Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Okay here's another question for the generic plans...

As a beginner would you want to see the frame, or would you want it hidden behind the side walls?

This is an important question because it could drive a lot of chassis changes.

This teardrop is going to be covered with aluminum. So I don't want my walls to be more than 5' apart, so the 5' wide aluminum can go right up to the edges.

If you want the chassis covered by the wall, that would mean I have to make the chassis narrower by the thickness of 2 walls.

Your choice?

Mike...

Show the frame with the body on top with the option to cover the frame noted in the plans as an optional side note. If you are using an Standard HF trailer for design purposes why would this question come up? Am I missing something here? There shouldn't be any chassis change right, that a beginner would have to attempt, it would be more of a trailer body diminsional question

I do think a hidden frame looks good, but why not line up the outside of the walls with the frame and run just the loominum onto the frame. Of course that means making the body only 46" high or so, to avoid having to buy wider loominum.

Andrew

angib wrote:I do think a hidden frame looks good, but why not line up the outside of the walls with the frame and run just the loominum onto the frame. Of course that means making the body only 46" high or so, to avoid having to buy wider loominum.

Andrew

Andrew et all,

That is EXACTLY how I did my trailer. It worked out well, and personally, I like the look. You do have to come up with a "treatment" for the front and rear, but that's not a biggie.

I'm making mine cover the frame, and that is how I am mounting the side walls, bolting them thru the frame. It does sacrifice 2" of head room, but I think it looks much better to not have the frame showing. The other thing is, I am only going about 56" wide, just enough for a full size mattress inside, so I don't have to worry about 5' aluminum, I'll have extra.

As far as adjusting the width of the frame, can you get a harbor Freight trailer in 5' width? If they are all 4', then you have to adjust it any ways.

Newbie here . . . ! I am cabinet maker in the seattle area and ready to start a TD this spring. The idea of the walls on top of the floor just seem right to me (2 cents) because I am confused about leaving the edge veneer exposed to the elements if it hangs over the floor edges. Also is this not a better situation for weight and no shear on the fastners? Will keep my comments to a minimum till you get this thread cruising. I am glad I found this resourse. Here every evening.

Filewasp, welcome! I am from Shoreline, so it is nice to have another Tear builder close by. The shear issue that you brought up is one reason that I also thought it would be better to rest the sides on the frame. I would love to hear how other builders deal with this issue, since I do think that covering the frame tends to be more aesthetically pleasing.

Amy

I belive that you could adjust the profile to account for the frame thickness and only the outside skin would cover the frame, leaving the core (3/4" thick for most) to rest on the deck and take the most of the weight (or at least share it equally with the outside skin. It can not be much of a problem, because there are quite a few out there that are done this way.

My $0.02 worth!

Kerry

Yes. I wish I had done it that way...

Joseph

I say if you are building an insulated wall, place the studwall on the deck and let the outer wall skirt the frame. Make sure your deck has some clearance over the frame. (I'm going to hang my deck 1/8" over the frame rail)
If you are going non insulated, just let the aluminum skin skirt the farme.
If you are going non insulated and want a woody look, you could extend the deck out a bit and run a dado groove on the sidewall to skirt the frame.

I have always narrowed the frame and ran the sides over the frame bolting them directly to the frame. I run a 2000lb axel on a harbor Freight 1175 frame and I'm not afraid of any problems because I know I have 2 plywood box beams strapped to the sides increasing the weight capacity of the trailer and cutting down on the flexing. Its a little tricky, but I think its well worth it.

Happy Trails

Len

When the years pass and I have the time and money to build me TD, I will be building the walls on the deck and extending the aluminum down over the frame. Does anyone have an example of a kenskill or mod that is done in this way though?

SteveH what treatments did you use front and rear?

SteveH what treatments did you use front and rear?

If you're talking about the under side, I put a like a roll pan out of aluminum. We call them roll pans on hot rods, so I don't know what else to call them. I did have to use some thin aluminum valley tin to get the small radius bend.

Look at Andrew's plans for the Cub and that is how I did it.

Im still in the planning stages but i was a carpenter for years,and i was planning on running my sidewalls down flush with my flat 2x4 skids then1/2 ply,then 2x2 bottom plate for the studs to set on.I would think this would make the walls stonger. Alot still depends on the trailer,but if i can find a good 6'wide flat bed then im dreaming of a dropoff TTT it mostly would stay on the trailer but if i need a trailer, im in maintenance and i do side jobs sometimes, so might need it.plus that excuse helps me justify buying the trailer ,double purpose.I know its a lofty goal but i can handle it.I love this site my eyeballs are about to bleed from absorbing all these valuable tips and tricks.

Anonymous wrote:I say if you are building an insulated wall, place the studwall on the deck and let the outer wall skirt the frame.

That is how I built mine. However I am also installing a strip of diamond pattern embossed rock guard along the bottom to cover the carriage bolt heads.

Mark