Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Ok. Here's the moment I'm sure non of you have been waiting for.

Trumpet fanfare I am proud to introduce you to The Behemoth! A Weekender inspired standy "teardrop" for three.

It will be built on a reinforced 4X8 Harbor Freight trailer stretched to 6X10. The body will be 11'6" with the overhang. It will be 6' tall at it's highest point. It will have a 22" galley on the back, a shortened queen-size bed mounted crossways, a front bunk for our toddler.

So, with no further adieu, here is the initial drawing of... THE BEHEMOTH.

Can't wait to see it in glorious full color birch plywood

You might look at making the doors a little wider...the additional space will make entering and egress easier as well as adding ventilation....especailly after those famous Cowboy Beans I can't wait to see your vision...

-G

one thing to be reminded of - a 4X8 Harbor Freight trailer stretched to 6X10 is still rated for a Load capacity: 1720 lb. and Gross vehicle weight: 1980 lbs. Most new builder tend to overbuild. My concern is that you may be pushing the limits of such a small trailer. I have build lightweight campers almost to that size being very weight conscious and managed to build a camper anywhere between 1000 and 1300 lbs - as you can see it doesn't leave much for gear and other accessories if your trailer is rated for 1720lbs. Right now I'm building an 11 foot model only 5 ft tall and it's pretty large. I'm NOT saying it can't be done, just do a little more planning on construction. If you can cut down the wall thickness to 1 inch sandwich wall construction instead of using full 2X4framing - then you've shaved some pounds. If you plan to use full dimensional plywood for the exterior and to make cabinets with - then it might well deserve it's name. Also what is your tow Vehicle? Six foot high is pretty tall and will catch a lot of air if you are trying to pull it with a small vehicle.
I like the idea of the back galley section - but again - the height will make the top portion almost unusable. Remember that you will be standing on the ground - about 18" lower than the floor of the camper itself

Tow vehicle is a Chevy 3500 15-passenger van. So it shouldn't catch much air and pulling won't be a problem.

My thought was to use 1/4" outside, 1/8" inside. I had thought to use 2X construction; but could go 1X easily. Also, I am working on plans to reinforce the trailer with some additional steel (esp. the tongue). I'm thinking extended with 2X3X1/8 steel tube.

starleen2 wrote:one thing to be reminded of - a 4X8 Harbor Freight trailer stretched to 6X10 is still rated for a Load capacity: 1720 lb. and Gross vehicle weight: 1980 lbs. Most new builder tend to overbuild. My concern is that you may be pushing the limits of such a small trailer. I have build lightweight campers almost to that size being very weight conscious and managed to build a camper anywhere between 1000 and 1300 lbs - as you can see it doesn't leave much for gear and other accessories if your trailer is rated for 1720lbs. Right now I'm building an 11 foot model only 5 ft tall and it's pretty large. I'm NOT saying it can't be done, just do a little more planning on construction. If you can cut down the wall thickness to 1 inch sandwich wall construction instead of using full 2X4framing - then you've shaved some pounds. If you plan to use full dimensional plywood for the exterior and to make cabinets with - then it might well deserve it's name. Also what is your tow Vehicle? Six foot high is pretty tall and will catch a lot of air if you are trying to pull it with a small vehicle.
I like the idea of the back galley section - but again - the height will make the top portion almost unusable. Remember that you will be standing on the ground - about 18" lower than the floor of the camper itself

Thanks, the Green Lantern was one of the first builds I was influenced by.

The plan for the inside is to be minimalistic. The upper cabinets will be for light, bulky items. Of course, this being the initial sketch, I'm open to altering it some.

Might also wander into the foamies section. If you're doing a minimalist layout you can probably shave quite a bit of weight with some of the methods over there.

My thought is that if a 13 foot standy that's fairly well equipped can be commercially build for under 1000 pounds, one should be able to build an 11 foot unit around the same.

One thing to consider is that large flat part on the front. It won't make any difference mileage wise, especially behind a van...but from towning larger RV's and cargo trailers - those with a large flat front tend to shudder a bit more when you meet a semi or other such vehicle on a 2 lane road more than one with a curved front. I think for actual towing ability and mileage pretty much you can on frontal area alone, but when you get a wind gust it seems to make a difference to me. Just something to think about. Even my 4 wheel drive 1 ton truck that has a 2" lift won't cover a 6" tall trailer built on a harbor freight trailer because it's tall, with vent on top you are looking at almost 8' tall.

Personally if it were me building one like that I would look for a wrecked cargo trailer to build on. First you get a beefier frame, more weight capacity and more weight capacity on the axle. Second, most of them are much lower to the ground than the harbor freight trailer. It's pretty tall. My 12' x 6' cargo trailer is a good 6" to 8" lower - maybe more than the harbor freight trailer.

Well, I've found another trailer as a frame. This one is much more substantial than the HF. My new friend bobhenry is hooking me up. Don't worry GerryS I still plan on taking that HF off your hands. I'm thinking a smaller more traditional teR for me and the wife or maybe the kids

Ok, so I picked up a $50 donor trailer. It's a LITTLE bigger than i thought it might be. But I should be able to salvage some good parts from it (like windows and a good frame). Thanks to bobhenry for remembering me.






That's our 15 passenger van that is being dwarfed by it. Behemoth may be the right name.

Glad to hear you made if home without incident.

Every good home need a good foundation (even mobile ones)