The Dashaway

[BeCeejed]

The Girl:
26 year old who lives further from the beach than she'd like
Does a lot of walking
Takes aesthetic comfort in small, cozy spaces
Has 3-day weekends every weekend

The Dog:
65 lbs
Shar-pei mix
Walks a lot with the girl
Has never seen a beach and does not know what the fuss is about
Would like to get out of the yard more
(Looks like she's half-hippo)

The Goal:
Sun, sand, surf, and breeze

The Problem:
Expensive!!! accomodations
Most hotels are not dog-friendy
Can camp for free, but at the mercy of the elements
Car cannot tow a traditional camper

The Need:
A sturdy vessel
wind-and-water tight
capable of supporting Girl and Dog for several days camping

And thus begins: Project Dashaway!

I was going to call this Project Runaway as a pun but a quick forum search revealed that The Runaway is already a thing. So this is the Dashaway! My build project for a tiny trailer to tow behind my Hyundai Sonata to weekly (or at least monthly) 3 day 2 night camping sessions in the sand.

I'm doing a lot of reading in the forums and I must say you guys have quite a lot to read! But as I was going along I began to realize if I'm to begin making any decisions about the build here I need to make a list of priorities, so I can start crunching numbers on designs. So I have started my build thread here, which at this point is just a checklist of stuff to consider for the camper. If you happen accross this thread and you, in your esteemed experience, might point my search to more fruitful boughs to speed my searching and researching up, I'll be exceedingly pleased. Or you can just lurk and comment, really, anything's fine. =>

Below is my list and the categories thereof. Following the list will be a series of questions I'm asking myself and currently seeking answers for in the many posts of this forum as well as external websites.

NEEDS:
Lightweight
Roof Vent
Windows - almost everywhere!
Space to sit inside without bonking my head on something
Mattress that can be put to the side
Insulated
Exterior capable of withstanding extended beach stays - no shade, salty and sandy wind! Should be easy to repair or recoat when it eventually does start to wear.

The roof vent is a no brainer - a necessity for all Teardrops! Windows are a personal need, and I'll need as many of them as I can concievably fit without sacrificing the benefit of the insulation and making a mobile greenhouse/camper roaster. The lightweight is important because my Hyundai Sonata can only tow 1000 lbs - and it is 100k miles so less than that would be nice. The car still has a long way to go but I'd like to not overstress the engine by pushing limits. I don't want to HAVE to ay down in my trailer all the time I'm in it, and if I can sit up comfortably cross-legged the 65 lb mutt I have will be comfortable walking about. Also, its Texas where I live and in any direction for about 6 hours at the least, so keeping the sun from turning the camper into a little wooden hotbox is a good thing.

The mattress, at least in the section that I can sit up in, should be able to be moved to the side so I can let the dog play on the nice solid floor and reduce the sand-in-bedding issue.

NOT NEEDS BUT REALLY REALLY WANTS:
Roof Vent fan
Interior Lights
Solar Power for lights and fan
Windows that open, with screens

I'd like to have interior powered lights. I could use a camper lamp hanging like a tent chandelier in a pinch but actual lights with a switch are right at the top of my list - and enough battery power to give me reading light long into the night: I am very nocturnal, haha. I can use those LED running light strips or small LED lights, they don't have to draw a lot of power - its a small space, after all. Since the places I plan to camp are essentially stretches of beach where you're allowed to park a camper for free (for x days) but there are no hookups, if I implement lights its gonna need battery and if I have something like a battery bank I charge before leaving I might as well try to charge it from solar while I'm out. And if I have some power that I'm towing with me then I should put a fan in my roof vent and power that too.

And if I've got windows and I'm at the beach they should be able to be opened and let that sea breeze work its magic.

WANTS BUT ITS OKAY IF CAN'T HAVES:
Shore power to lights/vent fan/batteries
Shore water to galley sink
Electrical system for a few galley appliances
A plug in the sleep cabin to charge phone/computer
Little spigot by door for rinsing off feet
A/C
Ceramic heater

There are a few places I'd like to camp at the beach (or elsewhere in the US) that have hookups so shore power and water would be lovely for those instances. When I've got shore power, I might as well be able to cook and not live off just sandwiches and cereal while I'm camping. For the purposes of lightweightedness this will probably be just a hot plate, and maybe a tiny one person crock-pot. And if I've got shore power lets add in movie-watching world-connectivity equipment into the sleeper cabin. And since I'll be using this primarily at the beach, if I've got shore water lets run a little pipe to out by the door so I don't have to unplug the hose to rinse myself off before trying to climb in the cabin. Also, its Texas where I live and in any direction for about 6 hours at the least, so if I've got shore power, we can do more for temperature control than vents and open windows (weight permitting, let's add that A/C.)

