Newbie design advice? To stand or not to Stand?

[R.Mutt]

Hello Tiny Travel Trailers, I am looking for some input from you guys and gals as I work out a final design. I am new to travel trailers, but I work in metal and wood shops so pretty good with tools. I love all of the small teardrop trailers and the "economy of scale", especially love the sawtooth and grasshopper. But for my camping activities I think I might need to go bigger (still small compared to RV trailers). Any advise and thoughts to the following concerns are welcomed and needed.
1. I almost always travel with 2 kayaks on my truck rack, so with that much initial air resistance I am thinking I might as well build a standie with 6ft interior since the truck and boats are taking the brunt of the wind? your thoughts?
2. I travel with the wife and dog and lots of fishing and hunting gear. So although I know it will be more work and $$$ for the initial build, it seams to make sense to build bigger than smaller in my case. I am thinking 12ft minimum length, 6ft wide and 6ft interior height. Do you guys think this size and weight of a standi will really cost me more than an extra $30-$50 in gas for my average 300 mile round trips?


Thanks for your input

[R.Mutt]

PS I am driving a 2003 Tundra with v8, towing package, truck rack with boats if it helps with your evaluation.

[mezmo]

Hi R. Mutt,

Welcome to the forum.

If you think you might need the added height, then you do. The biggest
goal of any build should be to have it meet/fit your needs. Use, before
style.

The main practical 'aero' goal would be to have the trailer "fit"
within the max or ending cross-sectional area of the tow vehicle as that
has already "punched" through the air. Keep the trailer within that and
it won't have to do much 'punching' of its own, i.e create more frontal drag
of its own. If that wouldn't give you enough headroom you could gain some of
that by doing a drop floor area in it, or doing a lifting top for extra
headroom when set up. One hinged on one end is a very simple direct
approach for that. Also doing a radius on the edges and corners of the
trailer body is a small but very beneficial aero detail - even an inch or so
radius helps. A taper on the rear portion of the body can help some for
rear drag too. It's just a balance of all considerations isn't it ? Ha !

There are many build methods, but check in the Foamie section for some
weight saving and economical build ideas. A small scale SIP may be a good
way to proceed. Check out Linuxxxman's methods on those there.

Have fun planning, then have fun building it, then have fun camping with it.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[Shadow Catcher]

The kayaks are very aerodynamic, I doubt they are a significant drag, a trailer can be. Does it outweigh the benefit of room, and how much of a difference will it be?

[Roly Nelson]

Having been involved in teardrops for over 10 years, I truely feel that you, your wife, and your dog, would be much more comfortable traveling in a standy, vs a teardrop trailer. The benifits are unparalel. The comfort of having a stand-up area to change clothes in, and the convenience of a porta-potty, a comfortable bed and indoor cooking convenience, is a big plus. Bear in mind, we teardroppers are out-doors people, doing all of their cooking and basic living stuff outside of our rigs. Hey, the only time we go inside is to cuddle or go to sleep. True, they are cheaper, lighter and easier to pull, and usually are a big attraction at a truck-stop or rest area, but you really should give some thought as to what your ultimate goal is, during your 300 mile trips and ultimate total comfort.

Building a standy from scratch, could be a time-consuming project, and may involve a bunch of challenging skills, plus the cost of materials and license. It might surprise you how much difference there might be, pulling a fully loaded teardrop, or a comfortable light-weight standy. You might consider picking up an older vintage trailer, with a solid frame and exterior and renovating it to suit your needs. I did this some years ago, and believe me, it saved me a bunch of bucks. I don't want to disvalue your thoughts about building from scratch, but since you are already in a questionable slip-stream with your truck and less-than aerodonamic boats, I don't think that a standy would make that much difference. Here in Calif, we can only drive 55 mph pulling any kind of trailer. Just my 2 cents.
Roly, a dedicated teardrop puller and ex-vintage trailer puller.

[jdarkoregon]

What Roly Said!!!!

Everything is there, You might even consider some of the newer sporty designs.

John

[R.Mutt]

I will Stand! I want to thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts and advice. I measured to the kayaks loaded on the truck, it is 7’10”. Seems like plenty of room to build a standy with-in that profile, but dang those little shorties look so cool! I have literally made 50-75 different profile and floorplan drawings to figure out what I want, what I need, and toned it down to what is realistic. I am going to keep lurking and learning, but you guys have helped me get out of a rut of indecision and establish basic goals.

Basic Goals:
Sporty adaptation of a Sawtooth or Grasshopper
At least a few feet of standing room to change or use porta potty during bad weather
Good outside galley/grub box
Extra storage to lock and store fishing and kayak gear
A/C for the brutal Texas weather.

I will be running drawings in front of the firing squad once I have some more time.

You guys keep up the good work, I look forward to seeing more of your builds.

Buster/R.Mutt

[coop74]

sounds like you could use something like what I have...



i pulled that and carried 4 boats on top of the SUV to the Keys. It is so nice to be able to stand up and do your business when camping. I do the wife and big dog thing mostly when I camp. The queen size bed and a little left over room for storage, counter, frig, microwave and air is a nice thing.

Big Coop

[R.Mutt]

Coop, That is sweeeeeeet! Looks allot like my drawings. Thanks for sharing, I will be hit'n you up with some questions latter, if you don't mind. New to the site, is there a place I can see more of your pics?

[Mary C]

Check out the build threads and the hall of Fame and for the technical stuff its on the home page listed under plumbing electrical etc.. Welcome and you will find what you need, keep reading!!!!

Mary C

[Roly Nelson]

R-mutt, I can relate to all of the sketches and drawings. I have a good time checking out the old ones, the discarded ones and the actual drawings that eventually ended up in a full-size trailer. I suggest you put those preliminary drawings in a file folder, they will be a hoot some years from now. I know, I've been there, and am amazed at the goofy ideas that popped out of my head, back then.
Roly ~~

[coop74]

Coop, That is sweeeeeeet! Looks allot like my drawings. Thanks for sharing, I will be hit'n you up with some questions latter, if you don't mind. New to the site, is there a place I can see more of your pics?

I bought it, I did not build it.

The website is http://www.microlitetrailer.com/MLThome2a.htm

all you ever wanted to know about it...

Big Coop