Building a standie TTT on garage floor??

[EZ]

It has been over 4 years since I posted that the Pigeon Coupe was sold to defray some medical expenses. Still pains me to see pictures of it. The desire to design and build another TTT from scratch is burning fiercely. Second time will be better maybe...... I will try to do it this time lighter and bigger but for the same cost (roughly $1000). Get lots of ideas in 4 years daydreaming.

I am thinking of maybe a 6 X 8 or 10 semi-standie, a sort of Puffin knock-off, but on a 1175 HF trailer with 12" wheels. Thing is, it will never fit in my garage due to the height. maybe it will be too high anyway with 12" wheels, but the trailers with 8" wheels do not seem to be the same quality (the trailer weight alone differs by a substantial amount). My thought is to assemble the trailer, build the floor to fit it and then build the camper on the floor on the garage floor. Making arrangements to attach it to the trailer will be new, and transferring it to the trailer when completed (at least the outside) will be a challenge. I see no other way to build indoors. This is Minnesota. It will be "light" with 4MM sandwich walls/top and use of epoxy/fiberglass for reinforcement.

I think I have seen this done on a thread somewhere else. Comments on this idea please?

Great to be back; you folks are fun.

Ed

[CarlLaFong]

Why not assemble the trailer, minus the suspension and go ahead and build, as usual. When it's done,jack it up, put on the springs, axle and hubs. If your floor is nice and smooth, roll it outside on the hubs, jack it up again and mount the wheels

[Wolffarmer]

Comment #1, stay the hell away from 8 inch tires. Just my opinion they are to small for long high speeds. Those little tires just do not give a good ride, they drop down in holes in the road. Also the bearings are spun a bit faster and as those trailers have cheap bearings and hubs........Well a proper greasing might help. Or get some better bearings. I don't know what those cost but they would be an added expense.

Comment #2 I like your idea of building the cabin inside and matting it to the trailer outside. I would first mount the floor to the trailer and then remove it and build it inside. I think you have a good idea there.

Randy

[Catherine+twins]

I built my tear body on the garage floor, then lifted it onto the trailer frame when my step-dad came home and wanted his garage back.

Unfortunately, DSD isn't going on any adventures this winter, so I may be starting build #2 in my living room. Fortunately I don't have a spouse to answer to if things get a bit messy. Although the kids have really gotten on the bandwagon (finally) about keeping the living room guest-ready. So maybe DSD will be interested in helping solve some of the engineering problems. That's the key. Get him involved, let him think he is giving me ideas I didn't have before, get HIM to suggest I work in his garage again.

Hmmm, I think I need some foam....

Catherine

[KCStudly]

Wow. That is almost scary, a women's mind at work. (All in good fun.)

The plan seems sound. Shouldn't be much trouble at all to get a few friends/acquaintances together to help dolly the cabin out and lift it up onto the chassis after construction. If you have room, consider building a short dolly platform to build on. This could allow you to include small caster wheels that would make wheeling the cabin around and out much easier.

See my build link here for some ideas (scroll down past my LED light stuff to "This evening I swung by ho-de-po..." for the start of my construction cradle build. The cradle will allow me to use my floor as a build table, then later a roll around dolly, and in my case, a rigging fixture to lower the cabin through a loft floor hatch.

[aggie79]

I don't know what height you're looking to build your TTT but you may be able to do something like what I did building our teardrop. I set the frame (wheels off) on a dolly made of 2x4s with casters. Then I built the floor, erected the sidewalls, etc. The reason I did it this way was not clear the garage door but make it easier to reach the top of the teardrop.

[webbaldo]

My td body is nearing completion and I haven't even got an axle yet lol just made basic trailer frame. The body can be moved and is just resting on it at present

[Wolffarmer]

My next TD will probably out over the wheels so I will have to have the trailer so I can get the wheel wells right. I want the wheels to be near where the TV's are

Randy

[angib]

Why not assemble the HF trailer frame without the springs, axle and wheels and build using that as a base. This mean you can add things that may pass through the floor(like wiring and hold-down bolts) as you go along and not have to arrange to do them at the end.

When you are done, roll the whole thing out of the garage using small rollers - wooden handles intended for brushes/brooms are ideal. Sure, it's how the Egyptians did things, but it's cheap and it works. Once outside, lift the trailer up and fit the running gear.

[CarlLaFong]

Why not assemble the HF trailer frame without the springs, axle and wheels and build using that as a base. This mean you can add things that may pass through the floor(like wiring and hold-down bolts) as you go along and not have to arrange to do them at the end.

When you are done, roll the whole thing out of the garage using small rollers - wooden handles intended for brushes/brooms are ideal. Sure, it's how the Egyptians did things, but it's cheap and it works. Once outside, lift the trailer up and fit the running gear.

Well, that's, pretty much, what I suggested in post #2.
"Why not assemble the trailer, minus the suspension and go ahead and build, as usual. When it's done,jack it up, put on the springs, axle and hubs. If your floor is nice and smooth, roll it outside on the hubs, jack it up again and mount the wheels"

I guess it's not a very good idea?!?!

[Lgboro]

I built my 4 x9 inside my shop and set it on the trailer after the inside and insulation was completed. It fit perfectly on my Tractor Supply (CarryOn) trailer. Mine was a cedar/ foam build and was very light. I got a couple of neighbors to help but I think two of us could have easily placed the tear on the trailer. The just a matter of installing aluminum and trim.

[angib]

I guess it's not a very good idea?!?!

Not if I don't pay attention as I'm reading..... Doh!

[aggie79]

Why not assemble the HF trailer frame without the springs, axle and wheels and build using that as a base. This mean you can add things that may pass through the floor(like wiring and hold-down bolts) as you go along and not have to arrange to do them at the end.

When you are done, roll the whole thing out of the garage using small rollers - wooden handles intended for brushes/brooms are ideal. Sure, it's how the Egyptians did things, but it's cheap and it works. Once outside, lift the trailer up and fit the running gear.

Well, that's, pretty much, what I suggested in post #2.
"Why not assemble the trailer, minus the suspension and go ahead and build, as usual. When it's done,jack it up, put on the springs, axle and hubs. If your floor is nice and smooth, roll it outside on the hubs, jack it up again and mount the wheels"

I did something similar to the above. First, I built the sidewalls and floor and stacked them to the side.



Then I built a cart/dolly for the frame using 2x4s and some casters. (In the picture below, the trailer frame and cart is upside down for "fitting.")



Then I placed the floor on the frame and erected the sidewalls.



The trailer cart allowed me to roll the teardrop in and out of the garage, and the lower height made it easier for me to reach on the top of the teardrop during construction.