Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2017 11:30 am**

I have lightened my design plans. I have a house window in the basement that I used to fit a 5000 BTU AC into. My new plan is to mount the window on the drivers side and just mount the AC after I park when it is needed. This guys build in this video is the nuts and bolts of how I picture mine going together. I will just polish it up a bit and add a curved nose.
Also, his roof joists are to skinny and his walls are too thick (I assume). I plan on 3" joists and ripping 2x4s in half for 1.5" thick wall studs.
https://youtu.be/KR-aHzBOj7E
His back door design starts at 9:20 on the video

The question I have is this, I want a 5yo usable door in the back but I also want a wide entry into the trailer. I am thinking about using his door and frame design to build a double door setup. Is this the easiest backyard design?

The short version of the plan now is to have a bunk bed running sideways in the nose and having a queen size bed under it with our feet under the bunk bed.

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2017 12:15 pm**

Everything–-in my opinion--in that trailer is gross overkill. Except for the ventilation. He's going to find out that he doesn't have enough.

Shy away from stud-wall construction. You're not building a storage shed. Search on this site for sandwiched walls. It's a different concept.

I'm not understanding your door question. Side doors? I wasn't able to catch his door construction in the video.

Tony

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2017 3:19 pm**

tony.latham wrote:Everything–-in my opinion--in that trailer is gross overkill. Except for the ventilation. He's going to find out that he doesn't have enough.

Shy away from stud-wall construction. You're not building a storage shed. Search on this site for sandwiched walls. It's a different concept.

I'm not understanding your door question. Side doors? I wasn't able to catch his door construction in the video.

Tony

Basically, he makes an inside style door by sandwiching 2x4s in plywood and put door hinges on it to be the rear door like a cargo toy hauler. I want a teardrop style front but I want a square back

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2017 4:11 pm**

However you do the doors, make sure you figure out how the seals will work––the back end of a square back is going to be a dust vacuum. (Diagram the seals out on graph paper.) For instance, if your rubber seal is 5/16" thick uncompressed, you need to have a space that's 5/32" for the compressed seal to fit in. And that's assuming the rubber will scrunch down that far.

There are several threads focusing on door construction and appropriate hardware.

1/4" plywood for exterior sheathing is plenty thick on a sandwiched wall BTW. I like to use subfloor plywood. It's solid core, exterior glue, and a bit cheaper than ACX plywood. If I were not building sandwiched, I would recommend 3/4" ACX without the studs.

Tony

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2017 8:57 pm**

This builder did a square back tear that is a sleeper and toy hauler with 1 wide rear door. Take a look, maybe you can get some ideas. I agree with Tony, the build in the video is way overkill. I have built food trucks and trailers where we had to anchor everything to the walls and never built that heavy. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=69257.

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2017 9:12 pm**

tony.latham wrote:However you do the doors, make sure you figure out how the seals will work––the back end of a square back is going to be a dust vacuum. (Diagram the seals out on graph paper.) For instance, if your rubber seal is 5/16" thick uncompressed, you need to have a space that's 5/32" for the compressed seal to fit in. And that's assuming the rubber will scrunch down that far.... If I were not building sandwiched, I would recommend 3/4" ACX without the studs.

I have a squareback rear on my trailer, and I agree it is somewhat a dust vacuum (though the gap cover on top reduces that effect a bit). It is a vertical, one-piece flat chunk of 3/4" ACX, thoroughly saturated with the "mix", and subsequent coatings of poly and paint (6 in all), to ensure that it would be rot-proof, and hang straight without warping. I used three separate heavy-duty gate hinges to mount my flat hatch, to prevent racking at any position (closed, or at 105 or 110 degrees, when opened) . I sealed the hatch door with D-shaped weatherstrip, glued and screwed around the perimeter, and added a bulb seal up top, as extra sealing for monsoon-type storms (which seem to occur on every trip I take), and used two different types of latches (flexible hasps, and 90-degree draw latches) to ensure a tight seal. The bulb seal was used, mainly to prevent water intrusion up top, but the perimeter d-seals prevent dust around the edges (the four hasps/draw latches compress the seals tightly).
conveyor belting (shields gap,breaks up laminar airflow to decrease suction effect behind trailer)
tight seals using D-shape weatherstripping
two types of latches compress the hatch's perimeter seals
If I had chosen to make barn doors instead of a single vertical door, then I probably would've used automotive doorseals, like I did on my solid 3/4" doors. They are forced against the seal (glued and stapled to a 1/4" inner framework), and held there by twin latches, also, or by a single drop-bar from inside. Tight compression is the key to a good seal!
doorseals & compression latches.png (817.52 KiB) Viewed 1396 times

Posted: **Mon Nov 27, 2017 9:24 pm**

Thanks everyone. The comments have improved and refined my plans. Probably simplified them. As for overkill, I was searching "harbor freight campers" on YouTube when all this got started and everybody there was using 2x3 studs. I see ways to avoid that now

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

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