My name is Tim and I think I have been bitten by the TD bug. My wife and I are in our early 50's. We are looking for a way to get out and enjoy time together inexpensively. I have tried to get my wife to go tent camping with me a couple times, but she absolutely won't go. She camped a lot when she was a kid with her family and enjoyed it. I have camped a little over the years. I enjoy being outdoors, but sleeping in a tent, even with an air mattress is tough on me. I asked my wife if she thought that a teardrop would get her interested since her requirements were to have a place to cool off, a comfortable/safe place to sleep and access to facilities. She agreed to give it a try, and has even shown some interest in places to try it out. I ran across teardrops and started researching them as a possibility to give us a way to give this a try. I haven't looked at a teardrop up close and personal, but have been reading a lot about them and think that it would give us what we are looking for. Light, inexpensive, a good way to get out on a weekend or a few days, and fun to build. We also have 2 young grandsons that I would love to spend some more time with making memories. I am sure they would love camping. We have camped a few times, the younger one, just in the back yard, but the older one actually camping for a weekend in Bankhead National Forest. They really enjoyed it.
Like many others that I have read about here, I enjoy building stuff and think it would be really cool to build a teardrop or tiny travel trailer. I am still in the "figure out what I want" stage right now. I have been lurking here for a few weeks looking at designs and layouts. I have seen several things that I like, but still have some questions. I want to start out simple and figure out what we like with the first build, and maybe build another later on with that knowledge.
Here are a few of our requirements...
I need the unit to be pretty light weight due to the TV that I will be using to begin with. I need to stay around 750-850 lbs. From what I have seen here, that should be possible.
I am a rather large person and need a bed at least 6'6" long. A 5 ft wide will be necessary due to needing the width of a queen size bed. I am trying to stick with 8' long to save weight.
I also need a larger entry door that standard. Question I have here is, will putting a large door on both sides cause any structural weakness? I will be building on a Harbor Freight trailer because that's what I have on hand to use. Thinking of using 1/4" ply on the outside, 1x2 or 1x4 framing, 1/8" interior skin and 3/4 foam insulation.
Floor, I am still deciding on how I want to build this. Due to my size, I need a sturdy floor, so thinking about 2x4's laid flat with 5/8 or 3/4 ply on top and foam insulation underneath.
I am fairly certain that I am going to cover it with "PFG" simply because that seems to be a viable option that is fairly inexpensive and tough. And, I have a large roll of canvas that I needed a use for anyway!
I am still deciding if I want to build in a galley, or just use a chuck box due to the limited space of an 8' unit and the requirement of a longer bed. Still totally undecided on this aspect, so pro's and con's would of both would be welcome.
Thanks for having me and I hope that I don't drive you crazy with questions.
