Experienced Newbie

[Joanne]

I'm starting to believe that 99% of a successful build is perseverance.

That would leave only 1% for perspiration - I think you're using your perseverance a bit too concentrated - it will never soak into the wood like that......

Andrew

Andrew, my percentages off again?!?

Maybe we should develop a spreadsheet to work out the proper ratios. Of course we'll find some guy on e-bay proudly proclaiming that he has included the inspiration / persperation / perseverence spreadsheet on his teardrop CD.

Joanne

[gizmotron]

... Roly, always interested in seeing new ideas, looking forward to yours.

Well thanks Roly,

I am going to go south for the winters with it. I have Thousand Trails, Western Horizon, and AOR memberships. I know that a ten to eleven foot wide rig will fit into these. I just want to build a self contained campsite. It's good inside too. I'm bringing my satellite TV dish too.

Did you know that a Thetford RV toilet only weighs about ten pounds or less when not in use. I'm going to run one of those from one of the alcoves with a RV blue dump tank for dumping to my own hookup at my campsite. Normally these tanks are used by RVers to tow to the local dump stations. When the blue tank is not being used as a bathroom tank I will use the tank as a gray water overflow for doing dishes.

Mark

[bgordon]

Hi!

Welcome to the forum. I must agree with aunti M about the weight. Remember that a popup with solid walls will often weigh more than a 'traditional' trailer of the same size. This is because you have to account for the hinges, trim, and added strength of the different panels.

Drawing a concept as you did is helpful, but as always, the devil is in the details. For example, one of the biggest challenges with your (and any other popup) design will be to ensure that the panels are water tight when set up, and when it rains. As I understand it most of your seams in the setup position will be vertical, which means that rain could easily seep into the trailer, unless you make some or other gusset for that. Doing that will then affect the space that you have for the panels to fold on top of each other, etc..

Good luck with your design! We look forward to seeing your plans.

.

[gizmotron]

Hi!

Welcome to the forum. I must agree with aunti M about the weight. Remember that a popup with solid walls will often weigh more than a 'traditional' trailer of the same size. This is because you have to account for the hinges, trim, and added strength of the different panels.
...

Hi, thanks for the welcome.

So I'm using thin walled aluminum 3/4 inch tubing in a sandwich of tubing, insulation, (Thinsolite - the stuff for sleeping on snow) very thin skin with a little thicker gussets around the edges to beef up the riveting. There won't be any hinges. The panels are designed as tung and grove method. The panels will lock together with three thumb screws in each panel on the inside edge. Rain will run off because wind will have very little effect on the tung and grove joints.

Like this:



Mark

[MOKI SEAKER]

Might be better to build one of those skinny houses and put in a sleeping loft. There are some post's of those somewhere on this site...Jim G

[gizmotron]

Might be better to build one of those skinny houses and put in a sleeping loft. There are some post's of those somewhere on this site...Jim G

Well, I've gone and done it again.
After seeing this:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=17940

I have decided to copy the extended floor technique done here in spruce using aluminum. This will give me enough width while allowing me to go vertical with tip-up upper-walls & a pop up top. So I get a 6' by 9' teardrop with an inside galley and full standing headroom. Setup time will be just a few minutes with this type.

Still- the fold down sides of a utility trailer into a solid floor are a great idea for a family sized tent project. Perhaps someone will like that idea.

I like the idea of a Chalet type pop-up that is a teardrop. I believe it will give me way more room, cost way less if I build it myself, and weigh less if I use frame & skinned walls.

Mark

[gizmotron]

I built a unique trailer. It weighs 1,100 pounds. It is based on a #1,850 pound capacity Harbor Freight trailer. It has two tip outs and a pop-up vinyl top that makes the whole thing look like a covered wagon. When it's folded down, for road travel, it's only 66 inches tall and 5 feet wide. All the camping gear fits inside the tipouts. The bottom includes three large spaces for storage that are 12 inches tall.

[Junkboy999]

Hey Gizmo.

It definitely looks different. Did you take a lot of pictures. If you have a lot of picture while you were building it, maybe you can share them with the forums in a Build thread. Every thing that gets posted in the Newbie area get covered up really fast as new people join in and ask questions. some Nice pictures in a build log and a little write up for each picture might spark some other newbw to take on a camper like yours.


I myself would like to see the inside. Maybe even a video of it getting set up in the backyard or at your next camping outing.

Keep us posted.

[gizmotron]

Hey Gizmo.

It definitely looks different. Did you take a lot of pictures. If you have a lot of picture while you were building it, maybe you can share them with the forums in a Build thread. Every thing that gets posted in the Newbie area get covered up really fast as new people join in and ask questions. some Nice pictures in a build log and a little write up for each picture might spark ...

Sorry, I didn't take more than maybe one picture during construction. I built this in 9 long days at the end of August. That includes ordering the materials from home depot, picking up the trailer from Harbor Freight, and assembling & wiring it. In that time I also added a receiver hitch and wire harness to my tow vehicle.

[gizmotron]

OK, it's been almost 3 & 1/2 years since I took my covered wagon out on the road. I was out there full timing it for 2 & 12 years or more.

I I'll figure out how to post more pictures of how it looked when I came off the road. I'm going to tear it down and turn it into a self contained mini RV that weighs less than 1,000 lbs dry.

[gizmotron]

Here are some more pictures from how it changed: