Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I wanted to build a teardrop, then saw the vardo,then saw the old plans for a foldup hard side.I thought that my best option as I wanted something to stand in and cook in during bad weather,plus inside toilet if needed. I originally was going to do a vardo type design which is essentially a box over a box. This would have worked well but I decided I wanted something a little lower while towing so I could see out the rear window while driving.

The lifting mechanism is very simple.I used 1/2" pipe going up each side on the middle of the trailer,secured to the fenders and lower side wall, and another piece connecting the tops of each. Eyehooks were placed in the roof and a cable runs from each eyehook to pulleys at each top corner of the pipe to a small trailer winch mounted on one verticle pipe. Everthing is very light,trailer is 5x10 with insulated wall construction.

setup takes less than 5 minutes.It has a table that lowers to become part of the bed,and an area for cooking.


the trick is to measure the height of your sides so they fold up(height-wall thickness)

The workmanship is not the best as I kind of designed it as I went along,not knowing if it was feasable or not. But the design works(for me at least) and it is very light weight.Just another option for someone looking for something a little different.By the way,the pipes used for lifting and lowering are removed and stored inside the trailer when traveling.

Pretty nice idea!!! I'd really like to see this expanded upon. One nice thing about a pop-up or a hi-low trailer, is that they tow well and have very good visual clearance when you are looking out your rearview mirror. Thanks for sharing!!!

I have been wanting to do a similar idea since it is nice to stand up in bad weather.

Cool design. Looks roomy. I agree with Juneaudave, I would like to see more on it.

Good job... Looks highly functional.

is the roof solid or built up? and are there gaskets to seal out wind/ rain?

it looks very straightforward and practical.

are those boat winches for the hoist mechanism?

Interesting concept and good execution!

I've been lurking around here for a few months trying to figure what to build, and have been trying to come up with a way to have a low height for towing and a standy when I get to the campsite. Your TTT has given me inspiration (and hope) to keep pursuing this concept.

I added some pix to my album to show what I did. The top is one piece and built slightly larger that the 5x10 size of the walls with a 3" lip to fit over the walls when assembled.There is weatherstripping between the top and lower walls and on top of the top walls. The long side wall without the door is two pieces held together inside with a hasp,a 1" piece of aluminum bar stock will seal the joint on the outside. If you leave appx. 1/4"space between the top walls at the corners then a 1" piece of aluminum angle attached to the front and side wall ( that fold out first and fold in last) with a piece of weatherstripping on the unattached side should seal the corners quite well.A small boat winch lifts the top. two eye bolts are screwed into the top, there is a pully at the top of the far end bar and two pulleys at the top closest to the winch. You do not need heavy duty hardware as everything is very light and raises and lowers with little effort. I haven't weighed the trailer but I can move it around with very little effort and my total cost was around $700. I am quite pleased with the results and hope it gives someone some ideas for their own cheap and functional home away from home.