Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi, all -- about three and a half years ago, I began building a cargo trailer conversion. I actually had it mostly finished for Memorial Day weekend 2018, and all along I have been intending to post the build pictures, but just keep forgetting. So, while this is our fourth season of camping in this trailer, I thought that I would post the pictures, in case it is helpful to anybody else looking for ideas.

I started with a custom trailer shell, made for me by Pace American. I had the ramp door deleted, and a solid wall installed instead. I ordered it with two windows and an "RV" door, and had 6" added to the interior height, so that it is 6'6". In retrospect, I would have not ordered the windows, and just done that myself. And, I should have specified a radius-top door. Also, it never occurred to me that when I ordered the extra 6" of wall height, that they would use a 6" taller door. I was counting on that extra header space to mount an awning.

The goal of the build was to come in under 2500 lbs finished, have a "walk-around" bed, comfortable seating, a dinette, a toilet closet, and a kitchen. So, weight was a consideration in almost everything. The finished product tips the scales at 2265 lbs.



This is the basic shell, with the floor and interior removed.



The back wall is solid, instead of doors or a ramp.



The floor was very heavy particle board. I removed it to replace it with lighter plywood

Under the bed is a full width basement, with a hatch on each side. Here, I am cutting the opening and framing it in.





Here I have cut in another window, and am beginning to frame it in.

There will never be an easier time to install the step than now! There are brackets welded to the frame, so the step just bolts on, in case it ever gets damaged.



The opening below the window is sized for a Kapsul ultra-low-profile air conditioner, which is a Kickstarter project I helped fund. Unfortunately, they dramatically increased the dimensions during tooling, so it won't fit here.



The trailer carries two 6V golf cart batteries in a sealed and vented compartment

The 12v wire is pulled, and I am starting to insulate the ceiling with 1" styrofoam.



It is going to be a lot easier to work inside once there is a floor to stand on. This is lightweight structural exterior plywood, and I am coating it with roof coat to protect it on the bottom.



Now I can start insulating the walls.

I had some Dow Board laying around, so I used that up. I put in blocking everywhere that I needed to attach cabinets or fixtures.



Everything is insulated now



Next, I overlaid the ceiling rafters, which are slightly crowned, with 1/2" baltic birch plywood strips, to give me a better attachment for the ceiling paneling.

The walls and ceiling are finished with RV grade 1/8" vinyl-covered paneling, purchased from Bontragers RV Surplus in Michigan. This is not strong enough to span a void well, but the 1-1/2" crown makes the ceiling very solid, and on the walls, it is glued to the entire surface, so the final product is pretty sturdy.



The vinyl flooring is in! Starting to feel like a room!



The basement also forms half of the double bed, and provides small bookshelves.

The murphy bed is built, and it folds up vertically to open up the floor for seating. Here, I am also starting on the overhead bedroom cabinets. For those who are curious, the bed platform is 1/4" baltic birch, laminated to a thin framework of 1/2" strips. It is lightweight, and very strong. We have had no issues after three full seasons of use so far.



I am beginning to build in the bathroom and the kitchen cabinets. The walls are built of 1/4" baltic birch plywood, laminated to strips of 1/2" for screws and rigidity.



This stack will house the electrical system, two drawers, a microwave, refrigerator and overhead storage.

I decided it was time to install the windows and hatches before they get broken.



Here, I stole an idea from the old Winnebago Rialta motorhomes. The bathroom expands to almost double the size. So, when not needed, it is no bigger than the porta-potty that goes in here. But, it pulls out to make room for visual privacy. There is no such thing as sound privacy in a trailer this size.



This cabinet was tricky. It is built into the V-nose, which is also a drop-front, so it has angles going every which way. I took my time with it. The upper cabinets are just face-frames with shelves that attach to the face and to a cleat on the wall. Very simple and very lightweight.

Here was my major concession to weight. I wanted comfortable seating for those long rainy days. These are middle-row seats from a Honda Odyssey. They recline, and they fold forward flat, so that the murphy bed lowers down over them. The are completely under the bed at night, but we have a generous living space during the day.



The kitchen is starting to come together here. The power unit, 12v Danfoss refrigerator and microwave are installed. The fridge was purchased used from a trucker who upgraded to a larger unit.



The kitchen countertop and sink are in. The faucet is a 12v pump that just sucks out of a 5 gallon jug.

The dinette table is small, but works for the two of us. It folds flat to the wall when we need to open up space. We have very thin, lightweight folding chairs that we use around the table. Again, the table is 1/4" baltic birch plywood, banded with 1/2" strips, and then laminated.



The mattress is a futon double, purchased from Amazon for $99. It is amazingly comfortable, and folds easily when we raise the bed.



This gives you an idea of the cabinet stack. We just use a curtain for the bathroom door, because it is lighter, quieter, takes less room, and there is no way you can contain sounds or smells in a small camper, anyway.

Here, we are on our first outing with the new camper, Memorial Day weekend, 2018. I have since replaced the pole-awning with a standard tilt-out RV awning. It was a trick to install because of the very limited header height, but I finally got it to work out.



We have towed this camper for thousands of miles from our home in Indiana. Twice to Texas, once to Arizona, Tenessee, Missouri, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio... It has been great!



The camper carries 200W of solar on the roof to keep the batteries up. It has been a bit disappointing. We usually are camped in some level of shade, and the panels don't aim straight at the sun, so we seldom see more than 100W of output. But, shore power is available most of the time, and we have a small Generac IQ2000 generator (quieter than a Honda) that we use if we are dispersed enough.

Not showing in the photos, I also insulated the floor underneath with aluminum-clad medium-density styrofoam. I chose to not put a rooftop air conditioner on. Instead, we use a ClimateRight 5000 BTU air conditioner than connects with hoses, and sits on a shelf that hooks over the wheel. That has kept us comfortable in 105 degree, humid, Tennessee weather. We have also been out in 14 degree winter weather. That is pushing the limits for this camper. We can keep it decently comfortable, but the walls will frost. It is very comfortable down to 30 degrees or so, just using a 600W space heater. I can run that space heater on the Generac IQ2000 for about 11 hours on a tank of gas , which comfortably gets us through a night of WallyWorld camping en route to our destination.

I also have since added three small cabinets that I will get some pictures of. I also put a 3" lift kit under the axle, to increase the ground clearance.

Looks like a light, comfy home away from home!

I realized there was a significant wasted space at the back of the bathroom closet, so there is a 6" deep cabinet to hold toiletries



As we have taken this camper on longer trips, additional clothes storage became a need, so these cabinets add a lot of space.



Another cabinet on the other side. These cabinets have no sharp edges.

I always wanted to "brand" this project, so a couple of weeks ago, I added the logo, ordered fro DoItYourselfLettering.com



At the front corner is the gray tank dump, the battery compartment and shore power connector.