Newbie needs advise

[JoostD]

Hi all!

This is my first post here. Let me introduce myself a bit first. I'm Joost from the Netherlands.
We are currently enjoying our holiday in France. Just a few days before we head back home.
We enjoy tent camping a lot but several years ago I had a hernia. It's under control with fysio therapy but this year we decided I need to ditch the tent. I wakeup every morning with a very sore back. I need a good mattress to sleep on. That problem repeats itself everywhere. Hotels with bad mattresses etc. So I was looking how we can keep camping without an big caravan and I came across teardrops
I'm already looking at designs to build for our holiday next year lol.

I have a few questions...
I'm 6'5 tall. Most teardrops have a queen size bed wich is 2cm larger then I am. Are there any more tall persons around who have experience with this? Is that a problem or should I look at a 5x10 design with slightly more room to spare at my feet? And if so where can I find a good building plan for a 5x10? Most commercial available ones are all 5x8

Here in the Netherlands it's pretty difficult to build you're own trailer because of certain rules and regulations. Plus I'm not a welder haha.
I could find some trailer tents I could strip, but they usually are 4ft wide. Another option is a caravan chassis that I can modify. For instance cut a part of the back off to get the 10ft and get a better axel placement. Any thoughts on this?

I'm sure in the coming months of planning there will be more questions. Looking forward to reading all you're experience in the forum!

Thanks in advance!

[Tom&Shelly]

Hi Joost. Welcome to the forum!

We have had several members from Europe who built their own teardrops, so if that is what you are considering, you may want to search out their build threads. Of course, I don't know about the regulations in the Netherlands.

Some of us, who hadn't welded and didn't want our first project to be a moving vehicle, either got friends to weld trailers for us, or hired a professional to do it, and then built on top of it.

As far as size of bed, I wouldn't compromise there. If you're going to have a teardrop built, build it yourself, or modify a trailer, make sure the bed is long enough for your comfort! Our teardrop bed is much more comfortable than most hotel beds we've encountered, and better than the air mattresses we used when we tent camped. It rivals our bed at home.

Tom

[twisted lines]

When I was young I was 6'6" ; Now I weight 250
I have been piling, hiding and drawing #2 for a while, She don't like it
Reason for #2 is 5 X 10 wasn't big enough.

Mattress 6"-8" maybe more + the big feet and some wiggle room takes a lot of space from the Galley
The height Of the Galley Door?
I don't Bend well & My Choise has been Flat back's TL

[RJ Howell]

Welcome to the madness!

Some here build Tear's and love 'em. Others build Squares and love 'em. Then there's guys like me that go a touch beyond (LOL). It's all about the build here!

I'm a believer in setting a list of 'needs', 'wants' and then all else. Then design from there.

We're here for ya!

[pchast]

Welcome!

Don't restrict yourself on the size of the mattress. Look at your favorite
you have home and design around that. You could also consider a foam
bed. It can be had in any dimension you request from the manufacturer.

Are you interested in a kitchen in this unit or a shelf to haul your previously
used tenting kitchen supplies. Many things affect the space use. As RJ said,
Lists of what you have and how you carried it will help with design.

[JoostD]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!
My list of wishes is something along these lines:

A square or td doesn't really matter I like them both
Lightweight. I see some build around the 1000lbs, that would be ideal. I don't know if thats realistic though. Any tips on how to design whith that goal in mind?
Sleeping area/matress 2.2m long or 87"
Cabinets for clothing and pref a shelf for books and phones.
We cook very basic while camping, we don't need a "big" kitchen. But more a place to store everything. Now our car is packed to the max with camping gear . (we drive a smallish Citroën c3).
We have plans to go to Norway next year and plan on wild camping some days. A solar panel to keep us supplied with power
Power wise, we want a small fridge (say 20l) and a place to charge phones. Thats it. We don't need a ground hookup or something.

Is this a list of reasonable goals? If so any tips to pull it off?

[tony.latham]

Sorry to hear about your height.

Well... here's a 10' profile that you can modify the interior length by decreasing the headboard depth. If you go that route, move the door forward to match where your hips rest.



