Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi all . Here is my ideas on tear drops or a tiny trailer . Looking around the site , I have not seen a thread on a build like this one I'm thinking about starting. Its unique to say the least .
The Foamies aspect of building a camper is ultra light weight and my HF 4 x 8 is also light weight . So I think its doable
My plans are sketchy at this point But I'm looking to build a TC that doubles as a mini House boat . The pontoons fold out and also provide for fold out space by way of a fabric tent extension that connects to them . The enclosed helm is also a fabric pop up . With A 17 HP gen set aerodynamically shrouded and mounted on the V tongue powering 110 v Electric motors coupled to a jet pump or prop that is forward mounted in a puller configuration like a bow mounted trolling motor. . Plus DC power to provided recharging capability to the 48 V battery bank for self contained power . On the tail end there will be a fold down and out deck just big enough for a small grill and 2 lawn chairs and a swim ladder .
Right now I'm looking at manufactured tents of size that has all the "pieces" that I need to cut off for the fold outs .
Oh yes, BTW there will be a trolling motor mounted on it as well .
Thoughts ideas or suggestions are welcome !

IM, you can buy large blocks of Foam ... perfect for pontoons ... Your idea sounds perfectly doable ...

Thanks !
I've got a few options on the pontoons , I can buy some good aluminum used ones for cheep . They are pretty common around here , Or use poly drums and build wedge shaped nose cones , join them with wide aluminum strip bands. Use angle aluminum for a keel runner / protector on the bottom and on top and sides for strength and attachment points . This aluminum frame will open from the rear to slide the drums in like shells in a gun. So no holes will be in the drums, and they can be easy to replace if one gets damaged. Poly Drums are dang tough and cheep ! A lot of times FREE!
Plus , on the very bottom under the entire floor board will be 4 inch thick poly styrene for insulation and emergency flotation . It will be Rhino liner Coated for durability . There is a 2 part DIY kit you can get for doing your own 'Rhino Lining" projects.

traveling foamies, flying foamies, now floating foamies,,,,,,,coool.

I guess next is ... "Foamies in Space "

sandblaster wrote:traveling foamies, flying foamies, now floating foamies,,,,,,,coool.

Well heck, Who's to say I can't hook up a Hot Air Airship and fly it too ! Well # 1 is my Wife !
I saw that vid a while back How Cool! , well except for the landing part .
Gas lift would make for a smaller, easier to handle envelope , And the TC could be prop powered like a Swamp boat . Pontoon water landing = wide open space to sit down in . That would be the Ultimate Camper for sure ! NO CAR NEEDED !

first off it is very duable. but instead of a pontoon style it would be better to build a barge style boat as it would hold weight better. There is a company called admiral drive systems that builds a floating trailer. Your wheels would need to be able to be submersable for a period of time so the regular hf wheels and hubs I do not think would do.

Good suggestion ! I' carry a grease gun loaded with Quality Boat trailer grease and pump the water out before hitting the road again .
I've already repacked them with water proof grease because I have a 2 man fishing boat and use this trailer to launch with already .
Its doing fine so far. What got me thinking on this Mini house boat , was I left the 2 man boat strapped down to the trailer just to see if the 2 man could suspend the weight of the trailer and it did but just bearly , Thats when wheels begain to turn

That is actually a pretty doable idea. I've built floating docks/rafts that us foam bats (15"w X 9.5"h X 94"l) for floatation. I know at my friends cottage we've had a dozen people on his raft (maybe 12'x12'?) with a grill, cooler, etc, and it has an 8' waterslide on it as well.

I'd second the barge idea, maybe with swing down pontoons....

for your pontoons why not go inflated type just my 2cents

I read this post a while ago and I've been mulling it over and....I'm gonna play devil's advocate and point out a couple things, if I may. It's meant in no way to be personal nor to be taken as ripping on your idea overall.

Considering the size of the trailer, we have a couple problems.
First off, if we use 24"X34" for a drum and submerge it halfway, it gives us a max volume of about 5 1/2 gallons. If we figure that we can fit 2 barrels wide and three long on top of the deck for transport, that gives us 6 barrels, or about 33 gallons to displace. Displacing fresh water at around 8 lbs per gallon, they would float about 260 lbs. What does the trailer alone weigh ?

Secondly, the porch you are talking about cantilevered off the back - what happens to the boat's trim when 2 people are sitting back there ?

