and lying down for sleeping. Even at 6'4", I'll go with the larger percentage of useable space in width as opposed to height.

Scott

Rob , I always Loved the Cabin Car you did ... VERY VERY COOL !!! , and I did notice also, that most of the time in a TD/TT is spent sitting ,leaning or reclining ... very little standing ...

OM, a few minutes in my 4' wide mini cargo trailer , makes me feel "cramped " for elbow room (@6'3"/240lbs. ) Can't imagine sleeping there with the wife , even though she's skinny ... 4' wide is not enough for we "Larger Frames"..

GP,

Thanks.

I used a full sized mattress, though quite a few people have installed Queen sized beds.
If you have enough room, a King could work too...
Gotta be comfortable...

Rob

Gotta' be Comfortable ... Yeah ya' right !!! Because if it's not , the wife will refuse to get in it ... ask me how I know ...

Having built a 6X12 TD 5'tall right off the bat , I found the inside very roomy , but the outside was pretty tall sitting on the old boat trailer I used ..giving it a rather large profile ... and making it taller than my truck ...
I could have easily lost 6-10" of height and still been comfy ... This is assuming a well padded floor for the old bones to crawl across...

48Rob wrote:I payed close attention while using our standy, and very little time was spent actually standing up.

I can well believe that. It might be worth thinking of alternatives of height - for example, the trolley top was used in many British trailers to give standing headroom on the middle but not at the sides.

The other idea that keeps coming back to me is a Dutch steel cabin cruiser we had when I was young - the toilet was under the foredeck where there wasn't standing headroom but there was a hatch. I used to love motoring along with just my head poking out the hatch and the passers-by unaware what the rest of me was doing!

Now an open hatch might be a bit extreme in a teardrop but if all you really need is somewhere to stand up to pull your pants on, a 2 foot square hatch with a 'canvas' cover attached beneath it might be better than pulling a tall trailer everywhere.

the toilet was under the foredeck where there wasn't standing headroom but there was a hatch. I used to love motoring along with just my head poking out the hatch and the passers-by unaware what the rest of me was doing!

Such fun we has as youth...

Rob

angib wrote:

48Rob wrote:I payed close attention while using our standy, and very little time was spent actually standing up.

I can well believe that. It might be worth thinking of alternatives of height - for example, the trolley top was used in many British trailers to give standing headroom on the middle but not at the sides.

The other idea that keeps coming back to me is a Dutch steel cabin cruiser we had when I was young - the toilet was under the foredeck where there wasn't standing headroom but there was a hatch. I used to love motoring along with just my head poking out the hatch and the passers-by unaware what the rest of me was doing!

Now an open hatch might be a bit extreme in a teardrop but if all you really need is somewhere to stand up to pull your pants on, a 2 foot square hatch with a 'canvas' cover attached beneath it might be better than pulling a tall trailer everywhere.

I am not very nautical but I would have thought it would be nearer to the poop deck.

As others have said, most of the time spent inside a trailer is devoted either to sitting or to lying. TDs are generally not comfortable for sitting because legs must be extended.

This argues for good sitting and reclining accommodations. And, if you need standing headroom, consider a pop-up top of some sort. We always found that option in our VW Westfalia comfortable and I've incorporated that same approach in my new TTT.

GP,

I built my tear using the 2&2 High design outside and moved stuff around the inside to suit our needs. The body is 5' tall, 12' long and 68" wide with a 60"x80" bed. If there is a next one, I would keep the layout the same, but would go with a 4' tall body and a trolley top. But the trolley top design would add in built time and complexity. But I think would also look better.

I just did at little sleeping length test at 72" and 74" and
I believe I could make do with either option. I read somewhere on this forum about needing to add towing mirrors for over 6'wide. This has kept me thinking 6' or under. But maybe that should not be a real concern when considering comfort. I guess I can see the need to spend time inside the trailer at times and would want it be comfortable. So it seems to me that using torson axles and extending the height of the body to 82"-83" total heigth would provide pretty decent room and not look like a Standy. That's where I am at now but but certainly subject to change.

Robert

Mirrors ... I tow my 20' Jayco all the time without extra mirrors ... No problem .. It's almost 8' wide , and I can see clearly whats behind me ... But I do tow with a Silverado ... Perhaps a tiny Tow vehicle may have problems ... In the old days we had some of those temporary extended mirrors that just fixed to the doors ... Easy !!!
Didn't need any mirrors for my 6X12 either ..
When ever I have to back up , I do have the wife stand back there and give me directions ... something she's well practiced at...

We went with a grasshopper design that has an interior volume of 400 ft.³ this also means that there are two full width sets of cabinets above and the cabinet that contains the 14 gallon water tank pump and other accessories is used as the headboard and is at the back of the trailer. One of the things that we noted with the conventional teardrop design was that so many people have changing tents because there's no room inside to sit up and move around to change easily.
The official dimensions of the trailer are 6X10 but in reality there's at least another foot because of the outside contour the trailer. My wife is a bit claustrophobic so it was necessary to have a fairly large interior volume for her to be comfortable. Having lots of storage space in cabinets, as opposed to bins, was a big plus. The width means that we have a full queen-size bed which means that when it is a bit warm or humid we are not jammed up against each other.

GPW,
Thats good to hear about your experience with the mirrors I guess that I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

Shadow Catcher,
You make some very good points. I was also impressed with your Album photos showing some details of your excellent work. How would it be to machine out your own aluminium brackets and parts.

Robert