(The Puffin) New Tiny Trailer

[Greg M]

Hey Steve, you have a pic of your trailer just before putting on the First piece of wood?

Yup.

Now you need to show me some pics of the velomobile body you've got on your trike

-Greg

[NightCap]

Are you planning to use a dropped floor?

I think I am going to make it without the dropped floor. But we will see how it goes when the time comes to make that decision.

[steve wolverton]

Now you need to show me some pics of the velomobile body you've got on your trike

I'll zip them up and send the link. Funny you should mention that because I'm planning to build an ultralight teardrop using that same technique (foam/fiberglass) that I think I can build under 100 pounds! The trailer would be the bulk of the weight, so I'm guessing 300 pounds or less for the entire setup.

[Tear Les]

Steve?
My wife wants to see a pic of your bathroom she says there is no way you could have put a bathroom with a door in there that was possible for any one over the age of 3 to use. I really love your design. I would build my self one like that BUT mine would have to be 6'8" wide to fit me in the bed.
Thanks !
Jason

Another option is to use the Thetford cassette toilet:



It's sort of like an uptown porta-potti but it has a more refined look. The waste tank part you empty is accessed from outside (it's in the drawing at the left). The unit holds its own flushing water. You just open a door in the side of the TT, grab the waste tank, empty it, then put it back. Best to time this when no one will be using the potty!

Steve's 30X36 bathroom is quite generous. I'm in the boat business and it's not unusual on smaller (say 25-foot) boats to have a 24X24 space (that's really tight but it does work).

[apratt]

Steve's 30X36 bathroom is quite generous. I'm in the boat business and it's not unusual on smaller (say 25-foot) boats to have a 24X24 space (that's really tight but it does work).[/quote]


Only if you leave the door open.

[steve wolverton]

Another option is to use the Thetford cassette toilet:

Yup, I really like that setup. I remember looking at it, but it was out of my price range.

[Tear Les]

Yup, I really like that setup. I remember looking at it, but it was out of my price range.

Mine too but it's a nice option if the price doesn't scare you!

[Tear Les]

Not to highjack the thread...

NightCap showed a floorplan for a TT. Here's one I drew up last year; the exercise was to try and get a portable toilet in there without dedicating full-time precious square footage to a area that only sees limited use.



The idea is that across the front is a full width counter; the portable toilet is on heavy duty full extension drawer slides and pulls out from underneath the counter when needed (unlike the drawing it would actually face sideways; towards the entry door).

The simplest way to get privacy would be a curtain track on the ceiling; when in use you just enclose the space by pulling the curtain around (kinda like a bathtub/shower arrangement). For the appearance of more privacy (it's psychological rather than physical in reality) I also devised a hinged lid arrangement that would fold out into a small room (with hard sides); personally I wouldn't add the extra weight or hassle but since each person is different it's an option.

I went with the dinette/bed arrangement because we have really wet weather here and hanging out inside on a rainy day with a table would be nice. I'm amazed that 6'1" Steve and a camping buddy can sleep on that 6' long and only 48" wide bed in his trailer! The one here is 6' 8" long (but it could be any desired number) and 60" wide (my absolute minimum if I'm going to share the bed with my wife or the dogs! ).

Back to Steve's regular programming...

[NightCap]

Not to highjack the thread...

NightCap showed a floorplan for a TT. Here's one I drew up last year; the exercise was to try and get a portable toilet in there without dedicating full-time precious square footage to a area that only sees limited use.

The idea is that across the front is a full width counter; the portable toilet is on heavy duty full extension drawer slides and pulls out from underneath the counter when needed (unlike the drawing it would actually face sideways; towards the entry door).

The simplest way to get privacy would be a curtain track on the ceiling; when in use you just enclose the space by pulling the curtain around (kinda like a bathtub/shower arrangement). For the appearance of more privacy (it's psychological rather than physical in reality) I also devised a hinged lid arrangement that would fold out into a small room (with hard sides); personally I wouldn't add the extra weight or hassle but since each person is different it's an option.

snip

Back to Steve's regular programming...

I like the idea, thought provoking in fact. It does make a lot of sense. If you have a kid or two sleeping on the floor herding them all out might be tough in the middle of the night. But with just two in the tear it would work. Now to Steve for his opinion.

