My Rolling Screened-In Porch

[GrantRobertson]

{I have changed my design. See Below.}

I'm not building a typical cozy camper. In fact, it is going to be more like as tool shed and mini-workshop that I pull behind my minivan. I am also converting my minivan into a mini-RV, with a bed and a desk and cabinets and lots of storage where the seats used to fold down into the floor. I plan to live in my minivan and this camper full time, ala CheapRvLiving. I'm gonna put almost 600 watts of solar on top of my minivan, and everything. However, I needed more storage, and I wanted a place to stand up and take a shower, or stand up while working on various projects. So, I decided to build a small trailer.

I wanted something that would fold down so it would be entirely behind my minivan while on the road, for better wind resistance. I also wanted to be able to see traffic behind me. I discovered A-Frame trailers, but those suckers are too expensive and weigh way too much. So, I decided to build my own. Because my camper will not be as wide as a normal A-Frame, I couldn't have those giant triangular sides that stick up so high in the air. I hit on the idea of just cutting the tops of the triangles off, and came up with what I call an A-Frame-ish design.

Because the trailer will not be used for sleeping or siting around, I am not going to build all kinds of cabinets and counter-tops and shelves and stuff like that. It will mostly just be an empty box, with a fold-up roof so I can take showers and work on projects that would make too much mess for inside my minivan. My tools and extra supplies will just be stored in RubberMaid Roughneck tubs strapped in place on the floor. (I love those things. They are tough, light, and air-tight when the lid is sitting on flat.)

Here is a very rough outline of the shape of my camper:


I used FreeCAD to make the drawings. I didn't want to go to the extra trouble of adding dimensions in this view. (If you know FreeCAD, you know all the dimensions are in the "sketch" that is used to create the shape.) The camper body is 8' front to back and 5' 6" wide. The trailer frame itself is 4' 6" wide. The trapezoid walls fold down, as do the angled front, back, and top. The trapezoid sides are vertical, even though they kinda look slanted in the image. The back wall is only 2' tall and the front wall is 2' 9" tall. I wanted it to be sloped front to back so the rain would run off better, and to make it easier to see behind me.

Almost all the faces are designed to not require a sheet of plywood wider than 4'. The trapezoid sides are 4' wide. The front angled face is 4' tall, and the top is 4' front-to-back. So, the only parts that will require lap-joints in the plywood are the floor and the rear, angled face.

I know, it is really ugly. But, as I said, it is really only intended to be a rolling work and tool shed.

P.S. Yes, I know, the body overlaps the area under the fender. This is just a rough outline of the main shape of the camper.

[OP827]

My thoughts: rectangular side walls and roof that goes over the whole folded down trailer are easier to seal from weather. Like Gobur Caravan for example, but smaller and lighter in your case.

[OP827]

This is how folding walls are made with vertical offset to lay flat on top of each other (courtesy of Valentin, build thread here - http://www.caravaning.in.ua/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1017):

[GrantRobertson]

This is how folding walls are made with vertical offset to lay flat on top of each other (courtesy of Valentin, build thread here - http://www.caravaning.in.ua/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1017):

That's what I thought. I had been planing to do that. But I couldn't find any examples of anyone doing it, so I was beginning to think that some people didn't see a need. So, it's good to see that I am on the right track.

How thick are your walls?

Did you leave any extra space for things like brackets that would be mounted on the exterior of the walls? I am planning to leave about 3/4" and then put those half-sphere, doorknob bumpers on the outside of the walls to hold one wall above another (while folded down) so any brackets won't dig into the wall laying on top of it.

[GrantRobertson]

build thread here - http://www.caravaning.in.ua/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1017):

OMG! That is an adorably tiny and simple folding trailer. I love it.

[OP827]

My walls are made out of 1.5" XPS foam plus 1/8 plywood on inside for the most part. I think that depending on the structure design and size the walls can be made thinner than that.

[GrantRobertson]

My thoughts: rectangular side walls and roof that goes over the whole folded down trailer are easier to seal from weather. Like Gobur Caravan for example, but smaller and lighter in your case.

I seriously thought about doing just that. I thought I could get a pickup truck bed cover. I think they call them "Tonneau Covers." But they were too expensive.

Then I thought about building my own like that. But I decided that the single 5' 6" x 8' cover would just be too heavy to lift for one person. Especially as I get older. I ain't the strongest dude in the world.

I had started on a whole explanation here as to why I preferred my shape.... But now you have me rethinking things.

I could lift up the front half of the "Tonneau Cover," then prop it in place with poles while I lift the front wall into place. As far as physics is concerned, I would be lifting the same weight. I could then do the same with the back wall. Then do the side walls. Now, the whole thing would weight more, but then I would have standing height for the entire floor space instead of just a slice less than 3' x 5'. It would also make all the angles much, MUCH simpler.

One thing I plan to do to keep water out is to sew canvas "joint covers" to cover all the joints. They will be screwed and glued to the top part of whatever they are attached to, then they will snap to whatever is below. When I lift the lid, I would unsnap the joint cover from the sides of the body, then after it is set up I would snap the joint cover in place onto a parallel set of snaps on the walls.


And now I am thinking about skipping the walls altogether and using canvas for the sidewalls. I have been really concerned about the weight of my whole camper. and using fabric would definitely cut down on the weight. I could even use double-walled canvas walls with insulation in between.

