vardo dimensions

Design & Construction of anything that's not a teardrop e.g. Grasshoppers or Sunspots

vardo dimensions

Postby droid_ca » Wed Nov 03, 2010 2:42 pm

Does this sound right for the Vardo they can be 20 feet long 12 feet high and 8 feet wide if you have any other dimensions for them please let me know

Been thinking lots of them lately as I seem to do very extended camping trips anywhere from a week to a month long and bringing 2 dogs and a bird in a small teardrop might impose a problem especially in the colder months

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RE: Vardo dimensions

Postby mezmo » Mon Nov 08, 2010 5:54 am

Hi droid_ca,

A fast few 'cents' on it your Vardo size ?s.

I think the Vardos are really interesting too. Google the word
and check out the various web sites on them, especially the
British sites. My favorite style is the Reading style that has the
outward slant on the walls. Also Google/check out 'shepherd huts' -
a related type of very old-style movable small dwellings, again mainly
British.

Steve Cox did a real rice TD/TTT style modern version of a Vardo.
Check out his build and album on it.

The sizing of one would depend on your tow vehicle of course, but
smaller and lighter is always more economical.

As far as 8ftW x 20ft+L x 12ftH goes, that would be a really big and heavy
unit and would be more time and material and $ consuming. The hgt
you mentioned would possibly make it top heavy - depending on
how it was designed and built of course. Think of how side winds affect
big rigs!

Building one with a lot of height on a hay wagon style chassis wouldn't
really be very practical for traveling unless you're using horses for the
motive force and traveling really slowly. A more modest one built on a TT
chassis with a lower height [6ft6in to a 7ft interior] & CG is much more
practical.

Here's a link to a site I ran across recently on the Tiny House Blog. The
business owner is new at it and fulfilling her dream it looks like, but the
Vardo type she is building looks quite nice. I think it is more suitable to a
semi-permanent set up though, not traveling.

http://www.hornbyislandcaravans.com/

I have no personal experience at it , but from what I've seen/read,
towing a four wheel hay-wagon style chassised trailer -even if the front
wheels can be steered - is not a very fun or safe proposition at highway
speeds. Plus backing is a problem too. Also one characteristic Vardos
don't possess is being aerodynamic.

Here's a wildcard for ya: I've always been fascinated by the various
double-decker trailers of the 1950s. Here is a link to one of the smaller
ones - relatively smaller that is - as double-deckers were intended more
as residences than travel units. I always thought it'd be neat to try and
make a smaller version of this 1953 Lightehouse DuPlex Double-Decker:

http://www.cannedhamtrailers.com/lighthouse.htm

Stranger things have been done I'm sure. I've even played around
with some doodling designs on it myself. I think it'd be quite possible to
do if real attention was paid to limiting the possibility of tipping over. The
Lighthouse DuPlex worked well enough it looks like, and double decker
buses have been around for years, so it can work, we'd just need to
checkout how they deal with that situation.

Just keep on researching and you can come across all sorts of interesting
and useful ideas and information on what you're wanting to do.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo
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Postby droid_ca » Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:29 pm

Wow thanks for the links definitely some food for thought
There is a world, just beyond now,
where reality runs a razor thin seam between fact and possibility;

Anywhere I roam where I lay my head is home....
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Please check out my build thread
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Postby SuperTroll » Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:46 pm

Other considerations need addressing...The TOW vehicle for example...My first Vardo was built to tow behind a small 6 cylinder Ford Ranger....the owners manual gave a towed trailer max weight, and the cross section of surface exposed to wind...make sure you estimate the cross section and weight for your build...unless you can simply buy a vehicle to match.....

I'm now driving a 3500 deisel push....there's a lot more horsepower available now than I had before.......
Keep thinking outside the box and all manner of ideas will become reality......

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Re: vardo dimensions

Postby Steve_Cox » Wed Nov 10, 2010 4:05 pm

droid_ca wrote:Does this sound right for the Vardo they can be 20 feet long 12 feet high and 8 feet wide if you have any other dimensions for them please let me know

Been thinking lots of them lately as I seem to do very extended camping trips anywhere from a week to a month long and bringing 2 dogs and a bird in a small teardrop might impose a problem especially in the colder months

Image


Wow! 20X8X12 Width an length of a shipping container and 4 feet higher. What kind of tow vehicle would you use? :thinking:

From your album, I see you a interested in unusual campers, me too! Have you ever looked at house trucks? One of those would be fun to build.

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Postby Dusty82 » Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:52 pm

We're in much the same situation. DW (Dear Wife) fell in love with sheep wagons (or sheep camps) and I have a 15 ft TT frame in the back yard on which I could build one, but we don't have the TV to pull it once completed. Heck, I already have an unused wood stove in the garage that would be perfect for it. Maybe some day. :thinking:
TV: 2004 Jeep Liberty Sport

Currently stuck in a tent.
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Postby droid_ca » Wed Nov 10, 2010 6:19 pm

I have a chevy 3/4 ton as my tow vehicle

but I might have a few sifferent ideas up my sleave for ways to make the most of all my space I reread your build on your gypsy vardo and might have a few ideas now on better space management
There is a world, just beyond now,
where reality runs a razor thin seam between fact and possibility;

Anywhere I roam where I lay my head is home....
Image
“Fide Canem”
Please check out my build thread
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=52816
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about that TOW vehicle, Dusty82

Postby Laredo » Thu Nov 11, 2010 1:28 am

take a look at 1st-gen Dodge Ram trucks with the Cummins diesels.

Lots of pull for less than new money.
Mopar's what my busted knuckles bleed, working on my 318s...
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Postby mezmo » Sun Jan 02, 2011 12:20 am

Hey droid_ca,

I came across this Vardo site and thought it might be a
source of ideas for you. I'm sure the top and walls can be done
in a hard material vs the canvas fairly easily.

http://www.gregsgypsybowtops.co.uk/default.html

It's one of the nicer takes on a modern Vardo that I've seen.

Norm/mezmo
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