Instant Addiction & a Kenskill 5x8?

[TheWoodbot]

Hey there all,

I haven't even put saw to wood yet, and I'm already a full blown addict. I poked around the web for the past few months, but the intense addiction started in earnest about three weeks ago when I found the tntt and I have been lurking/lurning ever since.

After masking-taping off a section of living room floor and lying down, I (pardon me) my wife and I, have made some decisions. Here are the facts and the subsequent decisions:

Just the Facts:
I am a wide, not-too-tall guy with a pretty short wife. No Kids. We love camping. We live in Chicago and have a two car garage with 1 vehicle: a smaller FWD SUV (Kia Sportage) with a towing capacity of 1500 lbs. Don't really need a microwave and a TV, but love cooking over an open fire and love the idea of the teardrop galley. We have mid level wood working skills, and a mid level collection of tools, with access to lots of folks with the goods and the knowledge. Zero in the welding department. But a lot in the creativity and desire department.

So, we did some narrowing down of shapes and sizes and here is our initial thoughts on plans:

Dimensions
Length 96"
Width 60"
Height 48"
Again 4 feet wide was just a little too slim for comfort, and I need the trailer to fit in the garage next to the car when completed.
Garage and alley are also a factor in the 96" length. Although we waffled a bit on the over all length. Weight is the main concern in keeping it shorter I think...

Profile
Kenskill with a tonguebox of some kind
Benroy was a close second but we liked the Kenskill lines a little bit better and are up for the challenge

Chassis
5x8 trailer
possibly this one from Northern Tool because it looks lightweight and I would hopefully not have to have much (if any) welding work done:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200356494_200356494

So after all that here is my question:
Is this doable? Especially the Kenskill shape at the smaller size & the hope that I wouldn't have to do much (in the way of welding) to the trailer.

I would appreciate any feedback in the decision making phase. From my lurking, you all seem like super friendly folks, and I really look forward to bouncing
ideas off of you all. There is an amazing wealth of knowledge in this forum.

Thanks for being willing to share the wealth,
Tim

Edited this post after receiving a couple of suggestions from other folks...
Sounds like ten footer might be in my future. This is going to be a lifelong addiction, I can tell.

[jdarkoregon]

YOU TWO are going to love camping in a teardrop and meeting the new people who are already infected.

Welcome to the Forum,

John

[Gage]

Profile:
Kenskill with a tonguebox of some kind

Good choice. And I think you just might be in luck. Below is a picture of a couple of Kinskill’s. Well one Kenskill and one 'look-a-like'. The shiny one is a restore by remake and has been widen to 5'. Its 9'6" long (stock length). The other one is 10' x 5' and was scratch built. You can see how I did it. HERE. If your interested on how I did it.



As a side note: The shiny one is skinned with polished stainless steel and I saw somewhere that it is for sale.

[Ron Dickey]

your kia is perfict. I am not wide but my wife is under 5 foot. I would get one of those collapsable foot stools for her if you mike it to high like mine is. Which ever one does the cooking should paying attention to where they like what. Most folks do not build in the kitchen until they have seen everyone elses. but the best ones are pre built in.

If you can go camping with a tent or sleep in the Kia and go to 1 or 2 gatherings you will begin to understand. My pictures are in 2 computers so I have to remember which has which.
I chose not to have one and we cook under a netted tent but I am beginning to design a new one with a kitchen inside because when you stop on the road you can just open up the galley and eat.

I have lived in Milwuakee and remeber the cold and humid hot of the mid west. you want to insalate you camper and have a fan in the roof and windows you can open wide.
I have a portable fan for the dry desert so air keep flowing.

take a look at my album and you can see all types of trailers. In California old trailers never die.

look forward to you new build
Ron

[Vedette]

Welcome to the Forum Tim.
Don't be so worried about the welding part. I am sure you have some friends that have mig elders that would be willing to help you out with your project.
Beer is always a good trade for free labour.
Nice choice of styles.
Sandi and I have been avid tent campers for years, but we really look forward to this new chapter in our life as teardroppers.
Ours is 4 weeks away from completion, and we look forward to a long roads trip this summer.
Good Luck with your build.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[bc toys]

Anything is doable if you try hard enuff do lots of reading and measuring drawing or layouts but most of all have fun doing it. And welcome from Las Vegas Nv wish you a great time.

[Oldragbaggers]

Welcome to the forum. If we have to have an addiction, this is a really good one to have.

Of course it's doable, and there are plenty of kind and knowledgeable folks here who are always willing to help you along with advice and ideas (sometimes too many to process).

Best of luck. I am looking forward to your build thread. I have learned so much from everyone else's build threads.

[3822sean]

welcome to the forum and the addic tion