Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Kinda lost before I get started with a mini toy hauler of sorts.

Just measured my Transalp (650 Dual Sport) to the top of the mirrors it's 60 inches, bars a 36 inches wide and it's about 96 inches long with the rack.

My utility trailer is a 4X8 with a 3' tail gate/ramp that can extend flat and drops up or goes up. It has the customary side rails and front rail about 14 inches up from the steel deck.

What I'd like is a pod that could slide on and off (it's a tilt trailer). I'm thinking that the kitchen could be on one side, toilet on the other and a bed that could pull out from the front. I have a sleeper couch and could take the mechanism out and use it to fold up the bed.

Obviously the kitchen would be bumped out over the side rails. It would be similar to a slide in for a pickup. The sides would cover the wheels and exterior doors on the side could give kitchen access from the outside.

Most of my most memorable outings have had really bad weather, so while it storms I don't want to stand under a tarp trying to fix something to eat, not a big kitchen set up, just something to survive the day.

It needs a door on the back about 38 inches wide and 60+ high to get the bike in. The bike could ride in the center of the camper and tie down inside. Roll it out and have some room.

Now, weight is also a problem of sorts. My tow vehcile is now an 04 Subaru Forester, non-turbo 2.5 liter 4 banger. So it needs to be light.

I have looked at some really great builds here. Seems like the A/C needs to go center front, a small one. A hard sided pop up would be really nice, that would be a top box maybe a couple feet or even less and a five foot bottom box....what ever would be required for that back door with a header.

It will go off road, but not anything extreme, fire roads with some ruts, a few inches of water, river banks and lake shores.

So, any ideas at all would be appreciated, style, materials, framing those sidesand doors....anything......Thanks much!

How much does the trailer weigh now? How much does the bike weigh that you would haul and last but not least is what is the tow capacity or your vehicle?

I am kind of anticipating that there is not much left over after you do the math.

Hi, yes the Subaru is not really a towing machine, but I believe it's 5000 pounds, but let's drop that down to 3500. I really don't know what the trailer weighs. 2x3 .25 box for a 4x8 basically and plate floor, guessing 800 to 1000?

Pretty much why I mentioned light weight.

I'm thinking about 2x2 framing, 1/4 ply exterior, 1/2 foam and then 1/4 or even 1/8 ply interior walls. 3/4 CDX for the floor. Not sure of the exterior covering, aluminum roll flashing or maybe bed liner paint applied very liberaly in a few coats. I like the idea of using a white PDM roll roofing.

The bike weighs in at 360 I believe, say 400 with gas.

Probably means the build needs to come in at 1000 pounds. That leaves 1100 pounds for provisions and equipment.

Provisions:

Water @ 150 pounds
Fuel @ 80
Gear @ 700 (small generator and A/C, jacks, matress, water pump etc.)
Clothes@ 150
Misc. @ not much, lol

The rest goes in the tow vehicle

Hmmmmm?

I was hoping for something the size of an overhead slide in.

I do not want to put two fuel cans in the car and about 50 pounds of water could be in the car along with the personal items and clothes, that's 200 lbs off the trailer.

Thanks for starting me at the beginning! I see you can't just build anything. If I were towing with my truck (12 mpg) it would be a different story.

So, maybe the rquirement is some type of ultra-light. That will present some other requirements as well.

Weather resistance, keeping dry is one thing but beyond that, wind gusts of 60 mpg are common in the spring. Cold weather, something that can reasonabaly retain heat at say zero degrees, survive at 20 below. Could retreat to the car. Summer heat at 100 degrees that could be cooled to 80 or 85 would be tolerable.

The area to travel would be from Alaska to Florida and the southwest, while these areas would be seasonal, the extremes could be encountered.
The Joplin tornado shows that anyone can end up living in a trailer for awhile! For this reason I'd really like to have hard sides and not a tent trailer.

Budgetary issues will keep the cabin build under a grand, not counting the appliances. That would be materials, vents, windows, door, hardware, plumbing and electrical wiring with fixtures.

Is that possible?

Sorry it's so long.....

Bikerman wrote:Hi, yes the Subaru is not really a towing machine, but I believe it's 5000 pounds, but let's drop that down to 3500. I really don't know what the trailer weighs. 2x3 .25 box for a 4x8 basically and plate floor, guessing 800 to 1000?

Pretty much why I mentioned light weight.

I'm thinking about 2x2 framing, 1/4 ply exterior, 1/2 foam and then 1/4 or even 1/8 ply interior walls. 3/4 CDX for the floor. Not sure of the exterior covering, aluminum roll flashing or maybe bed liner paint applied very liberaly in a few coats. I like the idea of using a white PDM roll roofing.

