5 Person Design Help

[Rescue Wagon]

I am just getting started on my design and I am having a hard time figuring out how to fit me, the wife, and three kids into a teardrop style camper. I will be towing it behind my 1972 FJ55 Landcruiser which has a towing weight of around 3500lbs.

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could share a design idea that would accomidate the family. Took the kids to the Lake last year and tent camped and that was a mess.

I am in the process of stripping my old slide in camper of its heater, stove, refrigerator, hot water heater, and water tanks. I plan on using them to make a full kitchen on the rear of the camper.

Thanks again for the ideas.

James

[rbeemer]

Jim check the design library.

Also how old are the kids..they could sleep in a tent while the parents are in the teardrop

[bobhenry]

If I had found this addiction when the kids were home I'd a built a flat top low profile trailer that a tent could have been added to the roof to accomidate the kids. What kid doesn't like a "tree house"

[mandy]

This might help out with giving you extra space if you have a mini van.
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=21461

Have Fun

[GPW]

Just make it a little bigger... our 150% TD ( 6'X12' ) will easily sleep 5...

[Rescue Wagon]

My sons are 4 and my daughter is 2.

Where are the plans for the 150% (6' x 12")?

Thanks.

[schaney]

James, one way to add sleeping space without making a larger trailer is with foldout beds. A great example is the Jurgens Safari Oryx, to bad they not available in the US.

[mikeschn]

Check out the design that Alfred is building. It's a teardrop for 5.

Mike...

[Rescue Wagon]

Thanks for the info Mike.

That is pretty close to what I want to do. The only changes I think I would like to make would be to make it a 12' trailer so the Galley can be used even if the kids are sleeping and a little more ground clearance so I can take it into the mountains.

James

[mikeschn]

There ya go!

Mike...

[Rescue Wagon]

Talked it over with the wife and she wants the little one to have her own bed so here is what I came up with.

The trailer dimensions would be 156" long by 76" wide, not sure on the height yet but I am open to suggestions. To accomidate the family I was thinking of placing two beds on the floor that measure 52" by 72" seperated by a 24" by 72" walk way. The galley would measure 23" by 72" and I accounted 1 5/8" for the front wall, 1 1/4" for the bulkhead, and 1 5/8" for the hatch. The width came about from a 72" bed and 2" for each side wall. I wanted to place some storage over the front bed which would be the parents bed and then an additional bed over the rear bed for my daughter. This is where I am kinda of stuck, I'm not sure how much space to allow between the lower and upper bed and the how much space between the upper bed and the ceiling. On the wall oposite the door where the walk way is I plan on building a closet as well as the enclosure for the heater.

I'm also not sure on the exterior look to go with, I like the Weekender that Alfred is building and I also like the Road Toad that Steve F is builing.

Thanks again for the input.

James

[mikeschn]

James,

You are describing a rather large trailer by comparison. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but just so you know...

Using the dimensions from your 156x76 floor plan I came up with this...



I would think you need at least 36" above the full sized beds. I don't know how much you need over a bunk.... so I put in 24". That makes the trailer walls 70" high, and you still need 1 5/8" above that for the roof.

Lengthwise, you are going to be about 15'.

Mike...

[Rescue Wagon]

Not to worried about the size, the important thing is to fit the family.

The vehicles pulling this will either be a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 or my 1972 Toyota FJ55 LandCruiser. The most restrictive is the Toyota with a max trailer weight of 3500lbs. And the tongue weight will be the most restrictive on the Toyota as well, I'm not sure exactly what it is but the rear axle max is 5,000lbs so I just need to run down to the local scales and see where I am at. Once I have my max tongue weight I can adjust the location of the trailer tires to make it work.

The design you threw together is perfect, the rear bed just needs to be 52" allowing the last 23" to be used for the galley.

What has been the largest trailer built on here?

Thanks again.

James

[jagular7]

I am in the same camper situ but on a much smaller scale than you for 5, I'm for 3(or 4) with only a ~66" width and no more than 120" length (storage gate limitation). I've come up with expansional areas are the best for space as well as light weight. I'm looking at to do flip top that basically flips all the way over for a bed area like a loft. This will be only necessary when camping is other than my son and I. Otherwise, I'll have a tilt angled roof for standing room when necessary with a rear entry sort of like the Winter Warriors.
Flip-Pac provides such a top for the idea of fabbing something yourself. There are a lot of AU camp trailers that utilize this flip design with the poles. Same for the motorcycle camping trailers.

Here's my start.

[brian_bp]

This design is evolving into essentially the same size as my current (not-so-tiny) travel trailer, although a bit narrower. My trailer is
- 17' overall
- a little longer in the body (14' instead of 13')
- little wider (a few inches)
- equipped with a full kitchen and bathroom
- able to sleep five, two in each of two large beds and one in an overhead bunk
- 2400 lb complete but dry
- 3000 lb loaded for camping (for only two people)

My point is that the overall dimensions seem reasonable, especially since the teardrop design places the galley access outside and thus needs less interior space than the travel trailer, and keeping it under 3500 lb loaded also seems reasonable.

My trailer has a moulded fiberglass body - the shell, which is the wall and structure, is only 1/8" thick (plus some stuff like automotive headliner on the inside). Building something this size with solid plywood walls would be too heavy, so some sort of framing covered by thin panels will be required, as with any conventional RV. No offense intended to those who have built smaller teardrops with 3/4" plywood side walls, but a couple hundred square feet of that would add up to a tank.

The width has been pushed wide to enable sleeping across the unit (to get in enough beds), the length has been stretched to fit two beds and a walkway, and the height is going up for the bunk and storage, but all in sensible ways... although in the end some people will ask why it isn't just a regular travel trailer.

With the ceiling that high, and the roof really high off the ground after adding the frame and ground clearance, the galley design will need some thought: the upper cabinets could be way out of reach. I think this is an opportunity for creative design.