BenBrownJournalling

[BenBrown]

Soon as I figure out how to get my album drawing (made into a jpeg) over here maybe I can improve my success with the tear build.

Project... a very tiny tear capable of being pulled by a Honda Insight hybrid.
Limits: working within the budget and a few salvaged parts (lots of oak flooring).

I've agreed to make a tear that my 6'3" relative can stand up in... (he's the tallest among them). The height will also come in handy when I have to travel with a full size harp to conferences/gigs. It gets brutally cold in my part of Michigan in the winter and blazingly hot in the summer so I would rather over insulate than under insulate. Rough interior dimensions (if it was a box) is 7x7x5.

I'm thinking I want detachable solar panels, so I can park in the shade. The power will be DC...(with the remote chance of an ac air conditioner.)

I just learned about making a drop box and have to see how I could benefit, if i can, to meet my goals.

...oh yes... truth being truth... I'd really like a retreat where I can study and practice music apart from the house... I'm hoping i can do it with this...

oh yes... the human form in my drawing is based on my size.

"...So The Quest Continues..."

[teardrop_focus]

Welcome, Ben.

I wish you all the best with your plans and your build, but... you must first determine a weight goal, in pounds, for your trailer! then attempt to meet it.

For some reason, Honda Insight + standing room for 6'3" + solar panels (and a suitable storage battery, charge controller, etc) + oak flooring material (although thin and potentially light in weight) don't really add up just yet. Then there's the added weight for even the smallest commercially-available air conditioner which weighs at least 50 lbs and would need to be mounted low in the trailer for center-of-gravity purposes.

Everything you're looking for MIGHT require a slightly more substantial tow vehicle... again, I say, "might".

If the Owners Guide for your car does not state a tow capacity, you must then see if a good and knowledgeable supplier such as e-trailer has a receiver hitch in their inventory with an application for the Inisght...

You might be limited to towing only a maximum weight near 700 lbs, if that. If you were driving a compact car with a conventional drivetrain, you could defintely tow more, but the hybrid driveline in your Insight might not be designed w/ towing in mind. I could very well be mistaken, however.

Check also to see what the european-market version of your Insight might have for a tow capacity and go from there.

[BenBrown]

http://tnttt.com/album_ ... c_id=68315

...I wonder if I've posted the pic so others can see it?

[bobhenry]

There ya go !

If I am awake enough to be standing I am outside. Use the trailer for cargo in route and a place to sleep at night. Pop-up shelters can by your living room, rec room, bar ,or whatever. They take up about 3 cubic feet of cargo room and are the single camping assessory you will not get me to give up. A haven in the rain or snow ( yep snow) and brutal sun and THey also make a nice dining room/kitchen combo