2+2H low weight, how to improve the design?

[Pmullen503]

Gettin' there. I think the door position and size is good. Stuffing four people in a teardrop was always going to be tight. If you put your feet under the lower bunk, all the way to the wall, the other bunk is only half over your head. Of course, any one having to exit in the middle of the night will wake everyone!

[adjangs]

I was actually planning on sleeping feet forward, reverse of the usual, so that I could sit bolt upright in this arrangement. The forward bunk is just over the knees, the rear bunk is just where a headboard would go.

To get a bunk-on-top-of-bunk setup, I would need to make the whole thing a foot taller, because I want 30" headspace over the bunks.

To raise the rear bunk enough to sleep the usual way, feet to rear, would take about 6-12" extra height in the back, that would be doable. That would gain more storage forward but I don't see too much advantage in it; still not room for a galley.

I am considering leaving the overall arrangement as is but adding a galley in the ~1ft of depth at the rear, with exterior countertop that attaches to the rear when in use.

[KCStudly]

Okay, don't let me mess you up too much. Sounds like you have considered all of the obvious things that some people loose track of occasionally.

Either way, we'll keep trying to have your back.

Build on!

[adjangs]

I was imagining installing a fan or stargazer window and decided the roof design was not very elegant. I simplified it to one panel 5 ' at the widest point, seems to be an upgrade in the looks department and it would be that much simpler and cheaper (less epoxy).
As drawn it will take 6x 4x8' panels, 4x 4x5' panels (this is a size available to me for some reason) for the shell, not counting the floor.

[KCStudly]

To me that looks more like a camper and less like an upside down boat (no offense intended).

[adjangs]

Thanks for the feedback, KC. I'm open to other feedback about aesthetics or anything else. It is easier to change things while still in sketchup.

[Pmullen503]

How about a table that plugs into the side? The rear bunk could hide/house the supports.
Doesn't look like you'll have room for a traditional galley.

[rychastings]

I'm very fascinated by your design as I like the CLC teardrop trailer but I dont really want to pay 1700 for them to cut plywood for me + 300 shipping. I look forward to your updates

[adjangs]

I have made a small model based on this sketchup and found out I can get the flat pieces. The other thing I found out is this would be difficult to assemble in real-life full sized. I see why CLC used a cradle to construct the pieces. The model-making was enough to steer me toward a more typical teardrop design. For anyone who wants to keep going down this path, I will post the shapes here. To be clear, these have never been used to make anything more than a model so use at your own risk. Scale is 5 ft wide on the roof panel. Notice the bottom panel has to have a precise shape to fit right, not just a rectangle. Lots of extra work to make this and probably extra waste.



Direct link to image without cutoff edge: http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad32 ... apture.jpg

[Shaggy]

CLC are quoting 175# for the bare shell, 250# fully accessorized. Plus trailer. They are estimating 550-600 all in. Their door design supposedly uses some kind of clamping wedging system that they say works well.

I have also been inspired by the design, and have some ideas for combining a fiberglass/foam shell with a very light and minimalist chassis to bring the weight down. The intent is that the chassis and shell are bonded/bolted together to share strength. My target is 400# don't know if it is possible, but looks good so far. Soon I will be posting pictures of a cardboard model to explain the structure.

[rowerwet]

The doors have two latch pins, one goes up into a socket, and one goes down, it was the only way to get that odd shaped door to seal tightly.
The non opening windows are a no go for me, they rely on two small vents in the front and two more on the roof. OK for cool nights, but totally inadequate for hot nights.

[Shaggy]

This is from their FAQ

What about ventilation?

This is important for comfort, and we've provided for many options. Our display model has four "mushroom" vents, one at each corner. These can be opened while at rest for passive cross-ventilation, even in the rain. We also fitted a roof hatch with an integral 12-volt fan, which will exhaust a lot of air. The hatch can be opened a few inches while raining, at least if it's not raining sideways. In addition, we've fitted two small 12-volt fans on the interior for air circulation. It's hard to arrange for much more ventilation than that. Yes, it'd be muggy inside on a hot, rainy August night in Louisiana. But so would ANYTHING without air-conditioning on a hot, rainy August night in Louisiana...

One option for really hot weather is to carry an inexpensive 10x10 pop-up tent with screened sides. This could be set up over the 6'x8' Teardrop Camper in minutes, allowing you to sleep with the big side doors open, and access the galley out of the rain.

Both prototypes were given a foam-backed liner on the interior to eliminate the annoyance of interior condensation. Looks nice, too.

I'm starting to sound like a marketing guy for these people. I am impressed with the design generally, until we get some examples in use, can't tell how well it can work, but I feel it is suitable for at least some of us.

Incidentally, anyone know where I can get some of those mushroom vents?

[rowerwet]

I avoid the potential leak of a hatch, and the power required for a fan. Large low windows in the doors and vents in the upper sidewalls take care of all but the worst. I bring an a/C for that.

[rychastings]

have you started building this yet or is just planning so far? I would be interested to see progress