And I have people in Colorado I'd love to go camp near and see, so if I add shore power I should probably get one of those little ceramic wall-mounted heaters.

"WOULD BE COOL"S but "PROBABLY CAN'T HAPPEN"S
Bigger Interior Space

I'd like to build something more akin to a Wanderer or a Midget - the bed cross-ways on the trailer, the ability to sit in an actual chair-like structure, the ability to place a toilet somewhere. Those features at that size would make multi-day campouts at the beach much more enjoyable. Problem is - everything comes down to needing a lightweight. The slightly wider and taller plans would be on my NEEDS list if I thought it was likely I could design one lightweight enough.

So that's my list. Right now I'm trying to get weight estimates for various construction types. I'm leaning towards a Foamie for the reported lightweightedness of that sort of build and its built-in insulation, but digging through build threads to try and find out what some previous builds weigh in at is hard. I'm also considering Reflectex style (foil-bubble-foil) insulation, with a thin frame, thin outer skin, insulation flat against outer skin, and then a dead air space of about an inch or so before the inner skin. since its a small enough space this should be sufficient to keep sun-baking energy from heating the cabin TOO much, in theory. Looking for info on anybody who might have tried a similar build, or for any Foamies who have tested their rigs in very warm weather and direct sunlight.

What about running Shore connections through a Foamie? Research Research Research. *dives back into the threads*

[jbyrd]

Sounds like you have an awesome plan! Very well thought out......Now make some sawdust!!!!!

[danlott]

When I read your post another trailer build came to mind. After searching for it I was amused to find out that the builder of the trailer I was thinking about called his "Dash Camper". Probably had similar thoughts to you. Here is a link this his build.

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=56712

Dan

[PKCSPT]

I thought of the same camper as Dan,
One thing for me that you had on your want but not needed list is windows with screens, That would be on my has to have have list. These are small and fresh air is nice to have. Maybe because I am from a very buggy Minnesota but screens on an open window are must have.

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

[BeCeejed]

Wow that Dash camper is soooo classy. I love wood exteriors on these little beauties, it really draws the eye. I'm not sure I could go quite that small, I'm 6' 1" so that bed seems a little short for my needs. But adjusted mildly, that's a good design template to start with!

I wonder if there's a community garage near here I can join who has a CNC...>.>

Windows with screens are important to me, too, PKCSPT. However, I'm worried about my ability to implement them in a suitably watertight manner. I'd like the windows to serve as side vents, but if I feel like I can't implement them well I can do without.

I think most of the things on the "Not needs but really really wants" list will probably be implemented, I just allow for the possibility of removal if the construction of them adds more complexity than I'm comfortable with.

[BeCeejed]

I'm thinking I'll try to design the sleep cabin around this mattress design: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80263441/

The 'chaise' section that lays perpendicular to the other pieces would stay under the galley section of the cabin, and the galley would stretch over all of it to give me a nice counter with backsplash cabinets. The other two pieces would be able to be lifted up and pushed against the wall when not sleeping, for a safe place to let the dog and me rest from beach activities without worrying about showering off every single time we get in the trailer (Easy to vacuum up sand with a hand vac or sweep it up with a hand broom off the wood floor before laying the mattress down, than to try to get it out of all the little divots that mattresses develop).

I bet I can make something cheaper, although the site says the whole thing only weighs 35 lbs, so not bad there. If I get it or make something like it, then design the interior to be just 1/2 inch less wide than the two pieces together and 1/2 inch less long, the mattresses will squish together nicely and not slide/wiggle on the floor of the cabin while I sleep, toss/turn, or sit on it all clean for relaxing times.

This is helpful too because the curved portions of the Dashaway walls will need to contain the rectangle of the mattress halves lifted up.

So, looking at their measurements, the entire assembled mattress is 6.5 feet long and 4.5 feet wide. However, I couldn't roof the whole structure with foam or ply without some sort of lengthwise seam (since to fit the mattress, from passenger outer skin to driver outer skin the roof would have to be 4'10" wide, assuming 2 inch foam walls, thinner otherwise but still larger than 4' even) or without having a LOT of extra foam/ply lying around afterwards from cutting all those 4'10" x 4' chunks. So, custom mattress it is.

