Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Has anyone seen a bunk bed in a teardrop? I'd like to make a separate sleeping area for the baby and was wondering if anyone has built one or has pictures?

I have designed and built a bunk system for my teardrop. My kids love it and it resolved my needs for an awesome emergency shelter. You have to sacrifice interior storage room in the form of cabinets to make it work, but in an emergency I'd rather have my kids inside and comfortable, rather than my possessions. However, the interior does have an ample shelf to hold a 13 inch tv/vcr combo, laptop, backpack and more! And, there is a full galley!

I have been lurking on this board for a while and wish to thank many of you for your design tips. You helped me get my projects off the ground with confidence.

I will be starting my fourth teardrop build tomorrow and will once again be installing the bunk system. I couldn't afford to outright build one, so I planned to build a few and roll the profits into one I could keep. I'm almost there! This board aided my technical needs and Visa provided the short term funds. Please email me and I'll point you to the pics.

A few more details on the bunk system. To the untrained eye, my design looks and functions like any other teardrop suited for two people. Full galley with shelf for a cook stove and cooler/water container underneath. Nice interior storage shelf for miscellaneous items. However, the interior shelf (just above your feet when you are laying down) slides forward, the partition wall between the cabin and the galley folds down, and delivers a 55 inch bunk for a couple kids. The design is ultra-simplistic, but highly functional and sturdy!

Thanks again for all the great information!!

Erik, you need to get with Jeanette. She's putting a bunk in her tear.
Thread: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=7742



Have a good day.

UT...WE WANT PICS...of your cot system and your much debated(and maligned) suicide doors...PLEASE
madjack

madjack, I put up a few pics of the bunk system in my Album....let me know what you think. Also, I'd like to hear more about the maligned suicide doors.

...as a strong proponent of the KISS principle, that bunk system fulfill it...simple, strong and it works...as to the doors...lots of folks like the cool factor associated with suicide door(myself included) but worry about the saftey factor(myself included) so what type of latching system do you use and how have they worked so far(like in rain and such)
madjack

And here's a link to the same on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 4634522096

Mike...

Erik,

We just did our maiden voyage this weekend in a 5x10 with two adults, a four and a six year old. Consensus is we need at least one bunk bed.

The design I will be going with is a cot that rolls up when not in use. Pics can be seen in this thread....

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=4488

Take care,

Ben

Hi Erik,

Gage already posted my CAD pic of where the bunk will go inside the trailer. Here's the bunk itself being tested out. I've since bought a couple wooden closet rods to use for suspension. I'm interested in keeping the weight down, which was one reason I decided to go with a fabric bunk rather than a wood one. The other reason is ease of taking it down to use that space when we use the table and footwell (see my album for a CAD pic of the idea). With our son on the bunk, it sags about 4" below the rods, so if you go this route, keep that in mind when you're deciding how high to put it. As UTguy mentioned, the bunk also causes you to sacrifice cabinet space. His bunk method looks pretty cool. You should also check out EZ's front bunks. If I had two kids, I'd strongly consider either method.

Jeanette

I used this set up for 3 weeks in Florida about a month ago. I chose cots so that I could roll them out of the way. My 7 year old son slept on the top one and my 4 year old daughter slept in the lower one. My wife and I slept with the 14 month old just as we do at home. It worked very well for us.

The cots look small but they sag a bit giving the kids extra room. Although it is not much room, they like the cozyness and the fact that it is their space.

Sorry for the yahoo links.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/johngwalk ... pg&.src=ph

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/johngwalk ... pg&.src=ph

madjack, the doors are secured with a standard T-handle from a truck shell. The handles hefty pin has an arm that attaches to it and swings behind the TD wall to hold the door closed. I have secured two of these "arms" to the pin for a double measure of safety. Additionally, I always lock the handle so it won't slide down. I delivered my first TD in pouring rain at 75 MPH on the interstate and it was dry as can be when I opened the door.

Suicide Door. I am making the assumption that this name is derived from the hinges location....downwind instead of up??? I would prefer to have the hinge on the upwind side, but the bunk system prevents me from moving the door another foot to the rear....rather, I prefer to have a larger bunk so I choose to place the door as close to the front as possible.

I hear you on KISS...my TD is extremely "S"imple. Without this mindset, I would have been overwhelmed and probably never embarked on such a rewarding project!

Mike, thanks for posting the auction link. It saved me from spending the rest of the day uploading pics!!

What's wrong with suicide doors???:o
UT , could you explain your T handle thing , for a noob , like me ... Thanks , having trouble with handle /lock thingies /understanding

Erik,
How old is the baby?? If real young, they make a special baby bed that sits on a regular adult bed. Perhaps you can modify that for safety.

UT. Welcome. Woooowww. The bunk is sweet.

Miriam

GPW, my door handle comes from a local truck shell company. I have uploaded two pics to my album. One pic clearly shows the profile of the handle mounted in the door. You will see the handles post sticking out of the door to the inside (of the cabin). There is a small steel piece (arm) that slides onto the post at a 90 degree angle and screws securely to the post. When you turn the handle, the post rotates, which inturn moves the arm like the hands on a clock. When you shut the door and turn the handle, the arm rotates up behind the wall and effectively locks the door. One of the pics shows just one arm installed. The other arm shows two arms installed for an added measure of saftey.

Suicide Doors....I couldn't find anything on the forum about suicide doors (I'm sure it's out there), but I think "what's wrong with them" is the location of the hinge. The door hinge can be placed either side of the door, depending on which way you want the door to swing. The safest side to place your hinge is on the upwind side (the side nearest the front of the TD). The thinking here is that when your door lock fails, the wind force created while driving will naturally keep the door closed.

If the hinge is placed on the downwind side (towards the rear of the trailer) and the door becomes slightly ajar while doing 75 MPH, the door will be ripped off. Of course, this logic assumes you don't do 75 in REVERSE!!!!

Again, I haven't heard or read anything on suicide doors and this is just my assumption of what is meant...if I'm wrong, somebody please clarify...either way, it is a safety detail to consider.

Thanks for the compliments on the bunk system. Surely appreciated!

...a suicide door is any door with the hinge on the back or downwind side...as you say, if the latch fails, the door commits suicide.............
madjack