Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I just started building this last weekend and realized one unspoken fact; If you're working alone, these materials can be heavy and/or bulky making it very difficult to complete your build.

Granted, my TD floor is similar to the XII (2x4) and I found it very difficult to move the frame into position by myself even without the 3/4 flooring. With that foresight, I'll build a block and tackle system to assist me with the lifting/positioning and securing the walls.

I'm trying to think of what other unplanned sub-projects I'm going to need to do.

Jim

You are building an airplane not a tank and everything you use can be a LOT less weight than you think. It is how it is tied together that makes it strong.
Tensegrity
"The word 'tensegrity' is an invention: a contraction of 'tensional integrity.' Tensegrity describes a structural-relationship principle in which structural shape is guarenteed by the finitely closed, comprehensively continuous, tensional behaviors of the system and not by the discontinuous and exclusively local compressional member behaviors. Tensegrity provides the ability to yield increasingly without ultimately breaking or coming asunder"
- Richard Buckminster Fuller (exerpt from Synergetics, p. 372.)

Is tensegrity sort of like Swaportunity?

I'm lucky enough to have two sons who are around just often enough to help with the heavy lifting.

My original start was with pine and thin ply - got too heavy so I scraped it and build out of all biscuit joined and dowel pinned cedar boards planed to 1/2 inch. Haven't quite finished my build but if must weigh a fraction of where I was headed. The sub 1/8 inch cedar strip interior was a pain to build but is awesome and very, very light. So far worth all the extra hours to me.

Roly !! Roly Nelson !!??? Ya GOTTA consult HIM... he's knowledgable with the weight factors and structural integrity stuff...

As fer the block & tackle.. YES ! Where there is a will... there is a way ! There is a lotta "thinkin outside the box" when buildin a teardrop. Check out Roly's build pics and the GIANT clamp he made...

Inginuity...problem solving... weight saving...innovations.. STEALING IDEAS ! Don't be affraid to ask a LOTTA questions..

pohukai wrote:I just started building this last weekend and realized one unspoken fact; If you're working alone, these materials can be heavy and/or bulky making it very difficult to complete your build.

Granted, my TD floor is similar to the XII (2x4) and I found it very difficult to move the frame into position by myself even without the 3/4 flooring. With that foresight, I'll build a block and tackle system to assist me with the lifting/positioning and securing the walls.

I'm trying to think of what other unplanned sub-projects I'm going to need to do.

Jim

Jim, I built my TTT by myself; so, from memory, I can say when I asked for help from a friend or neighbor:

1) Turning the metal chassis over after it was built (for safety reasons)
2) Holding the wall in place and upright until a couple screws were installed to hold it
3) Lifting the pre-constructed, pre-painted roof into place without scraping the paint. (You'll probably build your roof in place.)
4) When I thought I might injure myself if I tried lifting the fallen tongue while alone. (OOPs! You probably won't do that!)
5) Final inspection by an experienced person (You probably won't need this one either....I just felt better doing this.)
6) Also, had I known better, I would have asked for a second set of hands when I was trying to skin the front curve. That was awkward...did it alone with lots of sweat & "words".

Tipping things up on end works pretty well. Pivoting can also be helpful. In many situations, leverage is your friend.
Knock on wood, I never dropped anything except the tongue (and that scared the H--- out of me!).

First I hafta say... GIRLS ROCK !! ( I have 8 of em ) And if a GIRL can do it and YOU can't...( Oh, but you CAN ! ) Yup.. leverage... on end... tipping...you'll get it done !

S. Heisley wrote: ..did it alone with lots of sweat & "words".

Sharon: I don't believe it.

Oh, Yessssss!

Tell em Sharon.. you GO girl !

the only help I needed was for my wife to hold the sidewall up while I anchored it
I even removed the whole box from the trailer, built a utility trailer on the frame, removed the utility box from the frame, and mounted the tear back on the frame by myself. Took a lot of figuring and sweat but it is possible.

Lance tells everyone that I am building this trailer alone, but if the truth be known there would be no trailer without him. I wouldn't even want to venture a guess as to how many times I have yelled for him to come help me lift/move something and he was always close by, just waiting to be able to lend a hand. I admire very much those who managed to do it alone (Sharon, my hat's off to ya girl) but I just couldn't have done it without my honey.