Camper/ travel trailer diy under 2,000lbs
 

I've been wanting a small camper for a long time now, tent camping just isn't the blast that it used to be.

There are a few guides, discussions, etc about how to do it cheapest, roomiest, etc but what I don't see is people who want to keep their tow rig optimally efficient.

My idea is somewhat borrowed from an individual on a forum who built a camper/ toy hauler from an old boat trailer and a semi truck's sleeper.

I like the idea and happen to have a boat trailer albeit quite a bit larger than his but I plan to turn the box so that the short (5 foot) side is facing forward instead of the (8 foot) side as is his design.

I was able to find basically exactly the same sleeper locally for $800 which is much more reasonable than an enclosed trailer here.

I have a ridiculously long tongue to deal with, tandem axles and a plasma cutter.

The plan is to pull with my 01 beetle tdi with a class 1 hitch rated at 2,000 lbs so I need to keep it as light weight as possible.

I would like to include a truncated boat tail, probably some skirts and wheel covers.

Open to any and all suggestions. Please open my eyes to whatever I may be missing.

Thanks,
Dave

trailer aero
 

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-a...l-trailers.jpgI recommend that you visit the website for the Airship 1, telescoping, RV travel trailer, with an eye towards the relationship between the tow vehicle & trailer as a aerodynamic singularity.
A boat tail cannot function until all turbulence upstream has been eliminated.
All that void, between the front face of the sleeper and the tongue needs to be enclosed by some sort of structure which integrates what you have, to the back of the tow vehicle. This includes the trailer's underbody.
The 'lightest' solutions would be to:
1) find a commercial awning manufacturer who can create an aluminum skeleton, and then cover with a taut aerospace fabric, as you see used with inflatable advertising.
2) find an auto/marine/ aircraft upholstery shop which can tailor and sew an inflatable envelope, strapped to the trailer 'floor', which takes on the desired form, when connected to a 12-VDC blower, powered by an electrical umbilical cord passing forwards to your battery.
3) or find an old high school, gear-drive SINGER sewing machine, from a home-economics classroom, and teach yourself how to do it yourself.
I'll try and link a photo of a commercial product from England which was never offered for sale in the USA which will give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

Thank you aerohead. I had seen a few similar ideas for the rear of a semi trailer, maybe it was you as well? But I had not thought to implement such a method.

I may buy a 10 foot John boat and was thinking of putting it on the roof of the tow rig but maybe it will become the front tapered face of the trailer?

I will update as my plan progresses and I gather materials and supplies.

First qustion: Do you need the trailer? It's unfortunate that tinypic.com ate all the pictures but in ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/ompact camper alternative: New Beetle TDI with hard mounted pop up tent member HHOTDI found that repositioning a rooftop tent to a post on the trailer hitch increased the MPG over the bare configuration.

That brick shape for $800? Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers • View forum - Foamies

The gap problem aerohead point to would be minimized with a single-wheel trailer. It would make the underbody transition managable.

'john boat'
 

They're very light! Upside-down, with the prow into the 'wind', the air would favor it! If the height of the TV and Trailer roofs matched, even better.
Long ago, expedition rigs combined boats with trailers to create better sectional density, less porosity, and they did take care to match structure to structure.
Good thinking!
Plus you'd have a boat, and option to incorporate into travel plans.;)

Freebeard, I probably don't need need need the trailer, but if I decide to take my garden tractor on an expedition or build a mud mower or even buy an atv, it would be handy to drag the toys with me.

I lived in a semi truck for the past 18 months so maybe I lost my mind and have already turned into Ray from trailer park boys.. livin in an old sleeper cab down in the dump lol

My plan is to build it as a bare bones camper and utilize it as secure dry storage, at least until I can muster up enough funds to meander around the country.

Here is my design for a teardrop/tent trailer.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...d-image-1.jpeg

That's super slick. �� maybe someday when I learn how to use a sewing machine proficiently..

I have a 3 person tent brand new in the package, it'll probably stay there at least until autumn.