[steve wolverton]

NightCap & lblampman - Nice drawing. Some of the good things about the layout is the obvious gain of space since you wouldn't have to dedicate a room to the bathroom. You could also install a large window across the front of the camper like the Airstreams.

Here's an idea too - instead of having the portable toilet under the counter, why not place it under the settee? You could then have an L-shaped counter that would give a lot more counter space.

Something else that I really like about the straight counter in the front is you could also build a bunk above the counter for one child. This would benefit in two ways - having extra sleeping area for a kid, and it would also strengthen the front top of the camper. It could be hinged on the front wall so that it could be raised up for a little extra room during the day. A larger sleeping bunk could be built over the rear bed. This setup would allow for 2 adults in the bed in the back, 2 kids in the top bunk, and one kid in the front bunk. That's 5 people sleeping in an 8' camper.

The reason I didn't use a straight counter was I had to have a dedicated bathroom. Well, I didn't *have* to have it, but if I wanted to take some of my buddies with me then I needed a separate bathroom. Many of the girls I take camping aren't really big on the idea of camping. One of the first questions is "where do you go to the bathroom?" Once they realize there is an airconditioner, TV, bed, and a bathroom they're more willing to try camping. I have to admit, having a bathroom inside the camper is nice. I hated getting up in the middle of the night to run to a group bathroom, or peeing on a tree.

lblampman - "I'm amazed that 6'1" Steve and a camping buddy can sleep on that 6' long and only 48" wide bed in his trailer!"

I've been camping with 4 buddies in this thing. The shortest was 5'2" and the tallest was 5'4". I'm 6'1" and 185 pounds, so I'm tall but not real wide. I also tend to sleep curled up on my side so it's not much of an issue for me. I would not want to camp with anyone but the closest of friends in this thing. Then again, I wouldn't take anyone camping with me that I didn't want to brush up against at night.

NightCap - The reason I asked about the dropped floor was for storage reasons. If your camper is going to be stored outside, or you have tall garage doors then it won't be a problem. The cool thing about dropped floors is for every inch you lower your floor, you can make your camper an inch shorter. Less wind resistance too. Just food for thought.

It's all trade-offs, especially in a camper as small as the ones we make.

[angib]

.....the exercise was to try and get a portable toilet in there without dedicating full-time precious square footage to a area that only sees limited use......

Here's my plan for a full toilet compartment that shrinks down when not in use. It just needs a double-layer door - two pieces of 1/4" ply would do. This is a straight copy of the same arrangement in a boat my Dad had when I was a boy, so I know it works just fine. Any space devoted to a toilet compartment serves no useful purpose* for 99% of the time - and in a small trailer, that's too much waste.



This is shown next to an entry door, but it could be used against a side wall as well.

Don't keep watching the ammernimation - you'll go blind

Andrew

* One exception I've seen is to make a fabric hanging closet that's normally suspended over the portapotty and is lifted out of the way when the compartment is being used.

[Tear Les]

Good Andrew! That's what I meant when I said "I also devised a hinged lid arrangement that would fold out into a small room (with hard sides)" but no way could I have drawn it as you did!

Your animation is so cool it almost makes me want to build one just to watch!

[apratt]

Andrew, That is a good idea, except for one problem if in the middle of the night you would have to step outside then open the bathroom door then step back into the trailer. It does open up some idea. One of my in-laws of in-laws had a rig that had a door that slide out and then you open the door like a normal door. I know that is a terible way explaining it. The door was set up in a frame work of 3 sides that slided in or out of the bathroom stall and you could open the door with the set up in or slid out. If it was in you didn't have any room to get in. I hope I didn't confuse you all.

[Trackstriper]

Andrew,

I may have gone blind! I keep trying to figure out how someone accesses the loo without opening the rear door of the trailer and stepping outside in order to manipulate the folding doors. Is this how it works or am I missing something?

Thank you for your many wonderful design insights on this forum. I am playing with a design very similar to your 'compact' and have seen the doors in the static CAD files, but this animation really helps. I just can't noodle out the human motion necessary to go along with the folding doors motion.

J.B.

[Miriam C.]

Guys if the door bothers you just put it going the other way. That way it opens to the inside of the TTT.