Hello All, - Arlington Texas

[Mikol]

Hello all,
First of let me begin by saying WOW! You have a wonderful site here. There are so many helpful people and so much great information. Keep up the great work.

We are Becky and Mike from Arlington Tx. I found your site while searching the internet for homemade camper plans. We are avid outdoors people. If it can be done outside we are there. Most of our hobbies are related to being outside.

The reason we are researching the Tiny Travel Trailer concept is because we have a 31 foot camper now that is just a pain to store, hook up, tow. We like to be able to just hook and go for the weekend to relax, not have to work to get there. Granted our camper is great when it is setup. Oh and I love to tinker so this gives me a project to work on. LOL

Our goal is to have something built by next June so we can take a week and travel though the mountains west of Denver, Co. I was a teenager when my family moved south, and I would love to see how much they have changed in the past 30 something years. I would really like it to be done way before then, but that is the ultimate goal.

I have lurked around here for a couple weeks reading build journals and looking at all the plans I can find. We really do not have a profile in mind yet, but do know that we want a standy (standie). Some of the design profiles that we like are the Widget, Midget, Retrobox and the Puffin to name a few.

We have a Ford F-150 so towing a TTT will not be a problem. But by next summer who knows what we might be pulling it with.

Most of our camping trips are on the weekends when we have limited time. We normally camp where we have electricity and a public bathroom. So showering in the camper is not required.

Some of the creature comforts that we would like are: Full Bed, AC, port a potty, small inside sink. We would use an electric cook top or skillet when we cook inside (rarely), so a full inside galley is not required. Counter space for the coffee pot is a requirement though.

We do have a teen age daughter that will camp with us from time to time (rarely) so maybe some type bunk would be called for. Even if it is just something that we can install and put a twin air mattress on when she is with us and remove when we know she will not be going. More on this later on down the road.

My wife (CFO) has given me the go ahead to start working on a TTT. So I am going to be asking a lot of questions.

Like where do I start? Do I look for available trailers, and make my build fit them, or do I find a design and get a trailer to fit that? Or should I look more into design plans first?

I would like to start a discussion thread to brainstorm my ideas, which forum should I start it in?

Thanks
Mike

[planovet]

Welcome aboard!

There are many of us here from the DFW area. I'd look at some trailers to get an idea of what you want. You missed a golden opportunity to see a lot of trailers a couple of weeks ago at Joe Pool lake. But there are other gatherings to go too.

[caseydog]

Welcome. Like the cat said, we have a pretty active bunch of TD and TTT members in the DAFW area. We had about 20 trailers at Loyd Park last month. We have about 80 trailers at our big annual Halloween bash at Lake b
Bisteneau in a couple weeks.

I believe all the sites are booked at Bisteneau, but there is an overflow area with electricity. We pretty much take over the whole State Park.

That's the place to go to see a wide variety of builds.

CD

[starleen2]

welcome Mikol (another Fellow TEXAN) - as you know you'll find a wealth of info on this site alone. There are a lot of creative builders here and locally. We too camp with our daughter who is in her teens and it can be a challenge sometimes.

[Woodyperk6]

Welcome, as others have said there's quite few of us around here. Hope to see you at a gathering sometime.

There will probably be a few of us at Ray Roberts State Park the first part of Dec. Just watch the South Central section for details.

[rockinrobin]

Yay! Another Texan! Ronnie

[Mikol]

Thanks for the warm welcomes.

I will defiantly keep an eye out for all the gatherings. From what I have read on here they sound like a blast.

What forum should I post in to get the brainstorming going for my build?
I know it will be a standy type.

Mike

[starleen2]

Thanks for the warm welcomes.

I will defiantly keep an eye out for all the gatherings. From what I have read on here they sound like a blast.

What forum should I post in to get the brainstorming going for my build?
I know it will be a standy type.

Mike

General Disussions is a good place to start - then once you start building start a new thread for your build journal.

[aggie79]

Welcome Mike,

I'm still working on my first teadrop camper so I don't have a whole lot of advice to give you.

As far as a trailer, I had mine custom built by a welding shop in Keller. I furnished them with the axle and coupler. They furnished the steel and fabricated the trailer for $500. (I ordered a #9 Dexter torsion axle from Redneck Trailer Supply in Arlington for ~$230 and also bought my coupler there for ~$30.)

If you can find a pre-fabbed trailer that will work for you, that is probably the easiest route. There are a couple of things to be aware of if you go this route. First, the pre-fabbed trailers seem to be either overbuilt for what you need or underbuilt. Northern Tool has some nice, relatively inexpensive trailers, but many suggest that the tongues on these need to be strengthened. Second, you need to verify that the axle location is where you need it to be. On a standy, the axle is closer to the center of the platform, so you'll probably be okay. For a teardrop, many times the axle needs to be relocated further toward the back of the trailer to offset the weight of the galley.

If you can, try to come to LCG V at the end of the month. You'll see quite a variety of teardrops and standies.

Tom

[caseydog]

Welcome, as others have said there's quite few of us around here. Hope to see you at a gathering sometime.

There will probably be a few of us at Ray Roberts State Park the first part of Dec. Just watch the South Central section for details.

Here is what's left in 2010. The 2011 calendar is under construction, but will look very similar to the 2010 calendar.

http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=33383

CD

[caseydog]

What forum should I post in to get the brainstorming going for my build?
I know it will be a standy type.

Mike

Check out what WarPony did. It is a small standy that is probably my favorite.



CD

[bobhenry]

You can give yourself a big headstart with something like this.



This one went for $200.00 It had all the booth cushions and removable table a nice 3 burner cook top with oven sink and cabinets.

Even if a fellow knocked the box off of one like this and designed his own body you are still several hundred dollars ahead. Complete frame, salvaged lights,roof vent, and the afore mentioned goodies just to name a few. They are laying everywhere ya just gotta walk up and ask if its for sale. I have been GIVEN a boat and 2 small flatbed trailers just for asking.

P.S. Welcome to the insanity

[Mikol]

Thanks again everyone for the warm welcome.

I am going to take this to the general discussion forum.

We really like the look of the Widget. There are some really nice one out there.

Please take a look over there and brainstorm with me.

Mike

[caseydog]

Thanks again everyone for the warm welcome.

I am going to take this to the general discussion forum.

We really like the look of the Widget. There are some really nice one out there.

Please take a look over there and brainstorm with me.

Mike

I believe WarPony's TTT is based on the Widget.

It will be at LCG, by the way.

CD

[spinnernut]

What forum should I post in to get the brainstorming going for my build?
I know it will be a standy type.

Mike

Check out what WarPony did. It is a small standy that is probably my favorite.

Is this the bean or stew catapult



CD