Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi Everyone,
I’m getting close to starting a build. I have a Stirling 5x8 trailer that I got from Lowe’s. It’s all assembled, except for the electrical. I’ve been looking at a lot of different design ideas, but this one still has me interested, so I built a model. The main advantage of this design is being able to see over it when it’s folded down, and also it makes for good aerodynamics. Also, once it’s folded up, I can stand up in it. I know I will have to make it lightweight, especially the roof…. I’m debating whether to make the outside skin out of ACM aluminum panels or use Baltic birch or marine ply. The upper folding panels could even be canvas, but they would let sound through.
I’ve started, making a full scale, mock up, using some cheap furring strips.
Oh, the paper dolls are my wife and I. The model is 1 to 12 scale.

Thanks for any input. I’ve been listening to an audiobook about the Wright brothers. They were really inspiring.

Matthew

Built a full scale model of walls to see if they fold ok. I’m offsetting sills for sides and ends.

Very nice. I'll admit to being intrigued by the cardio style. One of the things I like is the way it can get wide above the wheels - maybe 7' or so.A lot roomier feeling.

I like the folding idea but sure would try hard to have the ends folded not overlap.

Looking forward to your progress!

Like all folding designs, the mechanics of erection/folding are a major concern. For your design, I would spend a lot of thought on how to raise and suspend the roof segment while raising the ends/sides, especially if you need to open/close it by yourself.

Here is the chief concern I had and some of the thoughts which drove my decisions:

Being of small physical build (and now in my late 70s) with very limited upper body strength, I always worried about structure stability DURING erection and closing. A frame can be very stable in both closed and opened configurations, yet unstable between them. So I always sought to limit the folding/erection to have only one degree of motional freedom at any stage. That is not easy to achieve and I ended up with a front hinge (wedge or clam shell) configuration with two degrees of freedom to control: I suspend the roof (one degree of rotational freedom) with one hand while raising the back panel/door (another degree) with the other. Even with just 2 degrees of freedom to control, I worried about the roof: if it’s light enough for me to support with one hand, would even mild winds overcome my hold?

The beauty of a DIY is YOU choose your trades between conflicting considerations.
Good luck, and keep us informed.

QueticoBill wrote:
I like the folding idea but sure would try hard to have the ends folded not overlap.

Looking forward to your progress!

Thanks QB. Yes, I agree. It would be best if the ends don’t overlap. That way I can keep the whole roof a little bit lower once it is folded. Building the full size mock up has got me feeling a bit nervous about the whole thing. There are so many joints that will need to be relatively watertight.

I may look at some non folding alternatives before I start. I have the Slidavan plans, but they call for 3mm exterior plywood- I haven’t found any locally. It uses a stressed skin sandwich panel over 3/4 XPS.

There was a manufacturer in Colorado that made some cedar campers called Casual Turtle. I like their design, but I wonder how I would keep tongue and groove cedar from leaking? http://casualturtlecampers.com/new-hatchling

WizardOfOdds wrote:Like all folding designs, the mechanics of erection/folding are a major concern. For your design, I would spend a lot of thought on how to raise and suspend the roof segment while raising the ends/sides, especially if you need to open/close it by yourself.

Here is the chief concern I had and some of the thoughts which drove my decisions:

Being of small physical build (and now in my late 70s) with very limited upper body strength, I always worried about structure stability DURING erection and closing. A frame can be very stable in both closed and opened configurations, yet unstable between them. So I always sought to limit the folding/erection to have only one degree of motional freedom at any stage. That is not easy to achieve and I ended up with a front hinge (wedge or clam shell) configuration with two degrees of freedom to control: I suspend the roof (one degree of rotational freedom) with one hand while raising the back panel/door (another degree) with the other. Even with just 2 degrees of freedom to control, I worried about the roof: if it’s light enough for me to support with one hand, would even mild winds overcome my hold?

The beauty of a DIY is YOU choose your trades between conflicting considerations.
Good luck, and keep us informed.

Thanks for sharing these concerns and insights. I looked at your folding camper- veryoriginal-I like it!

I am a landscape painter by profession. Before that I used to do Architecture design. The main reason for me building a camper is to travel to sites for painting. I paint outdoors mostly from life. It’s called plein air painting.
Until now I’ve been tent camping, or renting Airbnb’s when it’s too cold. I live in the Deep South- it’s brutally hot in summer.

In some ways, the most important criteria for me for the camper is that I be able to sleep well. Sometimes there are pretty noisy people at campgrounds.

Standing up is nice but not critical. Another thing I would like to accomplish if I can is to make it somewhat environmentally friendly. I bought some 1/4” cork to use as insulation.

Thanks again for your insight- I will look at your earlier posts.

Here is the sketch I did early on for this idea. Basically, I would have a pole at each end of the camper, set in a stud pocket and use a simple boat winch to lift the roof. I think it would keep it relatively stable even in wind.

I would be looking for lighter framing... like your gin poles, a 2x2 instead of a 2x4
or an i-beam of 1/4 ply with fir strips on top and bottom... For insulation and sound
deadening, perhaps moving blankets( quilted fiberglass) hung after erecting.

There are many approaches.

I like the Vardo design. The folding design could be interesting to lower and raise. I built a folding fish house once, even though it was light it took some finess to get the roof and sides up. My homemade camper now has a raising roof operated by a high lift jack. I would look into that style as it's an easier design while allowing for less frontal area during travel. Ive had 3 trouble free years with it. A 5 x 8 will be plenty to sleep, my family of four managed for 9 days straight.

pchast wrote:I would be looking for lighter framing... like your gin poles, a 2x2 instead of a 2x4
or an i-beam of 1/4 ply with fir strips on top and bottom... For insulation and sound
deadening, perhaps moving blankets( quilted fiberglass) hung after erecting.

There are many approaches.

Thanks—I am probably going to abandon ship on the folding idea even though I like it a lot. Primarily because I want things to be quiet at night - and to keep the weight down I would have to make the walls pretty thin - not good for sound reduction.
I’m inclined to do something that I can build more quickly, I really just need somewhere to sleep while I’m on landscape-painting trips.

I like your “there are many approaches”

Simple_Abound wrote:I like the Vardo design. The folding design could be interesting to lower and raise. I built a folding fish house once, even though it was light it took some finess to get the roof and sides up. My homemade camper now has a raising roof operated by a high lift jack. I would look into that style as it's an easier design while allowing for less frontal area during travel. Ive had 3 trouble free years with it. A 5 x 8 will be plenty to sleep, my family of four managed for 9 days straight.

Nice to see another collapsible design. I have the plans for the slidavan and have looked over them quite a bit. I can’t find 1/8th inch plywood that’s exterior grade though which is the main component of the build.
There were some pretty cool, collapsible trailers built in the 20’s. Here is a restored one in England for sale. https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1619840

A foamie would work okay and be easy to lift.