Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Trying not to be insensitive to the needs of the many , I see a lot of guys have small cars/trucks and want a CargoTrailer ... But most commercial CTs are too Heavy for a small tow vehicle (4 cyl) ...
So , naturally comes the idea of a Foamie Cargo trailer ... should be Extremely Simple to build (just a box isn’t it? ) We’ll never drag them away from their aluminum and diamond plate , But it does seem like an interesting idea ... Easy to make , cheap , well insulated , and easy to repair/modify ... Don’t think it would be good for hauling in the traditional CT sense , but would make a dandy lightweight camper...
Any thoughts ???

How about a "V" nose, to help with air resistance?

I think the foam CT is a great idea, by the way.

Verna

If I had one built from foam I could pull it with my Taurus and if the door was 32 inches or bigger I could use ramps and park my mobility scooter inside.

good idea gpw let me know when you have one done.

Most any nose would be possible on one of these ...

Pete , don’t wait too long ... It’s way down on the build list ... Figuring some enterprising individual would benefit from this CT idea ... Lots of small cars out there , not many ultra Light CTs ...

Just more thinking about this , it's just a box ,so there's No curved cuts, no bending or kerfing to do , and you can add all the wood framing you want for attachment points ... Covered on the inside with a thin paneling or ply , as is usually done with a CT anyway ... If you kept the seams of the outside canvas skin dead straight , it wouldn't look much different from a regular CT with a little extra trim (from the auto parts store) , and for a little extra protection and 'look" , you could add a thin diamond plate rock guard to the front where you previously put in those attachment points for it ... right???

All really seems so Simple to me ... everything is square , maybe except the V nose ... That's simple too and could add lots of inner space to the CT ...
All that would be much lighter than a conventional CT , ...Lighter overall weight means a smaller trailer could be used ... saving more weight and giving better towing /handling/mileage , even on a small car ...

oops, almost forgot , easily repairable too , unlike metalwork... crumbs for thought eh ?


Just rough calculating , a 6'X 12' would need (WAG) 7 sheets of 2" foam , and @ 10lb / sheet , that's 70 lb. Plus the plywood floor say roughly 100-120 lb. Canvas, glue , wood framing , paint ,paneling another 100 lb. That's what 290lb.for the "cargo" ... and with trailers running in the neighborhood of 300lb. ... that's almost 600 lbs. ..Half as Light as a conventional store bought CT ... Half the price too ...
meaning for the same size trailer , could carry that much more cargo too ...

Cargo???



The shirt could also be worn while performing the mouse-proofing experiment discussed in another thread.

Dad, I can’t begin to imagine how much Beer you could “cargoâ€

Might a foamie cargo trailer of that size be more affected in high winds due to it's much lighter weight?

Helixpteron wrote:Might a foamie cargo trailer of that size be more affected in high winds due to it's much lighter weight?

Once the proper bracing was applied to the frontal area to support a 6' high 6' wide foam cargo trailer it would come close to the weight of a "real" CG trailer.
driving a foam CG trailer in huricane force winds (55mph to 70 mph) pushing against the front of the 36 square foot front end I too don't think it would last long.
if one were to get a trailer and weld a shield in front then maybe but you would be defeating the purpose of a foam CG trailer.

pete

JMHO, I think a V nose would add the required strength without resorting to heavy bracing ... and add much needed aerodynamics ...

Another thing that this would be really good for is Boy Scout troops that are operating on a tight budget! At least that's why I would build one.

Chez, it might be a good design project for the scouts ... sorta’ like an design/engineering merit badge ...

Just a couple more thoughts on this ... It would be logical to assume that the trailer , constructed in the Cargo shape, could be reinforced as much as necessary depending on the intended cargo without adding a lot of weight ... We know how to make Foam Stronger ... Make it thicker !!! ( Twice as Thick is 8 times as Strong ) Certain areas that receive more stresses could be “overbuiltâ€

This is actually where my thinking started on foamie trailers (didn't know to call it that then.)

I am a carpenter, worked out of a minivan. Yep! If you seen the small vans they use in england mine was huge. So I got to thinking it would be nice to leave my tools at the jobsite instead of hauling them all the time. And it needed to be insulated and heated for winter.

After reading all the info on here Here's what I would do.
Buy a HF frame or the like.

Floor - Put 1/4" ply or the like on it. Then build a 1x2 frame around the outside edge. Glue 1.5" Styrofoam inside the frame on the plywood. then glue 1/4" ply on top, nailing around the outside to the 1x2. paint underside with undercoating or bedliner.

Walls - If building shelves build them then attach panelling to them, design them to be the framing. Then 1.5" styro then panelling, then canvas & paint. If no shelving. then 1x2 frame perimeter of wall, and every 4' keep all studs 2.5" lower than top of wall. no top plate for the wall (see why for the roof) could put blocks of 1x2 between the studs at the top of the wall. Nail on panelling inside, fill with 1.5" styro, panel outside, canvas & paint. Make the nose a V or even a V with a slope down to the hitch. Could slope walls from front to back higher also.

Roof. either flat or rounded. Same basic idea as floor. Use 1/4" ply on top and 1/8 on bottom. if your putting stuff on top. 1/8" both sides if it is just rain & snow. With 1x4 "rafters" under it. These would go on the 1x2 wall studs.

If your doing a roof rack, plan in the load distribution so it attached to some 2x4 post on the flat going right down to the frame. 1x4 L shaped posts in the corners would be really strong.

For heat I was going to use a 12volt 900watt auxillary car heater when no power available. and a small cube heater when I could plug it in. Was even thinking a small fridge and microwave in it. Awning on the side for summer shade.

Lo! Sounds like a “plan “ !!! I made a drawing similar to this... Since you’re a carpenter , shouldn’t be any trouble to select some good light wood and do the framing properly ...

Just wood talk : I got ahold of some Alaskan cedar ... beautiful , clear , almost grainless wood ... bug and rot resistant ... Used it for my Foamie window frame ... NICE stuff ... not expensive , Strong and light ... Try some if you can get it ... Good stuff !!!