Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Iv'e begun a 7x12 v nose conversion. I have taken advantage of the collective knowledge of tnttt forums to come up with my plan. I hope by sharing my ideas, I can help others when they create there own trailers.

First some background on me and what I wanted out of a new conversion.

I've owned two previous travel trailers: A pristine 1954 canned ham Aljoa and more recently, a 4x10 teardrop for the past 5 years. My camping and trailering needs have evolved in that time: In a nut shell, I need more room than I have in my nutshell of a teardrop.



I have a need to haul a lot of play things: paddle boards, mountain bikes, motorcycles. I also build and haul "one off" custom pedal / electric tricycles. These trikes can get big. My current trike is 4 feet wide, 9 feet long and weighs 380 lbs. A photo of it "attached" to my teardrop follows.







I do a lot of "shoulder season" camping (fall and spring). The weather varies from windy and in the low 100's to snowing and in the 20's. (As "tear-jerkers" know, sitting down to a morning cup of coffee when it's snowing can be a challenge.)



My haul vehicle is a 2007 Lexus RX 400h.

So I wanted a toy hauler/travel trailer that had the simplicity of an "egg" or teardrop, and weighed less than 3500 lbs loaded. But, it had to be big enough to carry toys, camping gear, 2-3 BIG dogs, the wife occasionally, and me comfortably, (I'm 6'2").



Commercially there is nothing out there that fits that bill. So I'm building my own. My budget? Well, a new "egg" can run more than $ 11,000. I figure this will be nicer and cost less. I'm calling it the "SQUARESTREAM".

I ordered the trailer in January from trailershowroom.com, and picked up in April from Oregon









Specs:
+ 12 foot x 7 foot
+ V nose
+ 2 RV Horizontal slider Windows
+ RV side door
+ 5.2 K pounds Torsion, Single axle
+ Narrow track axle
+ 30 amp breaker box
+ 2 baggage doors
+ 12 v fantastic fan
+ 10 foot awning
+ 7 foot ceiling
+ Bright plate exterior plating

I am taking many interior design elements from AIRSTREAM trailers : polished aluminum ceiling highlights and cabinet edgings, recessed LED lighting, overhead cabinets.



From the teardrop / egg world, I am taking the lightweight route; Solar shower, port a potty, Ice box, Clean and Grey water in portable 5 gallon tanks, all 12 volt LED lighting, Solar panel to charge sealed lead-acid 12v battery, small catalytic heater.

From this forum I will appropriate: a small "window" air conditioner mounted as needed in a dedicated small cargo door, foam insulation, vinyl flooring and other inspiration.

12 volt rough wiring and 1 inch wall and 1 1/2 inch ceiling insulation is in.


I placed the heaviest elements ( microwave, ice box, sink, dresser) as close to the axle as possible. The spare tire, water, generator, and battery will be placed at the rear of the trailer under the bed. This will help keep the tongue weight reasonable.

The bed will be across the rear of the trailer. It will spit down the middle, with the ends hinged to the walls . That way it can be folded up to increase storage space and permit access through the rear cargo doors. (kind of like a Murphy bed, split down the middle)
THe Kitchen will be on the street side, a dresser on the curb side and a couch will go across the front.

In this photo you can see the aircraft aluminum that makes up part of the ceiling. (Is is partially obscured by a protective film of white plastic.) I bought 3 sheets of 4x10, 0.032 polished aluminum sheeting from an aircraft supply house. This BRIGHT (Yikes!) aluminum will be also used as backsplash, molding, highlights, and trim throughout the trailer.




Today I started laying down vinyl "oak flooring".

After that comes the cabinets, kitchen counter, dresser, and couch. The big cabinet that holds the microwave, Icebox and pantry is already done, but not placed. I hope to be operational by July 4th and fully finished by Labor Day.

There are Airstream trailers called Squarestreams, so your name is less than unique. I understand the motivation though.

To learn more about the Squarestreams check out http://www.airstreamcentral.com/article ... Page1.html.

Yes, I was aware that some past Airstream models were referred to as "Squarestreams", but not by Airstream. I still like the name.

That trailer and your plans sound nice, but are you still planning to use your Lexus RX to tow? That model is a hybrid right? I would think that it would be pushing it to tow that large of a trailer with that vehicle.

The Lexus rx400h is not your typical hybrid.

The gas engine is the same as the rx350. The combination of the gas engine horsepower and torque of the electric motors makes for a powerful towing machine.

