by TheDuke » Mon Aug 27, 2007 7:34 pm
While waiting to be able to start my build on Habitat I, I thought I’d do a “design review” (comes from all those years in engineering) just to see if I could uncover any fatal flaw, while there is still time to fix it. Here it is: comments are welcome.
Apologies for the length.
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Current drawings for Habitat I are now in my Album.
This is sort of a design review I’ve put together, based on two of Mikes original lists found in his generic Standy and BugOut trailer threads. (Thanks for those links, Mike) I’ve added and deleted and made comments and explanations as appropriate for the Habitat I. All this work is based only on my own choices, and, when it is done, still has to be presented to Jodi (wife) for her inputs, which may be considerable. I am doing this design work before she reviews it, in order to present her with a design which has already had the feasibility and build ability established. This is taking a big risk, but it seemed to me that it would make her work easier. Whether she sees it this way, remains to be seen. Who knows, bigger changes may be in store.
A 48" height. 48" is a common size at all the orange box type stores
Since one of my goals was to have interior room that allowed “crouch ability” and the ability to change your pants in the loo, I had to give this one up, and just resign myself to spend more time looking for the right size materials. In the case of H1, I’m going to piece together the sides, joining them where they lap the internal braces.
A length long enough for a true queen sized bed... 80"
The H1 bed is currently 74”, and the frame is a little shorter than 10 ft. So it is actually possible to do a stretch and make an 80” bed. We won’t personally need it, but it might be nice for someone else who may build the H1, and it will certainly reduce any claustrophobia.
A width comfortable enough to sleep in, including rolling over without rolling over your partner. As a minimum I would like to suggest a queen sized bed 60" wide.
The H1 has got this.
A robust trailer design that is easy to procure, whether you are a welder or not. A 5x8 bolt together red trailer seems to fit that category.
Right now, H1 has a purpose built welded frame, because it seemed easier to get all the dimensions I wanted, and I could use the Torflex axle to get the reduced height. It also made it easier to put the dropped floor exactly where I needed it for the loo. But if I make H1 longer for the 80” bed, the frame can go back to 10’, which is one of the standard lengths from Red Trailer. If the whole frame is bolt-together, then I can easily reposition things, or perhaps add wood cross-joists, to get things where I want them. But I noticed from one of your own postings that the Red Trailer in that size appeared to be welded, not bolted, so I’m not sure if using a Red Trailer frame will be any advantage. If I used a welded Red Trailer frame, I’d have to accept whatever spacing they had for the loo, and it might not work well. Also, I would still have the problem of ride height, since I would have to use the Red Trailer Springs.
But a purpose built frame with a Torflex axle would be very expensive.
So I guess I have to look into the possibility of a 5x10 bolt-together Red Trailer, and see what the trailer looks like with springs under it. None of this is reflected in the Album shots.
A door that is easy to make and use. Easy to trim, whether it's a woodie or a clad/skinned design. (The door center should be about 40" from the head of the mattress to the center of your body when you sit up and swing your legs over the side of the mattress.
Most designs I’ve seen use the scrap from cutting out the door opening – to make the door itself. Because of the unique size of the H1, I’m going to make the sides by patching together pieces of ply, joining them at 1x2’s or 1x4’s. So I create the door opening as I go, and then have to cut out a separate door and laminate it and put a window in it. Since H1 uses rectangular doors & windows, it shouldn’t be a problem.
As far as the 40” “sit-up” dimension for the door, I don’t meet that right now. My door center is only about 19” from the end of the mattress. When (and if) I stretch the H1 to accommodate the 80” mattress I will try to put the extra inches there, and I may also be able to squeeze out some more inches if I can use the Torflex axles because I can mount the fender to the brake backing plate, and make it closer to the wheel. But even doing all that, the closest I can get to the desired 40” dimension will be a maximum of 30”. I’ll have to live with it.
A door that is tall enough to not hit your head on it when climbing in or out.
The H1 30”W door is 50” tall. That should be more than adequate.
A cabin that gives you adequate storage without making you feel claustrophobic.
The H1 doesn’t have any shelves or cupboards at the head end of the mattress. But the sliding door to the loo is right there, and in the loo (in front of you as you are on the porta-potti) are storage shelves 30” W x 19” DP, running floor to ceiling (60”)
There are two sets of medium sized personal storage areas, one to either side of the pass-thru, and one rather large storage area to one side.
