Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Looks, really, really good. I plan on starting a thread soon for my own build. A lot on inspiration here. A couple more questions:
- Do you have a gray water tank to catch the water going down the sink, or does it just drain to the outside?
- I see hot and cold water lines going down through the floor, is this just to drain the lines later, or does this feed to something else?
- There's a white switch visible on the inside of the cabinet under the sink, pump shutoff?
- Do you have a link to the water tank you ordered, and how is it secured to the floor so it doesn't move?

marosell wrote:Looks, really, really good. I plan on starting a thread soon for my own build. A lot on inspiration here. A couple more questions:
- Do you have a gray water tank to catch the water going down the sink, or does it just drain to the outside?
- I see hot and cold water lines going down through the floor, is this just to drain the lines later, or does this feed to something else?
- There's a white switch visible on the inside of the cabinet under the sink, pump shutoff?
- Do you have a link to the water tank you ordered, and how is it secured to the floor so it doesn't move?

Hey Marosell, thanks for the feedack! Here are the answers to your questions:

We do not have a gray water tank. Right now we're waiting for the 3" bayonet fitting so that we'll be able to hook up a hose when in a campground with those facilities. If we end up boondocking or stealthing(?) in a parking lot, the sink will just drain to the ground. The sink is the only indoor water we'll be running.

The hot and cold lines hook up to nylon reinforced flexible hose under the trailer, and from there to the water heater. We read that Pex should not be exposed to the sun, so that's why we went that way.

The white switch under the cabinet is actually an undercabinet light. It's the LED fixture that came in the cargo trailer when we bought it, so we just repurposed it for under the cabinet. We thought it would make it easier to deal with the utilities in the future if we need to. The water pump switch is actually on the cabinet wall to the left of the sink, along with the switch for the upper undercabinet lights.

The link to the water tank is here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/25-GALLON-Fresh-Water-Tank-New-NSF-food-truck-holding-wash-tiny-concession-rv/182536603516

We've been having a blast building this camper -- I'm sure you will, too! I can't wait to see your build. Make sure you take lots of pictures.

We're ready to go camping!!

We've been finishing the last items on the list, and we think we're good to go.

We put an interior latch on the ramp door. We wanted to be able to secure it from the inside in such a way that we can make a quick exit if necessary. We went with one latch in the center, that goes up into the steel frame member. This is what we came up with:


We made a waterproof vinyl cover for the exterior-mounted water heater.


We put jackstands on each back corner.


The big project we finished were the beds. Those were quite a long time in the making from start to finish. I can't count how many different ideas/plans we considered with before we settled on the final plan. We wanted to preserve enough room to haul two dirt bikes, so we decided to go with a fold up bed on each side. You can see here that we covered them in black vinyl, and then installed the support leg with piano hinges. The support legs run the whole length of the bed, and then they just fold down when the bed is up. I got some ultrasuede on sale for $6.99 per yard, and made covers for the mattresses.


When the beds are in the up position, we have 53" of clear space. When the beds are down, we have 10" of space to walk between the beds.


We hold them up with latches we got at the farm and fleet store in town.


So, that's where we are as of today. We're planning to do a test run to a three day music festival next weekend that's about an hour from home. We might have to do a little "urban camping" before then, since our dog needs to see some specialists at the University of Minnesota Veterinary College. That's about a four hour trip each way, so it will be nice to be able to stay overnight if we need to. Wherever we end up, I'll post some pictures of the camper in action.

You guys really knocked this build out in a hurry. That takes a lot of commitment and a lot of skills. Great job.
The "Emergency Egress Latch " on the rear ramp door is a very smart idea. You never know what could happen and having a "plan b" that is 7'x7' just might save your bacon someday. Obviously, you will want to provide a way of locking the outer latches in the open position so they cant be tampered with.
Looking forward to those action pics.

McDave

McDave wrote:You guys really knocked this build out in a hurry. That takes a lot of commitment and a lot of skills. Great job.

McDave

I agree! What a gorgeous and functional conversion!

McDave wrote:You guys really knocked this build out in a hurry. That takes a lot of commitment and a lot of skills. Great job.
The "Emergency Egress Latch " on the rear ramp door is a very smart idea. You never know what could happen and having a "plan b" that is 7'x7' just might save your bacon someday. Obviously, you will want to provide a way of locking the outer latches in the open position so they cant be tampered with.
Looking forward to those action pics.

