Heavy duty 5x10

[wlivesey]

I've been going back and forth for a while now, trying to decide what type of TTT to build. I've want an off-road worthy trailer, but I don't want something really tiny. A couple of weeks ago I found a heavy duty 5x10 that (I think) will make the perfect TTT for me. It will be off road worthy, have a queen sized bed, interior galley and potty, and enough head room to stand up. It will also fit in my garage and have AC. It's basically an rugged Compact Jr with different styling. Let me know what you think. I'm getting anxious to start building.

[wtcreaux]

What is your proposed final weight??

[wlivesey]

I haven't calculated the total eight yet. My tow vehicle has a 5K towing capacity so I'm not overly concerned about the final weight. I'll build it strong to handle rugged conditions... I would think it could also be built to be quite lite. I would think 1200 or 1300 pounds could be achieved.

[jagular7]

My thoughts for a camper are very similar to yours. However, how would you control the rising and closure of the top? I know its only a representation of the layout, but if those side panels have limited spacer between them when laying flat, how are you going to control the lifting and closing of the top with the folding front and rear panels?

There was a design on here about having the top panel swing back to front in a lifting manner. The side panels would then fold up to hold it up and secure it. The rear panel would be underneath the top panel and the forward panel would be part of the closure for the hole in the roof.

Add outside access panels to storage and cabinet areas, especially of the toilet.

Add a swing down foot stool/steps on the back door. Have it part of the rear bumper area. The bumper would act as a rear most skid plate for the offroad environment. Many offroad hard side campers have an angled bottom 1/3 of the camper. This lengthens the usuable area inside as well as provides departure angle when the camper is pulled offroad. Think you can shorten the given trailer or relocate the axle rear more, then build a longer upper 2/3 portion.

My plan is to cut the rear most crossmember and use that to lengthen my trailer frame. I'd add angle 2x2 or so to support a lower entrance platform. The floor will be 14" off the ground. This would help with entering the camper and I don't think there will be much ground clearance issues with the angled rear. And I wouldn't need a taller camper overall to pull behind a Jeep TJ.
My roof will have a tilting roof with soft sides to provide standup room as well as ventilation. The middle of the roof will have another doorway which would fold over the front of the camper and lock down on the front (similar to a Flip-Pac) when needed. It would be an upper loft bed area.

I do like your width and overall length. You do have a leading frontal area, why?

[wlivesey]

My thoughts for a camper are very similar to yours. However, how would you control the rising and closure of the top? I know its only a representation of the layout, but if those side panels have limited spacer between them when laying flat, how are you going to control the lifting and closing of the top with the folding front and rear panels?

The top will be attached to the folding front and rear panels with piano hinges. I plan to use gas struts to open the top automatically once it is unlatched. Since the gas struts should do most of the lifting, I shouldn't need much space between the folding side panels.

There was a design on here about having the top panel swing back to front in a lifting manner.

I looked at the design you mentioned but encountered headroom problems. Once I positioned the roof far enough forward that it could fold down (towards the rear or the trailer), it left a large area near the back door that was not covered by the popup roof.

I do like your width and overall length. You do have a leading frontal area, why?

The front of the trailer leans forward for a couple or reasons. It makes a nice angled headboard that I can comfortably lean against when I sit up in bed. I also just like the way it looks...

Thanks for all the input with regard to off-road features. A number of the features you mentioned are in the plan, they're just not pictured...

Good stuff...

[wlivesey]

My current design has the shell about 6 inches wider than the frame (3 inches on each side). I'm planning to build the floor out of 3/4 ply with 2x2 support for the walls glued and screwed to the bottom of the floor.

Do you think I need to have mounting points/angle iron welded to the outside of the frame for support or is what I've described enough?

[jimqpublic]

...

There was a design on here about having the top panel swing back to front in a lifting manner.

I looked at the design you mentioned but encountered headroom problems. Once I positioned the roof far enough forward that it could fold down (towards the rear or the trailer), it left a large area near the back door that was not covered by the popup roof.
...

Why not have the top fold down forward instead of rearward? That way when you open it up it pivots to the rear and the excess roof area would make a nice porch roof. Obviously you would need latches to ensure that the wind wouldn't pop it up while in transit.

[wlivesey]

Why not have the top fold down forward instead of rearward? That way when you open it up it pivots to the rear and the excess roof area would make a nice porch roof. Obviously you would need latches to ensure that the wind wouldn't pop it up while in transit.

I tried that too... As you mentioned, some good latches would be needed for a poptop that opens as you described. - That's the #1 reason for me. The other reason is that I would like to have a roof vent in front of the pop top. If it opens this way, there isn't enough room without making the top very small. I could probably fine tune the plan and make it work...

[chiefdog]

i think you are onto a winner, i think that if you are gonna tow a camper you may as well be able to both stand and cook in it too.with my design i plan on cooking outside mostly but in case of bad weather at least there is an option to cook indoors

[rebapuck]

My VW has a poptop that lifts with springs and " X" arms. Goes straight up.

[wlivesey]

This is an old thread. Check out the build thread in my signature.

[Prem]

wlivesey,

What's new? How's the build going? Got new photos for us?

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