Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi all. First of all, I want to thank tnttt.com and its members for some great ideas and validation (or rejection) of some of my own ideas. You all have terrific experience and should be commended for your willingness to detail and share! In return, I thought I’d do a build thread for my 6x12 Vee motorcycle road race trailer. Sorry in advance for being an engineer-type with too much time on my hands. All constructive comments are well received.

I call it a Toy Hauler Lite because I will not need running water or indoor cooking. Tracks typically have showers and rest rooms. Any cooking will be done outside. Race season is typically April-October so I will not need extreme heating. Also, I LOVE summer heat except for sleeping so air conditioning is only needed at night when temps cool off.

Design criteria:
1. Total Build Cost: <$9000
2. Must fit into my standard garage (7’ entry height)
3. 6’ interior height
4. Must be capable of carrying 3 road racing motorcycles AND sleep 2 “on the road”
5. Must be able to sleep 5 when set up in the pits
6. Some AC and Heat
7. Able to be towed by my Audi Q5 Diesel (rated at 4400 lbs/440 TW)
8. Still have room for all the gear associated with racing, including toolboxes, safety equipment, stands, extra wheels, etc..
9. Must look “good” in order to attract/retain sponsors
10. Built to last…I don’t want to do this again for several years

So for quite a while my criteria seemed impossible. In order to fit 3 bikes, gear and have any room left over for people a minimum size of 6x12x6 Vee is required. Unfortunately, most every 6x12 Vee with a 6’ ceiling has an exterior height of 90” or greater…no way to fit under my 82” garage opening. I spent dozens of hours poring over the specs of virtually every trailer manufacturer in the US. Each time I found something close I contacted the manufacturers and dealers. Due to my difficult criteria I had to ask for a few small modifications to their standard build and in almost every case they either ignored my request or said no thanks.

Finally, I found my base trailer and with the help of the first, IMHO best and cheapest Wells Cargo dealer in the US -Don Randall Wells Cargo- I custom ordered the single brake axle 6x12 Vee version of this:

http://wellscargo.com/wellscargo-trailers/motorcycle-trailers/te-series/overview/

Modifications/options I specified were to add 3” interior height, install an RV style door with window and screen, 1 piece AL roof, brakes, and do not install floor tie downs.

Here’s 3 pictures coming home with it from the IN factory in early December after a 10 week build time. A quick note on fuel economy...empty I got ~19mpg which compares favorably to my previous 5x8x5 Vee which got ~20.






Next up, into the garage!

Into the Garage:

86" total height of trailer, 82" height garage door. I think a picture is worth a thousand words here:



Yes those are 12" wheels which barely fit around the 10" Dexter brake drum axles. I still need about 1.5" less height which is accomplished via partial deflation. I'm looking into 8" wheels with 2" wheel spacers to clear the brake drums and avoid the whole deflation routine. I've also considered and/or tried wheel skates and attaching heavy duty swivel casters directly to the trailer. So far, this approach has been my best option even if it means 15 minutes switching the wheels around each ingress/egress. I bought a very nice jack lol.

For those thinking raise the garage door I may be able to gain at most an inch without major garage reconstruction. The lowest bid of 3 I got for the garage modification project was $5K.

Next Up, Flooring

Wow!
That is a nice looking trailer.
I will be following your build, hoping to start mine soon. It is still real cold in Montana.
Good luck and keep us updated. Thanks for the pictures.

Mine is 7 foot interior and I have 9' doors. I have to remove operator arm and clamp door flush with header. Id like a roof vent and an axle flip+16 tires to match tow vehicle. I've thought about just getting old rims no tire's and see what I end up with. Since my build will take a long time to do( no money) I'll have plenty of time to watch others builds. So I thank-you for the 12" info fitting over brakes, as I have those already on my homemade kayak trailer.

Flooring:

After much research I settled on real Better Life Technology G-Floor over the delivered grey painted plywood, purchasing a 7.5x17 roll from Wal-Mart online. I searched for quite awhile to find the best price and when Wal-Mart had it for $220 I jumped on it. Of course I found a clearance roll of the coin pattern at a local Menards a week later for $170...but I still did better than any other price I could find. Since most reviews of this type of flooring indicate it expands/contracts with heat, I decided to float it and leave a little room around obstacles such as walls.



