Trailer thread! Teardrop builders wanted.

[freebeard]

Possibly you're responding to http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post385716 at permalink 211?

[aerohead]

Years ago I was 'gifted' a 21-foot fiberglass sailboat by Lake Dallas Marina.All I had to do was get it to my place,where it's languished longer than I'd like to admit.
Reversed,inverted,and raised a bit,she''l be a somewhat heavy,but robust gooseneck trailer shell for a tandem axle subframe.
It will be like a larger 'Papoose',with fully-integrated wheels.
The existing prow makes for an ideal boat tail.The transom is extremely robust and will facilitate attachment of the hitch mechanism.The Lincoln stick-welder is waiting on me for materials to construct the rotisserie she'll be mounted to for the buildout.
If we can have 'boat car' art-cars,we can have boat-trailer RVs.

[freebeard]

Which comes first, the rotisserie or the pre-preg carbon-fiber body kit?

__________________
I posted this at http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post372117


At #15-#18 Frank Lee and I discussed an upside down transom-first single-wheel trailer. Could you hold the single wheel back [forward] toward the middle to improve maneuverability? Maybe an electric in-hub motor?
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Edit: Now that I think on it, castering and propulsion would be A-B switched.
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Edit the 2nd: If the hinge line is at mid-transom, the excursions would be minimized and you could suck up closer to the tow vehicle.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Which comes first, the rotisserie or the pre-preg carbon-fiber body kit?

__________________
I posted this at http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post372117


At #15-#18 Frank Lee and I discussed an upside down transom-first single-wheel trailer. Could you hold the single wheel back [forward] toward the middle to improve maneuverability? Maybe an electric in-hub motor?
__________________

Edit: Now that I think on it, castering and propulsion would be A-B switched.
__________________
Edit the 2nd: If the hinge line is at mid-transom, the excursions would be minimized and you could suck up closer to the tow vehicle.

*The rotisserie comes first.
*On my 1-wheeler,I went for tongue weight as a guide for wheel location and it ended up about centered under the body.It's awkward utility wise,but it was just a proof of concept project.
*And now that the CRX is back in service I'm eyeing the 1-wheeler a bit harder.I never got to complete it or testing.
*I saw 48-mpg average through three states at speeds as high as 80 mph.
*The carburetor had a vacuum line completely breached and she ran rich enough to leave soot down the side.
*With vacuum restored and gap-fillers,I think I'd see some tasty numbers.
*With your trailer as you and Frank have created it,I think you'd really like it.

[freebeard]

What I've been thinking about for the last day or so is this:

The distance across the middle of a VW Beetle windshield is about the same as center to center on the tail-lights. If I took a roof clip from a Beetle (cut 27" down from the crown, I measured) and pie cut it so the back window and vents are gone, it would make a teardrop the height of the rear fenders. Ultracapacitors to the rear, a caster wheel with hub motor on a bulkhead built off the old door frame, and the space between the old door windows could be a cargo compartment. The electronics would be sized to capture and expend kinetic energy, probably controlled via wi-fi.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by freebeard

What I've been thinking about for the last day or so is this:

The distance across the middle of a VW Beetle windshield is about the same as center to center on the tail-lights. If I took a roof clip from a Beetle (cut 27" down from the crown, I measured) and pie cut it so the back window and vents are gone, it would make a teardrop the height of the rear fenders. Ultracapacitors to the rear, a caster wheel with hub motor on a bulkhead built off the old door frame, and the space between the old door windows could be a cargo compartment. The electronics would be sized to capture and expend kinetic energy, probably controlled via wi-fi.

Your Sawsall/plasma cutter/welder would have a good time!

[freebeard]

More like the Lasso and Shear tools in Photoshop, But I do have a SawZall.

I still want to put the solar collector on the roof of the trailer I'm in before the weather turns. But then I think it's time to move on.

40' insulated aluminum shipping container, $7800 delivered in the local area. Cut the middle 32' out (to qualify for a Recreational trailer license) and pie cut the floor and roof leaving a lip in the wall that can be spot welded after the cut and shut. 1 foot radius on the front with a 6' picture window. 6' pie cuts in back, truncated with a 4' sliding patio door set, with 4' barn doors on 2' 4-bar links that store along the sides but swing back to complete the boattail.

It would be as much space as I have now, but with 8' ceiling and no rotten plywood floor. I going to scout out the dealer tomorrow, but I'd probably have to find work to finance it.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by freebeard

More like the Lasso and Shear tools in Photoshop, But I do have a SawZall.

I still want to put the solar collector on the roof of the trailer I'm in before the weather turns. But then I think it's time to move on.

40' insulated aluminum shipping container, $7800 delivered in the local area. Cut the middle 32' out (to qualify for a Recreational trailer license) and pie cut the floor and roof leaving a lip in the wall that can be spot welded after the cut and shut. 1 foot radius on the front with a 6' picture window. 6' pie cuts in back, truncated with a 4' sliding patio door set, with 4' barn doors on 2' 4-bar links that store along the sides but swing back to complete the boattail.

It would be as much space as I have now, but with 8' ceiling and no rotten plywood floor. I going to scout out the dealer tomorrow, but I'd probably have to find work to finance it.

This would be kind of a new slant on Dymaxion House!
Delivered by derigible? No road or runway necessary!

[freebeard]

When I was on Long Binh Post, there was a field full of double-wide trailers between my hooch and the motor pool. Every once in a while, a Chinook would fly over and jerk one of them into the sky.

Or maybe put it on needle shaped catamaran hulls, like his racing shell?

If the needles were submerged you'd have a SWATH hull.

When I went to Google Images for a picture of the catamaran, I found this:

It has Reyner Banham's bubble house in the upper left, Bucky's Dymaxion front and center and Smurfs in the lower right. There's a whole series that gets off topic, e.g. Banham Syle/Gangnam Style parody.

[freebeard]

Poor neglected thread.

Well, I got a scanner/fax/inkjet for $16 (before the discount). My first print shows it needs only one of the five colors and my first scan shows an anomaly on the right side. It will be fine for Kodachrome prints.



I mentioned this back at Permalink #5:

On the other hand, I have a design for a teardrop that would scale down to bicycle or motorcycle size that is the traditional flat-sided shape. I'm not sure where people's interests lie.

The top bows are based on the design of an old Model T touring top, with the three top bows supporting a waterproof or even inflatable top. Everything below that could be multiple layers that roll up: rain-fly or mosquito netting. Straps would allow rolling up both/all layers to open it up in nice weather.

The cabinet (or shelf) that folds out can create a platform as long as the bed of the trailer. Scalable from bicycle-size on up, it could be flat sided or curve sided to the point the top would be like 1/3 of a torus. The hinge line is far up the back enough that the top/floor lies on the 'transom' to take stress off the piano hinge.

This is more of a 'travel' trailer than a 'camping' trailer. I figure if you can get gas you can get food.

Two years later and I still don't have a trailer hitch.