Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

So I went thru Indy Today and noticed this following me home?

All I need is another trailer,right?


But this one is unusual at least to me and searching here shows nothing else like it that I could find so……

This one is built by Wabash Nationwide who builds over the road trailers of all kinds and they manufacture composite panels to build them called Duraplate.
These panels are a high tensile steel/some kind of foamish material/high tensile steel sandwich and are crazy strong while being lightweight and strong enough to be the entire sidewall support for 53' over the road trailer boxes as well as a lot of other things! They are pre-finished also and made in different thickneses too and evidently have sort of revolutionized a lot of this business and of course there are now clones and copycats too.

So they are launching a line of Cargo Trailers evidently and this is prototype of one.

There is no skeleton or framing inside at all and the entire trailer is metal either steel or aluminum and the roof is seamless aluminum exactly like on an OTR trailer from Wabash.

The thing is really lightweight and really strong at the same time. Mine has about 1/2" panels and one seam on each side that is shiplapped, "Glued" and pressed together as I am told.

It is built pretty much exactly like the big trailers just scaled down and it is a complete BEAST!

It is so lightweight that I easily dragged it out of its parking spot,pulled it up to the truck and dropped it onto the ball with one arm and them got it into my warehouse the same way too!

All of the walls,ceiling and floor are flat uninterrupted panels and I could easily stick foam panels on them and there would be no metal thruway for condensation
to form and collect at all and there is no depth of wall inside to fill or lose at the same time.

I am reluctant to cut it anywhere really and there are 8 tie downs that are bolted thru instead if being riveted like the rest of the trailer but of course being reluctant has never stopped us before has it?!?!

I am not sure if I will convert or mod it really but of course I am thinking about it but even if I keep it for purely cargo duties it is a really interesting and unusual rig so I thought I would share it here.

Interesting eh?


Here are better pics
http://www.ebay.com/itm/252452178801?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

Thats pretty sharp and your right, looks like a mini 53 footer. Thanks for sharing it. How does is compare price wise with a typical cargo?


Martin

They are not in the market yet but will likely be priced like an Aluminum trailer and not the entry level cheap ones I was told.
They are trying to finalize options and price he said and are nervous not to price them out of the market but they also seem to have a certain segment of the market to themselves with these for now.

There are only 4 of these put together anywhere as of now and mine was priced like the cheap ones but when I spotted it I knew it was worth pursuing after a little research and it is pretty unusual yet should be really functional for me I think.

Check this out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t17uxWw5a0

These trailers will be built on the same line as the shelters and so they are just boxes that are then mounted on top of trailers,pretty amazing I think and different for sure.
There is another video showing them being assembled in 15minutes like the story says.

Here is the Mobile Storage Pod that they make going together
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7kvC4GqilU

Crazy!

I like it! But it seems to missing about half of the hinges on the rear door. Might be able to find a couple on Ebay?
Just sayin',

McDave

McDave wrote:I like it! But it seems to missing about half of the hinges on the rear door. Might be able to find a couple on Ebay?
Just sayin',

McDave

Actually more than half.

Nice!! Love the composite sidewalls...can do alot with a 5x8 and make it quite liveable, here is my little unit, steel framed though.

Thanks for sharing about the duraplate trailers, will be looking out for them.

WanderYacht wrote:Nice!! Love the composite sidewalls...can do alot with a 5x8 and make it quite liveable, here is my little unit, steel framed though.

Thanks for sharing about the duraplate trailers, will be looking out for them.

Sweet!

Where did you find the windows?!?
They look like the ones in the T@B I had and really liked and would be interested in for this trailer too.

Nice build!

Thx.
I have a wholesale acct with Dometic. Hard to find on the retail market, and very spendy! My 2x2 windows were wholesale over $250 each. ouch. But I think they make the trailer. And, yes a few mfrs are using these now, as does the T@b. They do require a thicker wall, my walls are 2" thick with the paneling and insulation, and the windows clamp in just right. Email me, I would consider a window order for you when/if you get there. Like their roof vents too, also kinda spendy. http://www2.dometic.com/ca63e3d9-7a93-4 ... 3e1a.fodoc

WanderYacht wrote:Thx.
I have a wholesale acct with Dometic. Hard to find on the retail market, and very spendy! My 2x2 windows were wholesale over $250 each. ouch. But I think they make the trailer. And, yes a few mfrs are using these now, as does the T@b. They do require a thicker wall, my walls are 2" thick with the paneling and insulation, and the windows clamp in just right. Email me, I would consider a window order for you when/if you get there. Like their roof vents too, also kinda spendy. http://www2.dometic.com/ca63e3d9-7a93-4 ... 3e1a.fodoc

I certainly appreciate this but I am not at all sure that want to cut this trailer anywhere just yet?

It is too nice to mangle/improve without good cause and since I have already just built another Cargo here and I have a 17' Casita too its not like I really need this one for RV living at all.

But I am thinking about it too.

EZDog wrote:It is so lightweight that I easily dragged it out of its parking spot,pulled it up to the truck and dropped it onto the ball with one arm and them got it into my warehouse the same way too!

EZDog, great find! I hope they come out with something on the market soon.

Have you had the chance to run this across a scale yet? I'd like to know just how much it weighs compared to its steel and aluminum counterparts.

After some looking around, sounds like they're going to be branding them as Haulmax by DuraMax:
http://duramaxtrailer.com/

Unless there's another new company using the duraplate to make cargo trailers... which wouldn't be a bad thing in my book.