Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

My husband is totally opposed to the tear I drew up. Thinks we're going to be claustrophobic in it. So I've had many balls in the air, thinking about how to fit four in a reasonable package. I plan, among other things, to go see Steve's Rondack Lodge this summer (if I haven't fully caught the bug and started building first), and I've been sketching.

The taller half approves of this design, provided its feasible; wondering what the professionals (or at least the experienced) think of it. It's a rimple with transverse bunks in front; transverse queen in back. Cabinets are over all the 'foot' areas; drawers under queen. I was thinking of a slide-out galley, but hadn't fully formed that thought yet. The footwell is intended for the hubby to be able to stand up - just under 6'.

I know it has to be larger than I drew the top view - ran out of room on the page - about 7' for it to work properly. The roof may have to go up a few inches, too, but it should be close.

Anyway, as a rough plan,...

Seems to me that trailer is 5.5 feet high, 7 feet wide and 11 feet long. So it's hardly a tiny or light trailer, and is going to need things like a proper custom-made (or home-made) chassis. I'm a bit worried that you used the word Rimple, which is a whole lot smaller trailer.

I think you're dead right to go with pencil drawing on paper, but it would be good to include some real dimensions on things. So for example, nothing has zero thickness and it would be sensible to start drawing things like the roof and floor with their actual thickness.

So for those front bunks, you will be deducting the thickness of the roof, the thickness of the mattresses (you do show them, but only 3"), the thickness of the upper bunk framework and the thickness of the floor. I reckon that's a total of around 14", so your bunk headrooms are down to 26" each. That's perfectly workable, but a lot less than half the trailer height.

Andrew

are you planning on towing with the Pius? err PRius. I don't think they can tow much of anything.

Mark

Elumia wrote:are you planning on towing with the Pius? err PRius. I don't think they can tow much of anything.

1,000 lbs is the official word; 1,750 is the max I've ever seen anyone do and he wouldn't do it regularly. But no, this is one of the reasons we're thinking of replacing the minivan (the other vehicle) with a small truck.

Hmmm. Didn't know there was a size limit on rimple. Just thought it was the shape. Yeah, any way I draw it up I can't get by on less than 6.5' width and 11' length. I could maaaaybe squeeze into 6 x 10.5, but I do have to get my husband to sleep in it or else building it will be sort of moot. Height is negotiable - standup is not a necessity, just a very nicety. I know it's not zero-thickness; I'm just sort of figuring out rough guesstimates. Worst case, I'll build inside-out - walls to the height drawn plus the roof thickness...

I was looking at one of the old PopSci trailers today - about a foot shorter, half a foot higher and just as wide. Am I going entirely out of the range of 'tiny' trailers? At least weight-wise, I hope I'm not.

...two suggestion I would offer is to look at Lynn Coleman's "Inkwell" and Steve Wolverton's "Puffin" both come close to what you are wanting and Steve is a master of building light......
madjack

Steve... http://tnttt.com/viewto ... sc&start=0

Lynn... http://tnttt.com/profil ... ile&u=4224

EffieRover wrote:Hmmm. Didn't know there was a size limit on rimple. Just thought it was the shape..... Am I going entirely out of the range of 'tiny' trailers? At least weight-wise, I hope I'm not.

Of course you're right about the Rimple - but I didn't want you to think your plan was similar to it, but "just a little bit bigger".

I estimate that your 5.5x7x11 trailer would weigh a little over twice what a 4x4x8 trailer like the Rimple would weigh if built exactly the same way. Just expanding Steve's Puffin from 5.25x6x8 to 5.5x7x11 would mean a 60% weight increase, if you stuck to Steve's quasi-religious weight-saving approach. If you think a piece of solid 3/4" ply makes a good shelf then you can double Steve's weights, at the very least.

So 5.5x7x11 in somewhere near 1000lb is a very tall order - if you ever think it's better to build strong than light, then 1500lb would be optimistic and it wouldn't be hard to go over 2000lb if you ignore weight saving.

Andrew

Another thing to think about in regard to trailer weight is the braking factor. If your trailer is going to be heavy enough to require brakes, it is much easier to include brakes on the frame before you build the cabin on top. If you don't want to have to add brakes, you may want to keep a tally of how much your trailer design is going to weigh.

If you're starting with a frame kit or building/buying a simple trailer frame, check what your states rules are for trailer weight vs. brakes. In California, the weight limit for pulling a trailer without brakes is 1500 lbs.

Maybe somebody from NY state can chime in with what the DMV trailer rules are there?

