Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

In 2023 I designed and built a teardrop trailer before taking it on a 3 month trip around the country. The teardrop is a completely custom design that I designed and built from scratch on top of a utility trailer frame. I browsed this forum a lot during the construction so I figured I would share my build here and maybe help someone else who is thinking about starting a build.

After traveling for 3 months and 14,000 miles over a large variety of off-road, highway, and forest road conditions, everything held up great with no real issues. The only problem I encountered was caused by the stock utility trailer suspension and tiny tires that came with the trailer. On my way up to Buffalo Pass on road 43D/625 outside of Steamboat springs, the jouncing from the trail managed to destroy the wiring going to my fridge. However, this was an easy on the trail fix.

I am in the process of upgrading the suspension to a 1 Tonne HD Timbren unit with larger tires to hopefully get better ride quality.

Teardrop Specs:
- 1100lb empty weight, ~1300lb loaded
- 5x8 footprint
- Sleeping area that can fit a full size mattress with storage cupboards
- Rear galley with 12V fridge, countertop, and cupboards
- 200W Renogy solar system with 100Ah Gel Hybrid battery. Electrical system is all 12V with no inverter. With fan/lights running at night and fridge always on, I cant remember ever going below ~70% battery capacity.
- MaxAir MA00-05100K Fan
- Interior and galley can lighting and USB charging ports
- Spare tire underneath trailer

Teardrop Construction:
- I designed the teardrop in Solidworks CAD and used a CNC table to cut out the plywood pieces to exact measurements and shape.
- Karavan 5x8 utility trailer frame made from 2x3" powder coated tube steel
- The cabin sits on top of 3 steel tubes that run the length of the teardrop and are used to attach the cabin to the frame. The cabin can be removed from the frame via 6 class 8 bolts.
- Side walls are constructed from single sheets of Baltic Birch 3/4 Plywood.
- Roof is constructed from inside and outside layers of 5/32" 5x10 Okoume Marine Plywood bent to form the curved shape. Layers are separated by lateral spars that span between sidewalls, as well as rigid 1.5" insulation.
- Galley shelving and flooring is made from 1/2" and 3/4" 5x10 Okoume Marine Plywood.
- All wood is fastened together with either screws and Titebond III or staples/screws and PL Premium structural adhesive.
- Exterior coating is comprised of a layer of 6oz fiberglass cloth and Raka Epoxy Resin overlapped at seams. Over top of the fiberglass is a coating of Monstaliner two-part, UV stable urethane bedliner with color mixed in. Fiberglass and epoxy was applied to the entire exterior of the cabin including the bottom and doors, creating a complete waterproof barrier. The bedliner was applied to the top and sides.
- Recessed dimmable can lighting was installed in the cabin and galley areas, and additional reading lights were installed at the head of the cabin. Galley and cabin each have two USB charging ports.
- All electrical wiring was run through the roof between the two layers of marine plywood so that it is completely hidden. The electrical system including battery and charge controller are located in 1/2 of an aluminum tongue box at the front.
- 2 100W solar panels are located on the roof rack on either side of the ceiling fan. The roof rack is made from aluminum plate and aluminum 80/20 tube.

She's a beauty. That TD is something to be proud of.

Thanks! It was a ton of work but definitely worth it.

That is a FANTASTIC looking build! I like the color scheme!

How did you like the MaxxFan in that small space?

That little 'drop is simply fantastic.



Tony

Very nice build, well done. A very eloquent profile also. Similar to you I only insulated the ceiling and also the floor. I've been very happy with that configuration, what about you? Seems to be a point of debate.

Super great looking build here! The new suspension and tires is a great idea. Well done.

RBB wrote:That is a FANTASTIC looking build! I like the color scheme!

How did you like the MaxxFan in that small space?

The MaxxFan has been great. I designed it so it would draw air across your body from the windows in the doors. I typically only use it on the lowest 1/3 of the speed settings. The only problem I had was it didn't like the battery voltage (too high when fully charged) and wouldn't run until I got a voltage regulator installed to deliver exactly 12V to it.

philpom wrote:Very nice build, well done. A very eloquent profile also. Similar to you I only insulated the ceiling and also the floor. I've been very happy with that configuration, what about you? Seems to be a point of debate.

I'm pretty happy with it so far. I have insulation in the ceiling only, but the floor has air gaps between two sheets of plywood. With the mattress the floor is pretty well insulated. I did get a lot of ice crystals on the inside wall bolts while camping in CO though. It was 0degrees outside and 20 inside without any heat source.

On a camper like this I don't think insulation matters all that much for keeping warm. You have to have ventilation/air-flow no matter what to keep from suffocating during the night, so you lose a lot of heat that way. The insulation in the roof is primarily to cut down on solar heating which can be a killer in the summer. The solar panels also reduce solar heat by shading the roof. If I was planning to camp a lot in the winter I would just get a small external diesel heater and pipe some warm air in.

UPDATE:

Timbren 1 Tonne independent suspension has been installed along with new aluminum fenders and bigger tires. The trailer looks much more proportional now, and the suspension is way more compliant that the original leaf springs. Now to go for a test drive....

Beeswax45 wrote:
I'm pretty happy with it so far. I have insulation in the ceiling only, but the floor has air gaps between two sheets of plywood. With the mattress the floor is pretty well insulated. I did get a lot of ice crystals on the inside wall bolts while camping in CO though. It was 0degrees outside and 20 inside without any heat source.

On a camper like this I don't think insulation matters all that much for keeping warm. You have to have ventilation/air-flow no matter what to keep from suffocating during the night, so you lose a lot of heat that way. .......

You hit the nail on the head in terms of air temperature. You reach a point of diminishing returns pretty quickly because of the ventilation required. However, in terms of comfort, having even a small amount of insulation in the walls and ceiling keeps them warmer than they would be without insulation and that makes a significant difference.

You'll never regret insulation...

Pmullen503 wrote:

Beeswax45 wrote:
I'm pretty happy with it so far. I have insulation in the ceiling only, but the floor has air gaps between two sheets of plywood. With the mattress the floor is pretty well insulated. I did get a lot of ice crystals on the inside wall bolts while camping in CO though. It was 0degrees outside and 20 inside without any heat source.

On a camper like this I don't think insulation matters all that much for keeping warm. You have to have ventilation/air-flow no matter what to keep from suffocating during the night, so you lose a lot of heat that way. .......

You hit the nail on the head in terms of air temperature. You reach a point of diminishing returns pretty quickly because of the ventilation required. However, in terms of comfort, having even a small amount of insulation in the walls and ceiling keeps them warmer than they would be without insulation and that makes a significant difference.

You'll never regret insulation...

Beeswax45 wrote:UPDATE:

Timbren 1 Tonne independent suspension has been installed along with new aluminum fenders and bigger tires. The trailer looks much more proportional now, and the suspension is way more compliant that the original leaf springs. Now to go for a test drive....

PXL_20250116_183131843.MP(1).jpg

Your trailer looks incredible! You should be very proud of that build.


Agreed. I went camping on Black Friday (taking the trailer out for it's first cold weather run). I noticed an astonishing difference between the temp of the door frame, the side walls with 3/4 inch insulation, and the front wall (1 1/2 inch insulation). It was a lot more work building the side walls so that I could insulate the voids, but I was so happy I did.