Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hello Again,

Well...I'm still playing around with the design stage of this thing. I'm thinking Cabin Car (love 48rob's) meets My Giant Teardrop. But, I am off and crawling! I picked up a trailer on ebay that I think will fit the bill.




It's 16' from the bow stop to the rear, and 7' 9" between the outside of the wheel wells, with a 3500# axle. Could make for a pretty huge (16 - 18 ft?) Cabin Car. What do you think?

Looks like a good base for a trailer. Chop it down and make it fit what you need... Are you a welder?

Looks like a winner to me. If I remember correctly, I believe the axle cross frame is designed to be moved fore and/or aft dependent upon the weight of the boat put on the trailer. (I tried scrolling in on the pics using <Ctrl> and the mouse scroll wheel; but I really couldn't tell for sure.) If that's the case once you get all the extraneous boat stuff off, you should be able to move the axle where you need it and adjust the length on the tail end of the frame rails accordingly.

I'll be watching to see what you do.

If you can weld, you can turn that into anything you want. So I'd say that's a real good start!

Mike...

tinksdad wrote:...If I remember correctly, I believe the axle cross frame is designed to be moved fore and/or aft dependent upon the weight of the boat put on the trailer. (I tried scrolling in on the pics using <Ctrl> and the mouse scroll wheel; but I really couldn't tell for sure.) If that's the case once you get all the extraneous boat stuff off, you should be able to move the axle where you need it and adjust the length on the tail end of the frame rails accordingly...

I agree. It looks like it probably has leaf springs hung on that subframe (the two crossmembers which are at the ends of the fenders), then the main rails rest on top of that subframe and are held in place by square U-bolts. Loosen the U-bolts, slide the whole subframe assembly (of two crossmembers with suspension, axle, and fenders) to the desired location, and tighten.

Hi Folks, thanks for the encouragement.

Your right about the axle, it's on springs and fully adjustable by loosening the U-bolts.

I can weld, but strictly amateur. I have a flux core job that I use for small stuff, but I'm not sure I trust myself with main structure. I was thinking of running four or five 2X2 steel tube cross members U-bolted to the rails. I figure that will be more support than needed and will allow the axle to still be adjusted. The tongue weight now is REALLY heavy! There's no jack up there yet, and I can just get it on the ball by myself. Guess I'm getting a little weak in my old age.

Not sure how much adjustment to use on it. I want to go with the Cabin Car look, maybe 7 1/2' wide, so I'm going to have to make any major adjustments before I get the floor on and make up some wheel wells,right?

Mark

Up in the Design Library you will find a balance sheet for the axle. http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/t ... tear81.htm

And yes you will need to do most of that first, if you need wheel wells and not fenders.

If you start putting lots of metal on you may be surprised how fast the weight adds up. This thing looks sturdy to begin with.

Also on the Cabin Car look. You may need to cut some of the trailer off to get the look right. Work it up on paper first and get things where they need to be.

Then "play"

Oh yeah, ya say ya want a revolution...



Good luck dude.

Ivar the Red wrote:Oh yeah, ya say ya want a revolution...



Good luck dude.

Hey Ivar, I caught your thread a while ago. I like it! Why not an over sized Teardrop? Love the style, just make it a little bigger! As i said earlier, I'm thinking 16' to 18'. As Aunti M said (thanks for the tip Aunti), I just need to put something down on paper. I'm a bit like you, I tend to design as I go. That can cause some problems, so I'm trying to slow down and grow a brain early here.

Haven't seen anything from you in a little while, anything new?

CK

CaptainKram wrote:
Haven't seen anything from you in a little while, anything new?

CK

Been to damn hot, then too rainy. With a shop like mine, you're at the mercy of the weather gods. Gotta get the final axle placement done this weekend and get the shopping list ready for the floor frame.

Been to damn hot, then too rainy. With a shop like mine, you're at the mercy of the weather gods. Gotta get the final axle placement done this weekend and get the shopping list ready for the floor frame.

I know that drill, I'm a "Shade Tree Mechanic" also! The weather can definitely slow you down. I've got a 20X40 tarp I'm thinking of putting some poles under for this project! We're having pretty mild weather here so as soon as I finish pressure washing and sealing my deck, I can get to work on the trailer. New bearings and tires, blast and paint the rims, remove everything I'm not using (anyone need some cheap rollers?), etc.. Using the 35% rule of thumb, I think my axles might be pretty close but we'll see as things move on.

Cheers,

CK

Morning All,

Still working on the design end of the beast. Thinking of calling it T-Rex , or maybe TearZilla I saw a build a little while ago with an AC unit installed in a raised valence kind of thing on the roof between the peak and the hatch hinge. Anyone remember that? I'd like to get a look at it again. I think that will fit mine to a "T".

CK

Try this tread It's for Mike's Generic ET
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=20461

That's the one, Mstro. Thanks for heading me in the right direction!

Hello All,

Here's what I have so far, minus the AC framing, dimensions, and labels (just got back today from Ocean City, MD). Still learning the ins and outs of Sketchup, fun stuff. What do you think?