Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

tjdale wrote:I have thought about this sort of thing for a couple of years now, as I would like a small camper I can put on and off of my 5X10 utility trailer. I have looked at water tanks, horse trailers, sheds, etc. One thing I was thinking of was a sleeper from an old tractor trailer unit. I have seen some on ebay. Add a little cabin to one or hook 2 together.......

If you are not hung up on aerodynamics just get a good plan for an 8 ' x 8' gambrel mini barn. Build short walls on both sides 3 1/2" taller than your side rails on the trailer. Cantaliever out 18" on each side. your sidewall weight will rest on the angle side rails the front and rear walls will carry the roof weight if you use a ridge beam. Shorten the side walls as needed but leave the front and rear walls full height to bare on the floor of the trailer as they will be carrying the ridge beam. Steel roofing will hold up at road speed . A fold up porch and rear entry door and you will be the talk of the campground. If you need a few pointers p.m. me. I built a gambrel topper for my pickup to advertise my mini barn business 9 years ago . I have logged 67,000 miles with it and it's still going. I remounted it onto my 65 ford pickup bed trailer where it remains. The best part ...slide it out with the help of some pipe to roll it on and you still have a utility trailer.

Recycling an airplane fuselage probably is not done often because airline salvage is still pricey.

These two aren't trailers, but still interesting:





It has been done though. This is a pretty rough looking one:


more pics here:
http://eaaforums.org/showthread.php?3931-Fuselage-ID-help-needed

A reason aircraft aren't recycled for vehicle or trailer use much is they are only just strong enough to fly, and light weight aluminum structures don't handle vibration fatigue like you'd get from driving down a road very well. Their frames are also made for being supported at much different points than a vehicle or trailer would need.

dwgriff1 wrote:I like it. Shucks, make molds and cast it in fiberglass, then you could play with axle placement,

Or, move the axle and do a bit of bodywork to move the wheel openng.

Bet it woulnd't be light, but it would be an eyecatcher.

dave

This has already been done. It's kinda neat: http://dub-box-usa.com

cwm wrote:I love the idea of taking old discarded things and turning them into something useful again. Basically I come from a long line of rusty nail saving, do-it-your self rancher types, and I can't stand to throw anything away. So I'm trying to think of different already manufactured structures that could be repurposed as a travel trailer. This is mostly a creative exercise, I'm not sure that I will actually do this.

Here are a couple things that I thought of off the top of my head:

The abandoned shell of a VW beetle
A garden shed
A 600 gallon water tank
A section of light aircraft fuselage

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Ok It been a while but I have finally came up with a new idea for the reuse of the "To go cup" now at KFC.

back in a minute with pics

HaHaHa! It took me a minute....: Milk and cookies!

Best reuse I have seen yet Bobhenry,,, OREO's yummyyyyyyy

I frequently see Craigslist "freebie" adds for old pickup truck caps. Someone on this board once did a build using one of these as the basis for his camper. OK, there are a couple of them...

viewtopic.php?f=50&t=57069&start=30
and
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=55583&start=15

I've seen a few of these around


66-77 Bronco turned into a trailer. They are awfully heavy though.
Tom

Well I have been hauling around a swivle recliner for 10 days or so in the back of the pickup for no real reason other than it's been to wet to burn it. I think I figured out why it's still there. I needed this for a nudge to recycle the foot rest extentions to this ..........

Well I was at my favorite store in the whole wide world and found one of these for less than $4.00

http://www.coleman.com/product/841.582


I love Goodwill