Here is the metal floor transition from the ramp door. I used washers underneath the metal strip so it lightly floats over the flooring..thus preventing binding.



And also floated the cover providing a path for an indoor/outdoor AC cord since I decided against running wiring and a breaker box. Power will be supplied either at the track or by my Champion inverter generator. 3.5" Hole saw comes in handy




This means all floor mounted brackets, etrack, etc... also need to be cut out. I've found Titanium scissors and a utility knife/straight edge cuts this stuff very well.



So far, the floor has seen temps ranging from 25 degrees to 70 degrees and done well. I've seen light binding at times but have made spacing/pressure adjustments that have worked. To be honest, I probably would just buy the factory installed rubberized floor (but not ramp door) next time...for the cost it would have been worth it.

More on the floor accessories later. Next up, Insulation. But I'll take a break first.

Insulation

OK I mentioned earlier I will not be trying to control interior temps in extreme hot or cold weather. Several of my racing friends swore up and down they had no problem heating or cooling their like sized completely uninsulated trailers with a small portable ceramic heater and 7-8000 BTU portable A/C. More on that later, but for now I've decided to only insulate the ceiling and curved sides. Another reason to do the roof is to quiet raindrops. I can always do the floor easily from underneath (probably will) and even the walls down the road if I find their advice untrue. So all this is to say that while there might be an idea that will work here for you, there are many better threads on insulating a trailer! After running some calculations, I even decided against sealing the gaps with spray foam.

I chose 1" JM AP Foil over Owens Corning "Pink" or "Blue" I've seen in other threads.

http://www.menards.com/main/building-ma ... c-5779.htm

It was cheaper due to being on sale and I like the thermal foil face. Using 2 platforms to rest the insulation upon, a straight edge, and a utility knife it was easy with low mess to score and bend/snap pieces to my desired sizes.

Here you can see the first of the insulation panels being put temporarily in place with "cold" metallic foil tape between ceiling spars:



Some more done including the ceiling to wall curved area. Here I used 3/4 inch version of the same JM AP Foil insulation, and scored down the middle without cutting the foil so it would take the curve.



That's really it for insulation, next is covering the insulation with a Ceiling. Including my solution for "the Curve". I do have a question on how to insulate the fiberglass nose cape piece, but that comes later.

Ceiling

Pretty straight forward using Menards purchased 5.2mm Birch Lauan board (same as my trailer walls) cut into 24"x68" sections. We mounted across the trailer and secured them to the spars. By doing it this way we were easily able to line up with the 24" OC spars We used #10 self tapping screws and in some cases reinforced with washers. I might be adding more washers down the road but my buddy swears they wont be needed. I did have to drill small holes for dome light wiring to pull through of course.



What you say? Do you see how I dealt with the curved area on the left side with the right side yet to be finished in this picture above? Check out my floor (above post) and notice how the kick plates are diamond plate also, I wanted to match floor and ceiling transition. At a metal supply shop, I found the thinnest diamond plate they sell and had them cut it into 7"Wx48"L strips. I re-purposed the heavy cardboard tube that my flooring was shipped with in order to stay nicely rolled. Lined up the diamond plate pattern with the tube, and simply hand bent the DP around the tube. Here's another picture during test fitting:



I trapped the curved piece behind both the wall and ceiling in front of the posts and spars using a couple of screws per strip to secure it on the wall side. The ceiling side is not secured only trapped which should allow for some flex while traveling. Here's another picture of 1 side done.



Wall Mounts and Some Accessories next.

Nice job with the curved pieces.

Very nice job on the curved sections of your trailer...the diamond plate idea worked well.

In my opinion, I really think you should revisit the idea of not insulating the walls. Having camped in a 6x12 Haulmark many times, in hot, warm, cool, and cold weather, there is a world of difference between no insulation and full ceiling and wall insulation. Yes, you can keep your trailer warm with a heater, but in cold weather and no insulation, the heater will be working much harder...and longer, to keep the space warm. It will also cool off much quicker when you turn the heater off.

