Is 67 inches too wide for a Teardrop?

[Arne]

I would not make a trailer to fit a frame. visa-versa...

I wanted a queen sized mattress, and I wanted to see out of my normal rearview mirrors, and I wanted it no wider than my minivan.

If I had a frame wider, I'd make it narrower.. in my case, I had a narrow frame I made wider.

you're gonna live with it for years...

[brian_bp]

...The Tamden axles are still on the design table. It would sure help the tongue weight.

I'm not sure how tandem axles will help the tongue weight... it will be the same as for a single axle placed midway between the two axle positions of the tandem setup.

Tandem axles will also make the coupler/hitch height more critical, since lifting the coupler too high forces load from leading to trailing axle and rapidly increases the tongue weight, while carrying the coupler too low transfer load from trailing to leading axle and leaves little on the tongue.

I'm not saying that tandems are bad, and I'm sure that the fine-looking examples above are appropriately configured and work well... it's just that tandems are not fundamentally a solution to tongue weight concerns. Perhaps the idea is that with tandems the trailer will be more stable, and thus a lower tongue weight could be used?

[john]

Madjack....

...too wide???...NAW..but keep in mind that any width over 80"(including) will require additional lighting...this width includes lights, bolt heads or any other protrusions...not a biggie but needs to be in mind while building...243" long...that is about 6' too long...unless you are building a monster..........

What lighting considerations should be kept in mind?

[brian_bp]

Madjack....

...too wide???...NAW..but keep in mind that any width over 80"(including) will require additional lighting...

What lighting considerations should be kept in mind?

Clearance lights, front and rear, plus the three-light "identification" group centred at the rear, which is supposed to tell following drivers that you have a wide trailer.

From NHTSA: Trailers: Federal Lighting Equipment Location requirements (in this list, the additional lights due to being over 80" wide are areas 6, 7, and 8 )

[john]

Considering the price of the lights and the fact that more lights increase the chance for tickets for broken lights I will stay under 80" wide.

Thanks for the link.

[Patrickteardrop]

How about this one?



Mike...

THAT'S what I want to build, right there!!! That is sweeeeeeeet! Who owns that beauty? Is that one in the Gallery with more than just that single picture?

I plan on towing with one of three vehicles - a '56 Plymouth wagon with a 440, a '78 Chrysler New Yorker, or a '96 Dodge Cummins, so pulling ability and stopping power is not an issue, regardless!

[jdarkoregon]

66

Just to keep the books straight, when you look back at Mike's three images of tandem tears. The first on was never made, it was a photoshoped image of another trailer Mike had built, he made it up special to give me an idea (or give me a hard time). The second one, The Maxitear really isn't a teardrop, it should be catagorized as a canned ham. The third one I built. The verdict is still out as to if it is a teardrop or not. It is pretty big but follows the basic definition of a tear. Here is the other side. For others you'll just have to look through the album.



Show us your design, off a drawing or some CAD program, but show us someting,

Thanks ~ John

[Patrickteardrop]

Don't have anything written down, and I surely don't have a CAD program.

What you have is what I am looking to build. Whether it is considered a canned ham or a teardrop by some, is not an issue to me. I like the style, and that is what matters to me. I am interested in building one close to what you have. What are the basic dimensions of yours? Weight? Do you have brake axles on both, or just the rear axle?

[jdarkoregon]

Frame is 66 inches by 12 feet (11 feet would have been enough)
Interior is 54 inches tall, 48 would have been enough and saved me some money
stick framed, but the plywood with cutouts for insulation will be the next "framing" method I use.
I don't know the weight, but it's too much, My fault.
Brakes are on both axles, but I only have the front ones wired.
You are going to have lots of fun building and deciding what you want.
Look through the hall of fame, there are several that will turn you on.

Ask all the questions you want, there are always people who will pipe in with an opinion, REMEMBER that, Our opinions might help, but you go ahead and do what you think is best.

John, and thanks for the positive comments on my trailer, Mona and I love it and enjoy it more everytime we use it.

take care and happy new year

[wlooper89]

Madjack....

...too wide???...NAW..but keep in mind that any width over 80"(including) will require additional lighting...

What lighting considerations should be kept in mind?

Clearance lights, front and rear, plus the three-light "identification" group centred at the rear, which is supposed to tell following drivers that you have a wide trailer.

From NHTSA: Trailers: Federal Lighting Equipment Location requirements (in this list, the additional lights due to being over 80" wide are areas 6, 7, and 8 )

My Little Guy has a 72" wide frame but the wheels and fenders stick out about 11" on each side, making it almost 8' wide at that point. Does the outside width of the wheel base need to be included in overall width if that is wider than the trailer frame?

