Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Happy Monday , As my Foamie ideas compile, I was hoping that some of you that have built some form of Clamshell/ pivoting roof/ partial standy . Might add some photos/ build links etc. I'm thinking more of the Winter Warrior style/ Ladybug style TTT. There are so many builds and links, on this site that a guy can get lost chasing them down
What I would like to build would be a foamie, that is about 43-48 inches tall in the front- and in the standy area at least 6 foot. Am hoping for the roof to be able to be hinged as far forward as possible. Maybe someone else's build may give me some insperation
I'm not draftsman, so drawings would be a great help. My biggest design question comes in at figuring out the roof side panel dimensions ( how to prevent the sides from extending lower than the main camper box (when closed) .

With the Winter Warrior your hinge height has to be half way between your down hatch height and the up hinge height. So to get a max up height of 6 ft your looking at having to have a hinge height of at least 54". Less than that and you don't have enough sides for the outside hatch wallsto not drag on the ground. If you use canvass instead of solid walls you can have a lower hinge height. That's how the wild goose/ campmaster trailers worked.

Gary

RAYVILLIAN wrote:With the Winter Warrior your hinge height has to be half way between your down hatch height and the up hinge height. So to get a max up height of 6 ft your looking at having to have a hinge height of at least 54". Less than that and you don't have enough sides for the outside hatch wallsto not drag on the ground. If you use canvass instead of solid walls you can have a lower hinge height. That's how the wild goose/ campmaster trailers worked.

Gary

OK , thanks for than information. I did not know that. , I'm still hoping for some build info links for that type of camper (winter warrior/ wild goose/campmaster)

What Gary said...

It's best if you lay out your winter warrior, either in CAD, or in cardboard before you start cutting foam.

My designs typically close on the back wall, sealing it from the elements.

Look closely at the first picture in this thread... or the 4th picture on page 3...

http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?p=1134510#p1134510

Mike...

Anybody ever thought about a double hinged roof that would swivel forward and up , leaving the rear area a standy' and by a good bit too ... The rear bit could act as an overhang (rear aero wind deflector ) in the down position ...

Perhaps something like this principle ...

Hmmmmm Glen that's sounds interesting I'll have to mull that one around a while.

Gary

I might have to make a mini-Foamie model just to see how much we could “raise the roof” ...

Couldn’t get this out of my head so further improved the drawing to make it more understandable ... and includes more overlap of the roof(shell) and Clam ...

Glen, this type of tilting could be an interesting idea. I am also thinking of a variation when you have front AND back short walls hinged while roof could also be folding towards FRONT, not back? That way you get free patio cover when the roof is up... and there is no triangle, just a front wall that folds under the roof.
It can be easily made gas struts assisted to lift easy. Can you visualize the design variation I have described above?

GPW wrote

Anybody ever thought about a double hinged roof that would swivel forward and up , leaving the rear area a standy' and by a good bit too ... The rear bit could act as an overhang (rear aero wind deflector ) in the down position ...

and OP827 wrote..

Glen, this type of tilting could be an interesting idea. I am also thinking of a variation when you have front AND back short walls hinged while roof could also be folding towards FRONT, not back? That way you get free patio cover when the roof is up... and there is no triangle, just a front wall that folds under the roof.
It can be easily made gas struts assisted to lift easy. Can you visualize the design variation I have described above?

which is interesting because it very much parallels what I was preparing to add. While preparing the following notes I added relevant pictures to my "Unusual Designs Seen on the Internet" thread in the "Non-Traditional Designs" section (link below). Here is what I prepared so far:
GPW: Great idea. Looks a lot like half of the scheme used in several DIY builds and at least one commercial trailer. See my unusual designs thread in the non-traditional section. http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=64495&start=30#p1173933
A few suggestions: First, let’s assume you are interested in a rear half roof rise, ala the Winter Warrior (WW) tradition, that is the rear half of the trailer has an elevated roof while the front stays at the closed height. As you show, when you fold the mid-roof rise panel and upper roof to align with the lower roof, you end up with an overhang in the rear. However, it you reverse the fold direction (swivel back and up rather than forward and up) folding the rise panel under the moving rear roof, you end up with the overhang in the open (rather than folded) configuration.

I think most folks prefer it that way as it acts like a roof over the end entrance. This has another advantage: it leaves only one hinge seam open to rain in the folded configuration rather than two.
Next, if you go through the bother of building such a roof, why not make the elevating roof the full length? When closed, the top has no exposed hinge. Just like the WW, when opened you end up with a section in front that is only as tall as the folded configuration, but it is only as deep as the rear overhand (which is the same as the height of the roof rise panel). So if you design for a 30 inch rise, the front section is only 30 inches deep and you get a 30 inch overhang over the rear door. There are even options for elevated roof over this front section, see the Fold-N-Roll for one.

It is more weight to lift, but you gain a lot in overall internal volume in the trade.

Finally, notice

all the examples shown use folding side panels, similar to what you find in A-frames trailers, but most configurations could be built with telescoping side panels that rise with the roof. This has significantly better rain tolerance during erection and folding, but adds to the total lift weight.

Thanks for sharing interestng designs W, I did not see some of them before, except I did see that folding roof truck camper.
What is new in this Glen's idea is telescoping side panels that make for a quick setup and ... foam is the way to go to have less weight.
Weight is actually is not a problem here as this design can be added with all kinds of mechanical assist quite easily - cables or actuators or struts or springs.

We were trying to think of something without all those gadgets to get the roof up ... Everything adds weight and takes up space ... I try to utilize simple ideas using the “Armstrong” motor... hence the need to make it light ... (foam)


ps.. We kinda' Like the idea of an overhang over the door ...Just because of where we live ...

WizardOfOdds wrote:GPW wrote
all the examples shown use folding side panels, similar to what you find in A-frames trailers, but most configurations could be built with telescoping side panels that rise with the roof. This has significantly better rain tolerance during erection and folding, but adds to the total lift weight.

The rain issue was a real concern for me when I considered getting an A-frame. When the right deal came along, I decided to risk it. In practice, set up/break down in the rain hasn't been a problem. A real gully washer with strong side winds could get parts of the beds wet but should that ever happen we'd probably just try to wait it out. Luckily so far I've only had mild rain with a light breeze during set up or take down. No water has blown into the trailer. Part of the reason is that the process is so fast. Setting up roof & wall panels takes about 1 minute. Take down is maybe 45 seconds.