When I lived in New York and was towing the pop-up (10 years ago), the rules then were anything over 1000 pounds needed at least surge brakes. Not sure what the weight limit was before having to install electric brakes.

madjack wrote:...two suggestion I would offer is to look at Lynn Coleman's "Inkwell" and Steve Wolverton's "Puffin" both come close to what you are wanting and Steve is a master of building light...

Interesting; it's gotta sleep 4 and carry our clothing, medicinals and kitchen gear - that's the minimum criteria for any camper solution we consider (according to he who holds the checkbook). That's been my issue all along. I'm looking to max out at 2500 lbs including cargo. Prefer less, but that's as far as I *could* go with the tow vehicle we plan to buy this coming April/May.

I talked to my dad this weekend - he's got a utility trailer he made out of a popup frame. It's 6x11, so I asked what about building a removable box to fit on top of it. His trailer is 1500lbs empty!!! No go there, for sure.

NYS is currently 2000 lbs to require electric brakes. Below that is cool.

I drew up a goofy looking bean shape this weekend, though, that should sleep all of us on a 5x8 frame with the wheels on the outside. Will try to get it scanned ... schedule is packed today.

OK, got a chance to scan the bean. Realized I'm probably doing this opposite of what most of you have done - you design a shape and fit your stuff in it. I'm rearranging our stuff in workable configurations and trying to see what kind of shape I get out of that. Making it smaller and smaller...



This one has an approx 4'8" x 5'6" bunk and a 4'8" x 6' sleeping area on bottom. The front arch is probably too pronounced - it only has to hold clothes & stuff. The galley will be whatever's left after the 6' sleeping area is sectioned off and it will be swing-out or slide-out.

I planned on doing walls of 1 by and foam insulation board, 3/8" ply on the outside and 1/4" luan on the inside. Is that the lightest way to go, short of duct tape or epoxy-coated fabric?

EffieRover wrote:OK, got a chance to scan the bean. Realized I'm probably doing this opposite of what most of you have done - you design a shape and fit your stuff in it. I'm rearranging our stuff in workable configurations and trying to see what kind of shape I get out of that.

Hi,

Don't be mistaken. Designing a trailer from the inside out, is actually a great way to design. By following that route you can fit all your needs into the trailer!

It's hard to skimp very much on the deck; but, for the sides and roof, you build with a lot less than what you think. You can probably get away with the 1 by wood plus the 3/4" Styrofoam sheets and 1/8" ply inside and out, provided you coat the ply with epoxy, which adds an amazing amount of strength and water-resistance. That'll save you a lot of weight right there.

Using Andrew's weight tables, I calculated the weight of a 4x8 sheet of plywood at various thicknesses. If I did it correctly, (I think I did, but I'm human.) you can see how much weight you can save per sheet:

1.8 ply= 13.52 lbs
1/4 ply= 27.04 lbs
3/8 ply= 40.56 lbs

If you want to double check these figures or calculate your proposed build weights, Andrew's weight tables are here:

http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/t ... t-data.xls
http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/t ... t-data.pdf

Hope this helps!

What if you built a trailer like jmtk did with slide out foot wells for when the kids get older. You would probably have to make the trailer a couple of feet longer for 2 kids to sleep cross ways.
http://tnttt.com/album_ ... er_id=1919

Also very similar to the 2 + 2
http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/t ... tear47.htm

EffieRover wrote:OK, got a chance to scan the bean. Realized I'm probably doing this opposite of what most of you have done - you design a shape and fit your stuff in it. I'm rearranging our stuff in workable configurations and trying to see what kind of shape I get out of that. Making it smaller and smaller...



This one has an approx 4'8" x 5'6" bunk and a 4'8" x 6' sleeping area on bottom. The front arch is probably too pronounced - it only has to hold clothes & stuff. The galley will be whatever's left after the 6' sleeping area is sectioned off and it will be swing-out or slide-out.

I planned on doing walls of 1 by and foam insulation board, 3/8" ply on the outside and 1/4" luan on the inside. Is that the lightest way to go, short of duct tape or epoxy-coated fabric?

You really only need 1/8 on the inside. It weights about 11 pounds. I used 3/8" on the outside and I over built the framing.

One thing you can do for sleeping two children is make a slide out galley shelf for a bunk. Sleep the one child on a galley shelf and the other forward on a bunk shelf, or a hammock.

You can also get a side tent for the children as they get older.

EffieRover wrote:[
I drew up a goofy looking bean shape this weekend, though, that should sleep all of us on a 5x8 frame with the wheels on the outside. Will try to get it scanned ... schedule is packed today.

You might want to post a drawing with the galley hatch open (if you are going to have one) I think you will find that hinge placement will be the key to having the galley hatch offer shelter as a roof in the open position, Just an observation !