Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Here's my first "draft" of my standie design. It's built off of a HF 4x8 frame. Before we hit the requirements, some background to explain its strange design...

Me and my fiancee camp a lot during the warm months. It's always pansy camping; we even mounted an AC unit in our tent to stay cool But, setup and tear-down time always kill our fun, and make a three-day trip feel like a two-day, or even sometimes a one-day trip.

We always haul my Honda Reflex with us. It is a maxi-scooter (over 400lbs!), with a CVT, and practically drives itself. It's a ton of fun. The tiny utility trailer we had has been sold, to add to the budget of the TTT.

We also rescued two dogs, and certainly don't want them to have to sit in a tent while we are out playing on the beach! Most beaches won't allow them during peak hours, so they will have to have "naptime" from 11am-5pm when we go.

We originally tried to restore a camper, but my poor Honda CR-V couldn't tow the giant thing without me fearing for our lives. It was promptly sold (we even made a few bucks ) and now it's time to attempt to build a lightweight, yet comfy and large TTT.


To be put simply, the design necessities:
- 0 setup / teardown time
- Can haul the Honda Reflex (400 lb scooter) in the back
- Comfy for the pups during the day
- Comfy for us on rainy days


This in mind, here is the first draft of my design:

- Front:


- Back:


- Back ramp unfolded:


- Back ramp folding:


I haven't finished the interior layout, but here is an ASCII diagram for your amusement:

Code: Select all


________________________
|       |      |       |
| bench | table |bench |
|       |      |       |
|       |      |       |
|       |      |       |
|----------------------|
|        |      |      |
|        |      |      |
|        |      |      |  <countertops (w/ sink, etc)
|        |      |      |
|        |      |      |
|---------     --------|
|                |     |
| <door          |     |    <closet
|                |     |
------------------------
       ^ramp



The bench / table combo will become a queen-sized bed. The closet may or may not (leaning towards the latter due to cost) contain a bed / shower. The main campground we go to anyways (Rocky Bayou in Destin, FL) has full bathrooms.

The exterior will get epoxy, then semigloss white paint. The interior will be wood stain probably. The floor will be bamboo hardwood, and I'll put down rubber mats when the scooter is parked inside.

Tie-down points will be embedded in the floor and walls. Only 4 are necessary -- two of them to control bouncing / forward and back motion, two more for tilting left and right.

Frame is 1x4's, sandwiched between 1/4" luan. Roof struts are going to be 2x4's. I was thinking of 1x4's, but that seems too flimsy for the 6'4" width.

What do you think? Any experts have any tips?

- Dave

If you’re towing with a CR-V then start thinking light weight! First off, you’re adding 400 lbs right away. That adds to the overall weight of the trailer – factor it in. One thing that many first time builders do is to WAY over build. I build the Ladybug which is 6’4â€

If you make the same sandwich for the ceiling; 1X2 will suffice.

The nice thing about throwing the scooter into the mix is, I can adjust where the scooter is -- and therefore what the tongue weight is.

I'll do some trial and error to figure out scooter positioning once it is built to make sure the tongue isn't too heavy.

The CR-V has a tow capacity of only 1000lbs. My hitch has a 450lbs tongue capacity, so that is no worry. My highest tow weight was over 4000lbs. That was painful. The highest tow that I feel comfortable with is around a ton...

As long as my dry weight is under 1000lbs, I'll be perfectly fine.

I'll eliminate 2x4s from the roof and use 1x4s instead. Any less, and I wouldn't feel comfortable.

Perhaps I could eliminate a few pounds by using 1/8" luan...

synaps3 wrote:The nice thing about throwing the scooter into the mix is, I can adjust where the scooter is -- and therefore what the tongue weight is.

I'll do some trial and error to figure out scooter positioning once it is built to make sure the tongue isn't too heavy.

...

It not having heavy tongue weight that I would be concern with (although it is a concern), it's exactly the opposite. With a heavy rear, it affects the tongue weight negatively and can cause massive sway. My first camper had that problem. it was pain to have to load everything forward. And throw into the mix, 400 lbs. I know you may think, well, I'll just move the scooter forward or backwards to adjust - which will work, but what about the other times when there is no scooter? - that still leaves a heavy rear end with the ramp. Although you've towed heavier load (4000?), it is still possible to get it to the towing range of your vehicle.

