Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I'm still throwing around foamie ideas for my build. One of the issues is where I would like to tow it. Off Road to be precise. I do a fair bit of camping with a 4x4 group and would really like something that would work for multiple purposes. I had thought about a trailer top tent that could also be used as a roof top when I had my bass boat in tow. That is another problem. Hard to tow 2 trailers at once. I have a new version of an old idea of mine that might just work as a roof mount or trailer mount or even inside the boat!

Here is my 4x4 rig for a typical trip. I would mount it on this trailer.


I want to be able to tow it here. Which would be rough on the boat trailer doing many miles of this.


I had thought about a solid foamie on top the trailer but like the idea of a foldable. Think hard sided roof top tent.

Here is my idea. Still rough of course. I sketched it on paper and then scanned it. I don't have drawing tools in my PC.


The idea is a floor made of 1/2" plywood with 1" foam cover with another 1/4" ply on top covered with canvas and TB2.
Walls are all 1" foam covered as above on all sides.
The roof is 1" foam with a overhanging lid like my grill box covered as well. This would also be the cover when closed or folded.


The key is an aluminum extrusion that would make a slot at right angles in each corner for the 1" walls. It would probably be attached permanently to the long side walls. I hope I can find this or I'll have to make them.

One long wall will fold flat on the floor. The other with a fabricated hinge would fold in flat on top of that. The end walls would store on them then be covered by the lid. I figure folded about 5"-6" thick. Set up it's 4'x4'x8'.

Set up is as follows.
Lift off lid.
Lift off end pieces.
Stand up 1st wall and prop.
Stand up second wall and insert an end wall.
Insert second end wall and pin corners.
Set lid in place and pin.

The foam walls would be very light weight and I'm a big fellow. Unless it's windy I don't see a problem with setting this up alone. If needed help is usually no problem group camping. Once assembled I think it will be plenty rigid.

The end walls would slide into the slots and be pinned with something as simple as a nail pushed into a hole drilled through both sides of the aluminum extrusion and the foam wall. If the fit is tight I don't see rain as a big issue. The overhanging lid would seal the roof joint.

It won't be real pretty just a box but quick to set up. Can be stored inside if needed. Very aero when closed up. It would work on both my M416 military trailer which will go anywhere the truck will and my boat trailer. I could also use it on my roof rack as a hard sided roof top tent. Or it might even fit inside my boat on the side lockers.


Heck as light as I expect 2 men could easily pick it up and set it on a park picnic table.

I'm liking this more and more. So give me some feed back and add your ideas!

Interesting concept!

Here's a link to some aluminum extrusions that come close to what you're looking for (5th one down):

http://www.extrude-a-trim.com/pages/shopdisplayproducts_main.asp?id=18&cat=CORNERS&catm=Glass%20Mirror%20Trim

SQ, What about making it like a big cardboard box ... You know how they come folded flat ... and then just open up and fold into place (was that the idea ? ) ... Maybe try a cardboard one first ... like "the Box" ...

I suggest you forget about the folding bit and just assemble loose panels. That way you avoid the need to make them all fold on top of each other (which is very, very hard) and avoid all the bother with hinges. Three straps would hold down all the folded panels on top of each other for towing.

Squatch,

They make extrusions like you suggest for making patio enclosures. Not sure if they make them for 1" material. Most enclosures are 2" or 3" thick foam panels with aluminum skins both sides. These panels would be great for your purpose but am not sure of the max width you could get. You could explore your local area for a supplier. I suspect that most cities have enclosure manufacturers. Only problem with the aluminum skinned panels could be condensation on the inside surfaces. The canvas covered panels would likely work with these extrusions.

Pat G

aggie79 wrote:Interesting concept!

Here's a link to some aluminum extrusions that come close to what you're looking for (5th one down):

http://www.extrude-a-trim.com/pages/shopdisplayproducts_main.asp?id=18&cat=CORNERS&catm=Glass%20Mirror%20Trim

Thanks for the link. I hadn't got too far into that but figured there was stuff available. They make an extrusion for just about everything. Actually those pieces on that page got me thinking some more. The dimensions make doing a hybrid plywood foamie seem good too. Maybe make the long walls out of plywood and the short drop in sections and the roof from foam. That would simplify fastening the extrusions, hinges ect to the long walls.

Angib, I understand what you are saying but only 2 sides would be hinged. I have some experience with this so not losing sleep over that just yet. The end panels and roof will just stack on top. Trying to make all 4 walls fold now that would be a pain.

Pat G, Thanks I had thought about thicker foam as well. So those might work. Originally when I 1st started thinking about making a CAP for this trailer I was looking at some very thin aluminum over foam stuff they use in the sign industry. I was toying with just making that rigid and riveting it together like an Anvil style road case for equipment.

This is still very much in the how can I do this stage. That's the beauty of this. Plenty of time to make changes. Better to do the homework and some experiments up front. With the folding concept I don't have to worry about the stresses of highway driving on the shell. As long as everything lays pretty flat it should deal with a good bit of abuse while driving. Set up it doesn't need to be that much stronger than a tent! This will allow thinner and light materials. One of the cool things about forums. People come from all walks of life, back grounds, and trades. Info I might have to look for for some time others might be able to just pop it right off the top of their heads.

I knew you folks would be a wealth of info and ideas!

Squatch, could you not have stub walls all round, hinged at the top and the panels nest ?
I don't have the skills and software to animate this, so bear with me...

Starting on the left side, the hinge line is high enough up the wall that the folded panel clears the floor.
The two end panels are hinged high enough that they lie on the left side panel as the they fold into the center
The right side panel has the hinge line high enough that the folded panel lies flat on top of the rest, then the roof panel sits on top as a weatherproof cap.

I haven't really checked 'em out, but I think this is how hybrid popups work. Yours would have vertical rather than slanted panels...

You need to build something like this



http://www.sylvansport.com/

I think you can get it under the $8,000 they want for it

Squatch , I still think you’re on to something here and should experiment further ... I can see (visualize) some hinged walls , and a top as you’ve shown ... Better to think more about it than throwing Money at it ...

Here’s an idea ... FWIW
From what I can see the diagonally opposed hinges would have to be , two inside and two outside , depending on your hinges ...

Hi squatch,

Here's another suggestion to see if it'd work for you,

I'd divide the front and rear walls into bi-fold panels, horizontally,
that'd have the center hinged joint move inward to the center,
and the bottom of the bottom panel would be hinged to the base,
and the top of the top panel would be hinged to the overlapping
box-top style roof. These would fold down over the longer side
walls that fold inwards, the "door" side wall folding down over
the non-door side and then the two ends would fold inwards over the
"door" side wall panel. All this would then be covered by the
overlapping box-top style roof.

Doing it this way allows the bi-fold end walls to act as the lifting
mechanism as well - lift one end of the roof up and that end wall folds up
and then supports that end of the roof. A movable rod or such could act
as a 'lock' to keep the bi-fold wall sections rigid/flat. Once the ends are
up and in place, then the "door' side wall can be lifted up and locked in
position, and then the other side can be lifted up into position and locked
in place.

I should think if you use a perimeter frame of aluminum angle/other
extrusion, allowing easy hinge attachments, with the foam panels and the
fabric and glue/epoxy over all that would give you strong and light-weight
panels. Or use a rot resistant wood [e.g. cedar, cypress] in small
dimensions [e.g. 1x1, 3/4x1, 3/4x1&1/2 etc.] for the perimeter frames.
If you can find paulownia wood, that is both light and rot resistant - one
source off the web: [Might not be easy to find though.]
http://www.worldpaulownia.com/html/paul ... house.html

Good luck exploring the possibilities.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo