a Noob, sort of....

[duke]

Hi everybody. I'm Duke and I've been lurking for a few months and just started posting a few days before this noob forum started.....figured I'd post a progress report.....

Started building my TTT, the Solo.. a one person "hard" tent with a small galley in the rear......Refined my design (again, and again) after reading the older posts and getting some great ideas......let me know what'cha think...

I have an old boat trailer and a twin size (39" x 75") mattress, so I just had to combine them into a trailer to use when I pursue my main passion: metal detecting. I make many overnight trips 'tecting in remote areas and traveling to attend/marshal detecting rallys. I've gotten tired of being cold, getting wet, setting and striking the tent, and the jumble of camping and detecting gear in the back of the car.....so the Solo concept was born.

Got the design about 95% complete in my head and about 75% down in CAD....have stripped the trailer and cut off the roller brackets and ground down the old welds.......cleaning up the axle/springs/hubs now.....my brother has the frame now welding on the extensions.....bought material for the floor, will start that next week...pics in my album....





Frame: older boat trailer, 42" wide. Solo will be built at 42" wide to avoid building over the wheels, uncomplicating the build, and fits the 39" wide mattress.....Frame lengthened to 78".....tongue shortened.....axle flipped to ride over springs...Tag on trailer says GVW of 550 lbs, so this will be a light weight build.

Body: 42"W x 87"L x 48"H overall (78"L floor) Sandwich walls 1/4" ply outer skin over 3/4 framing, 1'8" hardboard or ply inner skin, foam insulation. No hatch, rear galley door/counter design shamelessly stolen from DANL's Cricket. Simple shelf in galley. Seams FG taped and exterior epoxy coated. Enamel paint over.

Electrical: 110v, one outlet in galley and one in cabin connected to shorepower, 12v power point in galley and one in cabin, 12v interior and galley lights.

I've really been inspired by all the great pictures, discussions, plans on this site.......It seems any design problem/question I had was covered in a thread, I just had to find it.... (I still can't believe I'm doing CAD drawings).....will get some more pics up when I make some more progress.........thanx

[Miriam C.]

Welcome Duke,
Sounds like you have a good plan. I am a little close-a-phobic so it seems small. Not too much smaller than normal though.

I like the CAD and the coloring too.

Enjoy
Aunti M

[tonyj]

Looks sharp! Now quit playing with the cad and start destroying plywood!!

[duke]

Thanks Miriam,

It is very small, but it will just be for one for sleeping, if my wife comes along, we get a motel, shes not the campin kind...I did a mockup of sorts with cardboard sheets around the mattress, plenty of headroom for sitting up in it....it will have about 8 or 9 cubic feet of storage inside, and about the same in the galley, plenty of space for the coleman stove, water jug, dish pans in the galley and clothes inside, cooler in the car...

the main reason its so small is storage, one bolt removes the tongue, and two more bolts remove the springs/axle/wheels.....tip the trailer so it rests on its rear, and it only has a 4' x 3 1/2' footprint, for storing in my garage.....

[ARKPAT]

Welcome Duke to "Obsession". You are building something that looks somewhat like what I have planed in completing. I did a cardboard model of the trailer as to get a feel of size of the outside and inside and galley area. Good luck on the build and hope to meet you on one of the camp-ins. I still might be making the next meeting in a tent but tring hard not to.



Pat