Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Okay, I've used the search tool and read a lot of posts about different types of desigins, but I need to figure one out and give it to the welder. So, my question is this...

What's wrong with the original 1947 design? - 2x2 frame with 3 x 2 channel down the middle.

Caveats:
1) I'm building a 5x10 Benroy style,

2) I'm in Colorado, so it will most likely see some dirt and washboard roads. - I'm already moving to a 3500lb #10 Dexter w/ electric brakes. 3) I'll proportionally match the location of the axle (rear third?) to the original plans.

Well, enlightened ones, what say you?

2"x2"x1/8" seems to be the most common material used for custome tear frames. Many are built even lighter, some use 2"x2"x1/8" angle iron.

A 2"x2"x3/16" is better for the tounge, or a 3"x3"x1/8" tube (this is a pretty common sized tongue used on light boat trailers).

I used 2"x2"x1/8" for the main frame and tounge of my tear, and 2"x1"x1/8" for the inner cross members, but I don't plan to hit too many gravel roads. It's 4 1/2' wide, but only about 88 " long, due to the shape of my tear (Cub/Modernistic).

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Man, that frame is a Low Rider.

2"x2"x1/8" seems to be the most common material used for custome tear frames. Many are built even lighter, some use 2"x2"x1/8" angle iron.

A 2"x2"x3/16" is better for the tounge, or a 3"x3"x1/8" tube (this is a pretty common sized tongue used on light boat trailers).

Yeah Jeff, That seems like the plan. I just have these fears that for some reason, mine will be the one that falls apart going down the road. So...like everyone else around here, I guess I'll overbuild.

In your pic and a few others I've seen, I noticed you don't run the tongue all the way down the center. It makes it a lot ligther, but what is the effect of doing so on rigidity or other crazy things the teardrop gods would throw at it?

I guess the one other thing I will do is gussets at the corners for jack stabilzers.

-Ben

asianflava wrote:Man, that frame is a Low Rider.

That's because we plan to pull it with a New Beetle that also sits low, and has very little ground clearance (just tore out the oil pan on a gravel road 2 weeks ago ). It's really not quite as low as it looks.

If it cools off a little this weekend (high 90's all week so far), I am planning to clean up the frame and paint it. I'll take another pic of it hooked to the Bug, and you can see that it isn't as low as it seems.

Ben,

I originally wanted to run the tounge under the frame, and tie it into one or two of the cross members, but the trailer would have had to sit up a lot higher to do this. When I ordered the axel, I had the torsion arms set up one position over even. This seemed like the spot I wanted when I figured it out on paper. After recieving the axel and mocking up the trailer, I realised that it put the frame a couple of inches lower that I originally figured, so I brought the tounge into the front cross member, instead of under it. The next trailer I build will have the torsion arms on the axel set even, or down a notch.