Gas engine horse power: 268hp
Gas engine torque: 235 ft lbs
Electric motor horse power: 155hp
Electric motor torque: 212 ft lbs

While towing, the electric motors only kick in during high demand periods such as passing and accelerating. When they do, you can really feel it. During those times, you have over 400 hp and 440 ft lbs of torque available. While cruising, the gas engine handles things fine.
Over the past 5 years I have towed cargo trailers, travel trailers, utility trailers and boats on trailers over 3000 lbs. No problem.
The vehicle has the towing package from Lexus which includes a transmission cooler. I have a 7 pin connector / brake controller for electric braked trailers, like my new cargo trailer.

The vehicle is rated in the US to tow 3500 lbs. The same vehicle in europe is rated to tow 4,400 lbs. A difference I think has to do with the more safety conservative / law suite driven nature of the US.

I love it. I need an awning like that.
Keep posting pictures.
I think the name is perfect.

Gadget Man

Last year in Florida we saw a large Airstream towed by a GM hybrid.
The owner was very pleased with the SUVs' capacity.
He had no issues with that behemoth, so I see none with this ct.

Tahoe Neil wrote: The same vehicle in europe is rated to tow 4,400 lbs. A difference I think has to do with the more safety conservative / law suite driven nature of the US.

That is one reason I'm sure. The other is that the CE standards for 'everything' are more stringent in Europe. A lot of trailers on the road in the US would be off the road in Europe.

Brake requirements, construction and materials used would keep a lot of homebuilts off the road in Europe. Licensing/registration in some states is nothing more than filling a form. No regs about meeting any sort of standards.

Tom

Treeview Tom,

You make a very valid and interesting point about trailers in Europe. We here in the US are much more lax about materials, engineering, and design. In fact, we permit a LOT of crazy stuff to be built and towed down the road that would get you tossed in jail in europe. But folks like us love being able to create what we want and use it.
Continuing with the sub thread of towing with a hybrid and building what you want, you will probably get a kick out of these pictures of me towing a 23 foot tall, 21 foot wide, mechanical-fire breathing octopus.
(somewhere in the desert)
(the motor in the octopus broke down, so my tow vehicle was put into service)
(no, we didnt tow it down the highway like that. it was disassembled and put on 2 flatbeds)








More pics of the SQUARESTREAM on the way. Working now on varnishing paneling, completing ceiling, installing vinyl flooring, and some more cabinets.

Had to take a few weeks off from building, but now Im moving forward.
Ive been moving clockwise around the trailer building cabinets. THe doors and drawers I will tackle once all the cabinets are done. THe floor to ceiling cabinet was the first and most complex. It will hold the ice box, microwave, and pantry. In addition, it has wiring for 12 volt power, 110 volt outlets inside and outside, and drainage for the ice box.
At the front of the trailer, Ive framed in what will become a couch with storage below. (Sliding doors still to be built)
Next to the ice box cabinet is the sink/stove top cabinet. Below is where I will stow fresh and grey water 5 gallon tanks, along with the port a potty. There is a cargo door that allow access to the port a potty from the out side.







Because of weight concerns, I am using an ice box. In addition, no one has ever had to fix an ice box because it stopped working. To help keep ice longer, I added between 1-2 inches of extra foam around the foam that came with the box. I also added a sheet of polished aluminum to the door to match the look of the rest of the trailer.








The LED puck ceiling lights are now mounted to a 1/4 inch panel of birch that runs between the polished aluminum ceiling panels.





Its taken a long time to build my cabinets so far. This is my first attempt at cabinet building. A close friend has lent me his shop and given me a hand.
I cant believe how much time the varnish work has taken. Two coats on all the wood = 1 gallon of varnish. More to do, so more varnish to buy. To keep the birch light in color, I first "stained" it with a 1:5 mixture of white paint to thinner. Im really liking how it looks.

Id like to take the trailer out for the 4th of july in the desert...... but it wont be done (will it truely EVER be done????) To do that I will need to get the window air conditioner mounted.

Very impressive cabinet work and interior design.

I may have missed it, but what did you use for flooring?

Thanks

Scott,

I used 4x12 inch peel and stick vinyl flooring from Lowes. Kind of disappointed in it. When summer sun shines on it and it gets hot, it expands, bows, and un-sticks from the floor. Once it cools down it returns to its normal state. I guess I will lay down some throw rugs/runners and/or keep the doors closed. If that doesnt work...... lay new flooring........UG.

Neil

Neil..nice build..I may even know you!...been going to the playa for years and im down the hill in Auburn.. and my conversion will be there this year also! Im thinking about using either stainless or aluminum for my backsplash also, I was going to pick some up at Blue Collar Supply..was your aluminum source reasonable pricing?

I was also going to comment on using romex in a trailer or any application that has vibration..the vibration over time will cause stress and the wire to fatigue. I had a RV fire years ago as a result of someones hack job....i used braided for all my 110 and 12v applications

Beauty cabinets / interior Neil !!!! Just shows what you can do with a simple CT...

This is a beautiful conversion so far: very impressive