Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I know it has been over a year since I joined and that this is only my second post, but I thought you might be interested in what I decided to do. Instead of building a TD I went to SC from Okla and bought one. It will need a few changes to get it to where I want and need it but that is where the fun and the board come into the pic. So here is what I bought.



The camper and trailer is over 8 ft 6 in long from tail light to tip of tongue and 3 ft 3 in wide. It will sleep me comfortably. It does have a headliner in it, but I'm thinking the plywood will need to be replaced with foam sometime in the future. I'll put more up as I get it.

John

It will be fun to see how you personalize it

Sorry for taking so long to get back to this, but life has a habit of getting in the way. Now that I have a little time I have a couple of questions. Can I turn the camper part around and put the small end at the front? The next thing is the door. It appears to be made of some kind of plastic and it gets a bow at the bottom that leaves a gap of about 1/4 inch when it gets hot. The glass is about 1/4 inch thick and the ply has been cut back with a lip to allow the door to shut even with the ply. I'm going to see if I can't just flip the door so the gap is at the top and facing towards the door instead of away from the door.

The door has a screen that rolls down on the inside with magnetic catches so it stays in place and doesn't let bugs get in. The screen also lets in fresh air which I need in the summer time. Both ends also have a gap designed into them to let in fresh air while sleeping. So if you open the vent there will be plenty of air and the vent doesn't leak when it rains. At least it hasn't leaked yet. I still need to put lights in it somehow and extend the tongue to hopefully take out the wiggle I get on the road from the 18 wheelers. But my main concern right now is can I swap the camper around without any trouble? That swap is just something I thought might help but since I have never seen the small end at the front I thought I would ask. Any thoughts or ideas?

edit: I'm not doing the swap as that would put more weight towards the back of the trailer and possiblely create even more wiggle.

You should be able to flip it around without too much trouble. You might end up having to flip your door around and your roof vent as well.. They are set up so the wind will not take them off if they accidently get left unlocked and fall open during travel.

About the shape… I not sure how much it will affect your handling. A pressure wave coming off a Semi will now hit the a bigger side on the back end of your trailer first behind your wheels as compared to before with the broader side of the camper in between the trailer wheel and your bike. People have build then with the bigger end in back but I believe all where car campers.

I have a friend in Ok that is drawing up plans for one, more like a wedge in front and a taller back end. It has a rear entry door.

Guess you’ll just have to try to swap it end for end and see if it handles better. If it handle better then work on putting the doors and vent right.

I believe if you turn it around you will need to reposition the axle or you will get excessive road weaving.

You might want to try mounting the axle above the spring to lower the camper. So that the camper is in the shadow on the bike. Easy to do and undo. Just a thought.

Thanks for all the replies. I have pulled the TD with my van and it still got a little wiggle from the wind off the trucks going by. So my guess is that I will have to use this TD as a pattern to make the smaller but lighter TD to pull behind the bike. the one thing that really bothers me is that this trailer is made out of 3/4 in ply and that is just too heavy to pull behind the bike and for what I want. It will be fine to put behind the van tho. I guess it is time to get started making plans for that insulation board and painters cloth TD. Thanks again for all the replies.

You can end with almost the same weight using foam.

Whichever you decide to use:
Use lighter components by paying attention to grain
direction and thinning thickness, even drilling
lightening holes. (I used western red cedar 3/8 to
1/2" by 1.5" as rafters, 1/4 Ply for the floor, 1.5"
foam and 10oz canvas, paint.) Canvas could have been
lighter, 6 or 7 oz, and Latex paint is thick, 1/8 ply
under the mattress.

Would oil base be lighter? I'm unsure.

You need to remember weight with everything you do.
I didn't and missed my goal by 100 lbs. I don't know if
I could have made it in reality... That may call for a second
build sometime!

Out of curiosity, what is your tongue weight when pulled (as in the first picture) behind the bike?

jae wrote:Out of curiosity, what is your tongue weight when pulled (as in the first picture) behind the bike?

That is a good question. I guess I need to buy a scale of some kind to weigh it. Life seems to get in the way a lot so I'll post the weight as soon as I get it. I have been staying in it the last few weeks and the vent had a small leak but it cleared up as soon as I put the tongue level with the trailer. I guess the water was building up and leaking into the vent with the tongue lower than the trailer.