Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hello,
I am racking my brain for inspiration and pointers if it would be possible to build a removable foamie living unit standing height, maybe tiny house style, that fits in the bed of a van like in the photo and be possible to build with a total weight of 2000 pounds, fully furnished though i like my spaces zen and uncluttered.
Thanks

It could be done. Look at my sig. One of those builds is on a flatbed camper I built. Just think ahead on supports for lifting it off and on. My build was mostly plywood and fiberglass. Foam and PMF would work also.

I'd want a popup myself, low profile in transit.

Heavy loads up top like solar make that more of a challenge.

Storage boxes hanging below the tray, or even a utility bed as your platform...

A search hint.
Expedition truck box build

Philip wrote:It could be done. Look at my sig. One of those builds is on a flatbed camper I built. Just think ahead on supports for lifting it off and on. My build was mostly plywood and fiberglass. Foam and PMF would work also.

Thanks. Lots of craftsmanship in your build.

Checked out some more vehicles and got to thinking about a flat bed van that hauls cars. Putting skids under the box so i can be slid of and winched back on the flat bed might be another option of unloading the unit ?

John61CT wrote:I'd want a popup myself, low profile in transit.

Heavy loads up top like solar make that more of a challenge.

Storage boxes hanging below the tray, or even a utility bed as your platform...

First i was looking at box vans, so no lifting roof there either.

Solar is important as it is intended for full time living.

Thanks for pointing out the hanging boxes, didn't think of that.

twisted lines wrote:A search hint.
Expedition truck box build

Tried that, got only 3 results and nothing of interest.

Google not here

Not removable, but should give you some ideas.


viewtopic.php?f=55&t=71251

ghcoe wrote:Not removable, but should give you some ideas.


viewtopic.php?f=55&t=71251

Thanks. Funny thing is i sent this to a friend talking about my idea before asking my question here

Small world for sure.

woodie72 wrote:Checked out some more vehicles and got to thinking about a flat bed van that hauls cars. Putting skids under the box so i can be slid of and winched back on the flat bed might be another option of unloading the unit ?

That could be done. The base of the camper would need to be heavy enough to support the pull of winching on and off the bed. Ramps would need to be secured for unloading/ loading. Do not use the type of ramps that just lay in a flat edge. Watch youtube to see those type of videos. They are not pretty.

Philip wrote:

woodie72 wrote:Checked out some more vehicles and got to thinking about a flat bed van that hauls cars. Putting skids under the box so i can be slid of and winched back on the flat bed might be another option of unloading the unit ?

That could be done. The base of the camper would need to be heavy enough to support the pull of winching on and off the bed. Ramps would need to be secured for unloading/ loading. Do not use the type of ramps that just lay in a flat edge. Watch youtube to see those type of videos. They are not pretty.

You are forgetting the power of one of man's first inventions: Wheels. Depending on what it's loaded to, you might loose a few height inches, roughly the diameter of the wheels that would help you pull it in and out, but you would gain a small "garage drawer" area plus a place for the first set (and maybe middle set) of folding legs for when you take it off the truck plus a place to store the other set of detachable legs. (The set closest to the cab would probably need to be detachable because of the weight balance issue when you are loading/unloading the unit.) You could make a hinge and lock set up for the folding legs so that they would be safe and hold the weight. If you don't like that idea, you could probably make a scissor jacks-on-wheels set up that attaches to the underside of your removable floor. That way, you wouldn't even need a winch. You can raise and lower some jacks with a drill. The set of wheels used to pull it in and out of the truck bed would probably have to be at least the size of the ones under a large tool chest to handle the weight, my guess. The wheels on the folding/detachable legs or jacks would be a TBD. ...Just an idea. I thought of doing that for a pull-out galley (sort of like a gurney) when I was tent camping but built a trailer instead.

There was one build here where a man did what you want. I think he used a flatbed and had adjustable metal legs with wheels on them that sat outside the truck frame. If you did that, you wouldn't loose any height. I'll see if I can find it....I think this is it: http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=31995

woodie72 wrote:Hello,
I am racking my brain for inspiration and pointers if it would be possible to build a removable foamie living unit standing height, maybe tiny house style, that fits in the bed of a van like in the photo and be possible to build with a total weight of 2000 pounds, fully furnished though i like my spaces zen and uncluttered.
Thanks

I do like your idea of a removable unit for inside a van. However, you would have a few obstacles to work through. First, if the van has a rear door opening, the unit would have to be slightly narrower than that so it would fit through. Depending on the van, that would leave extra space between the cupboards and the van wall. For that, you could possibly use cargo netting at the back of the cupboards so more of the space could be utilized once the unit is inside. This would work if you could open the cupboard doors and pull the contents forward when loading and unloading the unit into the van. For that, things might need to be contained in tubs within the cupboard. Drawers could be pulled out part way into the center (assumed) walkway without the contents being disturbed. You might want to add an extra catch to the drawers so the drawers don't slide too far out. The bed might also be a problem, unless you made it a Murphy bed that folds up against the side of one of the unit's walls. By so doing, you could even get away with not having a floor in the camper unit and instead, use the van floor. That way, you would not loose head room! However, Van metal conducts heat and cold so you might want the insulation of a floor... Even though it's a foamie, you might want foam or some sort of insulation on all sides, top and bottom. Also, you would have to think about your electrical connections and lighting. Plumbing is another option.

The idea of a a removable camping unit for vans is a very good one. It just might be something that would sell as well, because a person could possibly switch vans and still fit the camping unit in the new van, provided the door openings were compatible. It's worth a few thoughts.

Oooh, thanks Sharon for all the ideas. I like the idea of putting wheels on the unit so it can be rolled off the bed.