Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

PakRat63 wrote:The way that i understand Stitch-n-Tape construction is that we are putting a banana peel together with no banana on inside. The strength will be in the seams because there is no frame.

That's right. In the Roswell's case, the panels may be a bit wobbly, but they will be stiffened up a lot by the closet bulkhead at the back and the 'bed headboard' cupboard frame at the front. I think a light frame will be required halfway along the side panels to keep them solid - on the curb side, this will also support the door frame.

When first fitting the panels together, it might be easier to build a temporary support inside that holds the the little roof panel in the right place and first fit each panel's top and bottom to that. Otherwise the whole panel assembly operation will need three people - one person holding each to the two panels being joined and a third person making the joints.

PakRat63 wrote:Rather than fooling with expensive wheel pants, build the fenders the same way out of doorskin or even aluminum

What I drew to start with was trying to stay with the fender shape in the Roswell illustration, but it is impractical for a one-off. Miniature versions of the main body would make quite good wheel pants......

Andrew

Hi,
I hijacked Betsey's account again....
I have been intrigued by the Roswell since I first saw the sketch of it. I made a CAD model of it and then took the liberty of making a few modifications to the design. (i hope this doesn't offend anyone) I made the design changes I would probably make if I made a Roswell-like design.

I made the bed a little wider and designed in a torsion axle.

I like the looks of the hinges on the original Roswell design, but I changed the hinge to one like on the Airstream so it would swing level.

I mentioned in a previous post that it needed some front windows so...

Following are a couple pictures to tease...
Here is a link to a web page with several more pictures: http://tinycamper.com/roswell.htm




I wish I had the time to build one for real! Well, maybe some day.
I am still trying to figure out where to put the stove, sink and AC.

Thanks,
Craig

Luv the draw-rings.

Gives you a different perspective.

Craig, really like the addition of the "alien" front windows...very appropriate for something called "the Roswell"
madjack

Excellent, Craig.

I could probably draw that rear hatch shape too, but building it....... that's not easy!

In the meantime Roger in another thread has posted pictures of a card model, which has made me see where there is an error in the shape of the front and back panels I have drawn, so:

On edit: See update below!

Andrew

madjack wrote:Craig, really like the addition of the "alien" front windows...very appropriate for something called "the Roswell"
madjack

I guess the tounge is the "probe" then.................

Updated drawings of the Roswell with the errors corrected are now on my web site.

I've taken the opportunity to reduce the width a smidgen at floor level so that the floor is within 48" wide, and I've added an alternative fender design that's a shrunken version of the main body shape.

Andrew

Those "alien" windows are so perfect -- are they from a small plane originally?

The Roswell really has that aircraft look, doesn't it?

I may be way out in left field (that's where the little league coach always used to send me) but they look like Volkswagen side windows.

Andrew, could you do a "Dutch door" detail for this door? I think you could internally hinge it in halves much more readily than as one unit, and have it do the 'gull wing door' effect.

I also think that you could make a case for doing the fenders as pendants from extensions of the (flat) floor, rather like the wing spars on a desert windsailer that go out to the outboard wheels (what was that movie with Matthew McConaghey, Sahara, maybe??).

Was there ever a Ros ever built? I no engineer (is thy my frame is 12 in I beam) the way the body been drawn for the prints here are their any for the fenders in the1947 pic. i so i can cut ply wood and feel with foam and plaster of pairs to make 1 off molds. thanks Angib i cut the bulk head now to feel with foam .

I've never seen a photo of a Roswell and I've never seen anyone say they've seen one - though occasionally someone says they have a friend who has seen one! So I don't think a Roswell has ever existed, except as that illustration.

It's worth mentioning too that that illustration isn't terribly accurate, particularly on proportions - the real thing would not look so long and low.

The fenders as drawn aren't practical - unless you fit bicycle wheels/tyres!

Andrew

Sigh. Time to 'fess up.
Those original illustrations were drawn on a napkin in a diner. There is a (now defunct) teardrop campers forum where they may have originated, but where certainly I first found them online circa 2002.
I don't perfectly recall the conversation in which they were posted, but it was a discussion of "old" designs, and one of the persons posting claimed not to have seen the trailer itself but to have been present when the drawings were created.

Bike wheels -- say from a 1980s CB900C -- could be just the ticket for those fenders.

I found a reference to a Roswell Here
Something about a movie, some pics too!