Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Wd yikes! Glad you're here to tell tales. I have my share of course, but they are Why I want to make the platform.

I am liking the idea of building a trailer though. Maybe I'll build it in Virginia instead of NY!

Good morning [_]D. Early morning mid ice storm here...


That got me pondering the sleeping trailer. For Summer and late spring I can see taking my few hour rest breaks with no problem. I'm mostly concerned then with adequate ventilation etc...
The next few months however may prove to be more of a challenge. I've done Winter camping before... How am I going to stay warm enough ? Is it worth worrying about? Ideally I should only be sleeping a few hours at a time. A decent sleeping bag & body heat will go a long way toward the comfort level but Pennsylvania and West Virginia still get chilly in winter. I mention those because in all likelihood that's where this will be used.

GPW tested his small foamie out, and iirc it kept the heat pretty well. Let's face it though.. Nawlins and southeastern PA aren't quite the same climate wise.
Ok I'm going to let the sub-conscience chew on this one some more.

Materials for this build will most likely be 2" thick foam for the walls and ceiling & 3/4 ply for the floor etc... Profile: I'm leaning towards a mini Zephyr shape in my head.

Ned , having lived in north eastern PA (Willow Grove) and N.O.LA , I must agree , they are not the same , but a simple Foamie should be able to handle both extremes ... a good sleeping bag should be good for the coldest temps ... and a good fan for the hot times ... ( AC would be better if you can manage that ) Here ( N.O.) , you almost need AC during the summer ... but before AC came along everybody had a fan , and survived.

This truly a one trick pony... A place to sleep for 3-6 hours so I can maximize my time off from work and have more time to spend with my parents. I won't put AC in, I don't mind putting in a fantastic fan and a pair of Wiley Windows for ventilation. That adds the need for a battery.. Hmm

A fantastic fan requires very little power. I think you could run it for your use with a 12v drill battery. Just charge when you get home. Wiley windows do work great. I use a removable screen panel so I can put a small vented propane heater in the window hole(small buddy heater shining on a metal plate?) or swamp cooler pad. The screen panel and window fits next to each other so a lot of combinations are possible.

Ned , back in the kustom van days , we had a passive ventilation system that worked pretty well .... Naturally we had the ubiquitous Van roof vent , but also had screened vent holes in the floor ~3” dia. with little plastic covers. Open the vent on top , open the floor vents and the hot air would go out the top , sucking in cool air in from the bottom vents ... It wasn’t as big a volume as a trailer fan , but also needed no battery ... That’s a start , you could also get a small computer fan battery powered for just a few hours use ...rechargeable , even solar charged if you want ... still easier than a heavy 12V battery for just a fan and a light ...

Ned , this all goes back to the essential use of a small Trailer ... Sleeping !!! ... A hard tent ... That’s all my Boy scout pup tent was , just a place to sleep .... no galley ,no closets, no fans . At least a dedicated “sleeper” should be well cushioned with lots of pillows ... All you need really !!! Schmaybe' a small wind up alarm clock or watch with alarm function ... ?

GPW wrote:Ned , back in the kustom van days , we had a passive ventilation system that worked pretty well .... Naturally we had the ubiquitous Van roof vent , but also had screened vent holes in the floor ~3” dia. with little plastic covers. Open the vent on top , open the floor vents and the hot air would go out the top , sucking in cool air in from the bottom vents ... It wasn’t as big a volume as a trailer fan , but also needed no battery ... That’s a start , you could also get a small computer fan battery powered for just a few hours use ...rechargeable , even solar charged if you want ... still easier than a heavy 12V battery for just a fan and a light ...

Ned , this all goes back to the essential use of a small Trailer ... Sleeping !!! ... A hard tent ... That’s all my Boy scout pup tent was , just a place to sleep .... no galley ,no closets, no fans . At least a dedicated “sleeper” should be well cushioned with lots of pillows ... All you need really !!! Schmaybe' a small wind up alarm clock or watch with alarm function ... ?

I'm sure I'll be doing the kiss method ... I like the computer fan idea though. True simplicity is my goal. I doubt I'll add the fan until summer. As for alarm, I have an iPhone for that.

Typical slow freight Monday at work, so I'm planning my build...

As I write this I'm aiming towards a Generic Foamroy for my sleeper. I'm going with a HF 4x8 chassis, readily available & with coupons etc...well within budget.

I'll go with 2" foam for the walls & roof on top of a single 4x8 sheet of ply for the floor. I won't need it for my purposes, but I'll build a simple galley for structural purposes. At least a bulkhead and a countertop. That will also give me space for a simple 12v battery system without a battery box.

I'll build my own doors & door frame etc... With a minimal skeleton of support for the roof.
I'll have air vents down low & PC fans for airflow.

I'm building this primarily for my own use as a safe comfortable place to rest while en route to see my parents. It is Not my ultimate camper, much more Minimalist than that. Still though if I outfit it as a basic tear I can always pass it along to one of my kids or sell it if I don't need it for road trips later.

I'll put Wiley windows in the doors, and a simple hatch for the galley.

I made the drive to Virginia last night. It was a nice night for a drive, and I was able to put the seats down and stretch out relatively comfortably. My initial thoughts in this thread ; to make a platform for the car still hold true. There was plenty of room, but with the baby seat tether anchors it was akin to sleeping on the proverbial tree root when tenting.
I'm looking for a twin size mattress topper as a stopgap solution , and I need to figure out some sort of blackout shade.

How a bout a wal mart mattress topper and a blindfold .... I just pull my cap over my eyes to block out light for my daily Siesta ...

I just noticed that you were in a Prius,
This might interest you.
http://www.habitents.com/gallery/

Its a tent for the back hatch on a Prius.
Tom

Socal Tom wrote:I just noticed that you were in a Prius,
This might interest you.
http://www.habitents.com/gallery/

Its a tent for the back hatch on a Prius.
Tom

Now that's gold right there. Bug free ventilation and an easy way to get in and out.

That looks perfect ... Maybe not so much if you don’t want anybody to know you’re sleeping inside ...

That is a cool tent... But I'm really looking for ease of use in A specific trip that I need to make vs camping. If I were going cross country and wanted Eco camping the habitent would rock! Thanks for sharing!!

I don't care about anyone knowing I'm sleeping in it. I'm not alone in these rest areas... And I'm really only napping ... So I'm safe(r) finishing the last 1/3 of the trip.

Functionally I'm fine with a more comfortable & dark ventilated space to sleep than grabbing a nap at the wheel. I don't want to train my body that sleep is 'ok' at the wheel, Ever!

I'm leaning toward the Foamroy solely because I think I can finally build my first tear if I make it! Affordable functional lightweight & useful... Maybe if I build this my wife will see that my Wanderer will work for the two of us!

Regarding cold weather camping and a foamy...

We use ours as a napping space when trekking from around Albany NY to Cincinnati OH, three seasons,
visiting family.

It has been down to the mid 30's at night then. With a 12v electric blanket set to run just 20 minutes
and a quilt cover over that we are quite comfortable. I always have a window open a crack and crack
the roof vent some too.


Yes its cold until you;
loose the shoes,
hang the coat and...
get under the covers.