Profile critique?

[vegask]

I have a friend in town with access to a large cnc wood router, so he has offered to cut the profile for my teardrop out if I design it.

I've made about 5 different ones in sketchup and this is the one I am learning towards. Just wondering what you guys thought or if I am setting myself up for misery.

Plan is to use 4x10 sheets of plywood, trailer base is long enough to handle this one. I made the roof on the flatter side to accommodate a roof rack.

Edges are a bit rough still.

[halfdome, Danny]

An extra 4" in height would be nice for headroom, the profile looks good.
Try kneeling on a surface equal to the finished interior height including the mattress and see if it works for you.
Our walls overall are 52" tall and we love the headroom it provides.
Just spline a 4" wide piece of plywood to the top and you'll be set.
You're better off mounting the rack on the sidewalls so you really only need about 15" of flat area for a vent if desired.
Danny

[dmdc411]

Here's a pic of my TD. Almost the same profile. If I did this again l would get rid of the tighter radius. It's a pain to get the skins around them. Interior and exterior. The rear hatch is a pain to seal, and get a good latching mechanism.

[Kaz]

I think that's a great radius, however I would use 5 x 10 sheets and and go for a little height. By the time you have a mattress in there it will be hard to sit up.

[dmdc411]

Yep, but we're on the shorter side. I'm 5'4 and wife is 5'. So I don't forsee a problem! LOL! We've garage tested only, seems ok.

[dmdc411]

And, my tow vehicle is a Nissan Frontier Crewcab. Not the best mileage, better than my old F150. I am shooting for light weight. Hoping for under 1,000lbs! But, take what I get!

[tony.latham]

Yep, but we're on the shorter side. I'm 5'4 and wife is 5'. So I don't forsee a problem! LOL! We've garage tested only, seems ok.

I'm quite pleased with a 4' high teardrop. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Tony

[Kaz]

And, my tow vehicle is a Nissan Frontier Crewcab. Not the best mileage, better than my old F150. I am shooting for light weight. Hoping for under 1,000lbs! But, take what I get!

Height is only what you want and need. I just went for the larger size and love it. Tow it with a Nissan as well. I may be a little on the heavy side( I estimate between 1100-1400#) truck has no problem and I've managed 19mpg highway @65mph.

[vegask]

I am going to stick with 4'. My friends socal teardrop is that height and seems to work fine. Also, mine is on 35" tires and is about 21" from frame to ground, so its already pretty tall.

Revised the profile, less flat on the roof and easier bends now. I have this in sketchup and dxf format. Time to buy some wood and schedule some time on the CNC.

[booyah]

FWIW, I have a 4 tall benroy and have no issues at all sitting up. It can be challenging to change clothing in, but sitting up to read or watch TV, or eat inside if the weather is really nasty is a non issue at 6' tall (with a VERY long torso)

Mattress is a 4" memory foam so that may have some affect

[troubleScottie]

I am wondering if the back end is dropping too quickly. This could create issue with the cabinets in the galley.

Not sure on the scale, but given the short base ( 8' 9" ), your galley area is fairly narrow to begin with. Assuming many frig/coolers are 14-23 inches high and you want the cooler below the counter, you will not have much vertical above that counter top.

An alternative may be to create a bigger ellipse -- 65-70 inch vertical minor axis and 150 to 190 inches horizontal major axis ( for a 10 feet base). One would have less slope, but still a slope. Water does not care that much. You would have more height farther back The disadvantage is that the amount of the side wall exceeding the floor length increases and you have a more pronounced/tighter compound curve. Your design or this alternatives both allow the lower cabinets to be placed at or near the very end of the deck.

Also something I am mulling over is does the lower hatch edge close on the deck -- a horizontal edge or against the base frame -- a vertical edge. The vertical edge/seal has gravity working on your side but has issues with extending the side wall seal beyond the deck top and may create issues with the outer skin. Horizontal is more common. However, the hatch now eats up deck space ( 1-3 inches which is still real space ), requires setting the cabinets back a bit, and give water the possibility of traveling into the galley floor area ( if not sealed properly ).

[vegask]

The updated design actually has a 9' 1" base, and is as long as 9' 10" at its longest span.

Thanks for the input on the galley shape, I have been thinking about that non-stop now. I also have an engle fridge that I plan to use in there, need to go double check measurements now.