Teardrop trailer campers
 

Has anyone here ever heard of a "Teardrop Trailer"?

It is a small camping trailer based on an old style. Lots of people build these themselves in their garage.

There is a great forum about them at
http://www.tnttt.com

I think the "Non-Traditional Designs" section is especially interesting.

I thought all you would be interested in this transportation/fun related subject.

Now, how do we make a camper get better gas mileage? And not just in its name (cough, cough, Airstream, cough)

Here is the trailer I built:
http://web.mac.com/benhdvideoguy/iWe.../Teardrop.html

Lower top height, close up the gap between tow and trailer, tapered end. That ought to make for a slick, effortless tow.

Riding behind the typical travel trailer is usually a big, rumbly wake of turbulent air. Snuggling up behind it usually allows me to cut my throttle back by about a third or more, and you can see the tow vehicle speed up due to reduced load.

Lighten, lighter, lightest, if you're pullin' the lighter the better for your tow vehicle.
Wheel skirts should improve aero. And I agree with elhigh, close up the gap and taper the rear more. Although, I'm not sure how much the gap can be closed and still maintain the the ability to turn.

How about the use of low rolling resistance tires?

Google up "Bowlus Road chief" and get a gander at that old rascal. It is the daddy of the Airstream trailers of today.

I'm thinking if you combined the slick shape of the Road Chief with the low height of a Hi-Lo you have a very low drag. The Road Chief is only 80 inches wide do to regain interior space (the whole purpose of an RV) you'd have to go longer.

Very cool, Dave. Just think...way back in 1936 they already had trailer "telephone to car". :thumbup:

not to hijack to much, i have a 1984 rv (yep brick on wheels) and i've done a few cross country trips in it, i noticed i got much better fuel econ when i was towing my trans am behind it, not much of a difference but it was certainly noticeable about 5% or so
john

Do you figure that the Trans Am sort of worked as a boat-tail to the RV?

Those things are so NON-aero, adding anything to the back has to help.

I am really impressed by that aero-mod pickup truck cap done by Bondo. I especially like how it can convert up for more cargo room.

I was thinking that something like that would work great for pulling a trailer.
Keep the cap down and pointy for regular travel, but pop it up when pulling a trailer to make the air flow better from the pickup to the trailer.

An "elongated" cap that had an extension to come close to the trailer might work even better, just don't make any tight turns.

hmmm, i typed a reply to this thread the other day at school, it looks as though it didnt get posted, probably an issue w/ the school comps. anyhow, yeah my theory is that the car helped with the aerodynamics, I tow it with a 2 wheel car dolly so it lifts the front end up even higher which might help smooth the airflow, the setup also brings the car pretty close to the RV. I had thought of a few aero mods for the rv but have decided to sell it and get a scamp trailer as i would rather get better mileage and dont really need all that space anyways. i would love to build a td like yours (its such a beautiful trailer btw) but it is to small for my purposes as i find myself living out of rv parks for up to a year at a time (yep im a nomad).
john

Scamps are great lil campers. I think one of those would be almost the perfect 1 person nomad home.

It's about the smallest, lightest camper I can think of that would still have what you need (just add your own toilet!)

The TAB may also be good, but I think they are very overpriced compared to what you could find an old used Scamp for.

Here is a link for a web page a guy made talking about very small campers.

At the bottom is a link for CampInn. These guys are a couple hours drive from my house. I went up to visit them when I was building my camper and bought a few specialty parts. I also met a guy who owned one of the Camp Inn trailers - really nice!

thanks for the information, out of curiosity how long did it take for you to build your trailer?

Hard to say exactly how long it took to build, because it was always in little short spurts.

Most of the work was done nights and weekends in one summer, then my father-in-law got sick, so the whole project was stashed and then pulled back out the next spring. I didn't have to do a whole lot more that spring.

Overall, a project similar to mine is a very do-able summer project.

Of coarse that depends how much experience you have with wood, metal, trailers, electrical, etc.

Everything I did on the trailer took pretty long, because I hadn't done any work like that before. The only thing I was able to do quick and easy was the 12V wiring.

