new build

[msiler]

I have decided that the time has come for me to build something that I can tow with my saturn... my f250 diesel just costs too much for trips...

I have decided the 5x9 is about the right size. It will be a teardrop profile but I am going to raise the bed off the floor a bit and put it against the aft wall... no hatch and moving galley inside out of the weather... At least that is what I have planned for now. the profile and size is set floorplan could still flex. I have started the build already frame is welded up floor will be started this weekend. As I have not built one before i am very open to ideas and contructive critisism. I have been reading a lot of builds on here and all I can say is WOW... I hope my build is half as nice.. Some of these builds I would classify as towable furniture...
Wish me luck, my living room is full of parts and supplies...
Pics coming soon
msiler

[rebapuck]

Know you are excited. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Vedette]

Welcome to the Forum.
Nobody here says you have to think "Inside " the box??

[angib]

If you are going a little bigger than a teardrop, a 5x10 (or even a 5x12) might be a better choice. That length doesn't cost much in weight or money and costs nothing in towing resistance, so if you are after a little more space, length is the nearly-free dimension. Cooking inside means getting the bed away from the kitchen by enough to be safe, and a bit of length would help with that.

[msiler]

I think I have enough space degigned in, the floor space is 9 feet, overall body length with the curve out front will be 10'3". with close to 2' between cabinets and bed. I dont really anticipate cooking inside a lot. Even at home I do most of my cooking outside on the grill.

Since I know picture are worth 1000 words here you go.. My frame so far....



Main beams and the tongue are 2" box tube the cross braces are 1.25"

floor framework has begun...
It will be 5mm-3/4"-5mm insulated sandwich construction
the framework is all pocket screws and gorilla glue. I may remove the screws one the glue has cured since at that point there are not needed..



My "workshop" so to speak...


ran out of daylight yesterday so more floor work today... Hope to finish the buliding floor and and get it sealed today. Planning to seal with the white rubberized roof coating instead of using the usual black goo... cost more but doing it as a test for it's suitability for sealing the entire trailer instead of epoxy/glass over everything. Anybody done this before? if so how did it work out? I would still epoxy/glass the seams for strenth and extra waterproofing at what I see as the most likely points of failure. Thanks for the encouragement and any input, especially from those who have gone before me.

[Oldragbaggers]

You have a very nice start there. Your workshop looks a lot like mine!!

[CliffinGA]

Great start and a nice plan, frame looks great but look at your tongue length and tbink on this. If your going to put some kind of tongue box on and a side mount jack are you voing to have enough room? Thats a problem I've run into is for the box to fit the jack does not have enough room to fold up right. I may see about getting mine extended but wi cost more to have it cut and a longer one welded on since its nearly finished. Just a thought for you.

Cliff

[msiler]

Did not get as much done today as I had hoped... and only managed to take one photo.

I did finish the floor framing and insulation today but other things came up so I only got the ply glued and stapled on 1 side.

I hope I don't regret not leaving room for a tongue box but since I do my own welding extending the tongue to add one later really would not be bad.
I am hoping that by having aprox 30 cubic feet of storage space under the bed I wont have a need for the tounge box. Just a battery box if I choose to mount it external...

Msiler

[jss06]

Looking good.

I used liquid roof to seal the entire body of my trailer. Following their instructions I first undercoated it with oil based outdoors Kilz premium, then applied the product over the top of it. I have used the trailer about 4 times since top coating and it has held up well. This includes a long trip off-pavement.

The Liquid Roof is very thick. I used a roller to apply the product. The down side is it takes days for the kilz to dry properly and days more for the roof product to cure out.

[pappaw]

Looks like a great start

Cheers

[msiler]

Well as always things happen that dampen the progress... In my case literally... After what had to be the most consistently wet summer ever in fl... I was left with quite a mess of ruined plywood.. Tarps can only do so much then moisture gets trapped under them... The build will rise again in the spring this time with a twist... I am tossing up between riveted aluminum construction ala cessna and steel frame fabric (ceconite/polyfiber) covering ala piper cub for the body. Either of these techniques will help me in other projects as well. I own a fabric covered airplane and want to redo the fabric at some point. And I am gearing up to start a aluminum aircraft build once the trailer is finished. So either method would help build skills and confidence for future endeavors.
Has anyone out there built a tear with either of these methods. Would be interested to see build journal..

[Junkboy999]

A new guy on the forums is an Air Force structural maintenance technician. He is building a TD with an aluminum
frame riveted together. It looking nice and light weight. His framework would be similar to a Kit Aircraft build.
The cab on his TD is going to be wood.

Aluminum Frame RD

Another Aluminum one would be the Northern Lite Traveler. His frame is welded but the cab structure is riveted.
Simple construction technique but well planned out.

Northern Lite Traveler

On net I have seen Pop-up TD. The bottom the TD was a box like the bottom of a old canvas fold out camper.
The Teardrop shaped part on the top look like it might be aluminium frame with a canvas covering.
No build pic. ( can’t remember the link )

Hope this helps.