footwell question

[Paul]

I guess I'm going to have to think some more about my profile. Do you have any upper cabinets or just lower cabinets in your galley. If I eliminate upper cabinets and only have lower cabinets in my galley, I'll wind up with plenty of counter space. Without upper cabinets I would have plenty of room to expand the seating area. Maybe I was just hoping for too much cabinet space back there. I was also trying to keep the footwell far enough forward so the doors don't wind up too close to where my fenders need to be. The profile I was originally thinking of using was 10 ft long, but I'm trying to keep from winding up with a bigger, heavier tear. Then I drew a really rounded profile for an 8 ft tear, but it left very little room for cabinets without sacrificing sleeping space. I'm just going to have to break down and build 3 teardrops, but I guess I had better wait until I get started on my first one before I think about that.

Paul

[BK One]

Thanks for posting those questions, Paul. I was preparing to post an identical list myself.

Thanks for your help and pictures, Jeanette. My footwell design is very similar. I just wasn't sure if it would be durable enough. By the way, your interior looks very comfortable and homey. My wife saw this picture posted elsewhere on the board and that's the one that convinced her that she wants a table and footwell. She's been very supportive (so far! I haven't even begun construction!). So a table she shall have! Anything you would have done differently?

BrianO

[Paul]

Danny, how long is the body on your tear?

Paul

[Esteban]

Jeanette,

Thenk you for the pictures of your footwell and table.

How much does it adds to the comfort and usability of your TD?

Steve B.

[halfdome, Danny]

Danny, how long is the body on your tear?

Paul

Paul, my tear is a 5' x 10' and the tongue box is 44" wide and 17" deep. The whole tear is 14' from hitch to galley handle. Danny

[jmtk]

Paul,

I measured everything for you: the footwell depth is 10" (to the top of the floor where the mattress sits), we use a 6" foam cushion, and given that we compress it about half way when seated on it, that gives us about 13" for the legs, my footwell has more ground clearance than I thought at 9 1/2". In this pic you can see how it's darn near right up against the axle:


I cut up my brand new foam futon mattress today to make the seat cushions. Here are some pictures. Note it's just the bare foam since I haven't had a chance to make the covers yet. Here's a shot from the rear looking forward so you can see the whole couch side:


This shot shows the bench seat in the rear of the cabin. You can see the round brackets where my son's bunk goes when it's set up for sleeping. The table fits in the footwell hole and then the couch just slides down over the top of it to form our bed.


Paul - my guess is that 36" wide table for two adults will probably be tight but doable. It depends on how cozy you like to be

Brian and Steve - I wish I had a bunch of experience with the table/footwell to give you some sage advice, but I only got the trailer campable around Thanksgiving and we've just taken one trip in it so far using a foam mattress that wasn't cut to allow use of the table. So my only experience with it to date is testing it out in the garage. Conceptually, I still love it. We'll see how it works practically as time goes on. With me on one side and my husband on the other, it's relatively easy to set up, especially if we don't bother to take down my son's bunk. The couch side is way comfortable. We'll stack pillows and bedding on half of the bench seat and leave the other half open for my son. My whole intent of the table is to allow us to have a warm, dry place to hang out in the evenings if it's really rainy, windy, cold or buggy.

Jeanette

[Paul]

Jeanette, thank you so much for the pictures and measurements. It's a big help in deciding what I need to do. I redrew my plans with 27 inches of sitting space on either side of the footwell. I am a little puzzled though. Your footwell is right up next to the axle. On my plans the footwell is about 11 inches forward of the axle. I have my axle drawn at 34 inches from the back end of the tear. Where is your axle located on your tear? My doors seem to be in the same relative position with the respect to the wheels that yours is.

Danny, thanks for the info. I'm still toying with the idea of making a 10 ft tear, although I'm leaning toward the 8 ft. My wife and son came in while I had the pictures up and my wife really seems to like your tear. This from someone who normally rolls her eyes every time I mention the word teardrop. The nice thing about doing a 10 footer would be that I could build in the galley cabinet space that I would like to have. I have a feeling I'll only get to build one of these things.

Paul

[jmtk]

Paul,

My wheel centers are right at 36" from the rear of the trailer. I'm using a torsion axle, and remember that the wheel center is not where the axle itself is due to the trailing torsion arms (or whatever you call them). There's about a 6" difference, with the axle farther forward than the wheel center. It's a bit hard to see in this pic, but should give you the idea:


Jeanette

[Paul]

Thanks, I forgot about it being a torsion axle. I was afraid I had made a mistake in my drawing and just hadn't caught it. You did a really nice job on your tear. I like the fenders.

Paul

[Paul]

Danny, I just finished going through your album to get a better idea of how your footwell was spaced inside your tear. Wow Your attention to detail blew me away. Very nice

Paul

[halfdome, Danny]

Danny, I just finished going through your album to get a better idea of how your footwell was spaced inside your tear. Wow Your attention to detail blew me away. Very nice

Paul

Thank You Paul . I can't help it, I was raised by a perfectionist and it rubbed off some. The kind of work I do for a living demands attention to detail. Good Luck in your build. Danny

[Roly Nelson]

Paul, if you check the pics in my construction webpage: http://gages.56.com/roly.html ,on page 7 you will see the footwell in use and my son in law and I sitting on double cushions. All of this is in an 8 ft tear, which would have been impossible with the interior cabinet in place. I built it so when the cabinet is empty, it can be released from below and folded flat against the rear wall. 4 adults can sit inside during the wind and rain, using the flip-up table that extends out from door to door. When finished, it folds neatly into the footwell, with a portion of the table providing the panel to close the footwell hole. Works for me. :-)

Roly

[halfdome, Danny]

Roly, your top link took me to some Chinese or something website. I see there is a difference of a dot instead of a dash. Danny

[Paul]

Roly, I have drooled over the pictures of your tear many times! I never realized that your interior cabinet was removable though. That's very clever. I have spent a lot of time looking at your construction pictures and admiring your craftsmanship I only hope that when I finally build mine it will look even half as good as yours. I'm finally starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel on some of my home improvement projects, and I've already told my wife that the tear is my next project. I would like to be able to get it built and use it a little before the kids are grown and gone off to college. (or already graduated from college!) I'm kind of thinking that a 9 ft tear built with half inch ply wouldn't be too heavy. Then I wouldn't have to do anything too clever to get the kind of cabinet space I think I want.

Paul

[Paul]

Roly, I forgot to ask, how much space do you have for sitting on either side of the footwell? I believe Jeanette said that she had about 28 inches on one side and two feet on the other. Depending on what I decide to do about some kind of tiny cabinet at the front of the tear, I may wind up with about 26 inches on one side and two feet on the other. (I guess that means it's really about two feet on both sides!) That would leave me with enough space to have about an 8 or 9 inch deep cabinet between the galley and interior of the tear. Then I can use the bottom part of that cabinet to mount some electrical outlets for the galley and the interior. I remember seeing something similar to that in here somewhere and thought it was a really good idea. But I don't want to wind up with a sitting area that's not comfortable at all. Decisions, decisions, I haven't even started building anything yet! I spend way too much time thinking about this stuff. Sometimes I lay awake at night thinking about how big the cabinets are going to be, where I'm going to put the lights and electrical outlets, how I'm going to route the wiring underneath, or what does the start angle need to be on the torsion axle to give me enough ground clearance with a footwell but not make the teardrop too high. Well, you get the idea. Thanks for sharing the info about your setup.

Paul