If I were to build another trailer, I could do it twice as fast now.

teardrop trailers
 

none of the designs truly respect aerodynamics.They're "way out ahead of nothing",however can all be improved.I built a "micro" teardrop two-wheel trailer for my CRX,drove it to Los Angeles from Denton,TX,pulled 500-pounds of NiCad batteries back with it,and averaged 50-mpg for the trip.On the return leg,the rig weighed over 2,800-lbs,as much as a Ford Taurus.The bottom of the trailer was not completed,so the trailer was a lot "dirtier",than had it been finished.I believe that if properly executed,the trailer can actually "improve"mileage for the car/trailer combo,as I only lost 2-mpg pulling the trailer,running half a ton heavier than the CRX by itself.Time will tell.

True that none of these designs are actually aerodynamic; but they sure look cool.

If forgot to latch the back of the trailer once. At 45 mph, enough lift is generated to lift the hatch straight up and out. My hatch isn't very light either, it's about as heavy as you want to lift with one hand while reaching for the prop rod with the other.

I think that teardrops would be a great place to start to build a true aerodynamic trailer that work in conjunction with the tow vehicle similar to the camper towing the car mentioned earlier in this thread.

PS: part of the design of my particular trailer is that no material was larger than 4'x8'. Keeps it easy to build. If I built another one of these, I might do something more complicated to build, but more aerodynamic and stylish!:cool:

Why not build the whole new unit?

Too busy building crazy things like electric cars!!!

Somebody else's turn to build a camper!

I'd like to see a trailer shaped like the Rumpler Tropfenwagen, a vertical airfoil with a fairly flat top.

mini-mini-mini reverse teardrop trailer? :D I posted thi

mini-mini-mini reverse teardrop trailer? :D I posted this photo on another thread, but thought it might fit right in on this thread

countersTrike

I have a friend that towed a tear drop behind his 1958 Edsel wagon. On long trips, he went from 12 MPG without to 14 MPG pulling the little trailer. He took it everywhere just to get the better mileage. It really was tiny. Inside barely bigger than a fullsize matress, and no taller than the wagon.

People have been asking me about Teardrops lately, so here's a little more information on them at my blog.
So You Want a Teardrop Trailer

I haven't been on tnttt for some time....yeah the ideas I had.

friend
 

Would it be possible to reveal a little about your friend,just for the record books?
To improve mpg whilst pulling any kind of trailer is a matter of much interest to me,it would be really helpful to have as large a database as possible regarding this sort of thing.:)

I'm restoring a Westphalia trailer, slowly, since I don't have a trailer hitch.

But if I was going to make a teardrop, I'd start with a 4x10ft piece of swingdoor material, and Box out over the wheels like a gypsy/sheepherder's wagon.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-fr...e-schooner.jpg

And if the shell was Polymetal, it would be [a little]/[no] more expensive than plywood, but would weigh 1/5th as much. Plus being more durable.

Shaped like this, of course.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-fr...qevko1-250.jpg

Just got back from a camping trip and averaged 24 MPG on my Chevy S10 extended cab with 3 people, a full bed of firewood, camping gear, etc, and towing the teardrop.

http://300mpg.org/wp-content/uploads...63-640x480.jpg
http://300mpg.org/wp-content/uploads...64-640x480.jpg

24 on an average of 30? Any idea if the trailer or load made more difference?

The guy with the Edsel got better mileage. That might be due to a teardrop shorter that the tow vehicle rather than taller.

Most teardrop trailers are LESS aerodynamic than you would think, but they are still a giant step better than the typical big n boxy trailers other people use.

I think the trailer probably has more of an impact than the load in the bed. The trailer is about 900 lbs AND has two wheels on the ground, so besides wind-resistance, it has rolling resistance as well.

The load in the bed is just weight and almost fills in the space behind the cab, so I think that it doesn't have too bad of wind resistance.

