Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I have a Harbor Freight 4x8 trailer. I am thinking of building it up and using a fiberglass truck bed canopy top. They are cheap or free on craigslist and provide a waterproof roof and windows.
I want some thoughts on this. First, is extending a 4x8 trailer to 6 feet wide too much? Second any thoughts or concerns on the fiberglass canopy?

Another picture...

This is essentially my barn build......

The walls were just over 3 foot tall and then the gambrel trusses sat on the side walls. I think this is an excellent idea. The only weak area will be the gap under the fiberglass topper. A heavy bed of 100% silicone or perhaps some ice dam tap formed into a "U" shape with sticky side on the wall and under the lip on the topper will stop water intrusion.

Since there is no rear wall support you should think about having a 1 1/2 to 2" angle iron welded to the frame to take the wiggle out of the rear. If you look at the barn build pics in my album I left the last upright in place when I cut the steel side rail off of the cargo trailer. The last stud is bolted solid to that vertical steel member to eliminate the wiggle and it has proven out.

Also note the let in wind bracing in the studded sides of the "Barn". The inertial load of that topper will load the walls in starting and stopping and it will be a good idea to build in some triangulation to handle this. I want to see how you handle the hatch that part looks interesting. If your topper has the rear lift up window you might want to concider a left and right swing out half door these could be built to add a lift up counter top as a galley area. This idea has lots of real possibilities and would make a great worry free ( and Quick) build ! Take lots of pics and keep us updated.

PS my teardrop is 5' 7" out to out , side to side, on a modified HF frame and yes you can build out over the wheels. Despite what the say they won't fall over on the curves

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=30307&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

I just reread yout initial post and up popped a question. Are you able to find a 6' wide topper ?

...I've seen this done a couple of times, once with a custom built body under the topper and the other had a body from a smaller popup under the topper...if it fits, and stays put down the hiway, it is a viable option...............
madjack

Done for you already!

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/rvs/2546396776.html

bobhenry wrote:I just reread yout initial post and up popped a question. Are you able to find a 6' wide topper ?

Yup, they are actually the most common, 6' wide and 8' long. That's a full size truck bed.

wa_flyfisher wrote:Done for you already!

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/rvs/2546396776.html

It's pretty isn't it. I was looking at that, I'm in Seattle too. I wonder how much that thing weighs. Looks like the owner put a LOT of money into it.

Bobhenry, thanks for all the great ideas! I've got a trailer, but it's not licensed yet so I've got to get it cleaned up and deal with DMV or whatever.

So, here's my thoughts on the build...
I'm hoping that the gap between the trailer and the canopy is solved with some sealant but also by the lip on the canopy hanging over my base wall.

For the door in the back, I am hoping to get a canopy like this:


That's why I'm hoping this will potentially be such a good deal. A used canopy provides a roof, windows, a man door, and a hatch, for the price of one door on ebay.

For the wind bracing, i like where you are going with the diagonal braces, but do you think the sheathing would provide that lateral support?
Great idea on the welded angle iron to stiffen up the rear corners. I have been worried about them being floppy, and the opening on the canopy means that whole wall is unsupported from slowly splitting apart sideways.

This is an idea I had for a more typical canopy. It is a pop-up to keep it really low profile and easy to tow. Also, less obtrusive while in storage, and since the canopy would cover nearly the whole thing, the whole thing would be protected from sun and rain when it's not being used.

The downside is that the interior space goes from 6' x 8' down to 5' x 7'6" so that the canopy can slide down.





Ideas ideas ideas, no shortage of ideas out there, but a shortage of time and money! I love all the build journals I've been reading on this site for the past few weeks. Last night I read the whole build journal for Aggie79's Silver Beatle. I don't have the skills to build a work of art like that, but I hope to still build something beautiful and functional.

I'll keep plugging away! I can see how this site can encourage progress.

ohbugger wrote:For the wind bracing, i like where you are going with the diagonal braces, but do you think the sheathing would provide that lateral support?

My background is in wall panelization. The construction industry has gone to relying on sheet goods to control the lateral wind shear movement and I do not agree with it in total. To do it properly it requires nailing every 6 inches around the outer edge of a 4x8 or 4x9 sheet and every 8 to 10 inches in the field depending on local code( or the architect's engineering instructions on larger buildings). This means the nails are the only thing that keeps the structure square. Putting 16 nails in a row down an 8' stud is kinda like using a splitting wedge on a log in my mind. I have remodeled old building that are still straight as an arrow thanks to the let in wind bracing and have helped to straighten several that were relying on the sheathing boards to do the same. This trailer will see 50 to 60 mile and hour winds with each use unlike a building that may have this same experience 3 -4 times a year for a couple hours duration.

The process of installing the wind bracing is not difficult I installed all 10 wind braces on the barn in about 70 - 90 minutes. My barn is rock solid and the sheet goods inside and out are further help. Just my warped way of thinking !





There is also a steel "t" brace available you may want to look into.

Nothing beats the strength of a triangle!

Check out Bobhenrys builds. I think he knows what he is talking about!
Frank

ohbugger wrote:For the wind bracing, i like where you are going with the diagonal braces, but do you think the sheathing would provide that lateral support?

I think you're completely right - adding diagonal bracing is a complete waste of time if the trailer is going to be skinned with plywood, or any sheet material.

Wind bracing is used in houses as the fixing of the plywood skin isn't anywhere as strong as the plywood. If houses were skinned with a single sheet of 3" plywood over each side (which is what scaling up a teardrop gives) they wouldn't need wind bracing either.

However, it some non-sheet material is being used, like planking, then diagonals are a good idea.

I've started the build and it is progressing pretty well. Just thought I'd add a link in case anyone found this design/concept interesting.http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=45827