Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I like the window idea, but my concern would be the wind pushing rain inside the cabin at highway speed. Otherwise I think they would be plenty strong.

The windows will sit in a rabbeted ledge against EDPM weatherstripping. What's not shown in the pic is the usual frame for the wedges that both support the windows inward tilt and also lock them in place.

OK, that sounds like it will work. I'm still trying to decide what to do about windows, since my original windows were i nthe doors and were the source of them rotting out. Getting kinda tired of rebuilding doors!

Re rotting of doors, I've been thinking about that as well and done some shaping of the door framings to reduce the pooling of water in the joints. The bottom rail (where the vertical boards will rest upon) is beveled at 45d to shed water. The doors frames will be spar-varnished before the boards are installed, and the corners caulked to shed water also. I'll take some more pics when I get the chance.

Here are more pics. The top curved rail is joined to the stiles with bridle joints. The middle and bottom rails are beveled and blind-tenoned into the stiles to shed water. The battens are glued to only one side of the vertical panel boards, and the panel boards float in slots in the stiles to accommodate dimensional expansion & contraction. All pieces are varnished (2-4 coats) on all six sides before final assembly, and even underneath the hinges. Also, the screws & hardware are stainless steel or brass, because all of the wood is cedar.

Looking good.

Bob, that's very different and pretty Cool too ....

There were a couple of considerations for the doors. I wanted a curve to (sort of) complement the roof curve, and I wanted a wider doorway (it came out to be 30-1/2" wide). and finally I wanted windows too. Initially they were going to be styrofoam slabs with frames, but they seem too bland. While walking around Orange Box Store, I noticed roughsawn cedar fence pickets (5/8 x 5-1/2 x 72 inches) at $3/pc. So I bought a few pickets and ran them through a planer down to 1/2" thick, and they looked really good. So that's when I decided to jazz up the doors a bit. Each door needed 2 fence pickets and about 12-15 linear feet of 2x2 cedar. The tools used were a planer, a radial arm saw, a router, a fine-toothed Japanese handsaw, and a handplane, plus a tape, an adjustable bevel square, and a marking knife.

That looks really nice.

The Nutmeg (now so named) spent the winter in a pvc tent-shed and did very well. I'm now fitting out the galley and finishing up a few other things, but I thought I'd post a pic or two for you. It has been through several very heavy and windy rainstorms, and does not leak, and the front windows keep out rain even when cracked open as in the pictures. I tried heating it with a small electric Pelonis ceramic disc heater, and with 30F outside it got up to 70F inside within 20 minutes. It has excellent ventilation and so stays comfortable in the sun when it's hot as well.

Here's a pic while fitting out the galley with wine crates that I picked up for $3 ea. The Coleman stove is sitting on a shelf that attaches with a cleat to the door (a brass chain will suspend the outboard side of the shelf). Inside on the right, are two drawers (19W x 7H x 13D) that are mounted on $5 glides, and the stove fits perfectly inside one of the drawers. On the left, it's a false front made up from the sides of a crate, and it serves to cover a microwave, and it also is a cutting/prep board when it will be attached to the door as the Coleman stove is. There is also a small drawer above the microwave. The cedar counter surface will be varnished to harden the surface. The upper cabinets (also crates) will be removable, so that they can be stowed inside the cabin for proper weight distribution while on the road.

On the side view, I'm looking for self-adhesive rub/trim strips for the belt line (and maybe for the seam at the top), but haven't found any in auto stores. Does anybody have a suggestion?

Looking good....

Today, I hitched it up and took it on a shakedown cruise down a badly potholed street. Everything stayed together, but I think I'll come up with a more secure method of latching the barn doors in back. The attachment of the hasp & staple lock might be a bit weak, and so maybe a strategically placed bolt or two would be a good idea for traveling.

The tare weight (i.e. less clothes & food) is <750 pounds with about 325 pounds on each wheel and 100 on the tongue. I've inflated the tires to 36psi initially. It is quite dry in heavy rain, even with the front awning windows open and the wylie door windows opened. The warm-white LED lighting is perfect. The only thing that concerns me now is the narrow track of 50" with the body with of 66". I'm considering a sway bar.

The warm-white LED strip lights are cozy. I got five of them at Ollie's (an odd lots store) for $7ea, and put three in the cabin and two in the galley. The power draw for the three in the cabin is ~0.5A @ 12VDC, so the 35AH deep cycle battery should last at least a week. I also placed a couple of power outlets and USB power outlets. There are four 14ga wire circuits with 15A fuses. (btw, I see in the picture, that I need to put a batten on and trim off the canvas on the bottom! The canvas was glued on with TBIII and fastened with stainless steel staples.)- it's funny how you miss such obvious things.)

Hello, it's been awhile, but I thought I'd post something about traveling with the Nutmeg.

It has been a great success. It tows perfectly behind my Subaru Forester, with little or no sensation that it's there even at 65-70 mph. Passing tractor-trailers, either overtaking beside it, or coming in the opposite direction on a two-lane road, do not disturb it because it rides in the 'wind' shadow of the car. I made it the same width of the Forester (66"), and it's just a little higher. There are two major considerations for moving it. 1) The design of the suspension works extremely well going in the forward direction, but there is little or no shock absorb in the reverse direction (well hey! go slow!). 2. Since the trailer is so short, when it comes time to orient it on the campsite, it's much easier to unhitch it and use the T-bar and wheeled jack to scoot it around the site with 'Armstrong Power'. Since it's lightweight (~825lbs loaded) and balanced, it's not so difficult to drag around.

At the campground, it's easy to set up. During travel, the galley winecrate cabinets are placed into the cabin over the axle to maintain balance, and when parked they are set in the galley. It has proven to be perfectly stormproof when in camp, even with the window screens in the 'Wylie' doors and the front windows wide open.

One other thing, is that it's an eyecatcher, and everybody in the campground wants a tour. Some are interested in commisioning one, but I don't think I want the hassle of being a manufacturer.

Your build is looking great! Can you share how you designed the windows in front to be fixed in open position?