McDave

No fears, we've got padlocks to secure the outer latches so no one can mess with them!

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement, McDave and Aggie79. It has been a lot of fun. Now we've got to get busy hitting the road!

kirkupnorth, Howdy;

kirkupnorth wrote:

McDave wrote:You guys really knocked this build out in a hurry. That takes a lot of commitment and a lot of skills. Great job.
The "Emergency Egress Latch " on the rear ramp door is a very smart idea. You never know what could happen and having a "plan b" that is 7'x7' just might save your bacon someday. Obviously, you will want to provide a way of locking the outer latches in the open position so they cant be tampered with.
Looking forward to those action pics.

McDave

No fears, we've got padlocks to secure the outer latches so no one can mess with them!

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement, McDave and Aggie79. It has been a lot of fun. Now we've got to get busy hitting the road!

Just remember that the cam locking mechanism (at top and bottom of the vertical rod),will
still lock you in without the handle being placed in the latches. The latch is only there to
secure the swing arm from vibrating to the open position while in motion. In the link, the second
items from top and bottom are the cams that do the actual locking of the door. The handle is
referred to as a swing arm that is held by the latch/hasp.
https://www.etrailer.com/Enclosed-Trail ... 83200.html
So, even if you lock the latch/hasp you can still be locked inside by the cams.

hank

hankaye wrote:kirkupnorth, Howdy;

kirkupnorth wrote:

McDave wrote:You guys really knocked this build out in a hurry. That takes a lot of commitment and a lot of skills. Great job.
The "Emergency Egress Latch " on the rear ramp door is a very smart idea. You never know what could happen and having a "plan b" that is 7'x7' just might save your bacon someday. Obviously, you will want to provide a way of locking the outer latches in the open position so they cant be tampered with.
Looking forward to those action pics.

McDave

No fears, we've got padlocks to secure the outer latches so no one can mess with them!

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement, McDave and Aggie79. It has been a lot of fun. Now we've got to get busy hitting the road!

Just remember that the cam locking mechanism (at top and bottom of the vertical rod),will
still lock you in without the handle being placed in the latches. The latch is only there to
secure the swing arm from vibrating to the open position while in motion. In the link, the second
items from top and bottom are the cams that do the actual locking of the door. The handle is
referred to as a swing arm that is held by the latch/hasp.
https://www.etrailer.com/Enclosed-Trail ... 83200.html
So, even if you lock the latch/hasp you can still be locked inside by the cams.

hank

Wow, Hank -- thanks for pointing that out and for providing the link!!

Well, the CTC is now officially "The Camper". We just got back from our first camping trip, and everything went pretty well. We had decided to make the first trip a short one, so we went to Ely, Minnesota, where the town was holding its "Blueberry Festival". We stayed in the Bear Head Lake State Park campground about 20 minutes from town. This is about a three hour drive from our part of northern MN.

This is a lovely state park, with very nice surroundings, wildlife, beautiful scenery, and some amenities. The camp sites are very private and have electricity. There is a water fill and tank dumping station just inside the entrance of the park.


This shows our campsite when we first arrived. All of the sites have a fire ring and a picnic table.


This path takes you around the bay to an area where you can rent kayaks, canoes, and fishing boats.


This is a lovely lake -- it's very quiet because there's a 15 MPH boat speed limit. This lake is about 20 minutes from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, (BWCA).

How did the new camper perform?? Everything went pretty well, but we had forgotten a few items. You can see here that we need to pack a few more leveling blocks!! This was not an ideal setup, but it worked.



I had also forgotten to pack a knife, so had to cut the pizza with a scissors. I know it sounds kind of gross, but I did wash them first.

We were very pleased with how comfortable the beds were, and how much space we had indoors. The air conditioner worked great. The weather was nice, but we had to leave the dogs in the camper while we were at the blueberry festival, so we left the AC running for them.

Overall it was a successful outing and we had a great time. And now we have a state park sticker, which will come in handy with the camper. Minnesota has over 70 state parks around the state, so we've got lots of options for short trips. I'm already thinking about a longer trip -- maybe run down to Florida and enjoy some warm weather over Christmas vacation. Sounds good!

Last week we broke down and put a omnidirectional TV antenna on the camper. We were glad to have it while camping over Labor Day weekend, because we had nothing but thunderstorms and heavy rain Friday afternoon and through the night.



