Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

First time posting here.. I have been studying all the neat and creative builds here for the last 6 months. There are some amazing builds out there!!

This trailer is a bit larger than most on the site but the living quarters are about the same, so I thought I would share my build.

My build started with a need to store my racecar outside my garage. I had also always wanted an enclosed trailer and one with living quarters to boot. As luck had it I also was looking for a fun winter project. After looking for 6 months or so I found a good deal on a 32’ HortonVan Gooseneck. I have never owned a gooseneck before but figured it would be the best for my needs. The year before I picked up a 2011 F350 gasser with the factor gooseneck package.

The build started in Oct and has gone pretty well due to the easy winter we have had in the northeast. Here are a few pictures


The HortonVan has a pretty good setup to start with, camper door (with screen) and 5 windows.

The floor was plywood with linoleum then diamond plate. I noticed some soft spots in the rear and this is what I found when I pulled up the floor.
Since I had no time limit on this build I decided to pull the entire floor paint and install a new sealed floor.

Yes that is my trooper of a wife with POR-15 ☺

The frame was very clean for a northeast trailer (it was built in 2000) and just needed a little scuff and a few coats of POR-15. I am very glad I decided to pull the floor!!

This trailer is very over built, in most cases the floor angle is 8-10” on center. GVW is 14000 with a dry weight of 7K.

New ¾” plywood was sealed on both sides with Sherwood Williams Rec Stain Epoxy and sealed to the frame with 3M caulk. All edges were seam sealed as well.

On the front couple of sheets of plywood I glued and metal taped double reflective insulation on the bottom of the floor. Hoping to add a few R’s to the floor.


I cut out and welded the braces needed for the fridge, hot water heater and outdoor shower vents.

The roof edges are curved and what seemed like a week point for New England snow. A buddy of mine bent up some 18awg steel shaped like a U which stretched from side to side and connected the side walls with the roof subframe (sorry no pictures of that) I used 3 of them about 8’ apart. They also work great to run wire in!

1” insulation board was cut and fitted in between the wall studs. In the living quarters up front I used an additional 1” on top of the other. In the rear I used the factory insulation in the roof with ½” reflective foam board covering that.
In the living quarters I used 1” and covered with ¼ plywood.

It took me quite a while to come up with the final design, well it kind of changed as I went along… A buddy had given me some floor cabinets and wall cabinets so I was trying to work around that.

Starting to figure out the living area. It’s funny, one reason I have not posted before now is my poor woodworking! Seeing some of the builds you guys have done can be a little intimidating to say the least. That said, be kind, Bob Villa I am not!!! ☺

Back in the 90’s I built a 85 Chevy 12’ box truck into a Rally/living quarters service truck. It ended up weighing in at 11k!! We had to put a built 383 in it to tow in the hills of New England. Knowing my ability to over build stuff I decided to try and keep the weight down on this build. I used ¾”x 1 ½” poplar studs and ½” plywood.

The living quarters will have 2 door fridge, hot water heater and furnace. I am going to use an outside shower and have a sink. No bathroom (other than a portable one) as most place we go will have one. There will also be a dinette set.

Everything is inside, the gray water tank is under the sink and the fresh water tank is up against the front wall. There is a 2000 watt inverter/charger under the second step going up to the bedroom.

I also added ½” insulation and sub floor to the living quarters. Hoping to add a little more R’s and maybe keep any liquid from the rear making it’s way into the living quarters. I will most likely put a spill kit in there as well after really wet or muddy events. As of now I am not going to separate the two spaces. (this may change)

Starting to hang cabinets. Because of availability and cost and yes talent we are using three different type of cabinets. We tried our best to match the stain but well it is just a trailer ☺.

I welding up a front cage for the two 6 volt batteries and propane tank. There will be diamond plate covering it as well. There will be another cage on the other side to hold my Honda 2000 genny.

The bedroom is coming together. The ‘entertainment system” hangs from the roof and pivots for either the living room or bedroom. The Jenson stereo is attached as well.

The fuse box is under a hinged portion of the counter. Both 110 and 12 volt panels are located here. The inverter/charger is just below it.

All the lighting in the trailer will be 12-volt flexible led lights. Under cabinet as well as overhead lighting are with 24 watt lights and the rear car area will be 74 watt led’s. I must say, they are cheap and work really well!!
The bedroom floor is covered with 2” insulation because of the steel floor.
I will have a Max Air Deluxe fan in the living quarters and my roof ac in the rear.
An electronic thermostat will control the furnace. I hope to add my roof ac to that as well.

Not too much plumbing, but expensive!!

Fridge is in and it fits!!! I have wired an outlet in the spot above the fridge just incase we decide to add a microwave later.
I also ran the gray water tank vent up behind the fridge to limit the number of holes cut in the roof.

I added a temp shelf over the hood of the car to put my crap on and also to see how it felt to move around with it there. I might make a removable sleeping area in that spot. I would also wall it off completely from the rear….

Adding little shelves here and there (this why my van weighed so much!)
You can also see the black steel U channel we welded to the roof for support.

wow this is going to be a cool conversion
I like the pictures

Very Nice! I saw you used the sharkbite plumbing fittings, I did the same on my home, but made it possible to get back to them, just incase one failed. The are supposed to be solid, but with my luck, at least one will fail, so just in case.

Great Job.

Johnnie

I got a little more work done over the weekend. I already wired up an electronic thermostat to my furnace and wanted to convert my manual roof AC to work with the thermostat as well.

This was the manual switch setup

This is after I removed all the manual switches and replaced them with 12 volt relays.

I also installed the cabinet doors and glued in the sink… getting there!

Update on progress,
Batteries and propane in and wired

I needed to remove the panel under the gooseneck to run wires and decided to insulate it with 1" foam board while it was apart.

I welded up the Genny cage and finished the exhaust port through the side of the trailer. I then added an extension to the genny, this empties into a larger pipe hooked onto the side of the trailer.

I also welded up a cage around the waste dump plumbing.

Still working on the awning mount, but looks like I can just bolt it to the gutter. I will also be screwing the rail to this as well inverted.

Hoping to get it painted this weekend...

I took a few days off from work to get a bunch of stuff done on the trailer. We are painting it this weekend.
I removed the fenders and wheels and POR-15ed the fender wells.

The next day I brought it over to a buddies shop to paint. Since it is so big it had to be painted outside in the driveway. With cold temps and wind in the forecast it was going to be a tough spray!!
After some prep work and tapping.

Two coats of the base coat, we went with the Ford Blue Pearl (same as the tow rig)


You can really see how the clear brings out the shine on this process. We used Spies Hecker Paint. My buddy Mike did a great job painting!!
Strapped for time the job was prepped and painted in one day. I took it home that night still very tacky!!
Here it is back home the next day curing

I installed the awning and the newly polished fenders, and it looks like a million bucks!!! I got the awning from a buddy. It was just luck the colors matched up so well :.)

Now the truck looks like it needs a paint job to match ☺!!
It is now really coming together!

Great job painting. Looks very professional.

Superb! Great job. I especially like the paint color!