Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi, I'm new to the forum and want to build a foamie teardrop for my 2001 Yamaha Royal Star Venture. I've been looking at the forum for a while and studying the whole idea since last Fall. I'm finally ready to bite and I want to move quickly. I have a lot of ideas and am looking for suggestions and advice.

What I'd like to do is build a foamie teardrop using the rectangular Pico-Light dimensions and probably that frame design as well, but use a modified version of the Rimple shortened to 80", truncating the bottom half of the galley. This idea is inspired by the Moby1 C2. That commercial camper appears to be built in this fashion. I really want something of a galley for my wife and I to use.

I want to borrow a lot of construction ideas from aksnowryder. It appears that he used foam for almost everything except the roof. I don't believe he used any spars/cross members between the walls and it appears he made the doors and floor using foam. If that is possible that is want I want to do, and then or course cover the outside with fiberglass. The inside now, that I'd like to finish with some thin wood panneling, maybe a few millimeters of Luan or something like that. I want the lightness but would like a few frills.

I'm still kicking around the idea of using a a 48x96 folding Harbor Freight utility trailer. I saw somebody had figured out how to take the 1750 pound model and reduce it to 4X4. If I couid do that with the folding one I could consider going down that path as it would save some work (I just don't know how much additional weight it would cost me). Right now the folding trailers are on sale for $279. At 4X8 they weight about 250 pounds.

In any even I'll be ready to start in roughly a week or so. March 31st in my deadline to commit to a path with the trailer as that is the end of the Harbor Freight sale.

Would anybody know how to set the top up to accomodate a kayak rack?

These are big plans I need to follow through with.

I'm currently doing a wooden build with an HF 1195 lb 4x8 ft trailer with 8" tires to pull behind my Goldwing. I will probably upgrade and buy 12" tires with the same bolt pattern to install on it, but other than that, I'm planning on using the base harbor freight trailer (that they've since discontinued). I'm thinking it will come in nice and light. I removed one of the center cross bars because they are redundant and are only there for folding purposes, which I won't take advantage of. I just stumbled across the foamie concept, and have decided I'll DEFINITELY be building one after this build is done. We want our first one to be nice and wooden and pretty. I think the foamie has lots of opportunities (especially weight savings). I am generally considering these wooden ones are WAY OVERBUILT and have a good line of sight on how to reduce weight without sacrificing insulation and space inside. I'll be posting time lapse videos during the build and put some stuff up after it's done on how to build it.

In regards to your last question, I'm an engineer, and the idea of mounting a kayak on top is a scary one unless you're going to put bracing on the inside. Foam is not meant to be a load-bearing member. It's not so bad as the shell of your teardrop because it's only experiencing wind loading and supporting its own weight. When you get a 30-lb kayak on top hitting potholes and stuff while going down the road, that's scary.

Having said that, you might consider putting a hatch in the back that will allow you to slide the kayak in from the back and keep it inside for transport? I'm doing something similar for transporting our road bikes. They'll be inside. Saves on wind resistance, saves on loading since you have the trailer cross members directly under it, and simplifies support structure substantially over putting it on the roof.

On the last note, since there is road debris etc that could be kicked up, I'm thinking the bottom side should be marine grade plywood (mine will be 1/2" thick) as it gives you a good foundation on which to work. I've seen other builds for foamies that do this, and then they make a rear bulkhead that provides lateral support and serves as a galley from the back, and is made out of plywood.