hi from Romania

[bobhenry]

went onto E-Bay and requested "cast iron salesmans samples" These appear every now and then as Joy stove works from the Grey iron works in Pennsylvania. I have also seen a toaster size cast iron cook stove style that would accept wood and coal and was fully functional.

We attempted to use it on our very 1st camp outing in mid January of 08. It took the trailer from 42 to 76 degrees in about 12 minutes with a hand full of twigs. It was most unfortunate that I had forgotten the upper chiminey stack and it would not breath corectly. It was puffing back into the trailer due to lack of stack height and had to be removed. The pics above are from 09 and we were better prepared with all parts. We were still having down gust problems with persistant 35 MPH winds and I was ordered to remove it again. It will require a draft damper to function correctly. The chimney was custom bent for me at a local muffler shop from tail pipe stock.

[Shadow Catcher]

For the frame you want rectangular rather then square.

One of the sources I looked at for ideas were the Australian caravans and http://www.kimberleykaravans.com in particular. They are meant for off grid use and the use of LED lights solar panels, and diesel cooker and marine heater would be of interest in your situation.

Bobhenrys little pot belly stove would take fairly constant stoking and the thought of an open flame gives me pause.

Something you could build is an external detached stove/heater to burn wood or gas (could be the same heater) and heat either a fluid or air to be drawn into the teardrop. if you are using air I would want a CO detector in the tear.
As an idea make a natural draft furnace with a firebox inside a water box with fire tubes containing water or antifreeze running through the firebox, flues from the firebox running through the water box. This could be constructed using any number of different shaped containers.
An example of a commercial made model used in the US
http://www.nextlevelsolutionz.com/pictu ... rnaces.htm

[hallelujah]

For the frame you want rectangular rather then square.

why is that? (please have patience with the ignorant)

Off-grid winter heating will be THE issue with my teardrop. I see as of now less wood rot or rust problems than sustainable winter heating.

Found nanogel insulation; price is "only" about 1600 EUR/cubic meter; no solution on installing it though as it comes in granules.

[Shadow Catcher]

The forces on the frame, bending are mostly vertical and a rectangular section can place greater strength in the vertical. Think how difficult it is to bend a 2X6 when it is laid flat (2" section)versus trying to bend it the other way (6" section").
The easiest keep warm solution is to find a caravan heater, but now that I have had a chance to look at the external wood burner boiler idea the more I like it. There are a number of more or less expensive possibilities.
Before you go nuts with esoteric insulation remember you are not heating a large space/volume and you generate a good bit of heat.

[hallelujah]

Thank you for the explanation; now it makes more sense. In the meantime I've got a supplier of rectangular shaped aluminum frame; it is 60x40 mm and 2 or 3 mm wall thickness. Guess I'll go with 3 for more sturdiness.

remember you are not heating a large space/volume and you generate a good bit of heat.

about 100 W to be precise IF well fed beforehand Got the info from a German passive house design book.

[hallelujah]

2 new questions:

1. Does anybody have experience on building with polycarbonate boards (e.g. Lexan) instead of wood?

2. Are there any window suppliers that use polycarbonate glazing instead or glass?

I ask you these because I've seen just how tough polycarbonate can be and I wondered if that toughness could endure the harshness of off-road adventures (not to mention the physical security it offers - and no rot problems also).

Just in case you wondered how tough this stuff really is, here are some vids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ8G0XqLpeA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZHBZ9qZ ... re=related only 1 mm thickness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjWoot2O ... re=related cut out the security crap; it's raw polycarbonate

[hallelujah]

well, you know I'm sold to building with polycarbonate instead of wood; haven't yet found out if it's applicable to off-road teardrops though.

In the meantime I stumbled upon following link that I see worthy of sharing:

http://www.theplasticshop.co.uk/plastic ... _guide.pdf

Sincerely,

Tony

[myoung]

My story is that I want my place to live in, as I'm now 28 and still living with the parents. In Romania even a single room flat costs about 25.000 USD and wages are somewhere around 600 USD thus owning a flat is not a quite affordable option not to mention that you're bound to jobs to afford living in it; so I've been seeking for alternatives.

One of the first questions would be how do these things fare during winter time as we had temperatures as low as -22F.

Here are my suggestions. Build a somewhat more spacious camper, certainly one that you can stand up in or one that has a pop top to allow you to stretch out a bit. Insulate all the walls, floors, and ceilings well but stick with construction materials that are poor thermal conductors. Metal conducts heat much to well to be suitable for cold climates, I should think.

Live in the trailer while working in Romania when the weather is favorable. Save money as best you can. Then, when the weather turns cold, tow your mobile home to a place with more pleasant winter weather like some place on the Mediterranean. Get a job there part-time if you wish or must.

Lastly, enjoy the journey thru life. Have adventures while you can!!

[hallelujah]

Hi Mike, I would love to live the way you describe but in order to do that I must find an income source that suits this kind of lifestyle. I haven't found one so far.

Regarding heat transfer of Aluminum, you're right. But what other options do I have?

[myoung]

Hi Mike, I would love to live the way you describe but in order to do that I must find an income source that suits this kind of lifestyle. I haven't found one so far.

Regarding heat transfer of Aluminum, you're right. But what other options do I have?

Hmm. Do they have campground host jobs in Europe? Those are popular way to travel free or even make a little extra spending money here.

Wood is the most obvious option. Has all the wood been stripped away or has it become prohibitively expensive in Romania?

[hallelujah]

Campground host jobs? Haven't seen any in Romania as we don't have too many organized camping grounds (here you may camp wherever you want if you don't get harassed by police or get stolen upon). Don't have much experience abroad. Anyway do you see that as an option to get your money on the long run?

I gave it a thought about this stuff. The only option I have is to literally take the job with me. The only "thing" that in my opinion works universally is nursing. Yet I'm an engineer. Got to reconsider my options.

Wood is an option that rots away, so I try countering this from design stage with polycarbonate or something better (suited both for city vandalism and off-road).

[myoung]

Wood is an option that rots away, so I try countering this from design stage with polycarbonate or something better (suited both for city vandalism and off-road).

Rots away?? Good construction with treated wood, paint, etc. There are lots of ways of preventing rot. 200-year-old houses even in cold and damp climates seldom develop rot.

Protecting against vandalism, however, is another matter that begs for a solution such as a better neighborhood. Or, you could surround yourself with 155 mm howitzers, mortars, heavy machine guns, small tanks with twin 40 mm pom pom guns, and assorted other weaponry like my Sargent and I did in Vietnam. That's our TTT to the right of center in this photograph.

[hallelujah]

you see problem is in Romania owning weapons is quite difficult. Using them against humans puts one in a worse position than the actual evil doer. This is because if guns were as available as in the US things could actually be well