Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

* Update: here is a pointer to our post on the Explorer Box Construction Manual in the Teardrop Manufacturers section *

As I've been slowly working through the challenges of getting tents manufactured for the "Woody", I shifted my attention for a while to a new trailer design.

I'm calling it an “Explorer Box”. An noted in a previous post, the idea is a rolling camp box, it has a kitchen/galley area with organized storage and counter space on front and a general storage area in the rear. It's a nice blend of compact size and room for all your camping essentials. It's built on a 4' x 6' trailer frame.

I like to use marine grade Okoume for the exterior of trailers. It's light, strong and looks great.


Here is a picture of testing fitting / sizing the shelves for the front and side compartments.


Here is a picture with the compartment doors hung.


A few compartment build pictures.




Here is a picture of the mockup with a tent unit on it.


I'm starting work on the exterior finish later this week.

That looks great. I like the design.

I like it, Very nice design.

how are you supporting the tent? what size is on it? this is actually a very cool thing, i saw a bunch of these over on the adventure cmaping site

scott, have you ever looked that the website myswag? its a group out of australia that have built many trailer like you have

sseaman, thanks for the website pointer, had not seen that one yet, looks like some good stuff there.

jeeper92, the tent bolts to the top of the trailer box with four bolts. When closed it's the same size as the box top. When opened it's 94" x 55".

Here is a picture of the mockup for this trailer with the other tent we have on it. At 50 lbs its half the weight of the green tent and uses a trampoline like fabric floor instead of a solid base like the green tent.


Thanks for the positive comments on our new trailer. As some have commented, these are popular with the expedition / off-road crowd. This particular trailer could be built off-road ready, although I focus on lightweight versions aimed at folks driving smaller fuel-efficient vehicles. Using the blue tent below, this trailer setup weighs in at 375 lbs. For light-duty off-road, add a couple of hundred pounds for a beefier frame, bigger tires and thicker plywood. For hardcore off-road like the Rubicon, you would need to do a fair amount of fiberglass tape / epoxy reinforcement to the corner joints.

Check out Explorer Box for more info.

That Cargo Box is sure a GREAT IDEA!!!! Usefull for a number of everyday purposes too ...

Yes it does work well as a Cargo Box when used without a tent unit.




You could easily layout the storage compartments to handle all kinds of different gear.

schaney, Mate what a great Idea, I love the design and concept of this...would be real handy for an offroad trailer come sleeper...I may have to look at building something like this as a Camp Kitchen for the four wheel drive club i belong to..well done mate and lets see the photo's when finished

Rabs

Glad you like it. Still working out a few details, it's almost done.




When I did a weigh in last night, it came in at 343 lbs with the "blue" tent unit. Even when loaded my Subaru will hardly know it's there.

Been thinking about a slightly larger cargo box, maybe with a pop-up top of sorts , or just about 36-40" tall inside ... big enough for most to sit upright inside , change clothes...Nice and Simple ... small as humanly practical...

Hmmm, what if you make the box 30-36" tall, have the tailgate fold down horizontal. Then have a very basic tent that covers the tailgate area, you could easily have 4'+ of headroom at the end. Also raise the front and side storage compartments so your feet can slide under them. You could keep the same basic foot print that an Explorer Box has.

Here's something like we've had in mind ... been needing a utility trailer for awhile ... would be nice to be able to sleep in it too.. That idea of the inside cabinet/storage is really great ... then you could access it from the front or inside ...splitting the height would give you almost 18" of foot room , even big enough for my clodhoppers...12" deep cabinet could store a whole bunch of stuff.
You could even hinge the top in the front and tilt the whole top up with an attached tent to make even more headroom ... so many options

Scott,

An interesting and cool design.

I really like the amount of storage.

Thanks Mike ...

GPW,
That looks like it would work out nicely. Like the idea of a multiple purpose trailer, put the box on for camping or take it off hauling stuff to the dump.

I like the idea of hinging the top. If you have it lift up about 3' it can act as the support for a basic tent draped over it and you could almost stand up in it. Or if you don't hinge the roof, it might be possible to put something like a Enel Adventure-1 Truck tent on it and have a upper and lower level sleeping area, be great for kids.