It's time for a new Generic Standy Design...

[MOKI SEAKER]

Just my 2 cents I would think a T@B clone with a drop floor would work..Jim

[Elumia]

re; weight:

Most older canned hams were made with 2x2 framing with exterior aluminium skin only on the outside, 1/8" ply on the inside.
The old 1970 trotwood pictured below I am working on was supposed to be 800 lbs.

base is approx 115", 84" wide. about 6' standing height inside. No bathroom. it is most comparable to a shasta compact. Inside had a dinette across the back that would work out from the door back to the end. it could have been configured to be 2 2' twins or a dropped table to make a king size bed. a fold out 4' bunk above. kitchen across the front with a 2' x 3-4' closet - could have put in a portapotty if you wanted to remove shelving. door is only 21" floor is 2x4 perimeter. plywood rests on main frame while 2x4's rest on angle iron that is attached below frame. deck was only 1/2" I replaced it w/5x8" tounge and groove plywood intended for subflooring. it is plenty strong. the widest is spans is between the main frame members which is probably 3 to 3-1/2 feet. I am considering dropping the floor to gain some headroom (I'm 6'4, but I still won't really be able to stand so I'm not sure it is worth the effort.

Part of the reason people want a bigger trailer is to sleep more than 2.

I think most teadrops are a bit overbuilt, but don't suffer too much weight penalty because of their small size. If you build a small camper like you build a TD, it will be too heavy for a prebuilt trailer. Anything over 1500 lbs should also have brakes. Even built with such flimsy materials, you will find many of these old trailer still serviceable after 30-40 years if they have been looked after to prevent leaks. water seepage (and interior condensation) causes the interior framing to rot.

Most bigger trailers were more self contained in terms of water systems as well. mine at one time surely had a water tank (was missing but fill is there)

[DougH]

My build is going to be about 1/2 way between this and a tear. A rough Benroy profile about 54-56" height and 5' wide 8' long. A couch/bed lengthwise against one wall and a fold down table from the other. No rear galley but last 18-24" will be storage, top half accessible from inside and bottom from outside.
Main goal is to have enough height to sit comfortably inside, not worried about standing full height. Past experience shows little need to be able to cook inside but do want a place to get out of bad weather.

[rmclarke]

Wow....I really like this thread so far. This is just what I have been dreaming/planning about (except in a 5 1/2 x 10 1/2 size and without the shower) I've been toying with a sort of fliptop retro Sunspot
http://tnttt.com/album_ ... c_id=22601
until Mike said:

For this design I think I want to avoid pop up tops, as they make things way too complex.

Need to reconsider....again
I'm gonna watch this thread with much interest because the final plans could always be..um...tweaked by the end user, right ?

Richard

[steve wolverton]

The T@B clone, (Midget, Tidget, Widgets) are great looking campers. If we're trying to maximize the storage space (people + gear) it seems like a box would be the best shape. Most people seem to be attracted to the tear/canned ham shapes, so it now becomes how much space do you want to cut-off the corners to get the nice shape? Everyone wants to have a nice looking camper, so how much should looks play in the design as compared to functionality?

Elumia - Cool litle camper

[apratt]

What I would want in a small trailer would be....
Bed for 2 or 2 twin bed (32").
Small stove and sink.
A bathroom no smaller than 32" wide and 36" deep, shower would be opintional.
A dinette for 2.

[mikeschn]

Richard, What if the design allowed for a trolly top, so one could make the trolly top as tall as desired... depending on the height of the builder.

Steve, sounds like there's a trade off between looks and storage as well...

Del, the custom bolt together has potential too. I wonder what our resident engineer thinks?

Fornesto, What if half of the back was an outside galley, and the other half was an inside bathroom. The door to the trailer would be behind the wheel instead of in front, and the bed would be at the front of the trailer. that gets us back to an 11' long trailer.

Mike...

[steve wolverton]

Steve, sounds like there's a trade off between looks and storage as well...

Here's another idea, why don't people use the space on the tongue part of the camper construction too? I've seen a large RV that was built all the way out to the hitch of the frame. Instead of putting a storage box on the tongue, we could use that space for the camper body as well.

[SaGR]

Here's another idea, why don't people use the space on the tongue part of the camper construction too? I've seen a large RV that was built all the way out to the hitch of the frame.

Short turning radius (or backing at least)?

[steve wolverton]

Here's another idea, why don't people use the space on the tongue part of the camper construction too? I've seen a large RV that was built all the way out to the hitch of the frame.

Short turning radius (or backing at least)?

Not if you follow the triangle of the tongue, it (the camper) wouldn't stick out further than the trailer.

[Kankujoe]

Sounds to me that the further you progress into the design characteristics of a TTT or mega-TD the closer you come to a box or v-nosed box body style and then you come pretty close to converting a standard "off-the-shelf cargo trailer. And it seems that this option may even be less expensive & a whole lot faster.

[SaGR]

True enough Steve, I stand corrected. When I read it I thought you meant a flat front.

I think KJ hit the spot there

[packerz4]

i like steve's idea. kinda like the puffin. a box for the maximum amount of room. drop floor optional, and small rounded edges so it doesn't look totally like a box.

making a good generic TTT plan is good, and preserves the integrity of the hard-core teardrop fans. (smooch to Gage)

that's what i'm planning for #2 someday. but then again, my #1 is a box too, just a short one with an interior height of 4.5 feet.


mike, looking forward to some sketches! i didn't notice, why can't you build for a few months? i'll go back and read the entire thread when i get home.


tk

[caseydog]

I think you could do a pass-thru galley if you put the galley in the back, and bed in the front. Here is a quick doodle with a seat that folds out to make a bed. You would need to go 6-wide for this layout, or make the cusions extend to sleep longitudinally instead of transverse, as drawn.

Boxing off the shape some would help with the pass-thru galley and storage above the bed.

CD

[Elumia]

problem with a pass thru galley is - if you design for proper inside counter height it is too tall for outside and vice versa.