Hello, newbie builder here

[Aguyfromohio]

My buddy and I have started building a pair of teardrops. I've been reading the forum here for more than a year, now I'm a member.
I suffer from the affliction of being a mechanical design engineer, so you can only imagine how much planning has gone into this.
I've taken all that WAY too far, but loved every minute. Yes, we have complete 3D solid models and a stack of dimensioned drawings on title blocks.

We are finally making sawdust and plan to be camping this spring.
As we build we'll be posting pictures and asking advice from time to time.

General approach:
- sleeper plus galley in back
- custom frame, independent torsion axles with electric brakes
- laminated structural panel construction, XPS foam with thin plywood skins
- exterior skins are pre-painted aluminum for me, wood for him
- a bit bigger than many TD , overall 15 ft long and 84 inches wide
- full up electrical system with battery, 2kW inverter/charger, shore power, a/c to sleep cool.

Thanks to the great folks in this community sharing information.
All the best from central Ohio.

[KennethW]

Is it a standy? Why so big? You will need a truck to pull it.

[Aguyfromohio]

Is it a standy? Why so big? You will need a truck to pull it.

The width comes from our strong desire to have a queen size bed, plus a few inches of clear floor to take off muddy shoes.
We found an IKEA sofa sleeper just a bit under queen.
The width calculation goes like this:

width of bed 56 inches
clear floor 6 in
thk drv wall 2 in
thk pass wall 2 in
drv fender 9 in
pass fender 9 in
TOTAL OA 84 inches

The length comes from setting the criteria of TD being not any longer than my car so TD fits in my garage.
My car is 15.8 ft long
Length is so useful -inside the cabin, out at the tongue, and back in the galley - that we want to have all the length we can under that limit.

We are hoping that foam structural panels and light steel tube frame mitigate the weight.
If I need a truck, well, I'll buy a truck.
We shall see.

In size and shape, we are right between a Little Guy T@G and a T@b

[KennethW]

I was thinking that you were stating cabin size. Made more sense now.

[Aguyfromohio]

I was thinking that you were stating cabin size. Made more sense now.

HA! No worries. 84 inches inside would be about 106 outside, and legal max is 102.
At the beginning of all this the wife told me she wanted a standard aisle next to the bed and I thought we should have a king size bed.
That gave us a laughably huge trailer. Back to the drawing board.

I keep discovering why common things are the way they are.
Like the reason millions of small bedrooms in our houses are 10 ft x 12 ft is because that's a std king size mattress with a std 32 inch walkway on three sides.
Just can't do that in a trailer.

Or why not a single manufacturer of boats or RVs offers a battery-powered air conditioner.
It can't be done.

[KennethW]

I had a 4' wide with a twin mattress. That gives 4" on each side.
It make it uncomfortable to sit in the door. You will be sitting in the door a lot.
Just my thoughts.

[Aguyfromohio]

I had a 4' wide with a twin mattress. That gives 4" on each side.
It make it uncomfortable to sit in the door. You will be sitting in the door a lot.
Just my thoughts.

Thanks!

[tony.latham]

I had a 4' wide with a twin mattress. That gives 4" on each side.
It make it uncomfortable to sit in the door. You will be sitting in the door a lot.
Just my thoughts.

Thanks!

A (60") foam queen mattress fits fine in a 56" wide 'drop.

TL

[rruff]

HA! No worries. 84 inches inside would be about 106 outside, and legal max is 102.
At the beginning of all this the wife told me she wanted a standard aisle next to the bed and I thought we should have a king size bed.
That gave us a laughably huge trailer.

Trailer time is cozy time! I've slept with a variety of ladies for many nights in a row on a 36" mattress. Rarely did I wish it was bigger. You get used to it.

So your interior is only 62" wide, yes? Have you thought about putting the wheels inside rather than outside the envelope?

[Aguyfromohio]

Trailer time is cozy time! ...I've slept with a variety of ladies for many nights in a row on a 36" mattress. Rarely did I wish it was bigger. You get used to it.

So your interior is only 62" wide, yes? Have you thought about putting the wheels inside rather than outside the envelope?

LoL! Thanks for the insights.
I've been sleeping with the same beautiful lady for 30 years, we prefer a bit of elbow room now...

We did consider wheels inside wells. The interior bumps for wheel wells seem just not worth the trouble for our particular TD.
We like the look of exterior wheels and fenders. If I'm being totally honest, there is a big artistic component to our build. It's a pain to build curves when straight lines are equally functional and far easier to build, and the square corners of a box yield more useful interior volume.

I'd love to hear the advantages others find for bringing the wheels inside the walls, I get things wrong all the time. We are a month away from placing the order for custom frames, so we can still make the change.

[rruff]

I'd love to hear the advantages others find for bringing the wheels inside the walls, I get things wrong all the time. We are a month away from placing the order for custom frames, so we can still make the change.

The huge advantage is that you can make it wider. You could easily put the bed crosswise. Or if you want the ability crawl out both sides of the bed you could place it lengthways and have room.

Making wheel wells is quite easy actually.

[Aguyfromohio]

Thanks rruff

[Dave Gray]

Trailer time is cozy time! ...I've slept with a variety of ladies for many nights in a row on a 36" mattress. Rarely did I wish it was bigger. You get used to it.

So your interior is only 62" wide, yes? Have you thought about putting the wheels inside rather than outside the envelope?

LoL! Thanks for the insights.
I've been sleeping with the same beautiful lady for 30 years, we prefer a bit of elbow room now...

We did consider wheels inside wells. The interior bumps for wheel wells seem just not worth the trouble for our particular TD.
We like the look of exterior wheels and fenders. If I'm being totally honest, there is a big artistic component to our build. It's a pain to build curves when straight lines are equally functional and far easier to build, and the square corners of a box yield more useful interior volume.

I'd love to hear the advantages others find for bringing the wheels inside the walls, I get things wrong all the time. We are a month away from placing the order for custom frames, so we can still make the change.

Welcome from another Ohioan.

I'm not qualified to give you building advice because I have not yet built my own, but your comment "I've been sleeping with the same beautiful lady for 30 years, we prefer a bit of elbow room now" told me that I could easily become your friend if our paths should cross. I have been married to mine for 35 yrs. This past summer I attended six family weddings. At each one they had the married couples wedding dance. It was sort of like being in a track meet because you could look around at the competition and pretty much know how you were going to finish. At each one I was SMOKED by at least 15 years and I felt proud to be a loser.

Dave