Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Posted: **Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:33 am**

This is sort of a build question, but sort of a comfort level / kitchen question....

My friend looking at my plans (and may be helping me build) mentioned that with the curve of the galley, and the counter being inset some inches (what? about 6" from the end of the trailer?) he was concerned that when standing at the galley, and having to bed forward some when doing food prep, etc that it could get uncomfortable. My plan is the regular 8' Kuffel creek cubby and he mentioned that a more square (rimple/benroy) design would make for a more comfortable kitchen.

Any thoughts? I never thought of this as a problem. I've been scouring for pictures where people are standing at their galleys, to get a good idea .
I'm 42 y/o and 5'7" ... I haven't thought of the galley counter being inset about 6" as being a problem.

Know what I mean?
Thanks!

Posted: **Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:53 am**

oklahomajewel wrote:.. I haven't thought of the galley counter being inset about 6" as being a problem.

Know what I mean?
Thanks!

Julie,

Good question :thumbsup:

There was a poll about bumpers the other day, and Len was talking about his back and the reach into the galley. I agree with him, and am building (almost finished with the lower part) a galley with a slide out sink that has a cutting board on top, and the slide out oven/stove. They both go under the counter top, so that gives me a galley that has a virtual counter space almost 8 feet long, and we can stand up close to prep food, wash dishes, cook etc. When I get the drawer faces on I'll post some pictures....

Did you get started on your floor?

Happy building,
Steve

Posted: **Sat Mar 11, 2006 12:49 pm**

Julie,
The usability of the galley was my primary concern when designing our teardrop. The counter will be a similar height to my kitchen counter (36-37") and will be only about 3-4" (depending on how the galley hatch works out) back from the edge of the trailer. Unfortunately it means we have lost a lot of the teardrop shape. Here is a drawing of what we are shooting for - sort of benoryish:

I live in an apartment and don’t really have a place to do a cardboard mockup, so I taped the teardrop out on the wall instead.

This allowed me to see how well things worked with my body. I realized that with my short arms I can’t reach to the upper cabinets. Initially we were going to have the upper cabinets be accessible from both the galley and the inside of the tear to add flexibility. Since I can’t reach them there is no sense adding doors on the galley side. I also realized that the bumper will have to be removable because it will be just too uncomfortable against my shins.

Every time I look at all those wonderful classic profiles I have to keep reminding myself that I am building this to make camping easier (later I will build a tear with beautiful curves and a figure out a pull out kitchen).

Hope this helps.
Katie

Posted: **Sat Mar 11, 2006 1:24 pm**

Julie,, Ill say as Steve did,, good question,, Ya know I never thought about it on either build,, I built the shape I was going for and put the counter top as far to the rear as I could and still get the hatch closed.
on my first the under counter storage also was as far back as I could get it,, and on the current one the counter comes to the edge of the rear and under counter storage is accessed thru a lid in the counter top, so I can lean up against the edge of the counter,,

One question is how much time are you really gonna be spending at the galley counter? It seems a lot of people use extended counter tops to the side or simply use a the picnic table as an extended work area,, The galley per sa is the staging area for cooking, cleaning etc,,, I can fry and egg, make a sandwich, open a bag of chips, mix a drink and I am out of the kitchen ,,, so to speak

If you are going for major meals and lots of counter top time then I think it will really make a difference as to how far the counter is inset,, otherwise, build it with the counter as far to the rear as ya can, design a counter extention, make a sandwich and get out of the kitchen and mingle with ya neighbors

One good place to check out galleys is in the the Galley Gallery,, there are a lot of ideas ya can use in building yours,,,

good luck girl,,

chipper :thumbsup:

Posted: **Sat Mar 11, 2006 2:11 pm**

Chip wrote:One question is how much time are you really gonna be spending at the galley counter? It seems a lot of people use extended counter tops to the side or simply use a the picnic table as an extended work area,, The galley per sa is the staging area for cooking, cleaning etc,,, I can fry and egg, make a sandwich, open a bag of chips, mix a drink and I am out of the kitchen ,,, so to speak

One good place to check out galleys is in the the Galley Gallery,, there are a lot of ideas ya can use in building yours,,,

Chip... yes I looked thru the Galley Gallery, but was looking more for pics of people standing at the galley.. Guess I will do a mock up.
I never thought it would be a problem, but my friend/neighbor asked. He's not a tall man , so maybe that's what came to mind.