A generic design that lets you adjust the profile from Kenskill to Benroy to your own custom design, and still use the same basic directions.
With the H1, the need for a workable loo imposes restrictions on the shape of the front. The closer to square, the better. It actually does work to some degree with the front shape of the grasshopper (as I found in the Skeet’r), but the larger rounded shapes (Kenskill) will have difficulty. That’s one of the reasons why the Benroy was such a good choice for the H1.
A choice of skinning... either aluminum, filon, or Uniflex 255.
This is personal preference, and not a design issue.
A galley design that doesn't bruise your shins... per Amy
The choice of the Benroy shape solves this problem. Another reason for Benroy.
A basic galley that consists of stove, and fridge/icebox or cooler and storage.
I currently have two fold-out flip-ups, one on either side of the galley. The one on the left holds the cookstove (which sits on the counter during travel), and the one on the right is just workspace. The main counter has a sink at the far right. The rest is free work surface. The cooler/ice box is in the center door below. There are also two small storage spaces and one large space, together with the storage to either side of the ice box. There is also a microwave.
A tongue that lets you have a propane tank and a battery.
The tongue has the battery and misc. electrics, such as the inverter. No big propane tank. I will use the small green propane bottles, stored beneath the counter, which will be vented.
A roof vent to keep you cool
There is a fantastic fan, centered above the dinette area.
An easily accessible raceway for electrical wiring
The H1 has Mike’s side-to-side raceway, just above the foot area.
Easily obtainable parts
Nothing special in the H1, so far
A shoreline connection for campground campers
This will connect either at the tongue box, where the battery and inverter are, or directly through the side wall into the raceway.
A solar panel for rustic campers
Sorry, no solar panel.
Gas struts to make it easy to open the hatch
I’ll use them if I can.
A total dry weight of less than 1000# which allows almost any car to tow it.
I don’t think the H1 is going to make it under 1000#. But I hope it doesn’t go too much over, because I have the CR-V, with a 1500# tow limit. I will be using fairly light construction in the floor and walls. And carbonated water. The bubbles make it lighter, like Styrofoam.
A tongue weight of less that 150# which most car hitches can handle
All I can do is try, and shift things if needed.
The basic teardrop should be affordable... (It’s the options that add cost)
The H1 is just the same construction most folks use. If the money runs low, the project will simply slow down.
An optional heat source will be the 12000 BTU forced air furnace
An optional cooling source will be a 5000 BTW window air conditioner
We’ll probably use a mattress heater, but no cooling except the fan.
An optional roof rack
What’s that? Plenty of flat space up there, though, but I don’t want weight up that high.
Here are some additional considerations:
Ability to stand up inside it.
Can’t do this, but you can crouch, and you can change your pants in the loo, if you cock your head to one side a little.
Ability to cook inside
I don’t want to do this, since I agree with the folks that don’t like the cooking smells that eventually built up in small spaces. But the H1 does have the pass thru, so you can prepare the grub, put it in or near the pass thru, then go inside, grab it, and eat.
Ability to go potty inside
This is the main reason for the H1. Plenty of room in the loo. 30” side to side for elbows, and those necessary leaning motions. All the supplies you’d need right there in front of you. And a small sink. And just behind you, as you sit on the porta-potti, is a locking insulated door that allows you to service the porta-potti from outside.
By the way, the sliding door from the cabin into the loo is 20” wide.
Ability to take a shower inside
Sorry, had to stop designing somewhere. But there are some Class B trailers (vans, actually) that use right-in-the-middle-of-the-aisle showers, with a curtain. Something like that could be in the future for the H1, with a little plex bubble in the roof for your head. Who knows?
Ability to sit and eat inside
The H1 has a minimal 2 person fold-up dinette. The seats don’t have a lot of padding, but they fold up and clip to the wall, out of the way. The table surface attaches level with the pass thru, and comes off and clips to the inside of one of the doors. The seats are about 15-3/4” high when down, and they rest on the floor, as do your feet. To do this, the mattress is cut into two equal pieces, front and back. The back section, where your feet would go, is further cut into two additional pieces, side to side. These are all separately cloth covered. If two folks want to use the dinette, they flip the entire rear mattress section onto the front, fold down the seats and their feet will then rest on the floor. If only one person wants to use it, they fold down only one seat, flip over just one of the small mattress pieces, and the other person can still stretch out and sleep. Just to keep you alert, there’s no visible support for the end of the table. Haven’t designed it, yet.
TheDuke