The trailer is built with front and rear clearance lights mounted on the fenders, but no center rear identification lamps. From the chart it appears the center rear lights, area 7, would be required if the outside wheelbase of my trailer is counted as part of the width.

But then I would be surprised if Little Guy is building trailers that lack required lights.

Bill

[Arne]

my t/d is queen sized mattress (60") plus 1" wall clearance, plus 2 walls 1-3/4" wide. Total of... 64.5"

my only concern was to keep the minivan mirrors usable, which they are....

We are off to the South in FEB... can not wait to head out....

[wlooper89]

Hi Arne, sounds like a great plan! My trailer body is 72" wide and I can still see down the sides with regular mirors of a mid-size SUV. But just barely. The trailer is a 6' wide Little Guy. I now wish I had gotten the 5' wide model. The width of your trailer should be fine.

Bill

[brian_bp]

...
My Little Guy has a 72" wide frame but the wheels and fenders stick out about 11" on each side, making it almost 8' wide at that point. Does the outside width of the wheel base need to be included in overall width if that is wider than the trailer frame?

The trailer is built with front and rear clearance lights mounted on the fenders, but no center rear identification lamps. From the chart it appears the center rear lights, area 7, would be required if the outside wheelbase of my trailer is counted as part of the width.

But then I would be surprised if Little Guy is building trailers that lack required lights.

Bill

It may be that the "width" is only of the main body, and excludes wheels and the fenders covering them. It may also be that the Little Guy is not compliant with the rules; with no offense intended to any manufacturer, it wouldn't be the first time that something was built and sold which did not follow the rules. In practice, as long as cops don't issue tickets, it's allowed.

It's also possible that each state's implementation of the federal rules varies, and the fenders count in some places and not others. Here in Alberta, the regulation does not say anything about what is or is not included in the width, except to say that the load carried on a trailer is included. It would not make much sense to me if a trailer with a 72" wide deck needs wide-vehicle identification lights when it is carrying an 81" wide load, but not when it is not carrying the load despite having a 94" overall width across the fenders. Good sense, of course, is optional in law.


In the Alberta rules, the associated section for clearance lights does specifically allow truck tractors to place the clearance lights to "indicate the width of the cab only", rather than the whole truck (which would include wheels and fenders much like a trailer)... but that doesn't exempt it from having wide-vehicle identification lights.

Again in our local rules here...

The identification lamps on a vehicle must be controlled by a circuit that is independent of the circuit that controls the headlamps and tail lamps of the vehicle.

and it says the same thing for the clearance lights.

Large commercial trucks do this, which is one reason they use a 7-pin connector just to run the trailer lights. Recreational trailers and small commerical stuff using electric brakes use the RV-style 7-pin connector, and (at least in any case I've seen, including my own factory-built trailers) the clearance and identification lights are just connected to the tail lamp circuit... so what is commonly built and sold does not necessarily comply with the rules.


By the way, FMVSS 108 and Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 108 are coordinated (essentially identical), so the U.S. and Canadian situations are comparable and Alberta works as an example of how local regs (state or provincial) interact with the federal (U.S. or Canadian) rules.

[john]

The reason I ask about the lights as associated with trailer width is that I need to decide whether or not to stay under 80".


The body of the camper will be 72" wide. Fenders and wheels mounted outside the camper body will increase that width beyond 80" I prefer not to take up interior room with wheels and fenders as I need space more than than the wheels need protection from the elements .


The problem is...do i need the extra lights? Or should I bring the wheels inboard a little? Which is cheaper, easier and cooler?

[wlooper89]

This link has photos of the 6 wide Little Guy with wheels giving it a width of more than 90". It has all the lights for this width in the chart Brian_BP posted earlier except the rear identification lamps.

http://golittleguy.com/flyers/6-WidePlatformFlyer.pdf

If I were building a trailer and wanted one this wide I would do it like LG. The only extra lights as compared to a trailer less than 80" wide are the front and rear clearance lamps placed at the widest point. In this case on the fenders. LG uses a combination housing on each fender with the yellow lens facing forward and red lens facing rearward. They are just steady lights that might be off during the day, not tied to turn signals.

To me the front and rear clearance lamps do improve safety on trailers 80" or more wide, because otherwise another driver might not see the wheels sticking out at night.

As for the safety aspect of the rear identification lamps the functional purpose is to indicate the presence of a wide vehicle. I suppose that could have some safety value too.

The Little Guy 6' wide is the same trailer and light arrangement that I have, and although I have never been stopped about the lack of rear identification lamps, I am considering adding them.

Bill