Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I had a few years ago built a custom off road capable trailer to tow behind my Jeep, it was small about 8' long and I found the info on this site invaluable. All good things must come to an end and the Jeep was sold and I sold the trailer for $1800 a few years ago and then promptly went out and bought a mid seventies travel trailer. It's a 18 foot by fleetwood and we are still using it. The water system works and the electric/propane fridge works but not the hot water system or the furnace. Also the stove/oven works but we rarely use it preferring to cook outside. It has a dual axle setup which is nice and on the way to one of our provincial parks 2 summers ago one tire blew and put a hole in the blackwater tank. Instead of spending the over $1500 quoted me to replace the tank we purchased a porta potty. That turned out to be a good move, it's super easy to clean and also as the name implies portable. Now I know it's not a tiny travel trailer, being 18 feet long and it is fairly heavy being mid a mid seventies unit but the wife really likes it due to the increased room versus the 8' homemade.
Anyway if it,s ok with the folks on this site I would like to stay a member of this site and document the re condition of the trailer. The plan is to remove the hot water heater, stove and oven and the furnace. That should lighten it up maybe a couple hundred pounds. It has 2 sinks on the kitchen counter, 1 should suffice. The guy we bought it from had installed a window shaker A/C unit where the rear bathroom window had been and also removed the shower pieces. Going down gravel roads really gets the back of the trailer dirty so the rear A/C is to be scrapped as well either a window goes back in it or it gets filled in, the window is the best option I believe. The roof is good, no water damage at all, I switched the interior lights over to LED's so battery life is good. I'm thinking where the furnace was I can put a small air conditioner that way re using the louvered furnace vent panel on the outside. Should keep the unit a lot cleaner plus it won't be hanging out of a wall. The stove has a range hood with a light and outside vent that will be retained because I plan to install a new counter with a couple green propane bottle sized holes in place of the stove. using my camping burner heads I take on canoe trips, they should work for those few times an interior stove is needed. I have a generator so instead of the furnace a small ceramic heater integrated into the cupboard area where the hot water tank was will work great. When staying in campgrounds we usually take an electrical site and the generator works when we are off grid camping. Any thats the main plan.

We have enjoyed the teardrop camper we built but now wish for more room.Now we think a small standup suits our needs better.Our plan is similar to yours
[as in simple].No water/sewer tanks. Porta Potty. No gas appliances.Small sink, electric hot plate , dorm fridge,mini electric water heater.To be built on 12 foot
popup frame.I've bought nearly all the parts cheap off CL and amazon.Post your pics and rebuild,The build journal section would be a good place to post.Good luck!

I,ve started working on my 18'. Removed the stove top and oven. Built a bit of an internal frame and then sheeted the bottom and side/back with white coroplast and just screwed it down. Wound up with roughly a 20" square cube of space to hold a couple plastic totes. Then a white countertop from Ikea was installed which gave an extra 20" counter space. Then the furnace was taken out. It had been enclosed in a metal box that I left in place and a small ceramic heater will be placed in that space. We usually try for electric sites so the interior propane has been removed from what is basically a 40 year old trailer. As for cooking that is usually done outside, if it is bad weather an electric skillet will work. I also removed half of the overhead bunk that was built atop the sleeping area at the front of the trailer. The part remaining is now overhead storage for bedding. Plus it has a couple lights built into it which is useful when the main bed is set up as a couch. The previous owner had removed the rear window and the shower in the rear bathroom. He put a small counter with a sink in and it also contains the porta-potti. The A/C hangs off the back and is a huge dirt and dust magnet when going down gravel roads so I,m thinking of removing it as well. When it's done I'm hoping to shed 100 or slightly more pounds with the removal of these things. We camped for years in a tent then the small trailer I built gave us a taste of a bit more comfort. With this 18' trailer either of us can sleep while the other can sit at the table to read. Also my wife really likes the small bathroom for those middle of the night times so she doesn"t have to go out. I,m a fan of that as well. Basically any really heavy stuff that can be removed to shed a bit of weight is the plan. Still considering whether or not to remove the hot water tank, the propane is gone but I've found an electric heat element that can be used in the tank. We've always just heated a kettle to get warm wash water so it's not a big deal to scrap the tank.