Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

No, it's not my wife's term of endearment for me, though I have earned it many times in the past. We will be transitioning from a 30 ft. fifth wheel to a smaller unit. A teardrop would be too much of a shock to our systems, I'm afraid.
My solution is this small trailer. It is currently scaled as a 7X11 with a 5 foot finished ceiling height. This will be a standy for her, but a "stoopy" for me. The slide out will allow us to sleep across the width and still allow room for a small bathroom. The wall side of the slider will be the foot of the bed, so we can have some storage, at that end, above our feet. This will roll on 500 lb, 42 inch drawer slides at the top. I will probably use skateboard wheels at each lower corner to help support the weight, especially while towing so the slider won't bounce and loosen the connections at the roof. The two spars that hold the slides will be steel tube. The bath will have a dropped floor for the shower area so I can use it with a degree of comfort. There will normally be a cover over it so the PortaPot will have a place to live. There will be storage closets in the bath, probably a wardrobe. The double swinging doors will give us plenty of room, yet fold up to maximize floor space when not being used. The area next to the slider will be a single seat for the two of us with a folding dinette table In front of that will be the entertainment center and more storage. I haven't planned the galley yet. It will have slide out fridge and range units on either side to give us a U shaped cooking area. Probably a sink and lotsa storage, of course.
I still have a lot of thinking to do. Wiring, plumbing, gas, A/C, interior/exterior finish, fixtures, etc., etc. There is a wealth of knowledge here and I've looked at and read build journals and stolen a lot of ideas from the pros. I'm not entirely a neophyte. I worked at Santa Fe Trailers years ago and am a retired carpenter with some cabinet building experience. I also have a fully equipped 1,000 sq/ft shop to work out of, so achieving the necessary momentum is my only problem.............and the bucks.


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fixed for ya' - but that still is a bit small isn't it - unless you're about three inches tall Just gotta love the concept models you might want to take a look at our green Lantern Build - It's 6'4 wide and 10 feet 6 inches long and 5ft 3 inches inside. If I had not needed room for three - then I could have put a shower and kitchenette in the front portion. This might solve your problem without having the need for a slide out.

If you think you can build it then go for it. I think it is cool.

That one only took a few hours at about 1:12 scale, so I should be able to knock out the full size version in 24 hours
The slider is a challenge that I look forward to, so it is staying. I don't want the seating area to convert to a bed. A plan I have, rattling around in the back of my head, is to salvage an old recliner and adapt the mechanism for the love seat. We can use it to dine inside if the weather is crummy, and kick back in the evening to watch a movie. Then it's just a short crawl into the bed. No fussing with cushions or making up the bed. When I'm sleepy, I don't want a big ol' bedtime ritual. Just take a whiz and hit the sack.

I don't get where the shower is.

CarlLaFong wrote:...When I'm sleepy, I don't want a big ol' bedtime ritual. Just take a whiz and hit the sack.

When your sleepy don't miss up the order and hit the sack and then just take a whiz.... Otherwise you will have a new bedtime ritual.

StandUpGuy wrote:I don't get where the shower is.

It is tentative right now as to exactly where it will go. Originally I was thinking a 24X24 dropped floor in the left,forward corner of the bathroom. A 36" diameter, or so, shower curtain ring with the bottom "funneling" into the dropped floor tub should give me enough room to tidy up. I began to think that if I move it to the area created when the doors are open would eliminate having to move the potty around when it's bathtime. Admittedly, my hygiene is not at the highest level of priority when we're out, so I usually shower every other day. Also, during a recent stint in the horse pistol, I discovered these full body wipes. Kinda like baby wipes, but for adults. Pop one in the microwave for a minute and Bob's yer Uncle. Nice smell, not mediciney or like baby lotion

But with all those folding panels where is the shower head and the rest of the plumbing?

StandUpGuy wrote:But with all those folding panels where is the shower head and the rest of the plumbing?

The initial thought was to install the plumbing in the fixed wall and a regular hand held RV shower head. If I move the shower pan in front of the entry door, I may run the pipes through the ceiling. Another idea is an extra long hose for the shower head and running the water supply into the pan and connecting the hose there. This may be the most practical solution in either case, Just roll up the hose in the pan, drop the lid in place and you're done. It's going to be a lo tech setup. No water heater. In warm weather, a cool shower will do. When it's cold, we'll heat up a pot of boiling water, mix it with cold until it's comfy, in a gas can (dedicated for H2O only) stick a hose in it, that's connected to the water pump, and that's it.

StandUpGuy wrote:

CarlLaFong wrote:...When I'm sleepy, I don't want a big ol' bedtime ritual. Just take a whiz and hit the sack.

When your sleepy don't miss up the order and hit the sack and then just take a whiz.... Otherwise you will have a new bedtime ritual.

Thanks. I'll make a note of that

CarlLaFong wrote:

StandUpGuy wrote:But with all those folding panels where is the shower head and the rest of the plumbing?

The initial thought was to install the plumbing in the fixed wall and a regular hand held RV shower head. If I move the shower pan in front of the entry door, I may run the pipes through the ceiling. Another idea is an extra long hose for the shower head and running the water supply into the pan and connecting the hose there. This may be the most practical solution in either case, Just roll up the hose in the pan, drop the lid in place and your done. It's going to be a lo tech setup. No water heater. In warm weather, a cool shower will do. When it's cold, we'll heat up a pot of boiling water, mix it with cold until it's comfy, in a gas can (dedicated for H2O only) stick a hose in it, that's connected to the water pump, and that's it.

Everything in the floor would work but maybe not the most ergonomic situation for use with the controls at your feet. Still with an on off spray button on the shower head it would be OK.

Or you could sink an "outdoor" type shower box inset into the fixed wall. That way it would be flush and allow for the hinged walls to fold up flush against it.

I'm sure there will be a bunch of details that will require a lot of though and maybe a do over, but that's the way things always go when you're stepping out of the box. I had a number of failures while re doing my bike, but each one was a learning experience and, so far, I've figured a way to achieve the difficult.
I started a blog to chronicle my efforts as well as my skewed outlook on life
http://jkcallin.blogspot.com/