Enough lurking already...

[AndyL]

G'day Folks,

I just want to start out by saying "you're all bad influences". Found the site while continuing my search for an old tent trailer to refurbish... That was on a TD build; of course then I found the puffin; and here I am.

Family includes a 4 (and a half - never forget the half) year old; a 20lb (full grown) german shepard cross; and negotiations on a 4th (5th?) member.

We're a camping family, last year we managed a solid 8 weekends, and a 10 day camping trip (Meandering trip, 4 days to vancouver via radium then back to the #1, 3 days in golden ears (vancouver), 3 back up the sea to sky). And many of our 4x'ing trips could easily turn into a weekend - if it wasn't for having to pack in all the gear setting up base camp blah blah blah...

We had a few too many run-ins with wildlife, Cody likes to call in the Coyotes, had a close encounter of the Cougar kind, plus numerous close calls with grizzlies and black bears (we keep a clean campsite... if others would learn!) Thus the trailer search began to ensure we have something beyond fabric between us and those animals with big teeth

This coming season - we'll be out even more... There's going to be another trip west through the rockies... And we're talking about a fall trip east (The decision maker's never been east of saskatchewan).

Thanks for a great site with lots of ideas...

Andy

[Mike C.]

Hi Andy,


Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you've got the camping thing down. A teardrop would it make it more enjoyable. Sounds like you've got your ideas about what you want to build, so, get in and make some sawdust, and you be camping off the ground, before you know it.

See you around.

[Miriam C.]

to the playground Andy and family! Lions and tigers and bears---oh my Sounds like you really need some solid walls. Just remember that bears can and do enter through wood all the time. Still have to keep the food away.

I bet you know to look at the build forums and Hall of fame so I will just remind you to Keeps the bubble oil level.

[Ron Dickey]

click on destinations and T&TTT map and see who you can catch up to. It always helps to see what others have done.

Our trailers are prity lite and I am unsure about teeth and bears. You might want to include a small crane to hold food out of reach during the night. or a detachable food safe that can be chained to a distant tree.

Welcome aboard.... We have lot's of experts and people with very helpful answers.


Ron D.

[AndyL]

Y'know as bad as it sounds... We've never really been in that much danger with the wildlife. Just enough for Nancy not to sleep much - which sometimes translates to a crappy nights sleep for me

Plywood however is much better than ripstop nylon at making mothers happy to continue camping And I must admit, my knees are buggered, my back's getting there - these cold nights on the air mattresses/foam are getting hard...

Just trying to sort out what to build; going through the many options and questioning my capabilities to modify designs, as nothing quite contains everything just yet...

My short list:
Fullsize queen bed & kids bunk
Heat, Insulation, A/C
Minimal indoor kitchen (Most will be done outside, but there's those days after 3-4 of rain where it's just not possible to cook out under the tarps/awning anymore)
Gotta have room for the porta-potty; save my sanity, give me a porta potty!
Of course If i give up the space for the porta-potty, I'm going to do the puffin style washroom - we're big fans of the solar shower anyway.

Likely I'll end up retrofiting a bigger water tank + solar + small generator to be mostly self sufficient, much of my favorite spots are not parking lots for rv's

What is piquing my interest right now is the possibility to put some of the polyurethane sandwich techniques to use... Pondering a quick strength / weight test between a 3/4" ply sheet and say 2 - 1/8" ply sheets with 1" or so of polyurethane foam inside (installed as liquid so as to bond into a solid). I know the panels we use at work made out of 26ga steel and poly are 10x stronger than the old wood panels they replaced...

[Miriam C.]

A lot of us use sandwich method to get lighter and save room. Every inch counts. I really wish I had designed a permanent room for the potty.

Now the indoor kitchen. If you take a few minutes to make doors to the galley you will have solved the problem. Just make the bunk a counter for those times. Also make the mattress in sections.

Also see the ET http://www.mikenchell.com/Generic_ET_Ph ... ndex4.html

Enjoy