5x10… x5? Is it worth it to go a little taller?

[Jack Olsen]

My son and I recently tested the waters of teardrop camping by renting a 5x8x4 Little Guy trailer. I'm not sure if that's the convention for listing the dimensions, but it was 5' wide and 4' high.

The nice thing about the one we rented was that it was very easy to tow behind my small sedan. But when we were inside, I could definitely understand the tendency of people to go with a 10' long model. And while I understand the economies offered by 48" plywood widths, I also wondered what the effect would be of increasing the headroom inside one of these.

I'm very new to this world, and still not sure if it will make more sense to buy a teardrop or build my own. The advantage of building is that it would allow me to customize a trailer to my own needs and tastes. Overall weight is more of an issue for me than it is for SUV or truck owners, particularly because my local camping often involves steep and twisty mountain roads. But if the overall dimensions could change without too big of a weight hit, then there's more for me to think about.

Here's my son enjoying the camp site we found up at 7,000 feet in the National Forest above where we live in Los Angeles. We had a great time, and I slept much better than I ever have in a tent.



And here's an image that shows what I've been thinking about. This is an altered version of David McCamant's (awesome) Atma Travelear profile. I've rounded off the lower front edge for no other reason than liking that shape a little more. And I've shrunk his tongue storage down. And then I've also distorted the shape into a re-proportioned 5' height.



I know that anyone who's spent time looking at teardrop profiles has gotten accustomed to the basic proportions of 4'-high trailers that are either 8' or 10' long. So this might look stranger to people who are more familiar with this world than it would look to the uninitiated. But I'm interested in any opinions or thoughts anyone might have.

[halfdome, Danny]

I like your revision it looks good to me.
Our 5' x 10' teardrop walls are about 53" or 54" tall and we enjoy the extra headroom.
I can kneel inside without hitting the ceiling, makes getting dressed easier.
People remark how much room we have inside.
Do what makes you and your son happy.
Danny

[jstrubberg]

I'd much rather spend my time and money putting together something I was going to be happy in rather than trying to save 1mpg and be uncomfortable.

Go for it.

[daveesl77]

Mine is 64" wide (interior) and 60" tall (interior). We LOVE it. You can see in our journal that our galley is weird, so we have an 18" high bed frame system and the galley fits underneath it and then slides out the back. I'm a bit over 6' tall and made the interior so I could sit straight up on the bed frame and not hit my head. Now, with the 6" foam mattress that does make it a bit of a bend over but not much. I'll be doing a mod to the bed end so it drops down a few inches at the end to make kind of a settee, but then raises back up for sleeping. This extra room has provided us with so many nice options and I don't regret it a bit. Yes, it cost a bit more and required a bit more engineering, but in the long run it is well worth it.

Our total, fully loaded weight including the trailer and all gear was 1,340#. I pull with a 2004 F 150 and you don't know it is behind us. It dropped our gas mileage by about 1mpg over the empty truck mileage. We just completed a 2,800 mile, two week run.

dave

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks, everyone. So long as there isn't a compelling reason not to go that tall (other than materials cost, which might be be less of an issue with the materials I'm thinking about), I'll at least play around with the idea.

halfdome, Danny, it looks like the slideshow about the build of that trailer is no longer available? Is your latest build documented anywhere? It looks pretty incredible.

[Jdw2717]

One thing to keep in mind is overall height if you plan on storing the camper in a garage. The trailer height, cabin height and fantastic fan all add the the height. Just make sure that total height works for you. Other than that go with what you feel will work best for you. I would suggest (and have on many threads ) to make a cheap mock up of you trailer cabin side wall as planned. Cheap 1/4" plywood or large sheets of cardboard can be used to cut out the profile and door location. I had what I thought would work for me but once I made the mock up I didn't like how the door "fit" when getting in the camper and moved it back almost a foot. Now I can just swing my legs out the door from a sitting position against the front wall without having to scoot to the door. Seems like overkill but once you cut the hole or frame for the door you are stuck with what you have unless you start over on the sides.

[pchast]

The other concern about height that I don't see mentioned is
as you build larger than the frontal value of the tow vehicle the
greater the drag. This means more fuel costs.


What is your TV's listed towing weight limit? Check the chart of
trailer sizes/weights for common results... I can't find it just now...

[ctstaas]

Hi Jack One good thing about 5' x 10' sheets is they can easily be cut down for cool/ traditional shapes while not have to worry about splicing plywood. 5' x 10' sheets are still special order and more expensive but worth design consideration. Placement of spars should also be considered when spec.ing material. Pre-planning now will be a great source of pride later.
Enjoy, Chris

[deleted]

At 51" high I went just 3" higher (than usual) when designing The Glampette. Since she isn't made of plywood fitting her into a 4"x8" template wasn't a major constraint. Now? I'm so glad I did. It may not seem like a lot of difference but in a space so small the difference is huge (imo). I'd suggest if you do go higher to sit on the ground and mock do whatever you might want to do in the trailer particularly things like stretching, brushing your hair, etc. and measure the space you'll need to figure out your custom comfort zone. That's what I did. One other thing that worked out well by accident is there was just enough clearance to create a hanging mini closet (using a drawer pull) to keep some clothes hung up rather than folded.

[aggie79]

Good morning Jack,

Planovet's teardrop is a Grumman profile stretched to 5' wide x 10' long x 5' tall. Here is a link to his website: http://littleswissteardrop.com/.

I've sat in his teardrop and it seems a lot more spacious than our teardrop with the extra 1' in height. That said, we rarely spend time in our teardrop except when sleeping. Most of our time is spent under the pop-up canopy, around the campfire or hiking/biking.

Take care,
Tom

[Jack Olsen]

Since I'm still in the thinking-out-loud stage, I took a quick look at the difference I could see in a flow simulator for the two different heights.

One of the ideas I've had about a teardrop is making it light enough to pull behind my weekend/race car, since I could use it for trips to different tracks when my kids are old enough for me to go back to club racing. So this simulation is to show it being pulled behind my old 911. (It might never come to that, but it would certainly be interesting-looking out on the highway.)

[tony.latham]

Jack:

I'm in the camp that likes a 4' high cabin. (I'm 5'9") With anothe foot, I think it'd be a real effort to turn the fan off or on. And I think with another foot, one would loose most of the body-produced heat on a chilly night.

I suggest you sit on a pillow (that mimicks a foam mattress) next to a wall with a piece of tape at 4' and 5' and go from there. It's great you're thinking of these things.

T

[halfdome, Danny]

Jack:

(I'm 5'9") With anothe foot, I think it'd be a real effort to turn the fan off or on.
T

That's what remote controlled fantastic fans are for.
Danny

[jstrubberg]

Mock it up with a cardboard box! See which you like.

I bet a guy could score a couple of those big refrigerator boxes from an appliance store just for asking. Cut em up with a box knife and mock up your profile.

[daveesl77]

I completely agree with the idea of making a cardboard mockup and doing it several sizes. See what works best for you.

I also agree that we spend the vast majority of our time outside, but when the bad weather hits and even my super tarp setup doesn't hold back the elements, then I like a bit of comfort.

dave