Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

by **Tear Dreamer** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 10:17 pm

My wife bought a Mercury Mariner Hybrid. The tow capacity is 1000lbs. I would be interested in a Kampmaster like TTT. My question for the experts of this forums is; is it possible to build a Kampmaster (or varient) that when loaded for a weekend outing it could be 1000 lbs or less? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

by **mikeschn** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 4:11 am

I think the Escape Hatch or Winter Warrior is what you are after.

My Escape Hatch weighs about 800#.

http://www.mikenchell.com/winterwarriorpage.html

http://tnttt.com/viewto ... hoto+essay

And Gary's Winter Warrior

http://tnttt.com/album_ ... ser_id=218

And Sheppards WW

http://tnttt.com/album_ ... er_id=3026

Mike...

by **Tear Dreamer** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 3:55 pm

That's awesome! Thanks Mike....

by **madjack** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 2:18 am

...be sure to check out Steve Wolvetons "Puffin" as well...one of the lightest "standies" around........

by **Tear Dreamer** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 2:48 am

Thanks....that also looks nice!

by **Tear Dreamer** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 11:50 pm

I found this on ebay and it intrigues me. I would like to know how you all feel about the construction method. What this guy did is he attached the axle and the tongue directly to 3/4" plywood (the floor) instead of using a trailer and/or metal frame. I think it could be strong enough and be okay, but want to hear from you folks here!

Here's the Ebay auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/TEARDROP-Camper-Trailer-Tear-Drop-RV-Camp-PLANS-2_W0QQitemZ180183257430QQihZ008QQcategoryZ268QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

by **madjack** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 12:44 am

...we have discussed this guy's plans before...personally I consider them to be an unsafe rip off...as tough as a 3/4ply may be it is not tough enough for me...others may disagree. You can build with an all wooden frame, it just needs to be stonger/stouter than he proposes.....
madjack

p.s. look at Steve Woveton's Puffin or Andrews ultra light steel frame work............MJ

by **Tear Dreamer** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 9:03 am

Madjack, Thanks for you quick reply! I spent the last three days reading the Puffin thread and wow....that is amazing. I have not look at Andrews lightweight frame but will have a look. As for this guy, sorry for re-hashing something that you guys have already talked about, but I wonder has anyone actually seen his plans?

by **Tear Dreamer** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 9:46 pm

Hey MadJack...Thanks again for the heads up on the ebay guy. I read all about the puffin and wow...what a story! And now to go find Andrews ultra light steel frame work.............

by **Tear Dreamer** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:02 am

Okay, I have a follow-up regarding the Ebay Seller that I posted previously in this post. When I do research on things, I will look for all alternatives and so besides reading many, many posts in this forum regarding my possible leap into building my own Teardrop or standy, I contacted the Ebay guy and bought a set of his plans and I have to say.....they are impressive. He details all aspects of building the trailer and I feel that his method of attaching the axle and the tongue without a metal frame is sound. Now, don't get me wrong...I am not an engineer, but it looks very good.

I did read the other posts on this forum regarding this ebay seller and although I will concede that his grammer and spelling is not the best and perhaps his form of communications are a little quarky....his plans are well worth considering. In fact, I struck up some more dialogue with him and he builds quite a few things including recumbant bikes, a huge Tesla coil and a ton of model airplanes that he and his sons build together. Based on the info I received and my communications with him, I believe he is an engineer by trade of some sorts and so I guess I am asking people to not be quite so judgemental.

Okay, I'm off my soap box now! Thanks for putting up with me!

Thanks all.....

by **Tear Dreamer** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:32 am

All.....I wanted to follow-up on the Ebay plans. Andrew was kind enough to review them and give me an honest appraisal. He feels (and I agree) that the walls and roof are too thin utilizing 1/4" plywood instead of 3/8" or thicker. Also, using leaf springs as the designer intends makes the trailer pretty high....Andrew figures about an 18" step up. Also, there might be some conflict with the tongue which goes the full length of the trailer bumping into the axle. This is something I hadn't realized until Andrew put it in a CAD rendering. Sometimes....I need to see the pictures to understand...lol! Anyway. I still believe the plans have merit and utilizing some of the techniques from you awesome TTT builders, it could work. I am, however, very interested in Mike's Winter Warrior or something like the Puffin. Andrew...if you see this....any additional comments would be appreciated.

Thanks all....

by **mikeschn** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 5:22 pm

I'll give you my 2 cents worth...

Mike...

by **angib** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 6:57 pm

An easy way to overcome the tongue/axle clash would be to go to an A-frame tongue that picked up the front wall and the side walls. The sensible place to take the back of the A-frame to would be the front axle mount, which then is effectively my ultralight chassis, although applied to something much larger.

David, I haven't stopped looking at this design - but I do have some other work that I've promised so I ought to do that first.

Andrew

by **Tear Dreamer** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 2:17 pm

Andrew and Mike......Thanks!

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Lightweight Kampmaster......

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