by Tim Greiner » Sat May 07, 2005 4:01 am
Markapp- I think you are very close here, at least with the trailer part. Essentially make a bathtub out of foam insulation (the type that goes on the outside of houses) and cover it with 4 oz. fiberglass and epoxy. Attach the single rear wheel, it's the lightest and also the best for boondocking. Attach a "bob" type hitch. I think a "conestoga wagon" tent would work best for the top, leave it snapped to the tub while traveling and insert the poles in camp. Your pad and sleeping bag stay in the bottom, and you pile gear on top of the deflated tent when traveling.
As for the galley, I would hybrid between the backpacker and the car camp portable kitchen. Make a chest of drawer about 2' w x 1' h x 1 1/2' d and put your stove, fuel, cooking utencils, eating utencils, cleanup supplies, and breakfast & dinner food supply in it. This keeps all of them in one place, no digging into the panniers in three places. Add a coroplast windscreen with a top (for more counter space) around the top of the chest, this allows you to cook on the top of the chest. Some aluminum legs could be added if you want to save your back. There are too many disadvantages to having the galley attached to the trailer- it makes it too long or top-heavy, and you have to rotate your bed to cook downwind.
All this should reduce camp set-up time considerably- your bed could be ready in 5 minutes, dinner cooking in 10. Compared to at least 40 minutes to drag out a tent, clear a site, set it up, get out the pad & bag, and gather cooking stuff. More comfort than uneven ground. In the morning, breakfast is fast, and packing up is much faster than backpack style. With a minimum weight gain, you could cover 10 more miles in a day or see more sights or have time to sit down and enjoy a brew, by shortening camp set-up and breakdown. Isn't that the cornerstone of the teardrop philosophy, convenient and simple?
Tim Greiner
Building the classics of tomorrow, today!