Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Well I've got my trailer which is a NT&E Carry On trailer 5 x 8. Bought the spare tire too.

Now I have been working with the profile of the TD with cardstock paper.

Here is a picture of my TD profile at 1/12th size. What do you think? The overall length of the trailer is 10 feet. The floor measures 9 feet. I really want the bubble up front. And it will be an area for cabinets.

Do you see the purple line and the yellow line? Which would be a better place for the plywood to join. As it is overall 10 feet long, I've got to do some joining. I plan on painting the trailer white with the Uniflex 255.

After playing around with the profile I also cut one out that is 5 x 10 feet. 4 feet high seems teeny tiny to me as I tend to be claustrophic about tight spaces. Two doors are very much needed in my build. When I've got to get, I HAVE GOT TO GET OUT right away. With 5 feet I can pretty much stand on my knees inside.

If I were to build 5 x 10 where would you suggest the seams/joins, etc.? I go take a picture of the 5 foot high profile, be back in a few minutes.

Again it is 1/12th of the actual build, so that makes the grid work you see 1 inch square.

Where would I make the plywood joins - the least waste and more importantly would be for stability of the TD.


Are the proportions of the TD still okay with a 5 foot height, 5 foot width, and a 10 foot length - the actual floor length of 9 feet?
I need help from you gurus

I like the 4'tall the best. What are you pulling with is weight a problem? What is your bed length?Can you get cabinets in your galley with that slope on the back? Justa little more to think about.

Darla... I think most of the folks have made their joints at the rear. I like the idea of making them at the door area too, but I've never done it (yet). Also most folks have used a scarf joint with epoxy... an excellent very strong way to join plywood. I like to make that kind of butt joint with a floating spline... It's just about as strong and much easier to do. But, you do need a router with a slot cutting bit.
What the hey... you're gonna need a router anyway You'll see.

Kens - I'll be pulling it with a 2002 Dodge Caravan 3.3 L.
Cabinets in the galley - able to get them - which one were you thinking would be difficult to get the cabinets into, the 4 foot high or the 5 foot high?

Podunkfla - We do have a router. I also took a look at the jig saw in the garage today and bought new blades - multiple ones - for it.

I bought materials for the floor this evening after work.

Darla, Before you go settling on 8 foot plywood, you should at least see if you can get some 10 foot. check around, you might have to special order it, but it does exist.

If you can, got crawl around in a teardrop trailer, somebody near you would be very happy to show off their tear while you lounge in it. 4 feet really has lots of headroom. I was like you and thought it was too short, I added 8 inches, and can't believe how much headroom I have, Its almost way too much.

Keep looking through the Hall of Fame. I like Sonetpro's teardrop, he has that storage in the front like you are hoping to get and some good photos of it, (along with many others). As for the back end, you should draw in the shelving/cabinets because ou might get a better feel for the space.

Lookin good,

John

LittleCritter wrote:Kens - I'll be pulling it with a 2002 Dodge Caravan 3.3 L.
Cabinets in the galley - able to get them - which one were you thinking would be difficult to get the cabinets into, the 4 foot high or the 5 foot high?

Podunkfla - We do have a router. I also took a look at the jig saw in the garage today and bought new blades - multiple ones - for it.

I bought materials for the floor this evening after work.

Darla... Got a router... cool!
Here's a good how-to on making both kind of joints: http://www.boatbuilder.org/godzilliscarfing.htm

Have fun... and send pix!

Hi Darla,
Welcome to the forum! If you could get a chance to look at a teardrop up close would be great. Even better would be if you could get inside.
As you figure out size a couple of things to think about. What is the towing capacity of your Dodge Caravan? The bigger the trailer the heavier the trailer. Also generally the goal is to keep the trailer shorter than the tow vehicle for aerodynamic reasons. My trailer is about 3-4” less than 4 ft high for design reasons and because I’m using 16” wheels, it made it taller than I wanted it. Even so headroom isn’t a problem and ours is only 4’ wide too. Once inside it is amazing roomy for the size of the trailer. So if you go 5’ wide and 4’ high you probably would find you have more room than you would think. Also some people create a plan where part of the floor can open to a dropped part so it is easier to sit in and may even have a little table.
Happy planning and good luck on your build.
Martha

I started looking closer at the other profiles and room needed to put cabinets in the galley as Kens had suggested in one of the previous posts. I modeled the back after the Benroy Generic. Here is another profile concept and I am liking it better. Thanks Kens

Whatcha all think? Am I ready to start cuttin'?


Darla

Darla... Good looking profile. I've always thought the Benroy galley was better than most designs... Particularly if you make it with a short hatch and just have storage down below. I think it would be easier to put an AC unit down there. put the battery and elec. stuff there too and put the tail lights in as well. Just my thoughts...

You have a good design Darla. I like the last one. If tight spaces are an issue you might want to cut some cardboard or hang some sheets to about the right size. 5' tall is not too tall for 10' long. Mines is and a part of me would like to make is smaller. Everything costs more when you go that big. It is also harder to reach if you are small.

I would split the plywood at the bulkhead. Your cabinets and bulkhead will tie them in from top to bottom better than at the front.

Good luck and Enjoy

Darla, I seen tears with the seam at the door. It is much less noticeable as there are only small areas visible above and below the door. Are you doing solid or insulated framed walls. That makes a difference. If you are framing the walls then you seam will be plenty strong enough at the door.

Miriam C. wrote:You have a good design Darla. I like the last one. If tight spaces are an issue you might want to cut some cardboard or hang some sheets to about the right size. 5' tall is not too tall for 10' long. Mines is and a part of me would like to make is smaller. Everything costs more when you go that big. It is also harder to reach if you are small.

I would split the plywood at the bulkhead. Your cabinets and bulkhead will tie them in from top to bottom better than at the front.

Good luck and Enjoy

Mariam, that is a great idea - I will make a fort in those dimensions like when I was a kid. Funny, I remeber as a kid playing with my dolls and I would take the Little Red Wagon and put a rug in it and a couple childs folding chairs and then go "camping" in our yard. Me and my dolls (and my little sister too)

Darla,

You've been doing a good job designing.

After going thru the same thing myself just these past couple days, I've gotta agree with the folks that say put the seam above (and below) the door. You'll back that seam up with door framing on the inside, and it'll be stronger than the plywood.

If you decide to go 5' high, then consider using 5x5 baltic birch, and you'll only have to worry about the vertical seams.

Mike...

Darla, Mike is right about the Baltic Birch. It is lots easier to do 5'x10' with it. I am not sure the door will line up with it though. Mine does because the door is near the middle.

Maybe Mike can model it for you on CAD

This is where mine ended up. This btw is a 5x10 on a 6'4" x 8' frame.