hi im new

[Lunchbox7985]

and this is what im building, and will have lots of questions on. so thanks in advance.





as you can see, its tiny, realllly tiny. just enough room to stand in (probably with the door open cuz im a big guy) mini fridge below, white box on top of that is the 2 burner camp stove, on the shelf is a microwave, and the sink should be obvious. going to be an open air design, close it up for travel and at night. mostly for tent camping. about an 11" cabinet space left of the fridge, going to have 2 5-gallon coleman colapsable water tanks for fresh and gray. the trailer is going to be oriented so that the picture with the guy in it, he would be facing the back of the car.

probably going to use this post as my hub, and link most of my questions to it, so ill keep the description here brief.

thanks again

[Woodbutcher]

First , welcome to the forum. I did notice that the shelf with the microwave on it will interfere with the sink area when folding the top down. Unless the shelf folds and the micro gets set on the floor for travel. It seems like you are giving up a lot of space to stand in it. Also the lid will be difficult to keep up in the wind and you have no protection from the weather. Have you given any thought to doing a build with the top staying closed and the sides and back folds out as counter space and the microwave and sink are built into the sides. You could add in drawers and get maximum storage. Plus it takes 2 minutes to close up for travel or bad weather. Just my thoughts.

[Lunchbox7985]

i plan on the shelf being removable, and able to fit over the microwave, and the microwave sitting on the floor when the top is down. the sapce im standing in is going to be used to store stuff we travel with, like the tent, chairs, blankets, pillows, and all that jazz. i kinda dont want anything to have to fit in the car except us. so really im not losing space in the long run. i do plan on having some kind of trapezoid shaped canopy attatched to the "top" (when open) of the lid, and extending to poles that will slide in the opposite corners. and i dont have any representation of it in the cad drawing, but i do plan of having some sort of support for the top, just havent figured it out yet, probably a combination of gas struts, and locking arms.

and ya, i like your idea of walking around it, and standing on the ground, but all in all, this seems easier to build. your idea was similar to my original, but i would have wanted only one side to fold down, and reaching things would have been difficult, and having multiple doors, and drawers on the side would be cool, but thats just that much more weatherproofing i would have to worry about.

but i dont wanna sound like im shooting things down, im tottaly open to ideas, and i appreciate input, all i have so far is the trailer, and a lot of thoughts in my head. i dont plan on starting the initial framing for a couple weeks.

[Gage]

Where are the wheels?

[Lunchbox7985]

Where are the wheels?

well clearly its a hovercraft, you see what im towing it with happens to be a delorean dmc12.


i havent had time to build the trailer part of the cad drawing, the trailer is 48"x40" and the dude in the pic would be facing the back of the car towing it, so the door is on the "passenger" side.

[CarlLaFong]

I guess my first thought was, "Why?!?!"
I guess you just want a rolling galley. Why do you want to get in it? I would think something like a regular TD galley without the sleeping accommodations would make more sense. Take a Benroy profile, chop about 3 feet from the length and build a traditional galley with a hatch. Any extra space, forward of the galley would be storage

[bc toys]

Why not just build a grub box and hail it in your car. Stove, and a few pots, some utensils, paper towels, or dish towels, and your spices.Thats all you really need for cooking a great meal.

[Lunchbox7985]

I guess my first thought was, "Why?!?!"
I guess you just want a rolling galley. Why do you want to get in it? I would think something like a regular TD galley without the sleeping accommodations would make more sense. Take a Benroy profile, chop about 3 feet from the length and build a traditional galley with a hatch. Any extra space, forward of the galley would be storage

well this is my first project like this, so unlike most of you guys, i dont have those mad skillz. im trying to keep it simple, and whats as simple as a rectangle box with a hinged lid? and as far as getting in, my original design was to stand at it like the back of a TD, but i figured for me at least, a small door and a hinged lid was more simple than doing a fold down side, and cabinets and drawers on the outside. i couldnt come up with a floor plan that i felt good about. and i plan on hauling stuff that is going to get taken out once we get to where were going, like the tent, chairs, blankets, pillows, and all that jazz, so ill put that on the floor where im standing, so that space isnt really wasted.

