Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi All,

I am getting my CT on Saturday hopefully. Very excited. One of the constant back and forths in my mind is whether to put the fresh water tank inside or not. Inside means potentially easier to use in colder weather. The trouble with inside is, the best place for me to put it is on the driver's side over the rear tandem axle, but that side already is somewhat heavier as it has the bathroom (toilet, sink) on it, some drawers for clothes storage and a bunk bed and the other side doesn't really have anything equivalent. I expect that the bathroom with framing only weighs 100-150 lbs. And the bunk maybe 80-100 lbs without anyone in it. So we are currently looking at an imbalance left to right somewhere in the 250 lbs, with the chance that some things elsewhere will slightly balance that out.

However, I hope to add a 40 gallon water tank (or maybe even 50) so we are talking about an additional 350-450 lbs on the driver's side.

How much does this matter? The other solution would be to put it under the floor outside the trailer, but I'm at least somewhat tempted by the idea that I could use the trailer more towards freezing levels. I know I could insulate it outside, but it will also then maybe need to be heated.

Thanks everyone!

For what it's worth, I went with no tank in the trailer. I opted for a 50gal tank and 12v water pump, both of which fit under my pickup trucks toneo cover. If I'm camping at a site with water it stays at home.. If at a primitive site, it will be toted in the back of my truck. If we need to refill for more showers, I don't break camp, I simpky drive my truck to the nearest hose (preferrable), creek, pond, etc..

I just finished my conversion before the winter (still a few loose ends yet) and have only had a few trips under our belt so far. I suspect that my primitive trips will be far less than our non-primitive trips. Still, I'm glad to have it in the event that I attend an event/ride/race where we're all parked in a field and there are no facilities, or in the unfortunant event a SHTF scenerio were to ever take place and we had to go innawoods..

My 2c..

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This all depends on where you live too.. I'm in central VA which is typically a moderate climate.

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Great solution for your needs. I planned to boondock more than camp with services, so two freshwater tanks are on board CTC inside and over wheels to balance and to make them load neutral. I broke them up to two 32 gallon tanks I tied together underneath so it acts as one 64 gallon tank.

I like that 50 gallon idea to go fetch water. I was going to use a bladder type tank so as to not use truck bed space when not fetching water, but I am not sure how durable the bladders are.

Where did you get that tank? I like it. Looks easy to fill with wide opening on top.

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Thanks! Thats the beauty of DIY conversions, you can build it exactly as you want it. BTW, I like the idea of split tanks as well! That solves the weight distribution issue for sure. The tank I bought is from Northern Tool.

https://m.northerntool.com/shop/tools/p ... _200642853


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In Canada many provincial parks don't have hookups so I definitely want tanks. I'm getting a sense that to some extent the left and right balance matters. In that case I'd basically eliminate the interior option as it is already somewhat imbalanced.

Is that correct?

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travist wrote:In Canada many provincial parks don't have hookups so I definitely want tanks. I'm getting a sense that to some extent the left and right balance matters. In that case I'd basically eliminate the interior option as it is already somewhat imbalanced.

Is that correct?

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I think the balance matters to an extent. Being totally lopsided is not good, but I don't think it needs to be perfect either. I chose over the axels to be neutral whether empty or full and put one on either side as it is a good amount of weight. You need to think about where the heavy stuff goes and place it strategically.

If I am going a long distance (over 3 hours) , I also do not fill tanks until last point... why haul all that weight. I keep just enough to flush toilets until I get where I am going then I fill going in or etc.

travist wrote:Hi All,

I am getting my CT on Saturday hopefully. Very excited. One of the constant back and forths in my mind is whether to put the fresh water tank inside or not. Inside means potentially easier to use in colder weather. The trouble with inside is, the best place for me to put it is on the driver's side over the rear tandem axle, but that side already is somewhat heavier as it has the bathroom (toilet, sink) on it, some drawers for clothes storage and a bunk bed and the other side doesn't really have anything equivalent. I expect that the bathroom with framing only weighs 100-150 lbs. And the bunk maybe 80-100 lbs without anyone in it. So we are currently looking at an imbalance left to right somewhere in the 250 lbs, with the chance that some things elsewhere will slightly balance that out.

However, I hope to add a 40 gallon water tank (or maybe even 50) so we are talking about an additional 350-450 lbs on the driver's side.

How much does this matter? The other solution would be to put it under the floor outside the trailer, but I'm at least somewhat tempted by the idea that I could use the trailer more towards freezing levels. I know I could insulate it outside, but it will also then maybe need to be heated.

Thanks everyone!

Exciting stuff! Looking forward to your build. I have a similar situation as you with a lot of stuff on the driver side (Hasn't been a problem tho.) To help out a bit I mounted my batteries on the right side behind the wheel. This is also nice because I can check the batteries without climbing in a closet or pulling up the floor... Also I don't have to worry about charging gasses. As for freezing weather, my advice is, unless you build a super insulated unit similar to a motorhome where all the tanks are tucked up and cozy warm, you better drain and winterize if you are going to be in cold weather. It doesn't take long for these lightly insulated trailers to assume ambient temps. And keeping the heater on all the time is not always practical. On the other hand I have used rv antifreeze to flush my toilet in cold weather but it kinda sucks not being able to take a shower.
Battery Box Build

I use the CTC as a toy hauler, and it's just a single axle 6 x 12. So when loaded and wet I'm pretty close to the gvwr so I use the H2O tank as ballast. 30 gal tank located about a foot aft of the axle. The weight spans the width of the floor, and works to counter the nose heavy condition so I end up with about 400lbs. on the hitch. Pulls smooth and flies level and doesn't try to push the truck around when braking. I do have to drain and run RV anti freeze in winter but at minus 55f for a week or 2 it would be tough to insulate and heat tank enough to avoid disaster anyways.
Here is a handy tool help with weight and balance....
https://www.engineersedge.com/calculato ... alance.htm
Good Luck and have fun with your build.

McDave

Thanks McDave. Overall sounds like the balance left/right is important enough not to add a 400lb imbalance. So I'm leaving the tanks outside underneath the trailer. All good, more storage inside for us, and I guess there are ways to make the tanks work in winter, like heaters etc.