[Q]Ultra Light Teardrop (non-foamie)?

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[Q]Ultra Light Teardrop (non-foamie)?

Postby jdiebert » Fri Jun 22, 2018 10:50 am

Hi all,

So I have been toying with the idea of building a Tiny Teardrop for me and my girlfriend to go camping in. I've been slowly putting together design ideas and familiarizing myself with the terminology and techniques required to build one. However, my issue is that the Tow Vehicle I have to use is a 2017 Hyundai Tucson. It has a 2.0L 4-Cyl and is rated to tow a maximum of 1000lbs (1500 w/trailer brakes). So I figure with Myself, the Girlfriend and two littles it would be roughly 500lbs. And then we would have roughly 200lbs of gear (small tent, cooler, water, bedding, etc.) so that leaves me with approx. 800lbs or less for the teardrop...max. Is that doable? I don't need anything fancy, no plumbing or A/C, just doors a roof vent room for my propane camp stove and a cooler (or maybe an electric cooler?). A few lights for the cabin maybe one in the galley.

I don't want to go with a foamie because I don't think I would be very successful on a build like that. I'm thinking either a small Benroy or Kenskill or maybe a Squaredrop for simplicity. Thanks for any info you guys can provide.
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Re: [Q]Ultra Light Teardrop (non-foamie)?

Postby KennethW » Fri Jun 22, 2018 11:21 am

Yes it is possible. A aluminum trailer with aluminum wheels would go along way at meeting your goal. https://www.kotulas.com/deals/tools-and ... d-capacity 190 ship weight. A light weight floor 3/8 (you are not walking on it). The curve on a classic teardrop adds strength and light weight and is easier to do with ratchet straps
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Re: [Q]Ultra Light Teardrop (non-foamie)?

Postby NorthEGPhoto » Fri Jun 22, 2018 12:32 pm

And maybe just don't get too carried away with worrying about the weight. I was super freaked out about it but in the end unless you're building a tank you should be OK. I'm in a similar situation with my XV crosstrek. Researching my car, lead me to find out that the vehicle can actually tow up to 3500 lbs, but is limited because of local regs.. so, I'm not too worried personally about going over 1000 by a hare (10,20 lbs). if you're required to make roadside checks and registration checks then you may have to worry more.

That said, I let myself relax and build, and almost finished, I can still manhandle it around by myself. Since I know I can't lift 500lbs I know the tongue weight has to be somewhere around 100-250lbs. any more than that and I'd be not able to handle it. Same for pulling it, most of my weight is on the tongue at the moment. Gear load is probably what you need to worry about. Since I'm solo, I don't need to worry so much.

Consider things like batteries, and aircon if you want it - those things are going to be big. Water tanks, also. I also have a super old steel frame, that is not very light. If I didn't have that I'd probably be putting water tanks in. As it is, i'll be taking a tank - but empty and then filling it at the campground and emptying it when done, for boondocking I'll have to filter my water, or just take less, or some combination of both. In ontario and in canada there's no shortage of fresh water sources so I have that at least working in my favor.

Good luck with your build.
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Re: [Q]Ultra Light Teardrop (non-foamie)?

Postby Tomterrific » Fri Jun 22, 2018 12:38 pm

I built a 4x8 out of thin underlayment. It is very light weight. Every vehicle we own is a 4 clyinder. I can easily tow it with my Miata. The big drag is air drag at highway speeds.

Tt
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Re: [Q]Ultra Light Teardrop (non-foamie)?

Postby friz » Sun Jun 24, 2018 12:39 am

I have a CLC teardrop on an aluminum trailer. Weighs in at 500# empty with 60# of battery and a queen sized mattress. Pulls easy behind my focus.Image

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