Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Many thanks to all of you veteran builders who have posted so much good information. I am getting ready to order my first cargo trailer. The plan is to convert it to a mobile living space similar to what many of you have already built for yourselves. I've spent many hours benefiting from your experience, and reading about your various builds, and am very much indebted to all of you for the knowledge shared.

Question: Anyone have any opinions about the useful features of a walk on roof option? I don't need a walk on roof for viewing races in the infield of a NASCAR event, and I'm inferring from other accounts posted here that a walk on roof is not needed for just a few solar panels, but are there other reasons someone might need one?

I live in an area (MN) where we have had a lot of roof collapses this winter due to snow and ice. If I'm not mistaken, most of the collapsed roofs were farm buildings and the like, but my landlord had my roof shoveled this winter as a precaution, and I have had to shovel off the roof of my elderly neighbor's camper trailer due to his concerns re: possible collapse. Would it be a good insurance measure to get the walk on roof in case I need to abandon my CTC to the elements for a winter or 2?

Chickenthief, Howdy;

First of all WELCOME!!!

As far as your 'walk-on-roof' are you thinking about a flat platform? If so, then
you might consider an "A" frame structure with a steep slope to allow the snow to
slide to the bottom. It can be a tarp or corrugated fiberglass.

hank

Thanks Hankaye!

I see that I did a bad job of making my question clear and understandable in the above post. What I had meant to ask about was the manufacturers "walk on roof option" which is offered by some dealers and manufacturers.

"...you might consider an "A" frame structure with a steep slope to allow the snow to
slide to the bottom. It can be a tarp or corrugated fiberglass."

That sounds like a good idea. I've already had one of those PVC shelters get crushed under snow when I hadn't got it taken down before winter set in, so I know that something like the PVC shelter is only going to be trouble unless someone is there to push the snow off, but I'm sure the idea of a steeper pitched A frame roof would work if it were deployed properly. I just thought that the walk on option that some trailer manufacturers offer might be a built in way to obviate that concern.

I see that Diamond offers the option at $630. for a 12 foot CT, but I'm not in a good position to buy pricey extras that might not be needed, so I'm leaning towards the standard roof for now unless I find a good reason to do otherwise.

If you are worried about it collapsing and have to leave it unattended for a winter, just put a few temporary posts under the cross bars down the middle of the trailer.

Good timing

My camper is made from a Grumman-Olson box on a cutaway. Think uhaul type

A bit of backstory

I was just up on top bolting down a rack for my kayak and roof box.

The ribs are crowned a bit for drainage. They're on 18" centers I think. The roof is flat translucent fiberglass. Inside I put up three inches pink foam then one inch foil with FRP ceiling.

while I'm up top I make sure I center my step on the ribs. There is very little flex. If I didn't have all that stuff inside I would never dare walking up there without snowshoes on or sheets of plywood. Now..I just walk careful

Think of what you're going to use for ceiling insulation and then ceiling material. All that will decrease the chances of bending your roof. For occasional excursions up top some plywood would work. I'd suggest saving the money from upgrading the ceiling 'joists'

BTW...I'm in Mpls...thunder and sleet today! only 3" of snow..how about you?

Great idea. Some 4x4s wedged in under the cross bars. Cheap, easy, and simple.

I don't want to break your heart Icon, but you're just a bit too practical to qualify for any kind of elected office in our current age.

Hi Treeview,

I'm up in Grand Marais. Looking out the window I can't tell how much snow we got tonight, there's so much blowing around out there. I think spring has been canceled.

I like your idea re: saving the money. The standard roof with lots of insulation should be ok most of the time.

What are going to use for ceiling material. Adding layers adds strength

If you put in two layers of insulation run them perpendicular to each other. Glue them to each other but not the ribs. More stiffening

4” of wet floppy snow here. I’m not blowing the snow. It’ll melt

I didn't realize that the insulation could substantially effect the weight bearing characteristics of the roof. I figured doing maybe 2 or more layers of polyiso finished with a layer of plywood along with any reinforcements / structures needed to hold it all up.

I've been reading about what everyone here has been doing to ward off condensation, thermal bridging, etc. The information to be found on this forum is very helpful. Hopefully I get it right the first time. I'm a little concerned about torsion, vibration, and the other damaging effects of dragging a trailer down the rough backwoods road to my property, so I'm going to try and think of ways to build up for that too.

I like your rig. I used to deliver stuff like that for manufacturers. I esp. like the units with the pass thru door which allows you to jump into the driver's seat and make a quick start up and go in the middle of the night without walking outside. There are times when I have found it necessary to camp in unfamiliar and untested locations. When I had the capability, I always enjoyed the comfort of knowing I could make speedy egress in the middle of the night, or whenever things should start to go badly.

It looks like maybe 6 or 7 inches of snow on the front lawn. Time to dig out the Jeep.

Here is what another of your neighbors decided to do about the snow load,...



by kirkupnorth » Tue Oct 30, 2018 5:41 pm

After building all spring and into the summer, and then actually doing some camping, we're really thrilled that we did this project. The financial investment is pretty modest, but the emotional investment is HUGE! We don't want the camper sitting out all winter, having snow and ice build up on the roof. Unfortunately, it's too tall to fit into our pole barn. So, we decided it was time to build a lean-to off the back of the barn so that the camper can be protected.
For now we're just going to use a heavy tarp on the rafters. Next summer we'll install metal roofing. We built it to be 10' x 20', and the camper fits in there fine. Some nice peace of mind.

"Some nice peace of mind."

Looks like an excellent plan. In the end I think that Icon's idea will be a better match for me and my limited budget. After I wind up paying out for the new trailer and all of the other modifications to it money will be tight. Looks like kirkupnorth has some serious storage / workshop space.

Hi there, Chickenthief -- welcome!

We just pulled our camper out of the lean-to yesterday, and I'm happy to say that it made it through this crazy winter just fine. Before we could pull it out, though, we had to get all of the pesky new snow out of the way.


That little red building in the background is the chicken house -- don't get any ideas, chickenthief!

I think we agree that this winter has been THE WORST up here! Right now we're doing some camper updates to get ready for summer camping if and when summer ever comes this year.

Enjoy your project!

We live in a great place!!!

"That little red building in the background...Don't get any ideas."- No one in here but us chickens...
If you got it through THIS winter your method has truly passed the acid test.

We DO live in a great place up here low. Ther's a lot of freedom and space to move around in, lots of game, wildlands to explore, the people are outstanding. Winter is a friend, it scares away the bad guys.

Chickenthief wrote: Winter is a friend, it scares away the bad guys.

It works like that for us, too. Montana winters are not for the weak and lazy. You gotta want to be here.

McDave