Hello From Montreal

[spiro.mitsialis]

Hi,

My name's Spiro and I'm in Montreal which just had its first snow (less than an inch); it will all melt by the weekend as its warming up again.

I saw my first teardrop about 4 years ago at a campground and fell in love. Been thinking of building one ever since. Last year my wife and I rented a camper van out of LV and did a 10 tour. Wow, sleeping on a real mattress and not in a tent made a huge difference; I actually slept. We liked having a sink and a refrigerator (no more draining water and adding ice). A van isn't for us, but a teardrop is. So with COVID, I work from home and have more time. I've decided to do it; build a teardrop. I've decided on a 5x9 Wyoming style teardrop.

One of the things I'm struggling with the galley. I do want a small sink and have decided on some sort of 5-7 gallon container for fresh water (with 12V pump) with a similar container for grey water. I'm thinking of a slide out cabinet with a 2 burner propane stove. What I'm struggling with is the cooler. I've been using a Coleman 45L cooler for years in which ice last a couple of days but I'm always fishing thing out that are wet and was thinking of a 12V cooler with compressor; $$$ and the capacity is smaller than my Coleman. I've been searching tnttt and see that a lot of folks use the Yeti type coolers that do a better job than my old Coleman. Most of these coolers, are 16-18" in height. I dont want to make the counter, where the sink will be and where we will prepare food, too high (my wife's not tall). I'm trying to keep it at 36" from the ground which is standard in a home kitchen. I dont have the trailer yet so I'm don't know the height of the trailer but I'm estimating about 20-21". That leaves me about 16" to play with which isn't enough for most coolers.

How high are your counters and your trailers from the ground? How much space do you have for your coolers and how did you solve this issue. I've seen pictures of some that have a split counter (one section higher for the cooler?)

Thanks,
Spiro

[tony.latham]

Spiro:







Some of us think that a sink is a waste of space (and use a lot of water). They take up precious counter space and the plumbing eats into the storage below. But there's those that wouldn't have it any other way.



That's a Coleman Steel 54 qt cooler. It'll give us at least three nights of camping.

Here's a tour:





Tony

[saltydawg]

If you dont want a cooler, your right the fridge is very pricey, you could also mount one in a tongue box to save kitchen space.

Another way to do the sink if you want one, is have a slide out with the sink drop in and just have a hose that runs down to a jug for grey water. The slide out could be the bottom of the stove drawer.

[spiro.mitsialis]

Thank you for the replies. I'll have to work on a few design options and see which one works best for us.
Tony, amazing job. Wish I had the welding skills; I'll have to have someone built the trailer frame for me. I love the bumper and the whole build. Amazing job!
Anyone from the Montreal area that can recommend a shop to build the trailer frame?

Tony, I guess you dont find counter too high at ~40" and noticed the cutting board on the cooler which would work well for my wife.

[tony.latham]

Tony, I guess you dont find counter too high at ~40" a

For us it's fine. But part of that is because the stove surface is about 38". Everything is a bit of a tradeoff.

As you can see, the countertop extends into the cabin to transition into the first shelf. I wouldn't want that any lower for legroom reasons.

Tony

[drhill]

Welcome to the group.

I am with Tony, I think a built-in sink is a waste of counter space. But they do look really cool.

We use a Coleman Extreme cooler on a pull out. With a 4L milk jug full of ice we are good for 3 nights. On long trips we buy ice, block ice if possible and put it in a larger bag to contain the melt water. I have also found those clear plastic (single use plastics) that salads come in work good for holding the cheese etc and keeping them from floating in the melt water.

Our counter also ended up about 41" high like Tony's. I find it fine to work at. We also have a side table with a shelf that considerably increases the available work space. Some people have commented it is better than their big 5th wheel trailer galley. We use plastic basins for the dishes. Have a great time planning and building.

[Shadow Catcher]

We have a 10 gallon water tank at the head of the bead inside the cabin, I recently installed a marine deck plate so I can clean and inspect the tank. In the galley is a 6 gallon water heater. Small sink pull out faucet, 16 gallon graywater tank under the trailer.

[spiro.mitsialis]

Wow, there are so many great ideas. Drhill, I love the stove/oven, and considered it for a few days but then my wife pointed out that we've always been fine without one.

It would be fantastic to have bigger water tanks but in order to save on weight (towing limit on the Crosstrek), I think we are limited to 5 or maybe 7 gallon containers. For longer trips, we can bring an extra container in the car.
I'm now shopping around for someone who can build me the trailer. Once I get that, I'm committed and I'll start more detailed designs. So far I'm gathering ideas from picture I'm finding on this site. So many great and innovative ideas. I'm also thinking of some sort of table attachement.

Tony, I hope you dont find, but I printed out a copy of your trailer drawing as an example of a good trailer for the shop that will put it together. I dont have the skill to weld one myself.

[tony.latham]

Tony, I hope you don't find, but I printed out a copy...

This may be better. Eh?



It's made from 2" square .120" tubing. In the end, I didn't install the cross members on the tongue because the box didn't need the support.

Tony

[spiro.mitsialis]

I may have found someone to build the trailer frame. Question came up about what to paint it with. He's able to do the spray on anit-rust paint. I check with a local company about power coating but their oven is too small. They suggested epoxy spray on but both options were a bit expensive ($500-600 CDN).
What have you guys used on your trailer frames and how complicated was it?

[tony.latham]

What have you guys used on your trailer frames and how complicated was it?

It's easy.

I clean the heck out of it with acetone and a roll of paper towels. I then prime using two rattle cans of self-etching primer (found at an auto parts store).

The finish coat is oil-based Rustoleum enamel (purchased at a hardware store) and applied with a 3" roller.



I think it looks good.

Tony

[saltydawg]

I washed my frame down with purple power cleaner, basically a scrub brush and a bucket of the stuff. Then I prepped with a phosphoric acid etch and then when dry the rustoleum paint that some many use. ( dont buy a gallon, you need like maybe a half gallon.