Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I am finally getting to start my posting for our CT conversion of our 6X14 Car Mate Trailer.
In my original post, viewtopic.php?f=42&t=60722, are photos of the trailer before work has started. I have many photos to post, but to not run them all together, I will pace them out with new posts over the upcoming days.

One of the suggestions I have seen many times in the forum is to have a catchy title so that readers can easily recognize it for future readings and possibly for easier recall of the contents of the post.
And I notice many TD's and CT's have names, so I thought I would give that a shot. We live in the Blue Ridge Mtns of Southwest Virginia, so that name sort of fits. Who knows what it will end up being after the project is completed (if one ever finishes this kind of project).

We are starting with this setup:


Our design will allow us to use the trailer as a camper, but also it will be able to carry our 12 foot and 10 foot kayaks with us, in the trailer, out of sight for both security reasons along with ease of loading. So my first act was to make sure I could load the 12 footer. With it on the floor, I could measure the clearances for the cabinets and other items. All should fit well. There is actually more room available then this photo shows.

Looking good so far Bob. Catchy name too.



Bob

Ok get busy I wanna see 10,000 pictures

Spotman wrote::thumbsup: Looking god so far Bob. Catchy name too.



Bob

Thanks Bob

Awesome trailer and TRUCK! Nice to see a proper tow vehicle for a change.

Good looking setup. Thanks for sharing your build. I'm looking forward to see what you do with your space.

We will be staying tuned! It's hard to juggle playtime and tinkering when the weathers nice. I have a feeling you'll fly through the build!

Wi urban camo,

Thanks. Even with the turbo, the trailer height acted like a big sail. I heeded all the advice I picked up on the forum and tried to keep my Interstate speeds to 60 or below...mostly at about 57 mph. I am going to swap the tonneau cover for an ARE cap. I want the space it provides for, and I also think that might help a tad with the air currents.

The trailer with a Dexter Torsion axle performed like a dream.

Cindy, thanks also. I have many pictures to post of my insulation work and trial hunt camp trip I took. I just did not want to post them all at once.

I have to add one window which I have, finish my insulation (need to order more) and start the wiring (must order it yet). I cannot wait to get going on them. But I was very disappointed today because I remeasured my garage door height again and the clearance issues are working against me as as I try to get it into the garage for working on in an heated area this winter. But I have to figure out how to take at least six-seven inches of interference fit out of the equation. Right now I am leaning towards removing the tires and wheels and trying a "steel plate" wheel as has been done before in this forum and take the Fantastic Vent cover off to lower the CT by about 2 inches.

No Jerry, I cannot tear up the floor. But I am trying to find a solution. Otherwise it will be cold in it this month.

I bought the CT in September, but because of back pain, did not really start any hard work on it until early November as I had to complete some basic work to get it ready to use for a extended hunt camp stay. I had less then a week or so to get ready.

I had the plywood added to the outside of the trailer and left the interior open which made it much easier to start work on it. The first thing I did was to paint the walls with Sherman Williams Interior paint which had Anti-microbial agents to inhibit the growth of mold and mildew on the paint surface. While others have suggested that if I can keep the interior moisture down, I should have no problem with it passing through my interior walls and insulation to accumulate in the walls. But to error on the side of being more cautious, this painting would give me a small bit of relief. These photos also show the starting of my insulation adds.

lrrowe, Howdy;

So far so good ... always comforting to err on the side of caution.


hank

I added two layers of 3/4 EPS for 1 1/2in of insulation in the walls.

There are areas which need to be filled in with can spray foam before I add the interior wall covering.
Also I put in 1 1/2 inch sleepers in the floor and added foam between them. Then I added 1/2 inch plywood for the new flooring.





I had ordered the CT with the door Threshold raised 2 inches higher so when the insulation and new flooring is added, the floor would be level to the Threshold.





Now I must make a decision whether to add another thin layer of insulation over the top of the studs and foam. I really do not want to do it because I do not want to give up any more interior width. I am going to go with my theory that the thermal bridging for the wooden studs will not be as bad as the metal ones.

The ceiling is next. I have added 2 x 4's across the top to provide for more space to insulate in. They now give me about 4 inches total for the ceiling insulation and still leave me with 6 feet interior height. I will order the insulation later this week. Pictures soon.

Moving right along Bob, keep up the good work.


Bob

The wood studs will have a little thermal bridging, but possibly only visible to an IR thermometer or camera. Metal ribs are much worse. The wood has an R value of approximately 1 per inch of thickness. Steel about 0.04.

It's exciting now that work has begun in earnest.


With the Blue Ridge Mountains in your backyard there isn't much need to ramble too far. I would like to drag our CTC there for a few weeks.

Thanks Bob and MtnDon.

MtnDon, that is sort of what I was thinking and one of the reasons for liking the wood uprights. It is fun now that it has "started in earnest".
I just need to get beyond this darn back of mine bothering me like it does. It puts me into the recliner a lot and is taking away my energy/interest in doing much of anything. Hopefully the new medical treatments started today will solve that issue.

Another set back for this winter will be that I do not see how I can get the CT into the garage which means all work is done outside. I do not look forward to that during this winter.

If you ever do make that trip to the Blue Ridges, hopefully we can link up. As you said, there are many places to go here.

I have started to order the wire and hardware I need and the issue I come up against is what to order for the 12v and USB sockets. Pretty much the common item I find on the web is......


Is this typical of what others are using? I found them at around $10 each on ebay and I would like to find something lower in price as I want to use about 4-6 of them.
I will continue to search for them and do a search in this forum.