I'm usually more interested in preparing food than base camp setup, hence why I'm considering dragging the lodge around behind me.

That's a scan of a sketch done in the 1970s (hence the thumb print). There is one other design that is produceable, maybe not as suited to your needs

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...5-11-28-42.png

Originally an ice fishing hut, it could serve as a outhouse, tool shed, coffee kiosk... anything that needs a door.

Truck topper
 

So.. I was given an old aluminum truck cap.

Possibly from an old s10. The roof is 3 inches wider than the roof of the beetle. From the trailing edge of my sunroof, the cap is the same distance to my hitch.

I am trying to work out in my head how to mount this without too much irreversible modifications to the car. So far I'm thinking to cut the front side completely out and maybe remove the hatch from the car.

I think I want to mount to the hitch, but I also don't want to inhibit pulling a trailer.

Maybe it will turn out like the rooftop camper that freebeard mentioned in the earlier post

Take care. The closed hatch stiffens the rear body. If you use external hinges forward of the hatch, a four-bar linkage could lift it with the hatch. Four-bars give a lot of latitude on how they move.

The biggest problem I see is it would enforce straight sides. If you split it and take 3 inches out of the front, you could take 6-9 inches out of the back.

If you take two patches out of the curves edges no longer than you need, and use curved edges to join it back together, you could approximate a compound curve.

Then it's down to pie cuts and shrinkers. :thumbup:

Edit, sorry I meant to post this on the thread about the car. I removed the rear seat and once I build a hitch mounted trunk boat tail, I believe I should be able to camp in the car.

So this could be the end of the camper project for now.

I was driving into town today and spotted a direct TV slimline sat dish at the curb. Drove on by because I have a strong tendency toward collecting things I have no use for in the hopes that I will soon have a use for them.

On my way home after the second trip to town it was still there. I will strip the hardware and put it out as soon as I've finished.

Well... I now have a sturdy base on which to attach my truck topper based boattail. I may even use the dish itself as a rear bulkhead or something to that effect.

After a teardown of the truck cap, I've decided to use the windows in a foamie build. I am leaning toward a hilo style, a pop up hardsided travel trailer.

It's only me and the dog, so I really don't need much but to me the teardrop style just seems uncomfortable as far as crawling around.

Does anyone have experience or photos or drawings of the mechanisms? I vaguely remember taking apart a tent style pop up camper over a dozen years ago. I seem to remember a pulley at each corner.

I'm mostly worried about how to create a seal all the way around the body.

Some advantage to hinging down the side:

https://i.auto-bild.de/ir_img/1/2/5/...3ceb309f46.jpg
i.auto-bild.de/ir_img/1/2/5/3/3/2/4/Transform-Camper-1200x800-cacb2f3ceb309f46.jpg

edit: There was a pickup canopy I'm trying to remember that had two hinged gables, that popped up into a gambrel roof.

'seal'
 

The ones I've seen, of course had the 'upper' section shingle over the 'lower' section when deployed, with a hollow rubber gland seal around the perimeter.
The gap in between, partially 'squeezed' the gland in order to snug it up to both surfaces, without interfering with the telescoping function.
An automotive upholstery shop could sew up a 'gland' for you. It would just be an enlarged welt-cord, without the cordage sewn inside.
You could incorporate a tack strip to attach it to, crimp it into an aluminum channel, or just cement it in place with 3M's 400- Series contact adhesive, which is rated for 'outdoor' service.

I've made some preparations for pulling a trailer. I removed all passenger seating, spare tire and muffler.

I installed honda atv springs inside my springs hoping to leave the ride height alone. It seems I have lifted the rear of the car 1.5 inches.

Airbags it is. I was trying to find airlift poly bags for inside my original springs but that was fruitless.

I have 2 trailers to choose from.
Trailer 1 is roughly 73" to the outside of the frame rails. It is shaped like a Y. I can cut the 5 feet out of the frame rails length where the tongue meets the angles. That will reduce the width by 33 inches. It would also bring the overall length down to 19' from 23. The axle mounts are all on u bolts so easily moved.

