Hi all, sometime lurker, new poster
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:16 pm
I've been reading the forums with great interest for a little while now, and i'm interested in building my own TT. But not a teardrop. For some reason, I can find little else but this site for build it yourself RV trailers.
Then again, you guys are inventive, and I want to be inventive.
My ultimate goal, if I can manage it, would be to build a travel trailer about 20 foot long, and under 2000 lbs sprung weight. That's fully self contained, including heat, a/c, fully made up queen size bed, etc.
I've gotten somewhat inspired by some articles here, and started work on figuring out some construction techniques that would possibly work.
I decided on building walls made up of 2 inch EPS foam, glued to 1/8 ply inside and out, and some carefully designed stiffeners made of 1/4 and 1/8 ply on 16 in centers. Roof design matches.
I designed an aluminum frame, with very careful attention to spreading the load, using rectangular tubing, and ended up under 150 lbs weight for the frame sans springs, axle, brakes, and tires. It would be made of 2x2 and 2x4 rectangle, full perimeter frame, with the axle load spread across quite a bit of it, lengthwise. it would seem be strong enough to me.
Sadly, I have no way of showing the details here, as I simply cannot fathom how you operate any of the CAD programs.
This trailer would have a 6-6 ceiling height, a little under 8 foot wide. Would have the last 5 feet sloped down a 4.5 foot back wall height, and the front 2 feet sloped at 45 degrees. Also, there appears to be a possibilty to extend the nose not far from the jack, so that the front is a sloping, blunt nose V, to hide the propane.
I'm currently debating 2 or 3 inch thick walls, which would be 10 to 15 R Value. The walls would be constructed with a hollow 1.25 X 2 or 3 in box ( foam filled) as vertical studs, with 1/8 in ply bonded to the foam and to the box studs and to a bonded multi layer sill plate made of 1/4 ply both top and bottom. These hollow vertical studs give the ability to screw to the floor and to the edges and top, through many layered plywood. The walls would resemble SIP's, with light wood bonded to a thick layer of relatively squish resistant foam.
I was going to just hang the tanks from the frame in the open, but now I'm letting my imagination run and seeing if I can actually enclose the whole bottom, and keep my tanks inside the insulated area for cold weather camping... And still stay light...
I'm at a loss for ideas for bellypan material that's light, strong, doesn't leak, air or water, and not terribly expensive. "light strong cheap" doesn't normally exist... you get your choice of any two...
I've even come up with plans that use 1/4 in plywood for the floor, ing supported with a sort of manufactured honeycomb of vertical members filled with high density foam. But that one has made me rather nervous, since much of the wall's stiffness comes from having flat sheets solidly attached to the floor, wall, and ceiling, to provide box type reinforcement.
I would even try a triangular reinforced ladder type frame that was 8 inches deep or so, if I could figure out how it could be done super light, and enclose the whole floor and tanks and insulation within it. Sadly, my imagination isn't good enough to fill the bill on that one.
I have even mulled over a number of ideas that involve minimal trailer frame, involving just a shortened aluminum subframe and tongue, and the trailer itself is the structure. But, pound for pound, aluminum seems to be stronger, so I think that idea is self defeating.
Any great, not so great, bad, or off the wall ideas appreciated.
You can even tell me i'm nuts... That's ok, just as long as i get some added fuel for the imagination...
Then again, you guys are inventive, and I want to be inventive.
My ultimate goal, if I can manage it, would be to build a travel trailer about 20 foot long, and under 2000 lbs sprung weight. That's fully self contained, including heat, a/c, fully made up queen size bed, etc.
I've gotten somewhat inspired by some articles here, and started work on figuring out some construction techniques that would possibly work.
I decided on building walls made up of 2 inch EPS foam, glued to 1/8 ply inside and out, and some carefully designed stiffeners made of 1/4 and 1/8 ply on 16 in centers. Roof design matches.
I designed an aluminum frame, with very careful attention to spreading the load, using rectangular tubing, and ended up under 150 lbs weight for the frame sans springs, axle, brakes, and tires. It would be made of 2x2 and 2x4 rectangle, full perimeter frame, with the axle load spread across quite a bit of it, lengthwise. it would seem be strong enough to me.
Sadly, I have no way of showing the details here, as I simply cannot fathom how you operate any of the CAD programs.
This trailer would have a 6-6 ceiling height, a little under 8 foot wide. Would have the last 5 feet sloped down a 4.5 foot back wall height, and the front 2 feet sloped at 45 degrees. Also, there appears to be a possibilty to extend the nose not far from the jack, so that the front is a sloping, blunt nose V, to hide the propane.
I'm currently debating 2 or 3 inch thick walls, which would be 10 to 15 R Value. The walls would be constructed with a hollow 1.25 X 2 or 3 in box ( foam filled) as vertical studs, with 1/8 in ply bonded to the foam and to the box studs and to a bonded multi layer sill plate made of 1/4 ply both top and bottom. These hollow vertical studs give the ability to screw to the floor and to the edges and top, through many layered plywood. The walls would resemble SIP's, with light wood bonded to a thick layer of relatively squish resistant foam.
I was going to just hang the tanks from the frame in the open, but now I'm letting my imagination run and seeing if I can actually enclose the whole bottom, and keep my tanks inside the insulated area for cold weather camping... And still stay light...
I'm at a loss for ideas for bellypan material that's light, strong, doesn't leak, air or water, and not terribly expensive. "light strong cheap" doesn't normally exist... you get your choice of any two...
I've even come up with plans that use 1/4 in plywood for the floor, ing supported with a sort of manufactured honeycomb of vertical members filled with high density foam. But that one has made me rather nervous, since much of the wall's stiffness comes from having flat sheets solidly attached to the floor, wall, and ceiling, to provide box type reinforcement.
I would even try a triangular reinforced ladder type frame that was 8 inches deep or so, if I could figure out how it could be done super light, and enclose the whole floor and tanks and insulation within it. Sadly, my imagination isn't good enough to fill the bill on that one.
I have even mulled over a number of ideas that involve minimal trailer frame, involving just a shortened aluminum subframe and tongue, and the trailer itself is the structure. But, pound for pound, aluminum seems to be stronger, so I think that idea is self defeating.
Any great, not so great, bad, or off the wall ideas appreciated.
You can even tell me i'm nuts... That's ok, just as long as i get some added fuel for the imagination...