ok, no name, but need some help as a newb, GEN BEN in mind

[newbuilder]

Hello everyone! This will be my second post here and the start of my first build! (ok, now a plan that I have had some time to think about and have decided on something different) I found the site from a link on another forum that I visit. I will be using a trailer that I started building for an ATV and never finished. (Same trailer but whole new direction. See bottom of thread for more please.)




The deck of the trailer is 4x6 right now, I will be extending it 1' and widening it by 1.5'.

Here is a pic of the template that I cut out earlier today.



Here is a quick draw up of the plans in my head!




Excited to get started on my very first Tiny Travel Trailer!

NewBuilder

[newbuilder]

And now, as I have been thinking about it all night, it's time for some questions.
1. Could I get away with using OSB for the sides, front and rear, and the top if I skin it in something like 1/4" ply?

2. I want to use 1/2" x2" pieces for the spars and on the inside of the walls. Then I will insulate it with 1/2" foam. Would this be acceptable?


3. I am wanting to avoid going and buying more steel to add that little amount to the frame. Could I build the floor frame to overhang the steel frame and be ok?


I guarantee that I will come up with several others, but this is all that I can think of right now. Thank you for any advice for a true NEWB

[Ageless]

Since you will never be standing on that overhang; a good floor will suffice. Lay a sheet of 1/2" ply on sawhorses and stand on it; it will deflect. But if you lie on it; it will hardly bend

[newbuilder]

And another, I have changed the name to 'the simple hunter' for a few reasons. Obviously I want it to be simple. Also, it is designed with hunting in mind. I would like to coat it in a type of hunter or forest green bed liner type of stuff. Any ideas?

[bobhenry]

No galley ?

Just a sleeper ?

1/2" insulation in Idaho Brrrrrr !

Are the wheels outboard of the 4' or are they underneath the trailer frame. Can not tell by the pics !

5'6" wide by 7' long by 4' tall ? Kinda like me wide as I am long.

Looks as if you could cantaliver a foor forward and 2 foot to the rear easily giving you a 9' trailer. Osb is available in 4x9.

If you look in my album way back there are some shots of my spars and how they were installed. I used 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 southern yellow pine ripped from 2x12's ( about 50% stronger than pine,fir) Remember you may be drilling thru the spars for electrical wires and an extra 1" of insulation will be welcome in the heat or the cold.

Just a few random thoughts

[toypusher]

If you are going to use OSB, I would recommend that you be very careful when doing the waterproofing on this. OSB when wet will rot very quickly and just fall apart on you.

[bobhenry]

Here is a fiberglass faced osb.

http://www.huberwood.com/main.aspx?pagename=zipsystemwallfaqs&faqCategoryId=102

I have used it on the barn for subfloor over the 1 1/2 of blue foam and have built the entire body of my chuckwagon with it. I like it real well to work with!

[WayneFromMo]

Great, get started and go camping.
You have made your way to a great website.
If you find yourself needing advice there's plenty of it here and the experience to go with it.

Good luck with your build. Look forward to seeing lots of pictures and a completed project.

[newbuilder]

Thanks for the replies. I forgot to add in the OP that I want the samll size and light weight so that I can load my hunting supplies inside and pull the trailer with my 4 wheeler. Some of the areas that I like to hunt are almost impossible to get a full size camper in, so this will be the next best thing.
NB

[newbuilder]

I was just looking at axles and seen a half torsion axle http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/p-2316-935-lb-torsion-half-axles.aspx
Does anyone have any experience with these? Looks like they should work.

[bobhenry]

I was just looking at axles and seen a half torsion axle http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/p-2316-935-lb-torsion-half-axles.aspx
Does anyone have any experience with these? Looks like they should work.

$ 182

add $17 and you can have the whole damn trailer ~~~lights , safety chains , hitch and all !

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=42708

[newbuilder]

Hello all. I am still new to the site but am all about building my first GEN BEN esque camper. I do have a few questions before I start though.

1. Although I have a trailer frame, it is not the right size. Could I start building my camper while I am still deciding what to do about a trailer? And then just bolt the camper to the trailer? (this would let me get started and then build the trailer exactly how I want it.)

2. In the GEN BEN plans I really don't understand the part of step 5 where you make the 3/8" offset cut. Does anyone have any real pics of this? And what exactly is it for?

3. Do the spars have to be spaced exactly as shown in the plans? Or could I just make them a decent space between them?

4. I know that alot of people use the real nice, expensive ply for the sides and floor. I will be coating the outside of mine in something like the 255 used in the plans or possibly a line-x or Rhino lining type. Is it really necessary that I spend that amount of money on the ply that I am just going to cover?

5. (I'll make this the last for now) I am a bit concerned about the electrical. I would like to be able to plug a small generator into the camer so that I can have light and heat. However, while sleeping, either camping or *hunting* (primary use) I do not want to be running the genny all night. Is there a simple way to use a battery to power a small heater without having to use all of the expensive breakers ect?

Thanks for the help and sorry for all the long questions. Just trying to get my mind set!
NB

[aggie79]

1. Although I have a trailer frame, it is not the right size. Could I start building my camper while I am still deciding what to do about a trailer? And then just bolt the camper to the trailer? (this would let me get started and then build the trailer exactly how I want it.)
NB

I built my entire teardrop shell "off-frame". It's not hard to do if you have a level garage floor or large workbench.


The main reason I did this was so that I could start building my teardrop and get a frame later when I had enough money. Of course, you need to know that what you're building will work with the frame you had in mind.

Tom

[vwbeamer]

apples and oranges. The flex half axles allow you to build any width, and the trailer can be made lighter, sit lower and will ride better.

I can use a pair of 2 dollar plyers to lift the lid on my dutch oven, does that mean the plyers are better?

I was just looking at axles and seen a half torsion axle http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/p-2316-935-lb-torsion-half-axles.aspx
Does anyone have any experience with these? Looks like they should work.

$ 182

add $17 and you can have the whole damn trailer ~~~lights , safety chains , hitch and all !

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=42708

[newbuilder]

How cool to come back to this site this many years later and see my same old posts! I've been brought back am and again planning a build. This time, I have the support of my wife, a nice, clean garage to work in, and about 50k more a year than I did the first one . I did 'finish' the original one that I started on this thread, but it really wasn't anything to write home about. Camped the living piss out of it, then got married and had a son, so it's long gone.

I haven't stopped planning what I am about to start on this weekend since I started my last one, and I'm sure that this build will be nothing short of amazing, easy, and inexpensive. In the real world, I'm ready to get my ass kicked by this thing, be frustrated, confused, discouraged etc. and have something awesome to be proud of when I'm done. I'll start a build thread this weekend with pictures. I'm going to rough out a wall or two this weekend.

I do have one question right now that I can't get off my mind that maybe someone can help me with. I can't decide on an exterior finish. Again, I'm outdoors, wilderness, hunting, etc, so I'm not going with a wood finish, either aluminum or monstaliner/ durabak etc. My question is how much did you pay to skin your 5x10 all the way around? I can't seem to get a straight answer out of any one I talk to locally, and I don't really want to create and account and go through all the hassle online just to get a price. I'd be in the $350- $400 range to use durabak, so I'd just like to compare.

Thanks everyone!