Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Well, after the wonderful intro that Mike provided for me--I'm not quite sure how to follow up! First off, my name is Kathy and I'm interested in building a small travel trailer/teardrop. I found Mike on another forum and he mentioned that this forum could be helpful. He also mentioned a Lemondrop trailer. My one requirement is that the unit have an interior shower and is lightweight (OK, that was two, but who's counting). I currently have a Subaru Forester with a towing capacity of about 2,000 Lbs. Unfortunately, I am not in the market for a new tow vehicle, as I'm starting a Doctorate and need to conserve funds (but, ya know, still have enough for the trailer!). So, any help/suggestions would be truely appreciated. I am pretty handy and can handle my way around some power tools. Oh, and, thank you Mike for the suggestion to visit this forum --it seems great!
Kathy

Welcome!

Lurking... lurking and asking questions... oh yea, lurking, asking questions and reading (lots and lots of reading).

I still don't understand half of what these guys say, but I get pointed inthe right direction to go look it all up...

If you get what they're saying, clue me in!

Wright

Wright wrote:Welcome!

Lurking... lurking and asking questions... oh yea, lurking, asking questions and reading (lots and lots of reading).

I still don't understand half of what these guys say, but I get pointed inthe right direction to go look it all up...

If you get what they're saying, clue me in!

Wright

...well ya take the flowbistat and connect it to the shingoshie, then ya set the tweedlie thingy and...oh wait, I am answering the wrong question...Hiya Kathy and welcome to our little band of ???
The best thing to do is simply look at the pics in the "hall of fame" and members galleries, do some reading around and then come up with some more specifics...the more specific, your questions, the easier they wll be to answer...it sounds like you're looking for a TTT(tinytraveltrailer)...well there are lottsa designs out there, so think it over and over and over(a bad habit around here...thinking too much) and start asking question...we are pretty good about coming up with the RIGHT answers even if we really don't know what we're doin there is a slight charge for this service(r u ready wright) and that is pictures...we absolutely luv da pics...oh yeah a good sense of humor is helpful since many of us are at least slightly loony tunes
madjack

Slightly?????

Hey Kathy,

Glad you made it over here...

Here's the link to the lemondrop for you guys that haven't seen it yet.
http://tnttt.com/viewto ... drop#61459

Kathy, be sure to check out the newest cabincar design here:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v284/1948 ... 20project/

Oh, and don't forget to look at the Maxitear too!
http://www.maxitear.com/maxitear/maxitear8.htm

Mike...

kdenault wrote:Well, after the wonderful intro that Mike provided for me--I'm not quite sure how to follow up!

kdenault wrote:I currently have a Subaru Forester with a towing capacity of about 2,000 Lbs. Unfortunately, I am not in the market for a new tow vehicle

Kathy,
When my Cubby is done(approx 1 more month: Woo Hoo!) we will be towing it with a 2002 Subaru Forester and I don't anticipate any problems. I did add a transmission cooler, but not sure if that was overkill - I felt it was better safe than sorry. There was a woman at Minden that I spoke to that has towed her teardrop all over with a Forester with zero problems. If I take it through the mountains, I am sure it will be a strain, but I plan on being careful on those long upgrades and downgrades.

Welcome Kathy,

There are lot's of idea's and ways of doing what you want, you get to pick the one's you like and that is what makes your TTT yours.

Don't think you will have any trouble with your tow vehicle, I would as suggested earlier, put a transmittion cooler on it though, good frame mounted hitch, and some will disagree but if you are going into mountains would add trailer brakes. That is an electric controller in the vehicle that works electric brakes on the trailer.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Build Teardrops and Tiny Travel Trailers

Frank

Kathy, I see you have the lurking part down...

Any questions?? you might ask one, I haven't thought of yet...

Wright

CabinCar...yup yup yup....I may be biased.
Can't get enough of the cabincar!

Hi Kathy!

Welcome to the insanity!