The bike weighs in at 360 I believe, say 400 with gas.

Probably means the build needs to come in at 1000 pounds. That leaves 1100 pounds for provisions and equipment.

Provisions:

Water @ 150 pounds
Fuel @ 80
Gear @ 700 (small generator and A/C, jacks, matress, water pump etc.)
Clothes@ 150
Misc. @ not much, lol

The rest goes in the tow vehicle

Hmmmmm?

I was hoping for something the size of an overhead slide in.

I do not want to put two fuel cans in the car and about 50 pounds of water could be in the car along with the personal items and clothes, that's 200 lbs off the trailer.

Thanks for starting me at the beginning! I see you can't just build anything. If I were towing with my truck (12 mpg) it would be a different story.

So, maybe the rquirement is some type of ultra-light. That will present some other requirements as well.

Weather resistance, keeping dry is one thing but beyond that, wind gusts of 60 mpg are common in the spring. Cold weather, something that can reasonabaly retain heat at say zero degrees, survive at 20 below. Could retreat to the car. Summer heat at 100 degrees that could be cooled to 80 or 85 would be tolerable.

The area to travel would be from Alaska to Florida and the southwest, while these areas would be seasonal, the extremes could be encountered.
The Joplin tornado shows that anyone can end up living in a trailer for awhile! For this reason I'd really like to have hard sides and not a tent trailer.

Budgetary issues will keep the cabin build under a grand, not counting the appliances. That would be materials, vents, windows, door, hardware, plumbing and electrical wiring with fixtures.

Is that possible?

Sorry it's so long.....

What I found was that the 04 Forrester has a max capacity of 2,000lbs.. Your lucky really because after 04 the towing capacity was reduced to 1,000 lbs, if the trailer being towed has no brakes.

As far as the $1,000 limit to build I think yes. If you already own the utility trailer you are building on. I am mid build on my trailer and have spent about $750 thus far. This included the utility trailer it is built on. I have done a bit of purchase of used materials for the build however. By the way my trailer will have the ability to haul my small bike when it is through.

Standupguy, I like the one in you Avatar, is that it? Are you going to carry it inside oron the front?

I was thinking of extending the tounge and put the bike there.

I might end up being restriced to a platform and a tent top, hope not.

Any possibilities for hard sides and a roof?

Here is my converted floor plan. I have a couple of removeable cabintes to convert it to hauler mode.



By justoneman at 2011-05-18

Great set up! Mine won't be as long as yours appears to be. I'm hoping to have the bed east west in the front that folds down.

I was thinking of a cabinet that bumped out about 18 inches over the tires and went up to the roof. On the other side the same bump out over the tires with storage.

I was considering a pop up hard top, like a lid on a shoe box with a couple feet of walls hanging down, but sine the height of the bike is at 5' I might as well just go up another 18 inches and forget the pop up feature.

Due to the height consistant for the length there can't be much curving down in the front, maybe a slope transition over what would be the battery and A/C area of the tounge. I like the front of the ROAM trailer here on site, a sloping V nose might work.

The rear has to be pretty verticle I would think for a 3+ foot wide opening to load the bike.

Maybe this is the wrong design. A ramp on the tounge would allow me to build whatever, something lower for towing and a pop up top?

Has anyone done a bike ramp on the front? What do you think?????

Have you figured it out yet?

No, sorry for being gone so long. I have been looking at alternatives, vehicles TTs and drawer systems.

I have a removable tounge from the end of the A frame to the hitch. It's 2" box that slides in and seems I could get a really long extension.

If all this gets too heavy (hope not) I can pull it with my F-150, I'd rather have the Subby gas mileage.

StandUpGuy, I like your layout but wonder about the loaded bike being on one side, I always try to balance the load, front to back, side to side. I will probably add more springs, maybe shocks to get off road. I'd rather be off the beat'n path not in the KOA, but I can enjoy a quiet park too.

Wish I were a bit more techie to post pics and drawings, sorry. I'm thinking along the lines of the sawtooth xl, a little taller and a lift up top like an Alaskan camper. But I see the scales ringing the bell as a hard sided pop up adds more weight.

Probably need to change out the axel, as the trailer was designed to be a bullet proof hauler for my bike and a rider mower.

In another thread about connecting the cab to the frame, I was hoping to use pins that could be quickly pulled and the tilt trailer could dump the box with skids. I'd load it with a winch. Might be handy to go get firewood while leaving the camp set up.

HELP! (LOL)