Caruso tiny trailer

[kenfyoozed]

OK here is my design i call the Caruso.



Here is a link of drawings i did. Its not to scale, but i do have it drawn on paper to scale.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/kenfyooze ... ?.dir=d3e2

This started as a simple project to house me and my family during hurricane relief work. I am tired of waiting for an hour or more at the community showers, and the camper we stay in is owned by my grandfather, so the ntire family tries to cram in. Last weekend 6 adults and 1 child slept in a popup. And more of the family, exteneded of course ie. aunts, uncles, cousins, were not present but will be soon. So as with any large close knit family, a LOUD "discussion" will soon erupt.

I wanted a tiny trailer to house at least 3 adults and 1 child, ie myself, wife, son, and my mother. i wanted a shower and possible toilet for those cold nights when making it to the bath house is just crazy when its 32 degrees out.

So i designed the Caruso. It started life having a 12' long floor that is 6'6 wide. It has a dinette in the front that converts to a bed. A shower/toilet room where the porta pottis slides from under the rear bunk when needed. Two bunks in the rear. A space for a camping stove, a sink, and a fridge under the sink or stove.

After seeing this site, and the Tab, i too wanted a teardrop shape. i know this isnt considered a teardrop because of many things. Maybe it can start a new catagory, Raindrops. Raindrops are larger that teardrops , right?!

With the tear shape, as it bulgesout in the front and slopes in the rear, the front dinette became a bed of 54" wide. Thats close to a queen right? i May scale down to a full if need be. The rear bottom bunk became 48"wide, while the top is 36"wide. There is 30" between the bottom bunk and the top bunk and between the top bunk and the roof, at the front edge of the bunk. The shower is 30x30. Ill probably have to make my own shower stall, but after building a canoe, jonboat, and restoring a sailboat, fiberglass is starting to be a breeze. The countertop for the stove/sink is 20" deep and 4' long. height will depend on height of fridge.
there will be shelves/drawers under the bar next to the fridge. There are cabinets over the sink/stove as well as over the dinette/bed. The overall height inside is 7'6". This seems to tall to me but i may keep it.The design still needs tweeking,but i like it and my wife likes it.

I know i havent shown areas for freshwater storage, or wastewater, or chassis design, or how the wheels will play a roll in the intereior design. But its all coming together.

One thought i had of the wheels was to keep them on the outside like a real teardrop. That would push the width to just about what a bassboat trailer is.

So what are your thoughts?

[Hardin Valley Magic]

My only concern would be with the sliding toilet. I under stand the concept however.....Sliding?

[bledsoe3]

It's a little tall for a teardrop but has the profile of one. I like the design, and it would probably be better for a family than my Benroy. Do you plan to paint it or skin it with aluminum.

[angib]

So what are your thoughts?

It's an interesting design, though I think it will look a lot less pretty if drawn to scale - the illustrations in your photo album scale at 5'6" interior height, so it will have to be a lot higher relative to the length.

This won't be a light trailer, so either you need to include tandem axles with 13" wheels/tires or make space for at least 14" wheels/tires. If you have 7'6" interior height, it's hard to see how the whole trailer is going to be much under 9'6"-10' high - I hope you have a big truck to pull that windage.

This Goodyear RV tire page can be used to get tire diameters and widths.

You definitely want to look at the Maxitear web site as that's fairly close to your design in size.

And, to avoid family fights, can a child really fit in that upper bunk? - that's a small triangular space under the roof. It would cure claustrophobia, I guess.....

Keep posting your design as you do it.

Andrew

[kenfyoozed]

Thanks for the input. I too was thinking about the sliding toilet issue. Im not sure how its going to work yet, but ill figure out a way. As for the height it conserns me also, but I have a Ford Expedition with a 5.4 and just towed 12000lbs worth of kitchen equipement to out new site and got 13mpg. Its actually my wifes truck, and when she drives we normally only get 12mpg with city/highway mixed. I was thinking 13 inch wheels with only 1 axle. I like the painted silver star wheels. As far as weight i dont think it will be as heavy as it seams. I plan to use 1.75x1.75 "studs" that i will have to cut, 1/4 luan exterior, 1/8 panelling interior, and fiberglass the entire trailer inside and out. As i said i have worked with enough fiberglass, so i think this should be enough. Light yet strong. I do plan on testing the strength for rocks being kicked up. As far as windage while being pulled, wouldnt the teardrop shape help somewhat better than compared to just a flat front and rear?

thanks for the help.
Neil