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THE PICO-LIGHT
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The Pico-Light design aims to be the smallest, lightest trailer that can sleep two people. It is even smaller than a ‘normal’ 8ftx4ft teardrop and doesn’t have a galley or any cupboards. |
However its size and weight make it suitable for the smallest tow vehicles, including large motorcycles. A detailed weight estimate suggests an empty weight of 280 pounds. |
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This design was inspired by the Eis Piccolo made in Germany in the 1950s and that explains the ‘Pico’ in its name. Some may also recognise that Pico- is the prefix for a very small measure - it means 10^ -12. The body is all single-skin and uses 1/8” ply for the roof, 1/4” for the sidewalls and 3/8” for the floor. Although the body is very lightly-built, it is self-supporting so only an extremely basic triangular frame is needed for the chassis and more weight is saved by using separate half-axles with 8” wheels. |
The PDF plans are fairly comprehensive with every part shown and the 3D model is available in zipped DXF format for CAD users. For SketchUp users, a SKP model is available but even zipped it is 3.5Mbyte, so please email me to be sent a copy. Warning: this trailer design has not been prototyped and prospective builders need to satisfy them-selves that it is large enough for their needs (and their claustrophobia…). This design is one size smaller than even a normal 8ft teardrop. Building a mock-up of the sleeping space in cardboard and trying it out would be sensible. |
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Update: Sandy in British Columbia has built a Pico-Light, although he stretched his to an 8ft length, and he reports that all went well. Best of all, he reckons he only loses 5% fuel economy when towing it behind his compact.
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And Chris in Victoria, Australia has built himself a Pico-Light, to tow behind his Can-Am Spyder, which he reports it does well.. Chris has also changed the shape a bit.
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Plans and illustrations in PDF file |
View (~1Mb file) |
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Download the 3D model as a .DXF file |
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Weight estimate as Excel spreadsheet |
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Weight estimate as PDF |
