(The Puffin) New Tiny Trailer

[steve wolverton]

I weighed the Puffin today. 796 pounds fully loaded ready to roll.

I estimated it would weigh 700 pounds, so I missed it by 100. I don't think I included the AC, 13" television, or 3/4" plywood dropped floor in the original calculations. I have 156 pounds of tongue weight. I'm probably going to remove the huge box on the tongue and replace it with a small one to hold my extension cords and stuff. I'll start hauling the items I have in the box under the bed when I get the rear hatch installed.

So, a hair under 800 pounds.

[NightCap]

I weighed the Puffin today. 796 pounds fully loaded ready to roll.

I estimated it would weigh 700 pounds, so I missed it by 100. I don't think I included the AC, 13" television, or 3/4" plywood dropped floor in the original calculations. I have 156 pounds of tongue weight. I'm probably going to remove the huge box on the tongue and replace it with a small one to hold my extension cords and stuff. I'll start hauling the items I have in the box under the bed when I get the rear hatch installed.

So, a hair under 800 pounds.

Very Sloppy estimating son. I think it is pretty darn good even to have a trailer like yours tip the scale under a thousand pounds anywho.

[Zorkman]

WOW, 796lbs thats awsome considering (according to harbor freights website) the trailer alone weighs 221 lbs.

[steve wolverton]

Very Sloppy estimating son. I think it is pretty darn good even to have a trailer like yours tip the scale under a thousand pounds anywho.

Yeah, I know. I should stick to building boats instead. I'm content with the weight.

WOW, 796lbs thats awsome considering (according to harbor freights website) the trailer alone weighs 221 lbs.

I figured it wasn't too bad. I pulled the fenders off the trailer, so I'm guessing it was closer to 200 when I started. I also used 1/2 floor and 1/4" sides/roof. Most people overbuild these things.

[mikeschn]

Hey Miriam,

That's exactly how I am going to do the Winter Warrior. How did you know?



Mike...

P.S. Steve's really got the weight down on that one... My escape hatch was 700 pounds empty, and that was with 1/2" walls.

:o

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

[steve wolverton]

My newest order of epoxy came in from RAKA today.


1.5 gallon kit + pumps + fillers.

I love the glass balloon fillers as they are *really* easy to sand. I hate the wood flour as it is *miserable* to sand, but it's very strong.

Now that I've got my fillers and extra epoxy, I can complete the exterior of the camper. I'm also going to go ahead and finish up my bathroom - that means I'm going to install the shower!

I'm going to install a small drain in the bathroom floor where the runoff will be collected under the camper in a grey water container. I'm using a simple 1 gallon pump sprayer for the shower setup. I have a one gallon pot that I use my Coleman stove to heat and dump the hot water into the sprayer. A few pumps and I'm showering away. I've been using this setup on my last few trips (with my privacy tent) and it works very well. I don't have to worry about pumps, electrics, etc. I use about 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon for a shower and it works well. Not having to leave the camper to shower will be even nicer.

[steve wolverton]

Ok, one more modification to the interior.

I've decided to go ahead and chop up the bed and make it into a settee.

[bledsoe3]

They always say our little trailers are never done.

[angib]

I keep trying to figure out how someone accesses the loo without opening the rear door of the trailer

Yeah, I didn't make the door open far enough in the animation. You just swing the door (the outer leaf) open more than 90 deg, until it's nearly pointing forwards and walk past it. You then fold out the inner leaf and pull the door back to around 90 deg at the same time.

Here's the corrected animation:



Andrew

[steve wolverton]

They always say our little trailers are never done.

No kidding. Always something to be changed, improved, removed, tweaked, etc.

BTW, Happy Bday dude.

[Trackstriper]

Steve - I've been quietly watching your build. Nice trailer...and it's your own design so it suits you well. Hats off to you for your tenacity in getting the job done. While I've been studying the whole TT thing, you've built one! Wish I had that kind of energy.