As to bow-mounted power ?
1) forward facing tractor prop - Volvo has recently introduced their IPS to the rec market and builders are having to build skegs in front of the duoprop to keep them from getting beaten up. Of course, this completely messes with the clean flow that the technology was designed around in the first place...
2) rear facing (pusher) - assuming you want to go with something like a pair of bow-mounted trollers steered with a tie bar, you would need to speed up the outside motor in a turn or the outer pontoon would dip. I don't know if you've ever been in a boat that moves that way (heeling to the outside on a turn), but it's not pleasant to most people. Steering in general would be tough, and trying a hole shot would cause the bow to dip rather than climb, which would sink barrels that are already half-submerged.

I agree with glen's observations that both retractable road wheels and a barge hull might be some solid ways to do what you want. If we are dealing with a 4X8 footprint, you can get the most bouyancy out of a box. Put a bit of rise on the bow and it shouldn't take too much to get that box on plane. If we figure a 4X8 box drawing 6" of water can float around 1100 lbs, then losing even 20% to a punt-type bow still leaves us enough bouyancy to float all of the foamies weighed to date, maybe even at the same time, lol.
Sticking with no more than a 24V system and using transom mounted trolling motors will keep that weight down as well.

Last point on weight...you can't beat the power to weight ratio of an outboard with any electric configuration so we need to either allow for more weight and make it a design strength rather than a liability, or we need to reconsider how to power this craft.

All that being said, you can't take the tow vehicle on the water with you so why take the trailer ?
You will still have to get out of the car to unhitch and disconnect the tow harness and chains. Launching a boat is a piece of cake once you've done it a few times.

Like I said at the top though, this isn't about ripping on your idea: have you seen these ?
They are available in 12/24/36V and up to 160lb thrust:
http://www.minnkotamotors.com/products/ ... water.aspx

I saw them at a trade show a couple years ago and thought they'd make a great electric drive for an electric launch I wanted to build and market - a tried and true product already configured and ready to use. I emailed my rep about why MinnKota 'doesn't recommend' using them as the primary drive system for small craft when they are used specifically for that purpose on larger and heavier boats.
The response that I got (actually from MinnKota themselves) is that they "don't recommend it because it voids warranty coverage"

I figured it would be pointless to ask WHY it "voids warranty coverage" ::hammerhead:

droid_ca wrote:for your pontoons why not go inflated type just my 2cents

Its easy to get holes in them when compaired to poly drums or Alum or Solid foam . I plan to fish as much as camp So it needs to be durable against underwater snags rocks and such.
I have a Zebeck inflatable and had to repair it already from submurged hazards.

[img]http://www.tnttt.com/gallery/image.php?image_id=79233[img][/img]

Wabbly All very good concerns ! I like constructive conjecture, Thank you .
A 55 gal. drum will float about 400 lbs. 1 Cubic foot of air will float 62 lbs
I plan on using 30 gallon drums that will hold 4.01 cubic ft each or float 248 pounds each.
One drum will float the trailer frame . 8 drums will float almost a ton . 1984 pounds. I could increase the thickness of the under floor foam so that the float line lets the foam rest on the water surface . And thus doing the barge type hull .
The speed of this craft is slow 15 to 20 tops , , so the concerns of water dynamics are not a huge factor here . I could just as easy stern mount the drive . But I'm also looking at which way to turn the "tear drop" shape for best boating profile against best car towing profile . It seems the wedge trailing edge when towing , would be best as the Bow or front for the boat . So I would be "backing in " to hook up to pull out of the water .
Here is a little Boat I built for my Son to play with . It has a mid mounted trolling motor and the boat can pivot on axis . Its a very nimble craft and easy to fish tight spots .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH5UcSoiDzk

All that being said, you can't take the tow vehicle on the water with you so why take the trailer ?
You will still have to get out of the car to unhitch and disconnect the tow harness and chains. Launching a boat is a piece of cake once you've done it a few times.

Right you are . I've done it more times than I can count . The rub here is where are you going to camp ? pitch a tent I suppose , but all your stuff is left unattended . Have you ever came back to camp after an outing and found all your stuff ..GONE ! I have . Pull a boat and camper ? I've done that too and I wont do it again ! So why not just make the camper into a boat or a boat into a camper ? My needs are for simplicity, easy , and cheap. I dont need an extravagant expensive gas hog setup . if this works it will be perfect . Some gear locked away safely in the truck , and the other stuff safely with me on the camper boat . Pull it out of the water and directly to the camping spot and your already set up . or just camp on the water, so your already at your fishing hole for the early morning feeding frenzy
In the bed of the truck I will have a boat winch setup to pull the Camper boat up and out by dropping the tong wheel so its all ready level to hook up to the ball . .its just as easy as loading a boat .

Not sure if this one ever was finished, but here's a build thread on a floating foamie with a pop-up roof:

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=19227&highlight=floating+pop

Take care,
Tom