Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Does anyone one have plans or a profile for a Grasshopper or similar design that will sit on an 8' trailer? All the ones ive found are a bit longer.

Hi, I just saw your post, I don't make it on here that much these days, however I had the same idea in mind, I started an 8' design in sketch-up, in the end the design grew to 9'6" however there are some shots of the 8' in my thread here : http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=34919

My build stalled out over the past summer due to other priorities and a lack of time, I do intend to finish - hopefully this spring. I see you too are in Alberta as am I, in Edmonton.


Burke

I have the side profile for a 10' (Plans for the Mega-Mini). PM me if you are interested?

Just caught your post.
There is a design you can find on Angib's site:"Teardrops and Other Trailer Designs".
It is the Mini Hopper design,which could be modified to suit.

I'm doing an 8' Nano Weekender design... look here: viewtopic.php?p=967145#p967145



Mike...

Definitely a worthy project. Hope this works out great!

Mike,

I'm very interested in your Nano Weekender design I patiently await more detailed drawings and building hints. It looks doable to a newb like me. Are you basing the design on the HF 1195# folding trailer? Are the door windows non sliding? Door constuction is a bit of a mystery to me.

I'm on the bubble, should I buy an existing old teardrop and deal with dry rot or should I scratch build one? I don't see much difference in labor or total expense. I may end up being one of the early builders of this design.

I've finally come out of the woodwork, this my first post. I've been snooping around the site for awhile. Yes, I want a teardrop for my retirement.
bobhav

bobhav wrote:Mike,

I'm very interested in your Nano Weekender design I patiently await more detailed drawings and building hints. It looks doable to a newb like me. Are you basing the design on the HF 1195# folding trailer? Are the door windows non sliding? Door constuction is a bit of a mystery to me.

Yes, that can be done on the 1175# HF folding trailer. Door construction is not difficult

bobhav wrote:I'm on the bubble, should I buy an existing old teardrop and deal with dry rot or should I scratch build one? I don't see much difference in labor or total expense. I may end up being one of the early builders of this design.

Definitely build a new one on a new HF chassis!

bobhav wrote:I've finally come out of the woodwork, this my first post. I've been snooping around the site for awhile. Yes, I want a teardrop for my retirement.
bobhav

I hope to have some time over Christmas to get some dimensions to this design. Keep following me in the other thread!

Mike...

Mike,

To gain perspective, my wife and I tried to get comfortable laying in a 4' wide space, in short we couldn't. 4.5 feet of width would be a must for us and the plan could easily be exspanded to that. I'm excited about the 8' Grasshopper plans.

I do have some newby questions. Our plan is to tow the camper with a Mazda CX5 that has 2 liter engine and an automatic transmission. Will the Grasshopper design be less fuel efficent than a Benray of the same width? Would a smooth bottom on the camper improve fuel economy? I would like a very durable skin / finish on the camper. Is a 850# finished weight a resonable goal?

Thanks again,
BobH.

I did an Escape Hatch Winter Warrior that was only 700 pounds. And it was 66" across, which is more than wide enough for the 60" queen sized mattress. But the EHWW did not have an inside skin. That would add some weight. Also the EHWW was painted. If you wanted a durable outside skin, like aluminum, that would add weight too.

Your best bet is to do up a spreadsheet and estimate your weight, or ask around and see what some of the other benroys and weekenders came in at.

Speaking of fuel economy, the biggest impact is the cross sectional area of your teardrop. In other words, a 5' wide is going to be worst than a 4'. The profile doesn't make that much of a difference.

But look at the EHWW to see how you can build out over the wheels for the additional width you need. http://www.mikenchell.com/WWEH_Photo_Album/

Mike...