Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Can I post here?

Hi I'm James, and I can't leave things alone. I'm constantly upgrading and building parts for the vehicles I own, and my full time passion is acquiring the skills to build the things that pop into my head.

I'm going to be building a camper to replace the top on my 1999 Jeep Wrangler, so it will be more of a tiny, super light, pickup style camper than a trailer. I initially was going to use fiberglass over foam board, but have decided to give cardboard core fiberglass a try. I know this is a trailers forum, but I think my build will have most of the same concerns and features as a trailer build. Just consider the Jeep the trailer base

Here is my Jeep

cardboard core fiberglass? I'm supposing by what it is called that it is a composite sheet product with outside layers of fiberglass and an inner core of cardboard. Don't know much about it, but if you can figure out the structural issues then I think it should work. It'll be interesting to see what you create. Keep us posted. My mind went in a hundred different directions during the planning phase and I ended up by going fiberglass over foam. However, to each his or her own. One of the great things about this crowd is we're pretty open minded. We're one off from "normal" to begin with if you ask most folks.... We're willing to try different applications/materials than the conventional thinkers, so you're pretty much in line with this group. Good Luck to you!!!

It's pretty easy, you just skin cardboard with fiberglass on both sides. It's very strong, and light weight. There is actually a current discussion of the method on this forum.
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=50866

I definitely like to try the unusual. I guess that's obvious if I'm making a 'motorhome' out of a short wheelbase Jeep...

There was an article in one of the 4x4 magazines recently about a commercially available expedition version of a Jeep that had a camper box built in place of the std. Jeep top (may have been Jp magazine). Was that your inspiration? If not, you may want to do a little research and see what those who have gone before you did. Can't hurt and might even help avoid some pitfalls.

Sorry I don't have more info to offer on the article.

I, for one, have no complaint about you sharing your build here.

Check out this cardboard packing material I got from trash at my work.

(Don't be confused by the triple layer corrugated stuff in the same stash.)

It's very much like the honeycomb materials used in some epoxy/fiberglass construction.

Wow, that honeycomb stuff looks really cool! I'll have to see if I can source some of that for some tests.

I'm very familiar with the Action Camper, which I think is the one that you're referring to, as well as the Earthroamer XV-JP. Mine is going to be a pop up with the bed platforms on top of the rollbar. I'm hoping for only about 6" additional height when closed. I also want to avoid a frontal overhang. I know from my constant tweaking of my roof rack to try to make it quieter that a LOT of wind shoots straight up off of the windshield. I want whatever I build to be completely out of that stream.

In order to fit the bed lengths I want, I'll have to overhang the rear by approximately 7". I'm going back and forth about whether I want to angle up from the top of the body tub in the back, or go all out and move the spare, taillights, etc, so I can add a small bathroom area back behind the body. I may end up making MK1 and MK2 versions...

Be careful not to add too much weight behind the rear axle and especially behind the rear bumper.

With the Jeep's short wheelbase, relatively low load hauling capacity, and short overhang (i.e. rear axle close to rear of vehicle), it would be pretty easy to overload the rear springs by hanging too much weight too far off the back.

What you have proposed so far doesn't sound bad at all if you build light and use a port-a-pot. But if you let things add up, sling a bunch of grey and black water tanks off the back, etc. you could quickly squash the relatively soft TJ springs and be wondering why the Jeep won't turn (front wheels getting light).

I have an '03 TJ Sport 4.0 5 spd (pretty much like yours) so I know that the tow capacity is 3000 lbs. So that equates to a tongue weight of about 450 lbs max. (give or take). The hitch ball on my draw bar is maybe the same as your 7" away from the bumper (I can check), so if I were you I would use that 450 lbs. as a design goal limit hung of the back.

My $.02

The Jeep doesn't have stock springs, but I'm well aware of the tongue weight limitations.

To make a passage rearward the tailgate will be removed, and the spare tire will be moved to a more forward location on the side inside the camper, which will likely more than offset the weight hanging back there. The top will be extremely light, and there will be no tanks in the rear except whatever the portable toilet has. I've hauled a large cooler on a hitch rack going camping before with very little noticeable effect. The roof rack will also be removed.

Could you posts pics of the fibreglass cardboard stuff you are looking at using?
Or are you using cardboard and covering it in fibreglass?

I'll be watching this one

I posted a link earlier. Its covering cardboard with fiberglass. There's a topic on this forum about it.

There is a great guy over in South Africa if I remember right that built his tear from the same stuff and fiberglassed over it and its been 3 yrs and I believe 5000 miles and still going strong! He recently posted some new pics on his build thread recently.

Cliff

You know , painted canvas over cardboard would work instead of the messier, pricier fiberglass ..., and another thought , I think a thin foam (3/4” ) with a gray chipboard skin and light fabric over that would work very well and provide some more structure and insulation too ... The chipboard (like the stuff you find on the back of writing tablets ) is much Stronger than the corrugated cardboard ... and you can buy it cheap in 4X8 sheets ... Just my take on it ...

I'm pretty set on the cardboard/fiberglass combo. It should have a great mix of lightness and strength. I called the local Costco, and they said they always have a large supply of the cardboard 'slip cards' that go between packages on pallets, and that I can pick as many up as I want if I swing by. I'm going to use those for a mock up. I'm likely going to order pristine new cardboard when I do the actual build.

I am very interested in the honeycomb cardboard. It's called Hexicomb, and I've found one place where I can get 4x8 sheets for $18.
http://www.ashleydistributors.com/corrugated.php
Not exactly free, but it should be insanely strong for the weight. The only problem I've found is that the only place I've found to buy it is in California, and they can't ship it due to size... They did say that they have a LOT of calls from my area from people trying to get it, so I'm considering the feasibility of having a larger quantity truck shipped up here to the Seattle area, then reselling to make my money back. I'm not sure how I'd actually find the people who have been looking for the material though...

Now for the actual build planning. So far I have two challenging areas that don't apply to normal trailer builds, the windshield header and the door surrounds. The windshield header is the area where the top connects to the windshield, and the door surrounds are just as they sound, the plastic pieces that go around the doors. They are both specific contoured shapes. I want the whole thing to fit like a factory part, so I need to either reproduce the shape by making a fiberglass mold of the original, or find and purchase some used ones to incorporate into my camper. I need to keep the ones currently with my Jeep for use with the soft top if I decide to switch back for a while. I have found them for cheap before, but not consistently. Another possible option is to find a hard top that has been in a roll over or has some other damage, and buy it for those pieces. If I find one somewhere else in the country I could probably just have the seller sawzall the pieces off that I need to save on shipping. Hmm, I may have just talked my self though figuring out the easiest method. I think I'll go post on the Jeep forum

My brother just sent me this article. Another interesting direction to look at...
http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2012/jun/cork-sandwich-composites-061812.html

I just got off the phone with the Hexicomb distributor. They can ship the boards cut in half 4'x4'. Since the board just provides crush strength and most of the rest of the stress is taken by the skin, I don't think having a few joints will affect the overall structure much. That's a pretty good size anyway, so there will only be a couple places where a single board won't be enough.

Cardboard of most any type will glue to itself with no problem !!! T2 works ...