Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi. We've been campers for years. We have a 27' tt loaded slide, etc. Now, I really enjoy this forum, and all of you camper guys/gals out there, picture this: The cheapest,(safe of course) hardside mini camper. Now, how about suggestions? Build it cheaply with basic materials(maybe pole shed siding? . I'd like to build a quick camper(wife thinks i'm nuts) that would sit on a utility trailer. But my objective would be to make it as absolutely inexpensive as can be. Just because it would be a fun challenge, not that i have to. What do you think,any designs out there that could be simplified, and cost cutted? thanks, have fun!

How about cardboard?

Fiberglassin' that would defeat the purpose of cheap, but it might hold up better. If you started with refrigerator cartons, made the walls 2 layers thick and shot the gaps with that canned expandofoam-insulation, you could probably do a nice little 5x8 for under $500.

Gage wrote:How about cardboard?

You can't top this one for cheap. Danny

I'm the godfather of CHEAP... So I have had some experience with building inexpensive trailers.

Prolly the least expensive one I ever did was for a friend to use to move from Florida to Washington with. He had an old 6 x 10' flatbed trailer. We used free wood we scrounged up to frame it with. We covered it with this aluminum faced cardboard stuff they use behind vinyl siding, nailed on with roofing nails... I think it is about $8. a sheet even today? We taped the seams with aluminum tape. That was the most expensive thing we had to buy. It had one used mobile home window we got free. The darn thing was quite waterproof. If you scraped the foil face, you just patched it with aluminum tape. He made it to Washington in it just fine and kept it for another couple years as a storage shed. I doubt we had a hundred dollars in it.

got me thinkin... ... paper mache

Podunkfla wrote:I'm the godfather of CHEAP... So I have had some experience with building inexpensive trailers.

Prolly the least expensive one I ever did was for a friend to use to move from Florida to Washington with. He had an old 6 x 10' flatbed trailer. We used free wood we scrounged up to frame it with. We covered it with this aluminum faced cardboard stuff they use behind vinyl siding, nailed on with roofing nails... I think it is about $8. a sheet even today? We taped the seams with aluminum tape. That was the most expensive thing we had to buy. It had one used mobile home window we got free. The darn thing was quite waterproof. If you scraped the foil face, you just patched it with aluminum tape. He made it to Washington in it just fine and kept it for another couple years as a storage shed. I doubt we had a hundred dollars in it.

That is a cool idea. I think there are a lot of ways to make a cheap tear. Key is to make it strong and durable. Aluminum carboard, paper mache and fiberglass cross breed? Hummm.

3 1/2 (or 3/8 ) OSB = 6.57 sheet (bottom and sides)
4 2x6x8= 15.00 Frameing and extra suport on floor.
Nails or deck screws
tightbond glue = 17.00
2 5.2 luan = 22.00

Misc. nuts and bolts
Paint = 30.00
Bondo ????
Trailer = 200.oo or less

Check it out = 320.71 and some

Misc. Salvaged windows and hardware
sealers and hinges.

Should get you close.

You would save money by ripping the framing yourself. Need to use support for the floor because OSB (made for roofing) is not good structure material. Side framing will provide support for the walls. For the same reason you use luan or similar for the roof.

If you use OSB for (the roofing material) put the water resistant side on the inside so your paint will soak in the outside. Sand the inside and paint.

Make it 4x8 so no extra materials needed. Buy really good paint. Sears makes a lifetime house paint that is supposed to be good.

Now get the trailer for free.

Actually I have found the perfect stuff to make a trailer with just by luck. A neighbor was taking down a large above-ground pool. He was throwing away this fiberglass wall material... so I got it free. It's a 4' x about 60' roll of 1/4" thick gray plastic with fiberglass on one side. It is tough as heck and made to use outdoors. I was going to cut it up and just use it to cover workbench tops with. The more I thought about it the more I realized this was pretty cool stuff. I'm going to use it to build about a 12 foot utility/cargo trailer. I can epoxy & glass tape the joints and make a very strong weatherproof box with it. Then, just paint it with good house paint or marine topside paint. I don't know where you would find this stuff? And, I'm sure it wouldn't be cheap. But... If you could it's sure is an ideal thing to cover a trailer with.

Ah, yes! mad creativity! You know, this "goal" to make a cheap camper has been rolling around in my head for years. Even pirating a "SHELL" of some sort, to gut, and retrofit would work.. What could a person scrounge up??hmmmm....

ryncole wrote::twisted: Ah, yes! mad creativity! You know, this "goal" to make a cheap camper has been rolling around in my head for years. Even pirating a "SHELL" of some sort, to gut, and retrofit would work.. What could a person scrounge up??hmmmm....

Uhh.... Septic tank???

mkw

Actually - I'd think the cheapest (although least attractive) would be to pick up an old pop-up with a trashed interior and canvas (but intact hard body and roof). Raise the roof as much as desired and fit plywood into the space. Add surplus windows and a door and you're done. It's not exactly aerodynamic, it's butt ugly, but it's cheap and fast...

mwatters... Hmmm... In these parts, a septic tank is usually concrete... and I bet those suckers weigh 3000 pounds?

Fer that matter... Where ya gonna park your super economical pooper-tank trailer??? I imagine even WallyWorld would run you off for that one?

But, the Popup tent camper thing sounds like a good idea. I bet you could make a plywood box that would look pretty good on one of those.

[quote="Podunkfla"]mwatters... Hmmm... In these parts, a septic tank is usually concrete... and I bet those suckers weigh 3000 pounds?



http://www.fencing-farm-ranch.com/septictanks1.html

mwatters wrote:Actually - I'd think the cheapest (although least attractive) would be to pick up an old pop-up with a trashed interior and canvas (but intact hard body and roof). Raise the roof as much as desired and fit plywood into the space. Add surplus windows and a door and you're done. It's not exactly aerodynamic, it's butt ugly, but it's cheap and fast...

I seen this one at the LCG. It was a popup.

Podunkfla wrote:But, the Popup tent camper thing sounds like a good idea. I bet you could make a plywood box that would look pretty good on one of those.

Yep that works if you remember to get cheap plywood and not get carried away. They are big and take more supplies that a 4x8.