Another weight saver; don't make that ramp full width. It's just two wheels and however wide the handlebars are

Star --

I hadn't thought of it that way. I'm not overly concerned though, if you look closely in the pics, you'll see that the countertops, bed, and almost all the cabinetry are ahead of the axle. I am actually more concerned about exceeding the tongue weight than not.

I'll see if I can shrink that ramp. I'm not sure if I can chop much... Here's how big a reflex is:

I'm a bit concerned about the windshield fitting

It seems possible to me weight could be a concern as your project moves forward. Just the weight of an H/F trailer (270 for their 1800 lb. trailer), plywood decking (0.5") and the scoot (400) alone and you're looking at 700 lb. Add a spare tire and a tongue jack and you can call it 750 lb.

The back ramp is a nice idea, but here's an option. If you move your passage door to the back wall of the trailer you can give yourself a comfortably wide door to use that doubles for the scooter. An aluminum angle ramp could slide out from underneath the trailer frame for loading/unloading the Honda. This would give you one less door to build, the trailer would be lighter, and the ramp's weight would be divided fore/aft. Plus you'd have more useable wall space on the sides, so you could move the cabinetry rearward to aid the balance.

I REALLY like MB's idea of a rear entrance door with a single width aluminum load ramp and as other have stated, you really need to watch your load balance between front and rear..........
madjack

Eliminating the side door will slice costs too... I like the idea, but am still skeptical of implementation.

I could keep my ramp in the CR-V as well, to cut back on tow weight. The aluminum ramp would still affect my GVW, although an alum ramp will definitely weigh less than the alternative... I'll see what I can come up with.

Back to the drawing board!

I can't eliminate the door. I really don't want to have to fold down the ramp to enter / leave. It cuts convenience, which is even more paramount than weight on my design.


I changed my design to flip the axle to the other side of the suspension. That takes off at least 3" of height, and will allow me to eliminate the second portion of the ramp. This should cut AT LEAST 50 lbs, and weigh less than a single door + carrying an aluminum ramp.

I might have to move my axle forward (usually blasphemous in the teardrop community) because of the weight. We'll see.

It's possible that I might switch to 8" tires as well Any height cut will do this build well.

That said, anyone in the ATL area have some 8" rims / tires they might be willing to trade up for 12"?

I'm just spamming my own thread now

To cut more weight, I made the ramp the width of the entire back. This should cut out a negligable amount of weight, but more importantly, it is now keeping things more simple. Because I am stupid.





I am 95% sure at this point that the axle will have to be moved up. I mocked in the scooter, and it extends from the back gate all the way to only a foot before the trailer tapers up at the front. No amount of reorganization inside the trailer can compensate for the sheer weight of the scooter.

Edit... Or not! Here is a mockup of the Reflex inside the trailer:

Note how the scooter's engine and drivetrain sit well behind the axle. This is good. No axle repositioning should be necessary.

A few thoughts:

- It would be preferable to make the ramp only as wide as it needs to be as having fixed rear panels on either side of the ramp (even if only 12" wide) will stiffen up the body quite a lot.

- 1x4s aren't needed anywhere. Try mocking up a structure from 1x2s if you need to convince yourself that they will be strong enough.

- Make the trailer balance with and without the scooter in it. Sure, now you only think of towing with the scooter on board but having a trailer that's dangerous to tow without the scooter (because its weight balance is wrong) will cause a problem some day.

- I would be surprised if you can move the scooter enough to alter the trailer's balance much, so you will probably have to design around just one position. Most scooters have a rearward weight bias, so expect to have to move the trailer axle back - the problem will be deciding how much to move it, before the trailer is built.

Andrew

I'll get the floor down on the trailer in the next few days, and see how the weight is with the scooter on then.

I'll start with 1x2's. They just seem so flimsy... You guys have more experience than me though, so it is at least worth the experimentation.

Have had the same thought to haul my Honda Helix scooter. I weighed the Helix and I think it broke down to 160lbs front and 230lbs rear, if that helps you any. I had thought of custom building the trailer with a channel down the middle to park the scooter in , this would lower the load height. I had it all figured out in my head at one time.