Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hGR8kO ... L&index=57

I have watched this video a couple of times and think I can build it on a smaller scale.
The fold outs would be large enough to put a full size bed on each side and leave the floor mostly clear.
The good parts.
1. I already have a heavy duty 6x10 tilt bed trailer.
2. A fully equipped shop and covered area to build in.
3. Fair amount of building experience on building houses, boats and furniture.
4. Heavy duty tow vehicle, so finished weight is not really an issue.

The bad part
1. I have to be able to take it off the trailer when not in use.

Any experience with something like this would be helpful, I have thought about building one wall this winter just to see if I can get everything to fold and still be water tight when setup.

"Expandavan" caravan (google it) had this same concept. I also remember that some person, maybe on this forum built with the same concept, but full, floor to ceiling foldouts.. cannot recall the build or builders name, sorry. Another example of foldout commercial camping trailer is "Rapido" that was produced long ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvXenUGHoMo

OP827 wrote:"Expandavan" caravan (google it) had this same concept. I also remember that some person, maybe on this forum built with the same concept, but full, floor to ceiling foldouts.. cannot recall the build or builders name, sorry. Another example of foldout commercial camping trailer is "Rapido" that was produced long ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvXenUGHoMo

I have a seen couple of videos of them, it's a bit larger and more complicated than I want to deal with for this project.
I have a 30' Salem camper already, it's stays in a campground during the summers, it's a bit much for my Expedition so it only gets moved a couple of times a year.
It's an older model, heavy and poorly built. I have had to rebuild so much of it, that's it's soured me on a factory built camper.
I'm trying to come up with a design that is relatively easy to pull and setup for the 2-3 day trips, but has enough room to accommodate me, the wife and dog.
That is why I'm trying to get the beds out of the main floor, so we can at least have some room inside to move around a bit and set up a table or a couple of chairs inside.

mdjeterva wrote:

OP827 wrote:"Expandavan" caravan (google it) had this same concept. I also remember that some person, maybe on this forum built with the same concept, but full, floor to ceiling foldouts.. cannot recall the build or builders name, sorry. Another example of foldout commercial camping trailer is "Rapido" that was produced long ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvXenUGHoMo

I have a seen couple of videos of them, it's a bit larger and more complicated than I want to deal with for this project.
I have a 30' Salem camper already, it's stays in a campground during the summers, it's a bit much for my Expedition so it only gets moved a couple of times a year.
It's an older model, heavy and poorly built. I have had to rebuild so much of it, that's it's soured me on a factory built camper.
I'm trying to come up with a design that is relatively easy to pull and setup for the 2-3 day trips, but has enough room to accommodate me, the wife and dog.
That is why I'm trying to get the beds out of the main floor, so we can at least have some room inside to move around a bit and set up a table or a couple of chairs inside.

Do you have a floor plan in mind?

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Now, this is the kind of thing that FEMA needs to have a bunch of for disaster areas. Looks small enough to ship two of them on a flatbed at once, and it probably wouldn't take a huge crane to lift them off as needed. That way, we taxpayers wouldn't be footing the bill for 1/4 million dollar luxury motor homes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hGR8kO ... L&index=57

Roger

OP827 wrote:

mdjeterva wrote:

OP827 wrote:"Expandavan" caravan (google it) had this same concept. I also remember that some person, maybe on this forum built with the same concept, but full, floor to ceiling foldouts.. cannot recall the build or builders name, sorry. Another example of foldout commercial camping trailer is "Rapido" that was produced long ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvXenUGHoMo

I have a seen couple of videos of them, it's a bit larger and more complicated than I want to deal with for this project.
I have a 30' Salem camper already, it's stays in a campground during the summers, it's a bit much for my Expedition so it only gets moved a couple of times a year.
It's an older model, heavy and poorly built. I have had to rebuild so much of it, that's it's soured me on a factory built camper.
I'm trying to come up with a design that is relatively easy to pull and setup for the 2-3 day trips, but has enough room to accommodate me, the wife and dog.
That is why I'm trying to get the beds out of the main floor, so we can at least have some room inside to move around a bit and set up a table or a couple of chairs inside.

Do you have a floor plan in mind?

Not a solid one yet, still doodling around in Autocad. So far I'm at a full size bed on each side in the fold out, and a small bathroom/shower in the front.
I have a 6x10 heavy duty equipment trailer for a base, that's the only limiting factor so far.

I think it’s a brilliant idea. I can draw up a quick model on OnShape and send you the link. I think o even have a plan for manufacturing it light enough to not need Hercules (or a winch) for the moving sections. Watertightness is of course the hardest part possibly, but since it opens in natural watershed fashion it shouldn’t be too bad actually. I will try to get something drawn up this week. Maybe even do some stress calculations for fun.

Working on designing a trailer for my wife and I and our 2 40 lbs dogs. I was thinking of doing this exact thing for my 2 dogs to sleep in. Love them to death but when it's the middle of the summer I don't want to have to sleep in the same bed as them. To save on weight I thought I might use a waterproof fabric for the side walls. I'm interested to see your design.

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https://www.buzznick.com/expanding-trailer/ Try this link. Maybe use bimini hardware for the sides.

Hi mdjeterva, whatever become of this project? Apologies if it bounced over to another thread and I can't find it. I'd love to know about your experience.

I'm doing this right now, and it's been a lonely experience because no one understands when I try to explain it (probably my own fault) and everyone thinks I'm crazy (ditto).

I'm building it out of poor man's fiberglass on a 25' aluminum frame from an old aerolite. So not teardrop tiny. I have a floorplan but it's in this online tool called Floorplanner.com and I can only export it to jpg or png.

Yes, watertightness is a big concern, as is weight. Making everything superlight sounds great until you think about driving the equivalent of a giant foam cooler on a windy day. Or securing so that it doesn't tip over in a campground during a storm...

The A Liner pop up campers work on that same idea. For 2 adults and 2 dogs, a homemade version would not be that much of job. The details on how the pieces rise and "fall" back into place will take a little math to compute the sizes. The hard plastic siding is available, the walls and roof could be built so they would not have a lot of weight to them. Since there is no towing with it all upright, the structural integrity should not be a big issue if it was pinned together when set up. Combine a the design of a HI Lo trailer and the A Liner, and you have an expandable. cabin

I'm still working on the design, I built a small mock up of one wall to see if I can fold up and open and still be water tight.
I have been collecting some hardware that I want to use, but the real problem is taking it off the equipment trailer when I need to use it as a trailer.
I haven't figured out a good solution for that yet.
I managed to buy a set of slide in truck camper jacks at a yard sale, I think I'll need the support with such a small footprint in the trailer bed.

Hi, I'm very interested in this concept!

I've been looking at the Slidavan, but I have a teen and pre-teen so just can't see how to sleep 3 in it unless there is a slideout in the front. I came across the De Markies and love the idea.

I will put it on a HF trailer, pulling with a minivan, so it has to be light. I have a 5x10 cargo trailer that is 6' height and the MPG is terrible when I pull even light loads.

To improve MPG, it would ideal to somehow marry the raised roof concept of the Slidavan with the fold out concept you found or the De Markies. I'm probably going to buy the Slidevan plans for the walls, lift, roof, and how to plumbing/electrical since this is my first build. But the shape has to be something different to fit my family.

Anyone have any ideas? I'm ready to build this fall...

Just came across this. Less structure, but that would allow more windows in the sleeping area.

https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/c ... -displaced