"Adventure Trailer" - your 2¢?

[Poorlytiedfly]

hello

I am now 3 years into the mental process of a new build. I say that b/c I have had my design (nothing 100% original) squared away for that long. My design requires a custom built trailer and I have been hesitant to drop the cash and pull the trigger - until now. I would love to have some opinions on my design/profile, the overall dimensions and any suggestions that will help me finalize my plan before I start the build in early January.

My design is much less "teardrop" than most. I has elements of a grasshopper and several off-road builds that I have liked - but it is bigger. Overall, the main footprint of my trailer will be 11'x6'6". The wheels are half recessed into the trailer footprint - fendered where they extend past. It was important to me to have a large portion of my roof flat to accommodate a safari/gear basket and a pair of kayaks. My tow vehicle is a 2014 VW Touareg and I wanted the two to look pretty good together. I especially wanted the heights to work together to promote good trailering. Since my intial post I have followed the suggestions below and clipped the top rear corner off the design. I think this is going to complicate my galley but I am going to explore a split upper/lower door design where the lower doors open out to the sides.

Let me know what you think and if you see any issues right away with the design.



Here is a scale cutout in cardboard.

[Vedette]

Looks Good!
Are you going to have a Galley in the rear?
My only concern in your design is "Drag" As your trailer appears taller than most, I would cut a 45 degree triangle off of the top rear of your side profile. It would not effect your headroom while standing at the Galley if you have an overhead hatch??
You would be surprised as to how much drag (loss of gas mileage) you create with that large flat (vertical) back??
Good Luck with your build.
Where are you?
Brian & Sandi

[tony.latham]

I like the profile, but keep in mind, that front bottom angle is probably costing you a foot of floor space that could be used for storage.

Just a thought.

Tony

[Poorlytiedfly]

Thank you for the advice! I will look at modifying the design to reduce drag on the back. I will have a full galley on the rear. I am planning on finishing the exterior with the cotton canvas/resin (ghetto fiberglass) method. One hangup I have had for a long time was that the larger dimensions I wanted required several seams in building materials and exterior finish materials. I think the canvas/resin method - then professionally painted will be a great solution to my problem.

In regards to the front(nose) piece. I have designed my own version of a CoolerAir system that uses 6" PVC pipe, a DC fan and some PVC fittings filled with a handful of solid frozen water bottles. My plan was to use this space for this (and other) systems. Since I am building off a 10'6" trailer platform and that portion actually protrudes out in front of it, I am plenty good with my remaining floor space.

One other pretty unique thing that I have stumbled upon is a website called (I didn't name it) http://www.RASTERBATOR.net. A "raster" file is an image file that can be blown WAY up. This free websight gives you the ability to take a simple picture, or in my case my design - and blow it up as big as you want. What you basically get is tons of pages coming out of your printer that you can tape together and see a 1:1 ratio of your design. Here is mine in my basement (ceiling is 8' for reference). It is a fun way to better envision your build in real life before you get the chance to actually begin building it.

[Poorlytiedfly]

Here is a tweak to the original design. I clipped the top rear corner off which will complicate my build by not not allowing me to simply hinge a 90° galley door but I can figure out how to make it work.

[NugHunter]

With the amount of time you put into design. There is no doubt in my book the build will come out awesome ! I am also sure as you build.. you're plans will alter here and there ..so now comes the hard..but fun part !

[alaska teardrop]

Welcome aboard.

I think that your first design is just fine, because with the roof rack & kayaks affecting the aerodynamics, the shape of the rear roof won't make much difference. The rounded back creates less galley space & the hatch may not lift high enough to stand under before hitting the kayaks. Maybe consider rear barn doors.

Fred

[S. Heisley]

Welcome aboard.

I think that your first design is just fine, because with the roof rack & kayaks affecting the aerodynamics, the shape of the rear roof won't make much difference. The rounded back creates less galley space & the hatch may not lift high enough to stand under before hitting the kayaks. Maybe consider rear barn doors.

Fred

What Fred said.

[Esteban]

Sonetpro's teardrop may give you inspiration. He is an avid kayak fisherman who built a beautiful teardrop.











Sonetpro's albums:

https://sonetpro.shutterfly.com/

gallery/album.php?album_id=1936

[booyah]

FWIW, I looked at traveling with kayaks on top of my camper, and opted not to because the kayaks got in the way of opening the galley. I would have to arrive, remove the kayak, store it somewhere, to use the camper. If I car top it though, the camper is ready to go as soon as I arrive, and if I have to move the kayak to a launch, or a beach somewhere, its already on the car.

For that reason I car top the kayak, and leave the camper top open. Mind you my kayak is 17ft, so it is longer than most. Otherwise looks like a nice design to me.

[Esteban]

Sonetpro's set up with a kayak support on the tongue may help you have enough room to open the galley.

Another reason to tote the kayak on the roof of your car would to leave room for a solar panel on the teardrops roof.

[Poorlytiedfly]

is there a good tutorial available to design/build split opening, barn door galley? I am not really finding anything.

[noseoil]

I like the idea of the car topper, solar panel on the trailer roof & a squared-off bottom at the front, for more interior space & volume. The lower edge in front is blocked by the tow vehicle, so why not use it to make more room inside for sleeping or storage?

The split galley doors would be best built like the cargo doors on a commercial cargo trailer. They can be made to seal well enough, but it isn't built as often as a regular type of galley & hatch, with the single hinge along the top of the hatch. The conventional galley setup has a lot going for it, which is why it's built so often. It provides shade, a simple kitchen layout & is a good way of dealing with the space efficiently & economically.

In the end it's your money & time which will be spent, so figure out a plan you like & just do it! Once you have the plan, stick with it & try not to deviate too much, or there will be a lot of re-work & back-tracking on details which can be frustrating. It's all a compromise anyway....

[S. Heisley]

is there a good tutorial available to design/build split opening, barn door galley? I am not really finding anything.

BobHenry built real barn doors and a barn trailer; but he is such a prolific poster that I gave up after about 29 pages of his stuff. I'm surprised that he hasn't popped into your thread yet. Anyway, I found this posting and copied it so you could see:

The barn was a very intense 30 day build and years later it still serves me well with little I would change.

A bit of good planning goes a long way !

Here's another one that's sort of a half and half: http://smg.photobucket.com/user/IanFJ/m ... sort=3&o=0
You could do that with a flat back. If you can, I would put a roof overhang lip for either of these, though. It doesn't have to be much. Just extend the roof at least an inch past the doors to add a little protection from rain running down the walls. Otherwise, the rain is likely as not to puddle at the top of the door and you'll get wet when you open them and that "puddle" slides off! This one is similar to what you had in mind and is a good idea because you could build a center post into the cabinets for the lower doors to rest and close on.

[jss06]

The drag from a squared off rear is not bad. I averaged 21 MPG over 3000 miles round trip to Yellowstone last year. Your design is 1.5ft wider and about 2 feet longer than mine.