Thanks for the compliments so far! I have a feeling I'll be revisiting the insulation

Wall Mounts and Some Accessories

Just a quick picture showing how I use Gladiator GarageWorks Track and a test 2 bike 4 person configuration. I used GladiatorGW in my prior trailer and it worked great to hang some items thus I carried over the idea to this trailer as well. Note the race stands, wire basket, cleaning station, and spare tire are all held in place by this system. The tracks are easy to cut with a saw. If you are patient and shop sales you can usually find pieces for half of retail or better.

2 people fit into the Cam-O-Bunk beds for which you see the base. Where the other 2 people sleep are the subject of another post...the crown jewel of this build

Motorcycle stands you see test fitted are STS Axle Stand and Condor Scooter/Sportbike Chock. As soon as everything is delivered and I get a warm day I'll have it configured with multiple rails and tie down anchors for Condor, Pingel, STS, Aussie Tyre Down and Pit Bull (Axle) Trailer Restraints. You just never know what system your race buddy will use! The axle stands are highly recommended for ease of use, saving your suspension from tie down compression, and being rigid so you can have a bike right next to a wall.



Rejected test fitting for 3rd bike or pit scooter but shows Pingel Chock and Aussie Tyre Down:

A quick note on E-track. I found I could make custom sizes and save a lot of money by buying 10' sections and cutting to suit. I saw multiple questions and a few suggestions to cut the stuff in online forums and videos including purpose built machines, metal cutting blades on Sawz All, and even a hack saw. This 4.5" angle grinder with metal cutting disc worked well for me with clean cuts needing only a minimum of filing to smooth edges...protect your eyes!

I like what you're doing here. Looks great! And, you're moving right along.
Lets talk about those baseboards, looks like there is some kind of molding between the floor and diamond plate?
Is the diamond plate wrapped around some 1x material?
Love the plate at the upper wall/ceiling.

Thanks for all the details. The thing I like best is your RV door is on the driver's side. I don't know why I, or others, didn't do that. When I have to get out of my truck to get into the trailer, I often wish I didn't have to step over the tongue or walk around the trailer. The only disadvantage I can see is if you are parked on a street curbside and need to get into it with traffic going by, but for me, that's pretty rare. My "next" one will have the door where yours is.

McDave wrote:I like what you're doing here. Looks great! And, you're moving right along.
Lets talk about those baseboards, looks like there is some kind of molding between the floor and diamond plate?
Is the diamond plate wrapped around some 1x material?
Love the plate at the upper wall/ceiling.

Thanks! I'm documenting the last 2 months work now from the pictures I took and it will slow down soon...I'm getting close to caught up.

Starting from top to bottom around the DP kick plate you have Lauan Wall, Plastic H-Track, Diamond Plate, Caulk, Floor, G-Floor. Everything but the G-Floor is as delivered. I don't believe the DP is wrapped around 1x it seems hollow and there is actually a slight deflection/dent along the door side if you look close enough.

Gonefishin wrote:Thanks for all the details. The thing I like best is your RV door is on the driver's side. I don't know why I, or others, didn't do that. When I have to get out of my truck to get into the trailer, I often wish I didn't have to step over the tongue or walk around the trailer. The only disadvantage I can see is if you are parked on a street curbside and need to get into it with traffic going by, but for me, that's pretty rare. My "next" one will have the door where yours is.

Thanks, I forgot I custom ordered the road-side door for a couple of reasons. For 1, it works better in my garage with the available space I have to park it. The bigger reason is at the track your "pit" is usually a 15-20 ft area outside your trailer door running the length of the trailer. We typically use EZ Ups for shade and weather. Since almost everyone has curbside doors when you park next to a friend or team mate and share a pit, one person was always having to walk all the way around the other side of the trailer. This way we can have facing doors on either side of our larger shared pit area.

The disadvantage (at least for me) is my SUV has a curb side fuel fill door. Often when I arrive near the track I'll stop and fill the bikes with gas simply by pulling up next to the pump and walking inside with the gas hose. If I need both diesel for the SUV and gas for the bikes I'll have to stop at 2 islands. I thought about 2 doors but I simply needed a longer wall on 1 side for construction.