I agree, there won't be a lot of time spent there, and I do plan on a pop up or slide out table for the stove, so that would be a good prep area. I would hope that if I was doing much cooking, I would get alot of prep done at home first. I was planning on putting the counter, etc out as far as possible with out having the hatch bump it. Or possibly put the whole counter on sliders?! haha

Thanks! Now if I can just get to building..... and I keep trying to remember K I S S !!!! :lips:

Posted: **Sat Mar 11, 2006 2:47 pm**

Julie, this is a question that has tortured me from the very start of my planning. Since then I have gone from the Kuffel Creek Comet plans to deciding on a Benroy profile instead. I also opted for a different start angle on the axle that I bought, so I could have the tear ride a bit lower. I am aiming to have my counter top at about 36", just like Katie. It seem like a good working height to me. I absolutely love to cook, so I didn't want to worry about having to bend over all the time. The slide-outs that a lot of others have gone with are really nice, and I gave them a lot of thought myself. The only thing that I think I might put on a slide-out is the stove/oven that I have, but I haven't completely decided on that yet. If you're not dead set on the Cubby profile, the Generic Benroy profile is a great way to get the cabinets closer the back.

Amy

Posted: **Sat Mar 11, 2006 3:49 pm**

Well, when I was in the kitchen a little bit ago, I thought,,, hmmm... pulled out one of the drawers about 6-8" and with the counter in front of me, that doesn't seem like any bending over at all.

I just realized I should've gone to get the hitch on my car today!! Well, maybe there's still time. Then off to get plywood...yippee... well, maybe tomorrow.....

Thanks everybody!
Julie

Posted: **Sat Mar 11, 2006 7:29 pm**

Hi

As others have said, It is a great idea to make a true dimension mock up. I made one out of cardboard, adjusted that then made a template out of hard board. I placed this on my trialer deck and then marked counter heights etc on the template. This was a great time to test the design and to make final adjustments. I have to say that the Cubby plans are very complete. However, I made my own deisng based on the back end shape of a Benroy, because I thought it would be a stretch to reach all the area of the Cubby galley.

This is how it turned out. I really am pleased with it

I also made my galley removable. The lower part of the bulk head wall can come out as well as the galley shelf and drawers. See...

If you are at the design stage see if this idea suits your needs

I made it this way because there are occasions when I want to use by TD for hauling and not camping. This is the best of both worlds for me.

http://www.nfdc.net/home/cbdb/Teardrop.htm

Have Fun Dreaming and Building,

Dee Bee

Posted: **Sun Mar 12, 2006 12:07 am**

oklahomajewel wrote:This is sort of a build question, but sort of a comfort level / kitchen question....

My friend looking at my plans (and may be helping me build) mentioned that with the curve of the galley, and the counter being inset some inches (what? about 6" from the end of the trailer?) he was concerned that when standing at the galley, and having to bed forward some when doing food prep, etc that it could get uncomfortable. My plan is the regular 8' Kuffel creek cubby and he mentioned that a more square (rimple/benroy) design would make for a more comfortable kitchen.

Any thoughts? I never thought of this as a problem. I've been scouring for pictures where people are standing at their galleys, to get a good idea .
I'm 42 y/o and 5'7" ... I haven't thought of the galley counter being inset about 6" as being a problem.

Know what I mean?
Thanks!

Hey Girl,

One of the reasons that I settled on my grasshopper design was that I waned the galley counter as close to the rear of the trailer as possible. With the rear of the trailer being vertical I can move the counter to the back. I love to cook so this was important to me. My back doesn't like me to lean over too much and my shins aren't happy when I crack them against the rear of a trailer trying to reach the counter.

Today's task was measuring so I could mount the cleats that the counter sits on. Issue 1 - make certain that the counter allows the hatch to close, issue 2 - move the counter as far back as possible without causing a problem with issue 1. I should have pictures on my website by Monday morning.

