Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

The topic of building a 5' wide trailer on a 4' wide trailer has come up many times, and Yes it can easily be done...

But! Might I suggest another option?

The total outside to outside dimension on both Harbor Freight and Tractor Supply trailers at the fenders is 64".

Why not build the deck 64" wide instead of 60"?

There are, in my opinion many good reasons to do this.

1) Mattresses are very expensive and an unexpected cost. Building to accommodate a "Standard" size Mattress (Queen size) will save you a lot of money. A 5' wide trailers inside dimension is not 60" and anyone who has ever tried to put a fitted sheet on a 60" wide mattress in a 57-58" area will tell you...its a real PITA.

2) It saves the cost and or time of fabricating 2, 2" wide external fenders.

3) with a 64" wide deck you can "Stick Build" the outer walls and still have a 61/62" interior dimension. Plenty of "working room" for a 60" wide Mattress.

I've done this several times with great success.

Yer in for a Penny, be in for a Pound.











Happy Trails

Len

Len,

That's what I do. My over the wheel builds are typically 66" on the 4' HF trailer.

Mike...

We went 74" wide so there would be room for a queen sized bed and a little storage on each side of the mattress. Our bed also folds up into a couch, so we needed a couple extra inches on each side to clear the window cranks.

The why not, one reason is wind resistance. CR is a 6 wide and wider than the Subaru. The Subaru gets a very good 27 MPG on the highway, towing it gets 18 MPG. However Nancy would be claustrophobic in anything smaller, life is full of tradeoffs.

I don't really think every one who says 5' wide is exactly 60", I call mine a 5 wide, but it really is 62.5". 4', 5', 6' are the rough range, not the exact dimension. It is much easier to say I have a 5 wide than a 62.5" wide.

Shadow Catcher wrote:The why not, one reason is wind resistance. CR is a 6 wide and wider than the Subaru.

If its wider than your Tow vehicle I can see that. And 6' Wide will do that. Mine at 64" +/- are narrower than both my Nissan's??

rowerwet wrote:I don't really think every one who says 5' wide is exactly 60", I call mine a 5 wide, but it really is 62.5". 4', 5', 6' are the rough range, not the exact dimension. It is much easier to say I have a 5 wide than a 62.5" wide.

True, I just call mine "Over the Wheel Builds" Although I have seen Several 5' wides that were 5' wide with 2-3" fenders on the sides.

Happy Trails

Len

TPCE is also 64 inches outside the walls, matching my custom frame, for a full queen mattress inside. It will still have full fenders outside of the walls.

Building 64 instead of 60 means that quite a bit more sheet goods are required with potential for more waste, but that just means there is enough thin skin material leftover to build lantern boxes, etc.

If you are using a foam mattress, it is not that big of a cost savings since you will likely cut a queen size down for a 60 wide. A custom inner spring mattress would almost surely cost more.

When I first started thinking about building my one-man sleeper, I started trolling Craigslist for trailers to build on. The ramps/platforms on a tow dolly are around 80" wide by 40" long. I might have bought one and built my camper at 80x48 (the wide way!).

That would have been something we've never seen the likes of at TNTTT, for sure!

However, tow dollies have no suspension whatsoever. That's what stopped me - the thing would have shaken itself apart!