This trailer has tandem axles much wider and more robust than option 2.

Trailer 2 was a single pwc trailer. Shaped more like a slingshot I guess. Frame rails are 40" wide. I would likely need to extend this one 18-24" and add a crossmember outward from the tongue for the leading wall of my micro camper.

The wheels are 8" which scared me at first but I was reminded that I'm going for featherweight camper.

My current plan is a basic 4×4×8' box possibly with some roof taper. I would love to still incorporate that little 10 foot John boat but I guess it's not a deal breaker.

The more I remove from the car, the more I have to question whether I need a camper. The car has air conditioning and heat, it's watertight(ish), mobile.. maybe I only need a hitch cargo carrier.

I'd go plug-in hybrid, and camp outside or inside depending on the situation. Never liked the idea of hauling feces around the country. Best to leave it behind. Also never liked the idea of pooping where I eat. The lighter one travels, the happier they will be.

I have an interior that has migrated through the last few Beetles, currently in the Superbeetle. The deck is two pieces, one replaces the rear seat cushion and the other the shotgun seat. It makes an L-shaped platform six feet long and the width of the interior.

The rear luggage shelf has a Koolatron box. Welding rod curtain rods but no curtains. In the frunk is a 2ft diameter folding chair big enough to curl up and sleep in off the ground.

Prolly some other stuff like the 12V coffee pot.

Last time I overnighted in it was at the summit of the Donner Pass.

My two really big wants for the travel trailer are

1 an insulated space to utilize a window shaker air conditioner either off of my 2000 watt generator or 1500 watt power inverter. Does anyone have ideas on a/c that would adapt to the car so you wouldn't have to idle while sleeping? My semi has a battery operated system that could be worth looking into although I'm sure it's expensive and complicated.

2 somewhere to mount spare tires and possibly carry a toy or two ie. Boat/atv

I've only ever had 4 blow outs in the 20 years I've been driving. As a tire tech I repaired and replaced thousands of damaged tires. My brain tends to want to bring two spares per vehicle.

I'm currently in Florida which makes me not want to sleep outside if at all possible between the heat and everything that is out there trying to eat you.

The best air conditioner is no air conditioiner

It works in the dark.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...nt/5934876001/

I had to cut and paste this link to reach the article. Looks good for now, but it will probably cost as much as the best available black paint at over $1000/quart.

That was an un-vetted link, I should have gone with:
Making Infrared Cooling Paint From Grocery Store Items (w/Novel CaCO₃ Microsphere Synthesis)
Durability may be questioned.

If anyone didn't already think I'm on hard drugs, making my own pigment/ paint will definitely fix that.

When he said it must be protected under plastic, I thought maybe I could use on my crumbly dashboard.

I think I'll stick with the window shaker at least for the initial build. Maybe once this ultra white sky cooling paint becomes commercially available I'll grab a few gallons.

I was able to find a camper manufacturer who builds 4x8 models which made me feel a little more secure in my sizing idea.

Runaway cool camp is constructed of composite which seems to be .75-2" thick Coloplast. I saw a video tour of the interior of a rangerunner (the next larger model) the 4x8 model is 570lb.

There exist ultra-bright white paints that are 95%, not 98.5%.


Citation? Moreso than teardrops or gable roofs, I like the cruck frame. It's a Gothic arch but you could have trolley top and pop-outs. Here's a roll-up half-circle:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...9-trailer2.jpg

And a shepherd trailer (say 7x8, or use a 4x12 sheet)

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...e-schooner.jpg

For the lurkers:
www.pinterest.com/reneperret/trolley-top-trailers/

If only for the fold-out step and stabilizers:

https://www.sylvansport.com/wp-conte.../GO-camper.pnghttps://www.sylvansport.com/wp-conte...otorcycles.png
https://www.sylvansport.com/go-camping-trailer/

Truck swing door material is widely available. There's a place down the street from me that stocks it. Here's an example that quotes 49x122" size. One could lop off the front corners to chamfer it like the Cybertruck.

www.amerimaxfp.com/blog/new-product-plymetal-doors