Assuming 2 inch foam walls, not accounting for any interior skinning I might want to do, and assuming a standard 8' trailer as the base (I'm thinking of building Ultralight actually but that's very intimidating, HAH, so will likely go with a HF trailer) I can say that I'd like the sleeping area to be about 6'6" long and by the dimensions of the trailer and walls it would be 3'8" wide. The split segments would be 1' 10.5" x 4' 7.5", and the foot segment would be 1' 10.5" x 3' 8". I would have, then, 1'6" of floor space for doing Galley things.

There! I have settled on some base dimensions. Now I may begin some designs...

[rowerwet]

check out the wiley window link for an easy to make, easy to open, screened window. the two liter shower link for a simple way to wash the sand off your feet/rinse the salt off, and the poor mans fiberglass link for the cheapest, easiest to make, easiest to repair and toughest finish.
for the shore power connection http://www.amazon.com/Marinco-150BBI-On ... 49RSTM7QJW I got one of these. I don't have a 12V system, but I do have a solar patio light that I plan on adding to the tear someday.

[BeCeejed]

Rowerwet, Since surfing the forums after posting this thread I have investigated your siggy links already and am tentatively planning on implementing Wiley Windows and actually already ordered the 2Liter shower a few hours ago because that is just a fabulous thing for a person to have. The dog doesn't like baths unless is with warm water and a shower like nozzle, and the current living arrangement prevents me from bathing her in the tub, so we've been settling for warm water in a bucket and sponge scrubs. I think she will be very happy when it comes in, and it will be our super light sand-cleaning tool for road trips! =>

I haven't decided on the exterior coating yet though your thread is in my "Trailer Resources" Bookmark folder. I have to admit I'm a little new to all these concepts so when people start throwing out Epoxies and Resins and Urethanes I have to google-translate stuff so I get the vocab words, and then try to understand the concept they're trying to explain on top of it. Gonna need a little more cogitation before I'm ready to pick one of those things.

My main concern is this thing is going to be out in the sun basically all the time. During construction I can use my grandfather's barn because he won't be keeping any cows this year, so it will be covered for painting coats and gluing things. It can't be stored there permanently, and once its done its probably off to an RV Storage lot when its not on the road and none of the ones I looked at will have covers.

When you paint a porch with porch paint and gloss every few years you have to sand it and repaint it. People on the forums are talking about cracking in resin/epoxy/whatever coats on Woodies because of stretching/shrinkage from temperature change. I'm really leaning towards a foamie which wouldn't have that - but I imagine that simply from continuous UV Exposure the coat will eventually need to be replaced. You can't go sanding canvas, can you?

When you imagine the coat on your Teardrop will need to be replaced, how would you go about doing it?

On a side note, I figure I'm going to make a canvas cover for the Dashaway (the fold up kind) for when its storing, so THAT can get UV ruined and then replaced without damaging the actual water-sealing/structural exterior. Still, 3 daysish a week at the Beach has me concerned. I'd like to operate under the assumption that the exterior is going to need to be refinished at some point in the future - and know that its doable and doesn't risk damaging the structure of the teardrop while I'm at it.

So you've left your canvas-covered Teardrop out in the elements for a long time: in your thread, you posted a status update in January (2014) and started the thread in 2011. That's an impressive track record for the coat! Still makes me wonder about repairability though. I think based on that, its probably good enough for my use, but understanding your tools inside and out helps make the project they're used on all the better/stronger. How WOULD you go about re-coating the teardrop?

I was gonna PM this kind of question to you but you so conveniently popped up in my own design/build thread! Like I said, I imagine if the paint ever does start wearing, you probably can't just paint over it, and you can't sand away the worn gloss and coat over the canvas like you would with wood, in order to redo it.

...or can you? The stuff is Tightbonded (II) and then saturated. THEN colored as desired with gloss exterior/rough-wear type paint. I've helped perform home maintenance, I don't always understand the science behind it.

...I told myself I wasn't gonna use Smilies but these things are addictive.

[bobhenry]

this little 4x7 weighted in at 525 #. I am attaching the thread as it was a very simple plain jane build but turned out grand. With a undersized tow vehicle the lighter weight trailers are a must. Thought you might enjoy the cronicals of the build...............

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=38489

[BeCeejed]

The Rip VW is adorable! Yes, getting a light trailer is important. I really want to try to build an Ultralite but as I said...intimidating! I've never welded before and I'm not sure I'd trust my bolt-together construction skills...not for a metal support structure screaming along at 50 miles an hour over the highway behind my car. I'm thinking if I just read and re-read tutorials I'll suddenly gain a boat-load of confidence.