The distance between the headboard and the rear bulkhead is 78" (198cm).

The rear bulkhead is comprised of two parts. The countertop/shelf sits on the lower bulkhead, and the upper bulkhead slides down and contacts it. You could also bump the lower bulkhead back too.

Or.... get a leg reduction.

Tony

[JoostD]

Sorry to hear about your height.

Well... here's a 10' profile that you can modify the interior length by decreasing the headboard depth. If you go that route, move the door forward to match where your hips rest.



The distance between the headboard and the rear bulkhead is 78" (198cm).

The rear bulkhead is comprised of two parts. The countertop/shelf sits on the lower bulkhead, and the upper bulkhead slides down and contacts it. You could also bump the lower bulkhead back too.

Or.... get a leg reduction.

Tony

Hey Tony,

Thanks for you're info!
My height can be quite handy. I'm a window cleaner and can reach windows my colleagues need an extra step lol.
But with camping it's annoying. It's 1 if the reasons I took up sewing. I make my own sleeping bags, backpacks and tents. The last backpacking trip I used a diy hammock. Man that slept good!

I was looking at you're design and was thinking about making the front of the TD (facing the vehicle) rounded. Then make that bulkhead begin at the seem floor/outerwall. And make a shelf there into the rounding of the wall. Like wandertears does

Screenshot_2023-06-15-17-45-32-780-edit_com.nationaledtech.spinbrowser.jpg (294.53 KiB) Viewed 879 times

Is a rounded front any more difficult to build then the more flatter front you used?

[tony.latham]

Is a rounded front any more difficult to build then the more flatter front you used?

It's not. But you'll lose a volume of storage area under the headboard. It's a question of form over function.



I put sliders under the headboard.







Tony

[tony.latham]

It's not your fault that you are tall and it's a thing you can't change or don't have control over it. If you think practically all you can do is get a bigger sized tent. You can find some of the best tents for sale here. There is plenty of category and size. Their qualities are top-graded.

[twisted lines]

Lightweight. I see some build around the 1000lbs, that would be ideal. I don't know if thats realistic though.

My first is 1250. Empty with 2000 Lb spring's 3500 spindal's

[pchast]

Here is the old chart of finished weights and sizes: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56787

[JoostD]

I'm working on the build plans now and i'm trying to get an idea of all necessary components.
1 thing i noticed is for the walls. the plywood sheets are 18mm thick and the isolation foam panels are 20mm thick (1/16th of an inch difference i guess) Is that a problem? What would you suggest in using these measurements.

[Tom&Shelly]

I'm working on the build plans now and i'm trying to get an idea of all necessary components.
1 thing i noticed is for the walls. the plywood sheets are 18mm thick and the isolation foam panels are 20mm thick (1/16th of an inch difference i guess) Is that a problem? What would you suggest in using these measurements.

That small of a difference would be easy to sand out, though messy. But there are ways to control the foam dust.

Another option would be a hot wire cutter. I made one with a 6 foot long wire so we could use 1 inch thick foam in our 3/4 inch plywood cores. But I'm not sure how well that would work when the difference is only 2 mm. I think in your case, I'd go with sanding. Maybe outside or with the shop doors open so the wind would help take out the foam dust.

Tom

[JoostD]

I'm working on the build plans now and i'm trying to get an idea of all necessary components.
1 thing i noticed is for the walls. the plywood sheets are 18mm thick and the isolation foam panels are 20mm thick (1/16th of an inch difference i guess) Is that a problem? What would you suggest in using these measurements.

That small of a difference would be easy to sand out, though messy. But there are ways to control the foam dust.

Another option would be a hot wire cutter. I made one with a 6 foot long wire so we could use 1 inch thick foam in our 3/4 inch plywood cores. But I'm not sure how well that would work when the difference is only 2 mm. I think in your case, I'd go with sanding. Maybe outside or with the shop doors open so the wind would help take out the foam dust.

Tom

Thanks!!!

I could have a look and see if I can use a thicker isolation that i can cut in two with a hot wire...