We were unwilling to drill holes into the roof for an antenna, so we screwed it onto a small piece of plywood, and then used heavy duty Velcro to hold it in place on the trailer roof. Our portable mounting system worked just fine -- even through the thunderstorms. Needless to say, we take it down before hitting the road.

It worked really well. We were about 25-35 miles from the nearest small town transmitters, and we were surrounded by tall trees. The antenna pulled in seven stations.

I know a lot of folks disapprove of TV while camping, but I was glad to have it due to the weather. If anyone's interested, the Amazon link is here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078SLDJLW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This coming week we're going to insulate the underside of the trailer, which we had decided to put off until the end of summer. We picked up the insulation today, so I guess it's official.....summer's over! I'll keep you posted on the insulation project.

Thank you for the antenna link! I like your detachable mount idea too!

Are work schedules are not too flexible so we have to plan a long time in advance for camping. We prefer to be outside, but if it is raining during our limited camp schedule, then we enjoy watching TV and like to have channel access in addition to DVDs.

Take care,
Tom

kirkupnorth wrote:Last week we broke down and put a omnidirectional TV antenna on the camper. We were glad to have it while camping over Labor Day weekend, because we had nothing but thunderstorms and heavy rain Friday afternoon and through the night.



We were unwilling to drill holes into the roof for an antenna, so we screwed it onto a small piece of plywood, and then used heavy duty Velcro to hold it in place on the trailer roof. Our portable mounting system worked just fine -- even through the thunderstorms. Needless to say, we take it down before hitting the road.

It worked really well. We were about 25-35 miles from the nearest small town transmitters, and we were surrounded by tall trees. The antenna pulled in seven stations.

I know a lot of folks disapprove of TV while camping, but I was glad to have it due to the weather. If anyone's interested, the Amazon link is here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078SLDJLW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This coming week we're going to insulate the underside of the trailer, which we had decided to put off until the end of summer. We picked up the insulation today, so I guess it's official.....summer's over! I'll keep you posted on the insulation project.

That is very similar to the TV Antenna I have permanently mounted on my CTC roof. The do work great for what they are. I like the omnidirectional aspect so they do not have to be rotated. Nothing wrong with a TV in a camper. It is not the main attraction, but I have used mine like you said during times when I was shut in due to rain or etc.. Also nice to get the local news once in a while when out for a few days with not internet or etc..

I insulated my underneath with 2" foil backed styrofoam early this year. It made a very noticeable difference even in the summer. I'd say it is definitely worth the investment. It is a large surface area and there is heat exchange going on there all the time in either direction.


Glad your first trip was successful! Everytime you go camping, you will think of something else to do to your trailer... they are never done! I am always about 98% complete.

We also bought the 2 inch foil backed foam. Got a pretty good start on it this afternoon. It's slow going, what with working on the ground. I'm glad to hear that it made a good difference for you. We want the ability to use the camper for winter travel.

Here in northern Minnesota, winter is fast approaching -- we actually had 28 degrees one night last week. What better time to put a little diesel furnace into the camper!

When we first started planning the CTC, we figured we'd put a Suburban RV furnace in when the time came. As the plans firmed up, though, we realized we couldn't afford the $$ or the space for one. Then, we stumbled on to these diesel furnaces that are commonly used by over-the-road truckers. We'd been watching them on ebay for a while, and finally decided to bid. Believe it or not, we ended up getting this one, (brand new), for only $62.00. We were pretty thrilled with the price and the size. It just came today, so we immediately unboxed all of the goodies.



It came with all the parts needed for a full install. The heater is rated at 7,000 BTU, and the specs say it will burn .2 liters of diesel per hour when running on highest setting. We'll see how close that is once we get it installed.



We're installing it under the front lower cabinet in the V. We're planning to have the heat vent come out through the lower cabinet door. We might end up re-doing the cabinet door in some way, but we'll just see how it goes. Both the fresh air intake and the exhaust are going through the floor in the V section. It even comes with a little muffler.



You guys were right when you said that the CTC is never completely done! We're pretty excited about this latest project, though, given the climate we live in. I'll post some pictures of the finished install, and we'll let you know how it performs once we've tested it.

kirkupnorth, Howdy;

PLEASE, be very careful with the exhaust routing. I would never park next to a truck with a low exhaust
at a Truck Stop as the noxious fumes rise and will find their way inside through the smallest of openings.
Highly recommend you install a CO detector. Please be safe.

hank