In the meantime I'm surfing craigslist for possible deals I can snatch up and save myself the effort. And worse comes to worse, if I do a Foamie I think the HF 4x8 will be managable.

I need to compile a 'Weigh-off' list: Start collecting images of final builds, data about their construction (wood/foam, what skin, trailer, footprint) but the weight data is buried late in the build threads by nature of their organization, haha! *Jots down a bit about the RipVW*

I do think, since this is intended for multi-day excursions at locations without traditional camping amenities, I'm gonna need a Galley of some kind. But I could maybe make a Chuck-box for the trunk of the Sonata and make the Dashaway just a sleeper like the RipVW...

[bobhenry]

In the final few pics on the thread there is a 10 x 10 pop up over the rear of the trailer. Under it was the two bat wing tables mounted to the outside of the trailer. This gives you 6 feet of counter space under a covered roof. I thought I would really miss the galley but with the tables it was just the same. And I don't have to worry about roof leaks at the galley hinge

[Watercamper]

Just a few quick thoughts as I'm about to head out the door for a 11 hour road trip. You don't mention if your normal camping area has potable water. Just curious. While in search mode, I suggest you check out terms such as boondocking, van camping, stealth camping, van stealth camping, etc. This other lifestyle may give you some ideas.

My wife and I typically camp for days, up to a week w/o any form of external power. We live near the mountains of Idaho and we just don't have many areas that have power. Our needs usually center around getting enough fresh water and is there enough ice to keep things cold. For example, we use a 2-burner Coleman propane gas camp stove. I could use it in the galley, in my van, on a picnic table or in our big tent on a portable table. Many places!

We learned long ago that a sink just didn't work for us. We use a 2 dishpan system for cleaning food prior to cooking and for washing/rinsing dishes. Again, we can use this system in the galley, in the van, or on a table. Many places again.

I purchased one of the showers from Amazon a year or so back that has the ability to adjust the flow rate. I knew from experience that I didn't want one that uses 1, 2 or 3 liters per whatever. I usually don't have or want to carry a bunch of water. I can take a shower on about 1/2 gallon. Works great! I can find the specific details if you're interested when I get home.

To get rid of the sand, I usually stood the dog in the aforementioned dishpans and rinsed all the sand off her feet and underbelly prior to entering the van, tent, etc.

I also suggest that you look at some of the camping mattresses. I just finished sleeping for 4 nights on my mother in laws floor on a thermarest. I also use some very lightweight models when I backpack. For portability, they can't be beat. Thinking of backpacking, there are many items out there that may fit your lightweight ideas.

I'm looking forward to watching your build. I too will be building lightweight. There are some others on this forum that are building lightweight. OK, gotta go.

Ken

[KCStudly]

No time right now to read the last few posts (I will go back for sure and read them!), but don't forget that the foam is very homogenous; using Gorilla Glue (GG) or Great Stuff (GS) with the foaminess knocked down, you can glue the cut off foam together and make the most of it.

The best thing you can do, as it appears that you are, is to study the forums and make as detailed plans as you can. It makes the building part go so much easier.

[BeCeejed]

Bobhenry, I'd consider that if one of the problems I have with beach camping wasn't that setting up tens and shade structures can be a pain. XD

Ken, I should have decent access to potable water. Just walk accross the dunes and you're in all the bungalows, and then just a few blocks to a convenience store in most any direction. Pleeeenty of access to rinsing/showering water every mile or so at the beach rinse stations.

KCStudly true. The nature of foam does make it a bit easier to make use of scrap foam...

[KCStudly]

Here is a list of 114 completed TD's (or tiny trailer's... depending on your definition) that was graciously compiled by Sharon.
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56787

From what I have read, once you get a few coats of primer/paint on there the canvas fibers are pretty well sealed. You shouldn't need to aggressively strip the existing coats off, just a scuff to give some teeth for the new coat.

GPW's lives in NOLA (New Orleans, LA) and his little camo foamie was built as a bug out camper, just in case a hurricane heads that way (he doesn't camp). It sat in the sun, humid weather, hail, etc. for a couple of years with zero attention, and he is just now getting ready to update the paint. The camo got a little faded and he is mostly just painting it to get it ready for sale (look for "Should I sell. My point is that I don't think you have much to worry about when it comes time to repaint.