Thank you so much for the feedback so far!
- Axle: definitely something on the to-do list, to check how easily it can be placed closer to the rear without too much effort.
- Sink: I see it as a luxury without too much penalty. I'm not concerned about the counter space because with this design it can be covered when not in use. It does however remove about a 12x24x6 space that could be used for a drawer, so that's a minus. It may also add too much weight in the back when traveling, but I currently own a pop-up and I've always traveled with it empty to minimize towing weight. I don't even drink from it, it's really to wash hands and maybe light dishes.
- Sketching: I used Sketchup for a long time but since they stopped the free version, I've switched to Fusion 360. The learning curve is steeper but if you put in the time, it becomes almost as easy as Sketchup. It's also useful for 3D printing. Given I've used software to plan anything for a least a decade, I'd have a hard time going back to 2D.
- Star Gazer: Yes, it took off Vintage Tech, as well as the doors! It seemed like a good way to bring light in the space. Now I'm wondering if with that window and the two doors is enough, or if extra windows would be necessary to brighten the cabin. It's not like if they will be used to "look outside" that much.
- Rear doors: yes, they would need to be very beefy. My plan is to use doubled 2x3 studs in each corner, 3/4 ply for the doors, and 3 heavy duty hinges for each that allow the doors to be rotated 270 degrees if desired, so parallel to the walls. The movement of the cooler from counter to door would actually be minimal in this case, so not worried about that. (not so much lifting but lateral movement)
- Cooler on tongue: that was my plan after realizing I could not fit the cooler into the rear floor drawer. Then I was questioning if I should make the box integral to the trailer or separate. The approach was annoying to me because I needed to make sure the box would be big enough for future cooler sizes, I needed to reinforce the tongue design, etc. I'm trying to avoid design choices that either add too much complication (for me) or limit future options/changes. When I saw that I could fit the cooler on the galley counter and that I could move it to a door shelf, it seemed like an easy way to simplify the design without closing the door to building a tongue box later if this approach isn't working. So I'm calling this the Minimum Viable Approach for the cooler.
- Propane tank: stupid question... is the full weight 5# or is that just the empty tank? I was trying to avoid a gas line across the trailer, but perhaps this is minimal effort and cost? To confirm, once hung on the door at the campsite, you could close the door with the tank sill on it. It's during traveling that the tank would be on the tongue. The other benefit of a portable design is that if you want to cook on the camping table or whatever, you can easily put the tank and stove anywhere (it's a classic Coleman 2 burner stove).
- Weight: this is concerning me now because I wasn't thinking about it that much, assuming I would be well below the trailer limits. Now I'll start crunching the numbers to see if I need to scale down the design. It's clear that the floor storage is creating weight concerns I need to verify. I was paranoind when I bought my 10 foot pop-up, knowing I had an Outback as my TV, so I weighted everything!
- Drawer slides: I'm not planning to use them because I'm concerned they will fail at some point and be relatively expensive. I wasn't even thinking about the weight! My plan is to use slick surfaces and elbow grease. Foamie drawers?
- Trailer height: I did create a block figure to see hip and head height. Adding a new picture to show (bottom blue is my leg height, green is hips/bum and top blue is upper body). It seems like I would be able to sit with maybe a little hop if at all, and for galley head room looks perfect and I placed the counter height based on the ground, at 38", just a bit higher than the ideal 36".
- Rack height: to help with that, I planned a little 45 degree angle at the back top edge to lay the kayak or canoe on the edge and push it on the racks. I would add a layer of material on that edge to protect the PMF. Maybe that angle should be flatter...
- back_butt.PNG (873.78 KiB) Viewed 1310 times
- side_butt.PNG (588.71 KiB) Viewed 1310 times