Hmmmmm.......

[GrantRobertson]

OK, here is my radically simplified plan:


As you can see, I have gone with Oleg's (OP827) suggestion of putting a single cap over the entire body and lifting that up. This was actually part of my original plan, before I decided to get all fancy and make it like an A-Frame. (Damn that Slim PotatoHead!) Anyway, I have also decided to not have hard walls between the body and the cap at all. This leaves me lots of flexibility. I can just lift the cover sideways to get stuff out of the trailer. (It's mostly just a storage trailer anyway.) Or I can lift it all the way up (on poles) and hang screen, for a screened-in porch effect. Or I can hang canvas for privacy. I can even just lift up the front end and hang the canvas so I can take a shower without putting the whole thing up.

The door is on the driver's side because that is the side I get in and out of my minivan, which is where I will be sleeping and working on my computer.

A major benefit of this design is that it will be SOOOOOOO much easier and faster to build. I am hoping to get out of where I am staying now before winter sets in and get on the road permanently. I have been dying to live on the road full-time for years now.

[OP827]

Design usually driven by features and "must have" list.
As for folding walls building, the rectangular ones are quite easy and fast to build. Can just use thin plywood and 1-by sticks. Roof should not be too heavy in your case if you use light materials. Same size roof assembly from Valentin build can easily be lifted and assembled by one person... Check this thread for ideas - http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=64495.

[GrantRobertson]

Here are some build photos of what I have done so far.


Outer frame for the floor. Note the lap-joints at the corners and the notches for lap joints for the cross pieces.


Floor frame with cross pieces glued and screwed in place. Used a twisted rope to pull the middle of the sides in to be the exact right size all the way down.


Lap joint for the plywood floor. Boy, that made a lot of sawdust. Where it looks black is where I split the center glue-line exactly.


See how perfectly I split that plywood in half. Yep, I'm pretty proud of that... and no one will see it when it is finished. It is sure nice to have a good router.


The floor frame with the plywood glued on top. I have 1.5" thick poly-iso insulation that will go between those frame members and then I'll put a 1/4" skin on the bottom. This floor will be more solid than others build in teardrops, but then I'll be doing more on this floor than just laying down a mattress.


In the process of building the frame for the right side wall. I drew up a full-sized plan, right on the floor itself, then built the wall right on top of that plan. It is only clamped upright for now to check alignment.


I think I got the alignment right.


Here is the finished right side wall frame. It will also have 1.5" poly-iso insulation.


Here, I have finished the left side wall frame. The door will be on the left side, but I have built it all as one unit for now. I will cut out the parts of the top and bottom rail that are where the door is located after I have everything fastened in place. Notice that the front and rear uprights on the left side (right side of the photo) are different from the right. That is because I made a slight design change after building the right side. I realized that I won't have a surface to glue the skin to on the inside of the corners. I will just put additional blocks of wood in the corners, but for these two corners, I decided to put a 2x4 to cover for one side of the corner.


This is just to show that the top rails are about as perfectly parallel as I could have hoped to get them.


Just another view of the side wall frames. They are just clamped in place for now.

[OP827]

I can feel your motivation from here .
BTW, Did you consider back door? It might work good for the trailer structure and loading long pieces...

[GrantRobertson]

BTW, Did you consider back door? It might work good for the trailer structure and loading long pieces...

Thanks for the encouragement.

I've got the minivan for that. I forgot to take pictures, but all the wood for the camper fit into my minivan, even with the cabinets installed. That's because the bed is only a board lain on top of Rubbermaid Roughneck tubs, so the whole thing can be moved to the side if necessary. Besides, I'll be able to put things into the "camper" from any direction I want because the lid will lift up from any side. Heck, I'll even be able to take the lid completely off and have a wide open utility trailer if I want.

[OP827]

The side walls look higher in front than in the back, can you describe what is your current design and how do you plan to lift the roof and then support it?

[GrantRobertson]

The side walls look higher in front than in the back, can you describe what is your current design and how do you plan to lift the roof and then support it?

Yes, the front is higher than the back. I wanted the roof to slope so water wouldn't pool up on top. I didn't want to try to build a curved or peaked roof so I went with a simple lean-to. By being lower in the back, it will also allow me to see behind me much better.

As far as lifting it up: I just plan to lift it up manually, one end at a time. I'll lift up the front and latch the corner poles in place to the underside of the roof. Then I'll lift the rear and do the same. Then I'll go inside and latch all the diagonal poles in place to keep the roof from twisting from side to side. Then I'll snap the fabric walls into place. Sometimes, I won't put the fabric walls up at all and I'll just have a covered porch to sit on.

When the roof is lifted up, it will have the same slope as it has when it is down, also so the water will run off.

I'm just going to use simple poles to hold the roof up, with diagonal poles as stabilizers. I haven't figured out the exact mechanism that I will use to lock the poles in place on the roof while allowing them to not be locked in place at the bottom until the other end gets lifted up. Who knows, I may buy some cheap folding tables and steal the leg latching mechanisms from those.

[GrantRobertson]

The first few are of the simply way that my bed is constructed.




And these are of the cabinets with a fold-down desk that I built on the driver's side.



The interior of the minivan is almost completely finished now. I will take more pictures later.