Not sure it gets any simpler than this...

[TJinPgh]

Possibly soon.

I actually took advantage of the 20% HF coupon and picked up my 4x8 trailer the other day. Once I get the paperwork on that done and gather the necessary funds I am pretty much ready to begin.

Sadly, though, I doubt I'll have this done in time to use it this year unless it's for an early fall camping trip.

I have a deck on my house that desperately needs rebuilt. And, since the deck is a story up off the ground, under it is the perfect place to do this build. So, I really would benefit from doing that first.

In looking at this, I really think that the hardest part of the whole thing is the front end. All those angled cuts and such. Really need to figure out how to accomplish all of that.

Might want to simplify that even further. Just do a basic cabinet on the interior. The exterior tongue box can always be added after the fact, if necessary. Just make sure I build the connecting points into the front wall before closing it in.

[GPW]

Keeping it a simple box , you can always add on a nose of any shape you like , even if it’s a simple V nose .. like on the cargo trailers ...

[TJinPgh]

Yup. That's what I'm thinking. Skip the tongue box for now. Just go with a basic cabinet build for the front.

[TJinPgh]

Removed the tongue box and gave some consideration to a cabinet.

Building it across the front took up too much space. Anything more than a 1 foot deep cabinet left too little room for a door.

Instead, I moved it to the side. Doing so opens up a 42x40 floor area which is, I think, enough for this type of build. Enough room to move around and get dressed.

Decided that the cabinet solved another question I'd had... whether or not to deal with a cooking area. Top of the cabinet provides enough room for a small sink and still has enough counter space for a Coleman cook stove.

[crumbruiser]

I like your design but I'm not sure about a cookstove inside such a small area. There will be a lot of heat build up and lots of flamables with the foam and bedding, also, every thing inside will smell like bacon. [ bacon... maybe not a bad idea afterall, who doesn't like the smell of bacon? ]
If you do cook, make sure to have a fire extinguisher.
Frank

[TJinPgh]

Good points.

I figured that the stove wouldn't be any closer or further away to the bed area than it would be in any other small camper. And, the inside will likely be skinned with luan or something. And, would probably end up sticking a metal backsplash behind it.

So, it may or may not be an issue. Not sure.

In any case, unless it was really pouring down the rain I wouldn't be cooking inside anyway. Primarily for the smell/smoke issues, if nothing else.

Would probably end up using that counter space for my bearded dragon tank.

[KCStudly]

Think about putting the tongue on the other end. That is, have the hinge for the pop up roof at the front. There is a school of thought that the hinge is easier to seal than the lift end, and heaven forbid you should have a latch failure while towing into the wind. Worst case scenario is that the wind and bumps lift the hatch enough to catch the wind and smash the roof backward.

So maybe that's a bit drastic, but others have voiced this opinion in the past. Just saying.

[TJinPgh]

I thought about that. I'd have to completely reverse the layout of the interior.

Move the bed to the front. The door toward the rear.

Not a huge difference, I suppose.

The only question I had on that is that most of the pop-top designs... the original manufactured Compact Jr... and even the squidget... they don't emply a hinge at all. So, there doesn't seem to be a lot of concern over latch failure or leaking on those designs.

Don't get me wrong, I understand what you're saying and the concern that one might have.

Just wondering if it's as big an issue as it might seem.

Dunno.

[TJinPgh]

Went ahead and drew this up, reversing the roof and layout...



Moved the door to the rear. Could also be placed on the side toward the rear of the wall.

[GPW]

Just for the sake of simplicity , you could build it solid just like that ... would be much stronger and should tow well ...

[TJinPgh]

You mean build it with the slanted roof like that... not as a pop-top?

Dunno. Not sure how that would look going down the highway...



Not sure how I feel about that...







Works ok that way, I suppose.

Would have to do the walls with multiple pieces, though. More work on the roof.

[GPW]

Actually , that looks pretty efficient !!! and after all , the paint job will make it Cool .... and if you want , you can make some handrails and give the front the “illusion” of roundness.. Like on the front of this one ... Lots of Tricks to dressing up a box...

[TJinPgh]

Maybe.

Starting to look a lot like a Cabin A, I think.

[GPW]

Cabin A , somebody else thought it was a good shape too ... That somewhat plain Vanilla attempt at “radical” just needed a snappy paint job and trim .... pretty boring as is , but that’s what people buy ...

You can always bite the bullet and do a small section of the roof rounded for a more “flowing” appearance .... not that hard !!! Look more traditional teardrop-ish'

[TJinPgh]

Those Cabin A models did have a pretty cool tongue box on them in the Expidition models.

Speaking of Aliner and along the lines of the pop-top, I came across this while searching for a pic of the Cabin A...



Can't find out anything about this model. Not sure if it was Aliner or Chalet or Forest River. Did a search for Aliner DS (which is what it looks like those letters on the side are) and nothing looking like this came up.

Would be similar in concept to the pop-top, though. Only it looks to have 2' sides with a 4' lift, rather than 4' sides with a 2' lift.