Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

So I'm thinking about a trailer, and like a smack upside the head I think "Why not build a slide-in so you can still use the trailer when it's not in camping mode?"

Has anyone done so yet?

A few people have built removable campers apparently with varying results.

Sliding a rather heavy camper on and off of a trailer can be a bit hard to control. In my opinion, lifting is much easier (with mechanical aids)
Have a look at my thread here: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=61318
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=61318

There are some pictures of my trailer with the sides on for hauling firewood, gravel or shingles and pictures of the camper installed and sitting on stands in the garage with the trailer rolled under it. So both are stored in the same real estate. If you have tons of space, dedicated trailers would be nice but I don't have enough space for all the toys. Since mine is a woody, having it easily removable is also handy for the annual addition of a few more coats of finish.

With my last two builds, I've built the cabin on a dolly and then loaded it on the chassis. (I'm confident it's thee way to build a teardrop, BTW.)



But it's a project to get it on, perfectly centered, and bolted down. Not something I would want to do every time we wanted to go camping. One of the advantages of owning a teardrop is the simplicity. Wanna camp tonight? Load the cooler, top off the water jug, and scoot down the road.

Obviously, what you are contemplating has been done with success. Just make sure you have some lifting system figured out and how you are going to attach the cabin to the chassis that is simple and secure. Chasing bolt holes with a cabin that weighs several hundred pounds isn't going to be fun.



Tony

For sure Tony I wouldn't want to load and unload this every time I went camping. It lives on the trailer all summer unless I really have to use the trailer for something else. But generally I can save the utility trailer duties for the 7 or so months of the year when camping in Canada isn't much fun.

I lift and lower the camper from underneath through the stake pockets that are internal to the frame (custom trailer). I try to line up the trailer fairly closely under the camper before lowering it. I have 4 short pieces of tubing that I lower it onto so it is easy to move a bit to line up the bolt holes which are a bit oversized anyway. The whole process takes less time than organizing a menu and packing the cooler. Guess that shows where my skills are and are not. To make this easy, you need to plan ahead. I load and unload it myself, with the cooler I need help.

Like the truck campers, they are called slide ins. There are jacks at all four corners to lift it up and then you drive away.

Tony, I have been impressed with your concept of building the teardrop pod on a dolly, then transferring to the trailer. Do you have a thread here somewhere on how you built your dolly?
Being without a pickup for the first time in more than 30 years, I'm also interested in the slide-in concept so that I could use the trailer for other things from time to time.

Billinthedesert wrote:Tony, I have been impressed with your concept of building the teardrop pod on a dolly, then transferring to the trailer. Do you have a thread here somewhere on how you built your dolly?
Being without a pickup for the first time in more than 30 years, I'm also interested in the slide-in concept so that I could use the trailer for other things from time to time.

No! Sorry about that. I build the dolly out of on edge 2x4s with plywood gussets top and bottom. I make them so they are three inches short around the sides.


Tony

Simple, and makes sense. Thanks.