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

[Kaz]

I went with 54" sides and it gives me about 45" interior height inside after mattress install. Love the extra head room. Well worth the extra cost for 5' plywood.

[Jack Olsen]

I will definitely put together a cardboard mock-up -- that's a great idea.

I've been playing around with the Atma profile. When you make it taller, it loses some of its sense of forward movement. So I've skewed the shape slightly to make the taller version mimic the shorter one. I'm currently thinking about a height that's 4'9".

[gudmund]

first off 4ft wide teardrops maybe cheaper to buy but can be a hassle to find a mattress for. cheaper?? there 46 wide and full size mattresses are 54 wide but 5 wide's are 58-60 wide which are the width of a queen and easy to find. Height? I am fine with 4 ft but a little higher wouldn't hurt, just make sure you go with the highest door height possible to go with it! I am still wishing today I would have know there were 36 inch tall doors available instead of the 32 inch ones I am living with today. Sure they can be replaced with the taller ones and that may happen one of these days but at $300 each, it will be awhile. (maybe a new trailer first thus selling the 4x8 with 32 inch doors and exchanging it for a 5x8 with 36 tall ones could happen first.) 8ft length against a 10ft? - to each there own but the next one will have 6 lug Chev wheels to go with the 6 lug Chev wheels on my tow vehicle so as to carry only one spare. (still playing with the wheel adapter idea for using the truck spare on the trailer - just a though in play right now) Take care

[Fred Trout]

It's easy, cheap & comfortable to order foam of any type. It can easily be cut with a electric carving knife - takes 10 minutes max or you can pay to have it cut at the factory.

Free shipping & fast: http://www.thefoamfactory.com/

We got Lux High Quality Foam 4" - very firm (too firm really but we had a 1" memory foam topper we put on top that makes it perfect). You can kneel on it without hitting bottom.

[gudmund]

Fred, you made my point - with a 4 footer you have make do with either some custom made mattress or figure out something else hoping it works. And yes the cutting down of a full sized memory foam mattress is what I also ending up doing from WM - started out as a 4 inch thick pad and is now 5 and half thick with a little more added and have been using it for the last 3 years - works fine. (this along with the first layer being a cheap half inch thick rubber 2 foot x 2 foot interlocking pad fit - adds a bit more support along with being available for use as a rubber laying mat, kneeling pad or whatever if road/lay down work is needed on the vehicle - trailer, est. - if you damage any of them you just buy another kit) What is nice about a 5 footer is there is so much more available without have to cut something down to make it fit no matter how cheap something is. And yes, with an electric carving knife gotten at the used second hand store for $2.00 and a touch of silicone spray, the memory foam cuts like melted butter!!!!

[Jack Olsen]

Just do it outside. EPS produces fairly harmless fumes. But the fumes from other types of foam are potentially more toxic. (You can also cut for free with a little bit of wire and a car battery or a battery charger, and a little luck.)

[Fred Trout]

Jack, it would not be easy manhandling a 54x76 inch foam mattress (is not EPS) thru a hot-wire cutter but it doesn't matter anyway.

Takes all of 3-5 minutes to use a carving knife to trim off an edge including measuring & marking. Took me less than 15 minutes to carve my mattress up into 16" wide pillows that stack into seats & drop flat for the mattress when it's bedtime.

[gudmund]

as far putting a real mattress into a teardrop, mine not having any drawers in its kitchen area, just a 48 qt ice box - 6 gallon water jug and a small cooler box under the counter top - I made the foot panel removable which would make it easy to load a real mattress in though the rear if need be. Just 7 or 8 screws and it removes for access for whatever reason. Being I am using the memory foam mattress, I just roll it up and slide it in the side door.

[kludge]

One more thing to consider is the additional weight and frontal area.

Check your owners manual for towing maximums for both before you decide.

5x5 frontal area is 25% more than a 5x4 frontal area, which can change the way it tows.

[DMcCam]

Hi Jack,

I wish you were closer so you could climb into the AT for a test fit. Any chance you'd be in the Reno area in the near future?

At 6'2", I don't hit my head sitting upright against the forward cabinets and don't have any problem finding light or fan controls. How tall are you? The one thing about the design is it tows super easy even with our Element.

All the Best,

Dave

[Jack Olsen]

That's very kind of you to offer, Dave. I used to get up that way more often when the race track in Fernley was in business. There's a lot on the Atma that I'd like to be able to see in person. It's not very likely, but if I'm out that way I'll definitely let you know.

[KCStudly]

On TPCE I cheated the wall height by a a few inches. First the 2x2 (1-1/2 actual) wall sills sit on top of floor, then I used all but 1/4 inch of the 48 inch wide foam panel (left 1/4 inch for trimming the profile), then my ceiling and roof foam sit on top of that. I had little concern about stock size because I wanted the grain on the inside wall panels to run vertically anyway and the canvas outer skin comes in 72 inch wide stock, leaving plenty for tucking corners and trimming. Haven't tried it with a mattress yet, but the ceiling seems plenty high and the cabin is roomy inside.

Plus 1 on big doors, but then again I am larger and not as agile as I would like to be.

On overall length I went with 9'-8" and a fraction at the floor line. This gave me queen size inside without having the rear cabinets looming out over the mattress very far at all, and left enough room in the galley for the cooler to slide in lengthwise; leaving more room under the rest of the counter for other "stuff". The Benroy-esque/canned ham bustle profile at the rear allows the galley counter to extend nearly to the edge of the floor while still leaving room for nice deep hatch rib sections and no shin knocking.

[gudmund]

nothing to add, just wanted this subject back on page one so others can find it for reading also

[klhoush]

The mattress size for a 48" is a common RV item called "3/4 full."

Kurt

[Hennesseystealth]

I'm just short of 6'5" and definitely decided to build based on 5x10 plywood. It makes all the difference in the world. Also, if you are willing to reduce some of the curvature, you can add interior cabinets at the front and back as well as a full galley with drawers etc. In NorCal, you can get the plywood from Capital Plywood in Sacramento. They have a lot of retailers around so you don't necessarily have to drive to Sacto.