A Practical TTT

[GPW]

Always thinking about the simplest and most Practical way of doing something , we’ve done yet another drawing trying to best utilize time and materials . Thrifty , and be simple to make , no Complex cutting save the front angled nose , just two angle cuts … Not That difficult with a bit of measuring and sanding …
Nothing fancy , just optimum sized (subjective, naturally ) foam box proportions ... 60 sq. feet floor space, 60” tall inside . You could do any inner framing you like … Just don’t make it too heavy …
Simple as it is , it doesn’t have to look it , just a nice paint job does wonders to dress up the simplest cracker box …
And it should be garageable ...

For your consideration …

[HMK]

Looks good!

[GPW]

HNK, Thanks … !!!

[working on it]

• Looks great; if only I'd known that my "practical, yet simple" ALL PLYWOOD, NO FOAM design would soon become so convoluted, and crammed with so many ad hoc features, that it would not be practical for me to use. Or easy. You have a simple pattern here, that would work, with or without using foam panels.
• It's hard for me to get in and out, since I've gotten older and less flexible, and though I wanted to build the traditional-sized (not traditional-shaped) 4x8, I sure would like to have an extra foot in height, two feet in length, and perhaps an extra foot in width, that your plan offers.
• But, as a newbie trailer-builder, and unaware of my looming rapid aging process, I blithely built it "my way"; to paraphrase Yogi Berra, "I made too many wrong mistakes".

• 

  Practical TTT made impractical.jpg (141.19 KiB) Viewed 1219 times

[GPW]

Practical is subjective … I always liked your trailer for its “military readiness “ 'ish look …

[working on it]

Practical is subjective … I always liked your trailer for its “military readiness “ 'ish look …

• Thanks, GPW. I made it as strong as I could (therefore foregoing a foam exterior...sorry, GPW), and first modeled it on a military trailer I liked from WWII (in my avatar), and wanted to name it the Panzeranhänger (armored trailer). Then, when I thought about it, and who I was building it for = my wife, I named it the HHRv- "Hairy Hominid Research vehicle", since it was built to go on her Bigfoot organization's expeditions.
• Excuse me while I expound upon my little "militaristic"-appearing trailer, its' inception & purpose, and future plans for re-naming it to suit my fancy, at long last. I have two threads going now, concerning "modifications" http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=70367&hilit=+modifications, and the other on "stickers & decals" http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=70553&hilit=+decals, that I might copy this post onto, but your thread gets it first! Sorry about that, Chief!
• Previously, every time she went tent-camping using a Coleman 6-person tent, she would return sick, all her belongings and the inside of the tent wet & muddy. And, she said that sometimes she had heard /felt the presence of "something" pushing on the walls of the tent, and didn't sleep (as did the group's female leader, one of her best friends). So the trailer has solid 3/4" plywood walls, and small windows (placed relatively high up on the walls), multiple, strong hinges and a uniquely strong locking system on the mainly used door, and double-latches w/ padlocks on the other door...all for temporary security, until personal defense could be retrieved, just in case. Plus, in a raised sleeping platform, there would be no more water flowing into the tent (happened on one of her trips). And, it was air conditioned and heated, because they "hunted" everywhere from South Texas to Mid-Ohio, usually in early fall, so a wide range of temperatures were to be expected. AS you know, an enclosed trailer is a much better place to be than in a leaky tent, under most inclement weather conditions.
• Later into the build, when I had already named the trailer, I had her try it out for the first time, in the garage. After probably 1/2 hour in there, she emerged, proclaiming it to be too confining, and "a coffin". I hadn't known that she was claustrophobic! So, the trailer, built for her, became mine (I always had intended to use it when she wasn't...we always have vacationed separately, due to having way too many pets to care for). But, I had already named it for her hobby, so the name stuck.
• I had more alternate militaristic/German names in mind, back in 2011-2013, i.e. 1)Geschleppte Sicherheitsanlage (towed security emplacement), 2)Sperrholzzelt/alle Bedingungen Anhanger (plywood tent/all-conditions trailer), and 3)Umherziehender Lageranhanger (roving encampment trailer), before it was actually camp-able, but didn't follow thru with the name change. One of my "hobbies", or long-term study of, involves WWII, the weaponry and tactics, and minutiae (odd facts), especially German (I actually helped with, and edited a friend's doctoral dissertation on the German Wehrmacht from 1933-1945, back in my college days). But, now, since the HHRv logo has been on the trailer so long, I feel it would be unlucky to strip the name off at this late date, so I'm giving it an additional logo/sticker/mission statement, in conjunction with a new rooftop addition (a fishing pole carrier tube) that reminded me of another "military" form, a Stug III.
• I'm in the midst of a frenzy of mods before my next trip, the rod & reel carrier being one of them; and I started adding more usually whimsical, but always reflecting in my sort of whimsy, stickers and decals that I've made for the trailer, since I've always liked that sort of thing. I was spurred-on to add some after viewing Jose Martinez's great little trailer, while camping at Beaver's Bend...he had added unique personalizing touches everywhere, that also reminded me of the drag racing stickers I have on my race car. I already have several on my TTT, but Jose has at least two dozen, making it quite unique.

• 

  tribute to Jose's trailer.jpg (319.8 KiB) Viewed 1140 times

• So, as one of my mods, I'm going to add this on the tongue box, on the sides next to the "HHRv" logo, defining the new look and mission statement.

• 

  HHRv turns into a STUG III.jpg (210.47 KiB) Viewed 1140 times

• Here is the planned tube on the roof, inspiring my name re-definition. I'm old and retired, and do basically what I please...a little personal "madness" shouldn't offend anybody, so why not?

• 

  tube placement.jpg (265.44 KiB) Viewed 1140 times

[HMK]

Well Dadgum, all this time I thought you pulled it with an HHR (high heritage roof)



GPW,

I'm studying the little triangle that was moved from front to the rear. Is that similar to Shasta wings or does it serve a purpose? I'm dense and trying to figure this out.

[working on it]

Well Dadgum, all this time I thought you pulled it with an HHR (high heritage roof)....

• Actually, it almost was, and the name was intended to be a double entendre. I started out building the HHRv to be pulled with either of our daily driver cars: her Cobalt, or my HHR Panel. It was not to be, though.
• When planning for the trailer to be towed by either of the small vehicles, I tried to get some aero benefits if I could, like those gained by using a teardrop shape, but sorta in reverse: by 1) trying to hide the TTT in the wind shadow of either of our Tow Vehicles = the Cobalt (@55.5 inches roof height, and roughly 40 inches at the trunk), or the HHR Panel (@63 inches roof height), with the trailer's front wall starting to slope back at that same 40 inches as the Cobalt's trunk, 2) keeping the trailer narrow, at 4 ft, less than the width of the cars, and 3) I tried to get a Kammback spoiler effect, to disrupt suction/drag, on the rear, for additional aero benefits. The Kammback was formed by using a semi-rigid piece of conveyor belting to create a partial Kamm effect.
• The HHRv ended up way too heavy to be towed by either car (1600+ lbs at first completion, way over their tow limits of 1000 lbs each), so my '04 Chevy 2500HD pickup got the job. Neither the aero planning, nor the naming rationale were warranted, after the big truck got the tow vehicle job, and I got sole usage of the trailer. But, the name stuck, anyway.

[GPW]

WOI, I still like it !!!

HMK , that forms a small rear roof overhang to keep the weather off the rear entry doors … ( optional , but nice in the rain … )
( and was a perfect use for the scrap off the front … ( nothing goes to waste ! )