Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Getting finalized on a design, at last. Dropped the tear shape and went with the "rugged off-road" look of the angles, which is more fitting for my purposes.

Design Criteria:

15" wheels for rough-road clearance
12' length max for hairpin turns
Low profile to see over
Narrow width to see around
Real mattress, prefer queen-size
Standing room for indoor shower
Indoor potty
Rear, outside galley, ala TD
Hard sides, even with top raised.
Storage for folding table, chairs, etc.
Tongue space for propane tanks
Large fresh water capacity

Currently named the Island Hopper; here in Southern Arizona, the mountains are like islands in a sea of grass, and are called mountain islands. The best camping is on these "islands," and we "hop" from one to another when we camp. (The photo is from over 9,000' in the Penaleno Mtns.)



The construction will be plywood for the base, to make things easy, but to save weight I'm looking at Nida-Core for the lifting roof, galley lid, and folding side walls. The exterior will be fiberglassed. The galley is shallow, but workable. The width is a compromise; the tire track width matches the tow vehicle (Tahoe), but is narrow enough to easily see around.

The bed is sideways and uses a slideout to gain legroom, which is plenty tall enough for feet. The floor is dropped inside the door, to serve as a shower pan (easy draining) and to gain headroom. The water tank is mounted under the floor, and holds 55 gallons (440 lbs). The side door folds in half, and will be operable with the top down. There will probably also be a large roof vent/escape hatch. Outside-accessible storage is under the bed. To save space, a tankless water heater will be used, and grey water will go into a portable tank when needed, or onto the ground when allowed.


The end and sides will use hydraulic cylinders to assist in lifting them, as in the Esterel design. Recessed latches in the sides will secure the top and galley lids when down.

I have looked at LOTS of photos and drawings, many from people trying to "have it all" in one small space. This is what I came up with after mashing all those ideas together, and making many drawings. The main compromise is bed space: it is basically built for two, though a child's folding bunk could go across the end (in front of the door) if needed.

Take a look, ask questions, point out potential problems. All input welcome!







There is also a teardrop shape based on the same idea:

Looks like a good design to me, except the door and 15" wheels. I think that would really get in my way. Look forward to seeing it done.

Looks do-able. Make sure you don't have a sharp edge on the fender. That could be painful.
Other than that...
Dave

nice left out pontoons in list.

however, the first design will be simple and fast the second design will give more a sence of accomplishment and have more people looing... The first could be your first one get the kinks out then in time start the second one knowing what you learned on the first.

Ron D.

A couple of changes already...

The lift-up roof has a new lower line, which makes the door taller, and the bulkhead was moved back just a tad, to widen the door and get it back from the fender. The galley lid is taller, too.

The biggest change is the bed is now lengthwise, and a tilt-out in the front opens so the bed drawer can be pulled out. The propane tank can still go on the tongue, but will now be a horizontal tank. With this configuration, it is possible to sleep in the trailer without doing anything to the bed.

The sides of the tilt-out go inside the main body when closed, and outside the edge of the bed drawer when open. Nested. I looked at the spring mounts again, and raised the frame just a bit to match the dimensions I have. That let me lower the fenders a bit, which helped with the door angle. The lowest part of the door is 12" wide.

Navigator, I like the popup and slideout, I'm a fan of small size for towing that expands.

Couple of initial thougths; looks like it will need to be taller for sleeping in without poping the top. Looks like the galley lid is right at forehead level when open. Having a good sized door behind the axle might be a challenge depending on ideally axle location for weight balance.

I wonder if a modified KampMaster type popup design might work for you?

Also for the roof for might check out Tricel panels if you're thinking about Nida-core panels.

I see the potential for a wet bed. In a rainstorm, the raised roof will funnel the water onto the roof of the pullout bed right at the joint. This will be hard to seal and keep waterproof. It can be done but you will need to plan and build carefully.

I have a genetic tendency toward over-complication. Thanks, dad!

Trying to keep the rear galley is what was killing my space, so I have removed it, and switched to a pull-out galley. (Similar to the Drifta DPO, http://www.drifta.com.au/CamperTrailerKitchens.php.) That's better, anyway, so it can be placed closer to the campfire/picnic table when needed.

Doing that let me move the door to the front, where it has plenty of room. The potty fits under the rather high bed, as does the pull-out galley. And plenty of other stuff, too. The dropped floor is still used, in the front, as a shower pan. There is 18" between the top of the mattress and the roof in the open position, but no sleeping inside when closed. That's OK, this is more of a go-to-camp trailer, and not an on-the-road trailer.

The Tricel looks good, lower-tech but lower-priced. I see the roof having a frame of 1" steel tube (square), with the Tricel filling in the spaces. The sides of the roof provide a bit of triangulated support, since it's a long span.

The information on this board has been very helpful!

I like the door better on the front, although that "tendency towards over-complicating" might be creeping in on the roof design.

I like the portable galley idea, as noted previously, I'm a fan of the Drifta kitchens.

I agree that the roof is odd, and has been changed in the latest incarnation; the skinny front edge is gone, with just a pop-up-trailer type roof that does still have the angled 'kick' to it.

I like the idea of a ready-to-use galley, but can't squeeze it in. There have been plenty of times when it was not possible to put the back of a trailer where we wanted the "kitchen" to be, so a portable kitchen will work out better. Looks like there will be a tailgate to access the area under the bed, with plenty of space for a Drifta-clone and a large cooler or two.

Plus, now I'm back to having a normal (upright) propane tank on the tongue. I like to have two: one stays connected to the trailer for the water heater, and one can be used remotely for stoves and lanterns (hate those pesky little propane cans...).

Joined the crowd and started playin' with SketchUp, and here's what it looks like so far...

In the continuing quest for ideas, came across a really nice Australian camper that is similar to what I'm after, and even has a shower/toilet room. It's called the Ec-Tourer, http://www.ecotourer.com.au/. It looks great, and for $32,000-$42,000 (US currency, depending on model), it should! At 16' long and 7' wide, it's a bit large, but the auto-lift hard-sides are a nice way to go. At that price, ya think they could put the door on the right side...

No, I did not steal their idea!