Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I think it's time to build another one...

A foamie of course. GPW, you've got me convinced!!!

Ah, but what to build?
Here's what I do know...
-Lightweight
-Good for extended stays, regardless of weather, like 6 weeks or so
-porta potty
-a table that is not part of the bed
-inside cooking available for bad weather
-99% for campgrounds with electric
-running water is usually available
-1% for use during power failures

That's all I've got so far...

Any suggestions?

Mike...

I just started another one Mike. This one will make it easier for an old fat man to use. Getting dressed laying on the bed has become a struggle. This new trailer will be a stand drop. It's built on a very modified Northern Tool trailer. I have lengthen it 18" and extended the tongue so I can have a tongue box. Next week my new axle should be in. The axle will have electric brakes and take 14" wheels. The over all size will be 5X 10.5 ft. It will be a conventional materials build. Painted aluminum skins. I want to keep it 5ft wide and have the bed go crosswise. So that means the bed has to be longer. There will be a drop down on the curb side and a tent like a popup has will cover the extension for my feet. This allows me to step into the trailer and stand in a drop floor. I picked up an RV door at a salvage place that will work perfectly. When I step in, the double bed will be directly on the left. Straight ahead will be a vertical cabinet with an AC on top, a Microwave right below it and a counter top for a portable induction cook top, at standard counter height. A drawer below the counter and cabinet doors near the floor. Next to this another base cabinet turning the corner and against the front wall. The counter top will then be L-shaped and I will leave just enough room to sit at the counter/table with my back against the curb all on the rt side of the entry door. A porta potti will be disguised under the seat for the table. Galley will be a fairly traditional one. I expect to do most of my cooking and living outside. I'm just looking for some extra comfort on the inside. Once I get a little further I'll start a build thread which will make it easier to understand.

I don't know if that gives you ant ideas or just confuses you. Pictures will help!

Mike , best ask the wife what she wants ....

JMHO Personally I’d suggest something the size of the FoamStream , it’s roomy ( non claustrophobic ) for two ( plus dog ) ,has the Mini galley/storage , fold down table , simple GFI AC electrical system ( and solar too ) , AC, potty , and we can stand up in it ... Light , tows really easy with my 6 cyl Pickup... Has lasted very well living outside ... We plan on using it for Hurricaine evac, which last time lasted 5 weeks ... Got a FS TV , redneck antenna , LOTS of cushions and pillows .. all the comforts ... And just saying , all our trailers from now on will have built in drip edges on the bottom ... for our wet climate anyway ... Built on one of those “utility” trailers ( low) , it wouldn’t stick up so much ... Mine has the “high water" trailer ... uses a 11” Harbor Freight folding step to get in/out ... ( my trailer was free, so we had to go with the height ...)

Back door entry means we can haul long 12’ lumber ( or whatever) in it if we need to ... even a boat , just as long as it will fit through the door ... the current crop of Foamie boats /yaks ( Rowerwet) would surely fit ...

And it really wasn’t expensive to make at all ... That was important for me (retired)

Ps. Nice thing too about a foamy trailer , it’s so QUIET inside ... great for sleeping ...

Can’t wait to see what Woodbutcher comes up with ... I always believe we’re on the verge of a significant trailer discovery and try to stay open to All new ideas ... by all working together it will happen ...

Sounds like your looking for something like my second WW but in foam. do you still want to stay at 65" max width? If you go 74" you can turn the bed and give you more room for other stuff.

gary

Mike , so what kind of design aesthetic are you leaning toward ? You know anything is possible .

Glen,

Design aesthetic? That is the question of the day.

At first blush I would say I take my Mad Dash, and stretch the profile to the desired length. I know how to build that, with the hard corners, etc.

But then at 2nd blush I wonder if a Tinstream in foam would the the key. Nice and aerodynamic. Covered with canvas, and painted in aluminum.

Or maybe a new version of a winter warrior, but hinged up front like an Alto.

I guess I don't have any definite direction yet. But I'll keep thinking about it.

Mike...

My vote would he for something like the winter warrior. I have always loved that design. If I build another one, that is going to be my starting point.

Mike , after all my endless designing , drawing, and head scratching , ( and building two other campers) we ended up with a trailer that looks exactly like every other horse trailer in the neighborhood , which is good for going around unnoticed (stealth) amongst the farmers , but disappointing for the radical design department ... Nice thing about it is , there are no sharp corners to worry about. water and crosswinds just roll over the surface ... less places likely for leaks to get in . The use of the Old Timer’s Aluminum paint would be the bees knees eh ? It held up great and protected surfaces many years ago ... Maybe there is a contemporary Latex based “Aluminized” (metal powder) paint around ???
The Mad Dash could become the Big Dash. That would be very Cool eh , sorta like Big Pink ...
JMHO the Winter Warrior , although very Clever, might not translate as well to Foam without a lot of extra support ( I don’t know, although it has been done ...sorta’ ... a while back ... )

Best do what you’re most comfortable with , you have waaay more experience here than anybody else ...

Ps. for folks living in wet rainy areas , we'd now highly recommend functional “drip edges” on all trailers , Foamies or not ... They really work to help preserving our choices of flooring materials ... JMHO ( after much experience with wet floors ) We’re all learning as we go ... Thanks to everybody working together!!

Regarding your paint question... I really like TAC's recommendation. It's what I used, and it's perfect!

tac422 wrote:Mike,
I used this aluminum paint over Gripper ...
It turned out really nice.

Mike...

OK, Thanks ... Looks like the Good Stuff ! We’ll have to get some ... We have a porch that likes to shed paint , It’ll make a great test on that ... If it survives the porch , it’ll work on Anything ...

Nice looking too!





Mike...

Gary,

Not sure about doing the WW in foam. Glen makes a good point. It might need structural support.

As for the width, it would be nice to stay at 66 or 67 inches, but my Giant Teardrop was 78 inches wide, and with mirror extensions it was okay to tow. But the benefit was once we got there. The extra 12" of width made the trailer that much more comfortable.

Meanwhile, here's a couple pictures of different ideas...









Mike..

RAYVILLIAN wrote:Sounds like your looking for something like my second WW but in foam. do you still want to stay at 65" max width? If you go 74" you can turn the bed and give you more room for other stuff.

gary

Mike , we toured a LARGE TD ( photo #2) at the RV dealer , it was BIG but so crowded with built ins it felt small ( moving around spaces anyway ) , and as we recall it was fairly HEAVY too ..

That AL paint really does look Great !!!

Mike
I think I would lean toward # 3 no compound curves to work with. Looks like it would have the bed in the front with a outside accessed storage under the bed wihich is nice to have. I love ours. It might have to be 14 ft long to work in all that you want though. At least 12ft and that would be tight.

Gary

I've always like the Wawa design - tows like a teardrop but parked is a standy. It was fairly light being made of mostly a masonite type material - these days I'd use a composite aluminum material like AlumaCorr.