How insane? I slept in my Ctear last nite in N. PA. 10 degrees, NO aux. heat!

The challenge you have is that darn interior shower!

It will likely have to be a sit down kind of thing and 2' sq. min. which means a 10' long trailer OR some serious packaging!

Why not a freestanding shower house?

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/store ... d=12500226

If you get to Lewisburg, PA I'd be glad to show you my trailer!

Cheers,

Coop

Hey everybody--WOW, what a response. It's good to know that there are some like-minded folk out there! Lewisburg, eh? I drove up there a few years ago to purchase some furniture (for my stationary home). Beautiful country up there. As for free-standing shower house---well, I don't think I'm that brave. Plus, I'll be traveling in this trailer for long weekends over the winter, and it might be a little chilly to shower outside in January . A sit shower is fine (why waste all that energy standing up to take a shower!). Cabincar? My other limitation is that the entry to my garage (not inside the garage itself, but the entry over head clearance) is only about 6'10" high. Gotta love townhouses. Storing the trailer outside just is not an option. What is the height of a cabincar or a lemondrop?
Kathy

Kathy-

Yep you probably bought Pennsylvania House Furniture, my former employer for 25 years! I was their Product Development Manager.

They have moved the entire manufacturing to China and corporate offices to NC, they wanted to keep me on but I would have to move to NC, spend 1/2 my life in China! I would miss beautiful central PA too much!

OK so back to your challenge, here are some shower bases that have built in holding tanks for the grey water:

https://www.rvsurplussalvage.com/catalo ... ory_id=171

You will also need a clean water holding tank, fill, water pump, an instant water heater and sundry shower enclosure/door/spray head. OH and you will need the tear insulated and heated!

Doing all of this will obviously add some weight, but I think it could still be done, are you gonna have a rear kitchen galley?

Post another topic "Shower IN a Tear" and see if we get any good ideas!

Cheers,

Coop

Hi Kathy!

Another lady joining our group! Although we are outnumbered, there are a few of us around. It's a fact that most of us overbuild our trailers and they end up weighing a lot more than they should. Watch the weight at every step along the way and your trailer will be light in the end. (I know that sounds obvious, but it's really true.) It's easier to save a single pound in 100 places than 100 pounds in one place. We always love to see pictures as you progress on your trailer!

It's neat to hear that you are starting your Doctorate. What are you studying?

Joanne

kdenault wrote:Well, after the wonderful intro that Mike provided for me--I'm not quite sure how to follow up! First off, my name is Kathy and I'm interested in building a small travel trailer/teardrop. I found Mike on another forum and he mentioned that this forum could be helpful. He also mentioned a Lemondrop trailer. My one requirement is that the unit have an interior shower and is lightweight (OK, that was two, but who's counting). I currently have a Subaru Forester with a towing capacity of about 2,000 Lbs. Unfortunately, I am not in the market for a new tow vehicle, as I'm starting a Doctorate and need to conserve funds (but, ya know, still have enough for the trailer!). So, any help/suggestions would be truely appreciated. I am pretty handy and can handle my way around some power tools. Oh, and, thank you Mike for the suggestion to visit this forum --it seems great!
Kathy

Hey Joanne,
Yeah--a little feminity around here will keep the boys honest (maybe!). It's good to hear from you. And thanks about the Doctorate. I'm actually continuing my studies. I'm a pediatric occupational therapist and I just opened a private clinic specializing in children who are on the Autistic Spectrum. I've always been curious as to the role that the built environment (be it: school, home, daycare, playground, etc.) has on a child's participation in play and, ultimately, their overall physical and neurological development. After completing many grad courses in Architecture and Interior Design, I decided to get back to my roots. So, the Doctorate is a post-professional program in Occupational Therapy. and now that my office is ready to open, I need a new project. You know the old addage--all work and no play....
Anyway, it's good to know that there are some ladies out there who also don't mind getting their hands dirty (just as long as there's some moisterizer in the soap ).
Kathy