I really think you'll like the indoor shower. I have what I call my "cubbyhole" built into the mid-section of my work van. It has a transverse bunk (for one) and a combination shower/porta-potti enclosure that has served me well for a couple of hundred nights on the road, typically for a week or two at a stretch. I got really tired of dealing with motels when my work takes me out of town. The whole system wouldn't work without the shower. I do have a very small, brushless 12v centrifugal blower fan to continuously vent the enclosure to the outside. This helps the enclosure dry quicker and I have no moisture issues. It also helps with any odors from the potti. Something to consider, especially when sharing the Puffin!


Andrew - Thanks for sorting out the folding doors. I guess sometimes I do think within the box when the box is put in front of me.
I just knew that even I couldn't fit in the small remaining corners while the doors were being opened.

J.B.

[angib]

I just knew that even I couldn't fit in the small remaining corners while the doors were being opened.

And while creating that animation I realised that with the door hinged as it is, you probably can't get into the toilet compartment when the dinette is made into a bed, as the toilet door hits the bed before it has opened far enough.

Ain't nothing perfect, though that is a bit of a big restriction!

Andrew

[steve wolverton]

I really think you'll like the indoor shower.

I really think so too. I'm doing a lot of camping on the weekends now, and the last two times both of the showers at the campgrounds were full of people. This was at 11:00! I was sulking in my camper after riding 50 miles on my bike and stinking. That's when I decided I needed to finish my shower in the camper.

It has a transverse bunk (for one) and a combination shower/porta-potti enclosure that has served me well for a couple of hundred nights on the road, typically for a week or two at a stretch.

My family had a big Welcraft boat. In the cabin there was a shower/toilet combination similar to what you described and it worked very well. That's where I got my original idea.

I do have a very small, brushless 12v centrifugal blower fan to continuously vent the enclosure to the outside. This helps the enclosure dry quicker and I have no moisture issues. It also helps with any odors from the potti. Something to consider, especially when sharing the Puffin!

That is something that I need to add. I'm not sure the best route to do it though. The Puffin uses 110v, and I don't want to run a transformer, so I'm going to have to add a small exhaust fan. I'm guessing I'll just use a regular house bathroom exhaust, but that really seems overkill for a 30" x 36" closet. It would keep it dry in there though. Right now I have two 5" vents. I have one at the top of the bathroom and one at the bottom. Thanks for your input, I appreciate it!

[steve wolverton]

Ok, I finally drug my lazy butt outside and started working on the camper again. I took a week off and spent it by the pool. Have I mentioned how much I'd rather be camping than working on my camper?

I did a lot of sanding last night to get the camper ready for epoxy/fillers on the old seam line. Since I've moved the butt blocks inside of the camper, I can now have those filled in so they'll be smooth.

The little line that runs down the camper now is mostly decorative, but it does give some stiffness to the camper, especially below the back windows. I'm trying to figure out how I want to do the line on the front and back of the camper. Not sure if I want to come down in a \/ shape in the front, or make a small curve that is offset to the side a bit? I'll draw up a few different ones and then decide.



So everything below the line will be black, and everything above it will be white. The line itself will be red. I will seal the line with wood filler and fill the small gap from the curvy bit to the lines with epoxy.

[Greg M]

I do have a very small, brushless 12v centrifugal blower fan to continuously vent the enclosure to the outside. This helps the enclosure dry quicker and I have no moisture issues. It also helps with any odors from the potti. Something to consider, especially when sharing the Puffin!

That is something that I need to add. I'm not sure the best route to do it though. The Puffin uses 110v, and I don't want to run a transformer, so I'm going to have to add a small exhaust fan. I'm guessing I'll just use a regular house bathroom exhaust, but that really seems overkill for a 30" x 36" closet. It would keep it dry in there though. Right now I have two 5" vents. I have one at the top of the bathroom and one at the bottom. Thanks for your input, I appreciate it!

Hey Steve, how about using the fan from an old space heater? I had one that the heating element died in and the fan was basically an oversized, 120 VAC computer fan.

-Greg