Hello from Idaho

[IdahoATVer]

Hello all....man...lotsa great info here !! I plan on building a mini camper to pull behind my 4 wheeler, on a HF 40" * 48" ...the back will slide into the main unit to make trailer 7' long when camping and only 4' long when traveling (thats the idea anyway)...and the back will have a small galley as well....will prolly have lotsa questions.

Thanks,
Scott

[BillandMarijo]

Scott,
Hey welcome to the forum. Your idea sounds interesting. Anxious to see your pics once you get started on your build. Im sure if you have any questions youll find your answers here. Great people and really helpful.
Enjoy your build,
Bill

[Toytaco2]

Sounds like a great build idea. I've thought about something like this myself to use on a back country trips to the Colorado mountains. Please post lots of pics so we can see your progress and ... welcome to the forum.

[Miriam C.]

to the playground Scott. Sounds like a fun challenge. Just remember to keep your balances right and your materials light. Now you also need to get the out so you can keep the bubble oil level!

[satch]

That does sound interesting, been thinking on some ideas myself. BTW welcome! Keep us updated on your progress

[tinksdad]

Hey Scott....

Welcome to the sand box.

You didn't say in the description of what you plan to build on how many you plan on sleeping in it. Speaking from experience, the HD 40x48 is a good platform for a one-sleeper. My "itty-bitty" doesn't collapse to 4 foot for traveling; but it's only 7'2" to the extremes of the curves. The floor size is 75" x 39", the size of a twin mattress. I did have to put a longer tongue on it. I replaced the stock tongue with a 2 1/2" square tube 28" longer than stock. I probably would have changed the tongue even if I hadn't lengthened it. The stock HD tongue on that trailer left me wondering about it's strength and durability over time. If I hadn't switched the axle to the top of the springs and lowered the frame by 3", I might also have considered building out over the wheels. I probably could have gotten around 54" wide; but it would have still left small wheel well humps inside. The extra ~18" width in the galley would have been nice though.

Any ways, two weekends ago I did an 850 mile round trip in it and fully loaded I don't think it tipped the scales at much over 400 pounds. I lost .1 mpg towing it. True... the two states I traveled through were pretty un-hilly. I think the mountains in Louisiana are the parking lot speed bumps.

Sorry for the long post. I look forward to see some design sketches and the actual build while I do some finishing touches on "itty-bitty' and get started on #2.

[IdahoATVer]

Thanks for the welcome everyone....I got my trailer bought and built Sunday and played around with some cardboard mock-ups.....Tinksdad: I checked your album...nice lil trailer, cool to see one that is that wide ..or..narrow I guess....just one quick question?....or should I post somewhere else?....is the sandwich type wall or 3/4 plywood stronger i.e. for bumpy roads.....oh I plan sleeping 1 most times but when wife comes will be two.....we aren't very big people and "tried it out for size"...our lab will have to sleep outside when she comes tho .

Thanks Everyone,
Scott

[Wolffarmer]

Welcome Scott

I live in Rupert Idaho and built my TD in 2007. Interesting idea you have. If you plan on towing behind a ATV won't need to worry about wind resistance and all that jazz. I would say that the wall type is not quite as important as the joints between floor and wall and roof and wall. I did a sandwich wall and the joint between wall and floor turned out to be very strong. Purely by mistake. I built the floor then the walls on the bench and attached them. I swear I could have pulled the trailer over on its side with just the wall atached. Can we say, "Over engineered" well, if it had been engineered. I did build mine to go on rough/light 4x4 roads. It has almost 1000 miles of gravel and a few miles where i needed 4x4 low range. Have not had any problems with it

Have fun

[dwgriff1]

Have fun with it all.

dave, a fellow idahoan

[tinksdad]

Mine is 3/4 ply walls glued and screwed to the floor assembly. The roof is 1x2 poplar spars also glued and screwed. The whole thing is bolted to the frame with elevator style bolts. I'm not worried about it coming apart; but then again I'm not off-roading it.

The next one (in the design stage right now) will be sandwich walls just to shave off a few pounds here and there. Still plenty of screws and glue to make it strong and rigid.

[IdahoATVer]

Thanks everyone for the info, i will prolly try the sandwich walls...I thought there may be a few idahoans here!!

Thanks for the welcome !!
Scott