Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Bender Tents...ever hear of them?....the Roma (Gypsies) used them for shelter before they adopted the Vardo's in England.....I've been looking at them for a number of reasons.....here is the basic design, usually built from easily cut local trees or bushes and used for shelter....

http://www.enslin.com/rae/gypsy/bender.htm



and here is the beginning of my design idea for a permanent side tent frame for a Teardrop.....



Notice from this angle the basic shape of a teardrop? How about an expandable frame, permanently attached to both sides of a teardrop? a minimum of TWO teardrop outline shaped bows, connected by a scissors type expansion support made of Aluminium...that when unlatched would expand or fold out to form a side tent frame for the Tear?


(Might even have the tent cover permanently attached but that would be more problematic.....)

when closed, the frame would create a slight porch effect over the Side Doors and windows. Done with the attention to detail and engineering capability I've seen here, you folks could triple the livable space in a teardrop with little weight gain.....

and as a possible design alternative, the expandable frame could be formed with a flexible fiberglass rod on the rear hatch slope, tensioned like a fishing rod under load for transport, which when unhooked, would rise to the height of the hatch in the opened position to allow access to the sidetent from the rear of the tear......?...

Clear as mud?...I'd do a Cad design fer ya if I had any skills in that area, but I don't...

Frame idea kinda like this but shaped like the tear.....

is posting a reply to your own post a sign of serious personality disorder?

it also occurs to me that the drawing in my original post has some teardrop frame design possibilities....how about the frame bring formed lengthwise with side arches formed from laminated strips to frame the Tear....? Thinking of an exposed beam interior concept with reflectix type insulation under the skin.....or maybe just a woody type tear with a stripbuilt finish.

WHAT!?...I'm a great IDEA guy with champaign taste and beer money, who suffers from a lack of woodworking skills....I'd just like to see some ideas explored is all......

Looks good on "paper", so to speak. I would love to see one made up.

Anyone up for it? And yes, you are a good idea person. That is my problem, I have lots of "neat" ideas but they all seem to be shot down. Maybe some day I can put my ideas to work. I know what you can do, make a model to see how it will work. You can do it. Make a little cardboard td and use cardboard to make the sides that expand. There I go again, more ideas.

Good luck!
Grani

SuperTroll wrote:is posting a reply to your own post a sign of serious personality disorder?

Not at all! I had a psychology teacher in school who said it's perfectly normal to talk to yourself, as long as you realize it's you that you're talking to.

In other words, don't talk to strangers, even if it's yourself.

Dave

P.S. I like the idea of your expandable side tent as an awning, too. It'd be a nice place to sit if you're camped in a treeless spot. D.

Good idea but:
1. it will stick out. Maybe not enough to cut your gas mileage.
2. someone is gonna steal the idea before you can do it.

Just teasin! I think it has possibilities and would love to see it done.

For a really easy, break-down style bender tent, what about replacing the tree branches with PVC pipe and fittings (used in sprinkler systems)? PVC pipe bends and would give you the true shape of the gypsy tent. For what you are doing, you wouldn't even need much, if any, glue. If you worry about chemicals, CPVC, used in drinking water systems might be better. However, because the PVC pipe would be outside and not truly enclosed in a building, it would probably be okay. Most all hardware stores carry it, so it's easy to check it out and any replacement parts needed "down the road" (pun) could be easily purchased.

Just a thought....

I looked at that site: http://www.enslin.com/rae/gypsy/bender.htm.

The site explains how far apart to put the poles from each other, within the row, but it doesn't say how far apart to space the two rows from each other. If you built an actual gypsy tent, that would have to be known.

Point to consider: A flat roof would be more likely to hold water and would therefore drip more water inside in a rain storm than would a rounded, true gypsy bender-style roof.

http://www.enslin.com/rae/gypsy/bender.htm

Fixed the link Yours had a . at the end.

KevG

Anybody capable of keepin' me straight is ok in my book!..thankx!

I looked at http://www.enslin.com/rae/gypsy/camps.htm

What a fun website! There are some very talented people working on those wagons. I have to wonder, though, how much one of those things weighs, fully loaded. And those wood spoke wheels? Are they safe for our highways? (They must have been inspected and have licenses for them so the wheels and weight must be okay. ) Regardless of my questioning thoughts, it was a delight to see! ...Just a marvel!

Hi guys,

Long time since I logged in--took me a few minutes to remember my password!! I'm glad you enjoyed the site. In answer to your question, I can't vouch for the safety of all the wagons on that list, but the Yahoo group that we have spends a lot of time advising people on sway assemblies, proper towing practices, and just what will or won't work. Whenever someone gets started on a project like this, their research usually brings them to my website pretty quickly, and I'm happy to point them to the group as a great resource for builders. It's actually a lot like this forum--a place for people with similar interest to gather and share ideas. There are people who expect to be able to tow a 12x7 wooden wagon with a compact car, and the group is quick to point them in another direction. For the most part, the designs are pretty safe. Mine is all licensed and insured. The weight, fully loaded, is about 2600. Pretty hefty compared to what you guys do, but our purpose is different. We've been towing ours for about ten years without incident.

As for the wood spoke wheels--you may be referring to Daphne's Caravans. Many of hers are just meant for display and aren't meant to be moved--some people build them on farm carts to use as guest houses, potting sheds or art studios. She specializes in finding old carts for that sort of use. You can haul them around the backyard on a tractor, but they don't go on the highway.

It's an interesting hobby, and we get a lot of odd looks at rest stops with ours. Because it's a collapsible frame, the short height makes it bewildering. I'm often asked if I have animals in it--nobody thinks at my six foot height that I might be able to sleep in it.