Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Well, I’m back again. The third time’s supposed to be a charm, so here’s hoping. I started awhile back with the Skeet’r, which was too small and cramped, then went to the Habitat I, which had plenty of room, but got too big and heavy. Started over again, trying to hit a happy medium, and also to try to make it look more like the Original Grasshopper shape, which I really like. I used a pdf file of Mike’s to get the original Grasshopper shape, but I’ve modified it, and enlarged it some.

Anyway, I think I’ll actually make a start with this one, I’m ordering the steel this week. It’s still a compromise, some things are good, some are cramped, but nothings perfect. I’ve put a lot of drawings in my Album, so take a look if you want.

TheDuke

WooHoo! We're on a roll now!!!



Mike...

Very nice. Sort of a mini-compact Compact without the pop-top.

Saw the overall dimension of the side view. How wide is it? Will it fall directly behind the CRV in width?

Welcome back. Nice design you have going. The only suggestion I would have is to sleep with your head the other way.

Jag7
My CR-V is an 05, and exactly half of each side mirror can see past the side of the trailer. That'll have to do, I guess. Glad you like the styling. That's as important to me as anything else.

Miriam
Thanks for the welcome. I have the pillows to the rear because the front roof is lower, and I'd lose a lot of storage if I put my head there. Just enough room for feet, though. The direction of getting out of bed at night, and then back in is just a matter of preference, I think. No matter which way you go, it's different than at home. The bed is wide enough to use sideways, but then one person has to climb over the other. I'll just have to build it, and try it. No big deal, the mattress is square.

TheDuke

Miriam

Maybe you didn't like the idea of sleeping with your head close to the potty? It slides completely away when not in use, and a curtain could be pulled across between bed and kitchen, if necessary. Good thoughts, though.

If it's just too horrible when I get it built, I'll leave out the potty and replace it with storage for a dutch oven.

That's a nice design, looking forward to seeing it built.

That's looking really nice - attractive and practical.

A few glitches:
- If those are windows set in opening panels either side of the rear door, they half-overlap the overhead cabinets - but you probably already knew that.
- If the welded gusset on the tongue is a piece of vertical plate on the centreline of the the tongue then, if anything, it will reduce the strength of the tongue by encouraging cracking where it attaches.
- One place the tongue looks weak is front cross-member - this carries much more load than the second cross-member and yet it appears to only be a 1x2.

Andrew

Looks like a lot of thought went into this one. I like it.

D B

interesting Hmmmmm......

Andrew:

Glad you like it, and thanks for your very astute comments. I was aware of the window covering the cabinet ends, and intended the cab ends to have shallow shelves facing the rear, which the opening hatch/window would uncover. A little bit of a teardrop feature.

Re: the tongue problem. You caught me there. Stress certainly isn't my strong point, except seat-of-the-pants stuff. The end piece is indeed 1x2. What would you suggest there?

Glad you're around.

TheDuke

DeeBee

It's been a long time coming, but I think I'm comfortable with this. Still would like to chat one of these days.

God Bless

TheDuke

Andrew:

Re: the tongue problem - - see the latest pane in my Album

Duke,

Adding a second 1x2 to the front cross-member deals with that strength issue - though is there a reason not to use a 2x2?

The gussets onto the centre of the tongue tube are a bad idea wherever they are and however long they are. If the tongue isn't strong enough, they are not the answer - using a bigger tongue tube is a much better option.

You can use my web page on tongue strength to check that single 2x2 tongue - follow the Design Library menu option above.

Andrew

The reason there's not a 2x2 in there to begin with is that the continuous 1x2 lets me have a corner outrigger without having to go to the trouble of aligning it before welding. No other reason. I could use a continuous 2x2 I guess, but the resulting outrigger would be overly large. Not that anyone would see it. Some of this was an attempt to trim a little weight out of the frame.

The gusset was originally there for no other reason but that it made the overall shape look better. I'll go read your tongue tutorial and re-specify accordingly, and maybe put in a wooden gusset if the shape needs it. As I've said, the looks of the design are as important to me as any other aspect, but sometimes it drives me to wierd choices.

TheDuke