Why not just build a grub box and hail it in your car. Stove, and a few pots, some utensils, paper towels, or dish towels, and your spices.Thats all you really need for cooking a great meal.

for our last couple camping trips i borrowed my mothers blazer, and the kitchen was basically setup in the back of it like a TD galley, and i kinda enjoyed just having access to stuff like that, and thats what prompted this whole build. i kinda wanted something like a TD, but we prefer to sleep in a tent (i know bringing a fridge and microwave isnt exactly "roughin it" but everyone has their level of camping. i find a $250,000 rv kinda pointless. but on the other hand i dont wanna wipe my butt with leaves and have to catch my food either.)

[High Desert]

Looks like a fun project. Build what your style of camping needs, that's what it's really all about. Look forward to seeing it come together. And welcome to TNTTT

[Junkboy999]

Welcome to the Forums Lunchbox7985

Remember anything is possible if you work at it really hard or pay someone enough to do it for you. I’m not the one to poke holes in people plans, I know I tend to overthink everything I build. But I like to be somewhat practical and safe. You say you are “ a big guy “ and you already have experience using the Blazer mounted Chuck box. Can you imagine that blazer had a small platform mounted to the bumper. That platform is about a foot and a half off the ground. You have to step up on it every time you need to get to the stove to cook or reach the microwave with hot boiling water in it. I see only bad thing happening. A tripping hazard holding hot cooking pots or grease filled frying pans. In this picture you see a compilation of Chuck Boxes. Small boy scout one, Old cover wagons ones, Blazer mounted ones, and one Teardrop mounted ones ( the standard Galley ). All have one thing in common. The ground is where you stand.


A chuck box on a trailer with the main kitchen part in back and some storage up front for tents, chairs and other non kitchen items would be simpler to build, more straightforward and you would not have to stand in it. Unhitch it, level it, and your good to go. Just me thinking out loud.

[Lunchbox7985]

aww dammit, now you got me rethinking everything.

ive got the trailer, and the equipment i want to fit in it (almost) nailed down, but ive got a little time before im ready to start, so a complete redesign isnt out of the question, and thanks for those pics, lots of good inspiration there.

[Junkboy999]

Good thing about it. it is just wood. a few people here built their first trailer and then repurposed the trailer frame again for there second camper. When you start your build start a thread in the build journal area. You can always point to your newbie thread for your plans. The newbie area gets a lot of traffic and the post gets lost.

[Roly Nelson]

Hi Lunch box, welcome to the forum. I am impessed with your ideas about your camping project. Building small is right down my alley. Heck, I have actually been known to build teardrops that are only 6 feet long, another 4 feet long and the smallest, 3 ft wide and 3 ft long. They all sleep one just fine, and if you don't mind, all I can suggest to you, is that you forget about that tent, build a real teardrop trailer that you can just back up into a campsite, kick off your shoes and go to sleep.

I am a bit surprised that you enjoy unrolling a canvas tent, propping it up on poles on rocky and uneven dirt, then try to drive stakes in the ground, tightening ropes and zipping up flaps to keep the rain and bugs out, blowing up mattresses, setting up canvas cots, then contending with wild animals invading your sleeping area, all the while enduring the uneven, and often soaked ground due to possible flooding in the middle of the night, by a sudden downpour.

These are some of the things that I remember, prior to building and enjoying a waterproof teardrop trailer. Now don't let me sway your interests in tenting, after all, that is how it all started and many of us have done it at one time or another. However, now as a teardropper, I always enjoy a quiet, comfortable, warm, well lighted, dry hard-sided, bug proof, sleeping enclosure, quite unlike the torture I was subjected to while camping with my folks when I was just a kid. I say, build what suits you, take pics as you go along, and perhaps we will cross paths out there in a quiet campground somewhere. Good luck on your build. Be sure to post some pics of the end result, I am sure it will be interesting, and surely different. No one's build is "wrong", I know, I'm a bit of an iconoclast as well. I design 'em, build 'em, then show up at a campsite and sit back and enjoy the on-lookers reactions. I think it is geat, go for it. Camping is good for rejuvenation of the soul, I know, I do it as often as I can. After all where else can you go to find interesting friends that you haven't met yet? Again, welcome aboard, ask questions, post progress pics and enjoy..........
Roly, the li'l ol' So Calif woody guy ~~

[bobhenry]

My Chuck wagon is on a 40 x 48 HFtrailer




Post starts about middle of page 6 maybe you can get a couple ideas from my build.

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=30307&start=75