I ran into THIS trailer at an event a few years back, and the owner claimed to get better fuel economy with it than without. If I recall correctly, the trailer was fairly light and the truck was a Dodge Dakota with a cap on it. You can see the slant on the back of this trailer is less than the curve on many teardrops.

http://300mpg.org/wp-content/uploads...29-640x480.jpg

That is a nice looking trailer and truck:thumbup:

As to a comment earlier in this thread: you can get new Scamps with toilets iirc.

Here's one I designed for my Wrangler that I'm convinced would improve economy (or at least not hurt it):

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1398737002

Mine isn't a teardrop, but the frontal area is pretty good. I'm not happy with the van's boattail, so I don't use it much.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...9&d=1398775571

Have you considered tying the canoe down on top of the trailer? Seems like that would cut drag.

I've considered it. I've proposed it. I've let it go.

Just A Car Guy did a post on:

Just A Car Guy: Teardrop history

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_cvgqgtkl...-for-two-6.jpg

...and:

Just A Car Guy: Teardrops made from WW2 bomber aluminum, with wheels from Jeeps salvaged from sunken ships. True WW2 worker ingenuity

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xk8mzadZ3...0/DSC_0100.JPG

Beautiful.

Here is a well-done teardrop.
Outlast the Rest: Trailer Built to Last 40 EXTRA YEARS!
With a monocoque box on a flexible subframe, the Model 560 shape follows Wally Byam's pre-Airstream teardrop.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-fr...qevko1-250.jpg

Routing the side panels for wiring runs under an aluminum skin could work with a foamie.

Regardless, how aero really is that marketed "teardrop" shape?
Any actual wind tunnel numbers to back up the trailer design?

Aerodynamics isn't the strong point, but they are certainly better than a 'canned ham'.

It's why Airstreams are shaped as they are today. Compare the height of the cited example to the Byam prototype.

I posted it because they put the hulls on a rotisserie.

I think the marketing potential has been proven that "teardrop" outsells "canned ham", regardless of Cd. The "airstream" is another winner in this game. Me, I want numbers.

I like the wire routing solution, except it is a huge stress riser in a monocoque structure. that rests on an admittedly flexible sub frame.

' numbers '
 

I've seen one published Cd for an RV travel trailer since 1974. And it wasn't a 'teardrop.' This trailer was depicted, being towed by a Honda Accord, and there was no attribution specificity as to whether their Cd was ,measured as a tow vehicle/trailer 'system', or as the trailer in a wind tunnel by itself. No 'context', no 'conditions.' No 'actionable' information.
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Wolf Hucho's 2nd edition,' Aerodynamics of Road Vehicles' is the 'richest' single source for trailer data I've seen.
And the 'trailer' discussions here at EcoModder include all of it, plus everything published in the public domain, flagged by members over the decades.
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As to 'teardrop' trailers:
Baron Reinhard von Fachsenfeld personally measured the drag of a 'solo' structure which closely resembles the architecture of 'classic' teardrop trailers, recording Cd 0.45, at either Braunschwieg Technical University, or at Dr. Kamm's, FKFS, next door to Daimler-Benz, in Stuttgart.
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Such a Cd is 'useless', divorced from the effects of the tow vehicle ahead of it.
And since there's an 'infinite' number of potential TVs, along with an 'infinite' number of RVs, it would bankrupt a manufacturer attempting to 'cover the entire field' of combinations.
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All we can do is to compare 'solo' mpg of a TV, to it's mpg while towing a specific TT, then overlaying the frontal area footprints of the two, together, come up with an AF of the 'system,' plus it's all-up weight; then calculate the increased rolling-resistance, factoring that into the energy balance for the 'rig, allowing a constant BSFC, or BSFC-e for the tow vehicle.
From this, the Cd, and CdA of the 'rig' will fall out from the math.
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Just calculating the frontal area of an 'Airstream', 'Argossy', 'Casita' ,'Happy Camper', etc. can set you back half a day.

So the takeaway here is the Use of the label "teardrop" is mostly marketing.
The tradeoff in lost usable interior space and manufacturing efforts to achieve the "teardrop" persona are yet to be determined in an aero sense it seems, but it sells.