For those of us who like to cook, this is an important design consideration. Getting the galley right will make it a joy to cook, get it wrong will make it miserable.

Joanne

Posted: **Sun Mar 12, 2006 10:34 am**

Thanks for bringing this thread up, too late for me, but hopefully it will help someone else. The counter height was something I didn't even think about when I designed my trailer (guess you can tell how does the cooking in out house). :oops:

I was mainly worried about the overall height and hitch height. Now I think my counter height may be a little low (not sure what it is, will have to measure it later today when I am working on it). Luckily, I did read the threads on door size and height, as well as clearance in the foot area of the trailer.

Working without plans definatly has its disadvantages

but I wanted a Cub/Modernistic profile, and didn't find any plans availible for that shape. I guess a generic set of plans would have given me the basic information I needed.

Posted: **Thu Aug 03, 2006 1:05 pm**

When I did my galley "mock up" I measured and my counter is exactly at 36". That's usually what kitchen counter or stoves are in our homes.
That's my buddy Bill in the first pic. He's over 6' tall. Even Bill's wife, who's very short, came out to take a look. She gave it a "two thumbs up".

Barb

Posted: **Thu Aug 31, 2006 1:20 pm**

Has anyone made a full width slide out countertop? It would only need to slide rearward by 6" to avoid a knee banger situatuion or back ache problem.

Posted: **Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:13 pm**

oklahomajewel wrote:
This is sort of a build question, but sort of a comfort level / kitchen question....

My friend looking at my plans (and may be helping me build) mentioned that with the curve of the galley, and the counter being inset some inches (what? about 6" from the end of the trailer?) he was concerned that when standing at the galley, and having to bed forward some when doing food prep, etc that it could get uncomfortable. My plan is the regular 8' Kuffel creek cubby and he mentioned that a more square (rimple/benroy) design would make for a more comfortable kitchen.

Any thoughts? I never thought of this as a problem. I've been scouring for pictures where people are standing at their galleys, to get a good idea .
I'm 42 y/o and 5'7" ... I haven't thought of the galley counter being inset about 6" as being a problem.

Know what I mean?
Thanks! Smile

Hey Girl,

One of the reasons that I settled on my grasshopper design was that I waned the galley counter as close to the rear of the trailer as possible. With the rear of the trailer being vertical I can move the counter to the back. I love to cook so this was important to me. My back doesn't like me to lean over too much and my shins aren't happy when I crack them against the rear of a trailer trying to reach the counter.

Today's task was measuring so I could mount the cleats that the counter sits on. Issue 1 - make certain that the counter allows the hatch to close, issue 2 - move the counter as far back as possible without causing a problem with issue 1. I should have pictures on my website by Monday morning.

For those of us who like to cook, this is an important design consideration. Getting the galley right will make it a joy to cook, get it wrong will make it miserable.

Joanne

This it a good point. I know that the cabinets will not be used in a house; but you should use them as a reference anyway. People with a back or leg problems can have a real problem with bending ( leaning into a cabinet ) and balance.

Pat

Posted: **Sat Sep 16, 2006 7:39 am**

This very thought was what made my mind up to build a Rimple. That way you can limit the bending as much as possible. Ergonomics should play a big part in your project especially when "this is to use for fun".

Rog...

Posted: **Fri Oct 06, 2006 11:33 pm**

I have noticed that the "Cub/Modernistic/Modernaire" design will fit your needs and concerns about leaning over and it keeps the "Teardrop" look that is very popular.

Go to this website and look at the drawings very closely and you will see what I mean.

http://www.westhoffdesign.com/michael/t ... _plans.htm

Also this is Asianflava's Teardrop...I love his.
http://www.teardrops.us/userfiles/40/fi ... td1rsz.jpg

http://asianflava.journalspace.com/
Good Luck,

Dennis

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Galley height and cooking, etc

Galley height and cooking, etc

Re: Galley height and cooking, etc

galley

Galley Height

Re: Galley height and cooking, etc

Galley height

Keeping with the "Teardrop" design.