My design idea for a lightweight 5x9 (or x10)

[2cvtear]

Hey everybody,

as I mentioned in my Newbie-thread, I want to design a trailer that is light enough for our 2cv to tow (400 kg / 881 lb breaked). On the other hand, I (read: we two) want a full size bed (I guess that what's you call it - 1.4 x 2 meters which is about 55x78 inch?). Which gives us a "about 5 feet" width and, because we want a little bit of galley, 9 or 10 feet length.

For reasons of "design / look / feel", I thought it would be nice to meet the 2cv's measures and profile.

A 2cv is 148 cm (58 1/4 inch) wide, so we try to be in the shade of that - if we go 4'9" or 4'10" we should make it. Also, that gives us some play with plywood and aluminium sheets, since they can be had in 150 cm width.

The total length of a 2cv is 383 cm (12'6"), so I hope to get the length of trailer plus tongue to that.

Total height of a 2cv is 150 cm from street to rooftop (without payload), I guess we'll stick to the regular 4' height of most trailers, maybe we'll add a pop-up-roof window/top or a foot well to be able to sit in it.

My favorite designs are the Grumman and the Cub. Although a DA would be great for design / profile reasons (slight detour: a 2cv is called Ente = duck in Germany, so the rear of the design can reasonably be called a Duck's a*** or maybe a "Bürzel" (birds-el) which is hunter's speak for the same body part).

Okay, I'm an absolute newbie in terms of CAD or similar, even not good with a pencil and paper. Much better in thinking and dreaming and envisioning.

Here's an Internet picture / "blueprint" of the Duck:

I'm sorry that the dimension figures aren't readable... But I do have several books plus a live Duck at home (quack, quack), so if you need some, I'll get them out (or tape-measure myself).

So, if anyone can combine the flat falling trunk hatch and upswept bottom line of the Duck to a Grumman or Cub design, I would be ever so grateful. Maybe I'll even try to realise the tilted side walls...

[2cvtear]

Some more thoughts:

I want:
- wheels on the inside, giving us more overall width. I'll disguise them with Duck rear fenders (see picture above) which come off for changing tyres
- insulated walls + top of .060 aluminium, (no ply? not quite sure), foam, 1/8 marine grade ply - we have a small dockyard in our village, I'll ask for materials there. Thickness probably 3/4", maybe less (camping temperatures above freezing at all times)
- 12V ready, if not installed, maybe even 220V ready. Battery weight is a killer, though - maybe just a shore power intake.
- solar panels (there's a nice 54 Watt combo to be had over here)
- Galley absolutely doesn't need to be fully equipped, but cutting and working surfaces and some cupboards or shelfs will be nice - and a place for a cooler box which we already have
- (raised?) bed which can be transformed into a sitting place for two - not necessarily vis-a-vis, side-by-side is way ok. I'd love for this to look towards the front / car, but if head height doesn't allow this, looking towards the hatch is ok also --> this might also lead to a foot well.
- table for mounting to the sidewall outside, and inside for the sitting place. Probably part of the bed's platform.

Dreams:
- a pop-up roof with see-through surface
- a window towards the front
- a reach-through galley like the one CaseyDog built
- A/C... (*sigh*) the next firmly planned trips are the International Meetings of 2cv Friends in France (next year) and in Spain (2013). Summers there are HOT. So A/C would be brilliant. But: probably no shore power there, so - can you power an A/C unit with solar power / deep cycle batteries?

[danlott]

The slumbercoach profile would work really well with your car. You could always start with the slumbercoach profile and then modify it to your desires.



Dan

[2cvtear]

Hey Dan,

thanks for bringing this up. I haven't looked too much into that design since it's a woody and I want an aluminium-sided tear. The profile looks kinda complicated, too. "Modify" is a good key word there

I think I'll spend some time with a pencil and paper, maybe even get back to Sketchup which must be on my computer, somewhere... I'll see what I'll come up with.

Thanks for your idea!

[2cvtear]

Hey everyone,

instead of giving the tear a 2cv-shaped rear end, we'll stick to the cub design since there's a lot of resources on it. Design modification will include a pop-up roof hatch to be able to sit inside. Also, we'll bring the wheels inside the walls.

I've drawn some pictures but don't have an album so far, will do that next time I'm online.

[BigAl]

Just an idea that I haven't really given any thought to (as may become apparent)...

Couldn't you find a 2CV body and convert it into a trailer?

[2cvtear]

Hey BigAl,

if I found a good 2cv body, I'd frankenstein it with our current 2cv. It's in desperate need of a rust-free bum...

I've thought about that, though - but it's a bit short for our needs - only about 240 cm, so with a full 200cm bed we won't have enough space for a galley. The sketches and printouts are still around somewhere, but we decided not to go that way.

Greetings to Scotland (we thought of visiting this summer, but funds made us stay in Germany... )

[BigAl]

I've thought about that, though - but it's a bit short for our needs - only about 240 cm, so with a full 200cm bed we won't have enough space for a galley.

My trailer floor area is 220cm(long) x 150 cm(wide) and we have plenty of room to fit a galley.

I do see the pressing need of having a rust free bum! ;)

Scotland will be waiting for you! :D

[2cvtear]

Sooo, finally I managed to get a pic online. It's in my album here. Unfortunately, my handwriting seems to be too small to read...



Okay, at the top we have the captions:

variable hatch lengths (depending on whether I want a potato cellar-type galley storage or not)
see-through roof OR insulated OR see through with padded quilt
tent material / mesh (for the pop-up's sides)

on the left-hand margin:
1.50m height above street (w/ closed roof)

on the right hand margin:
2.20 m height above street for maximum height of open hatch, 2.10 m height in the other variables
1.38 popped-up roof inside height
1.06 closed roof inside height
10cm foot well

bottom of page:
chair seat + back rest -> under the mattress for transport
chair legs -> ??folding??
chair cushions -> mattress parts
3.88m length w/ tongue

captions inside the teardrop trailer:
triple folding table top // table support
recessed wheels
footwell inside frame (=hidden by outside walls)

OK. Now whaddaya think?

PS: BigAl: I'll look into your build thread - what size bed did you use?

[BigAl]

my bed is a UK bed size, 135cm(wide) by 190(long) cm