Small camper thoughts.

[sogncab]

I've been dicking around with this for a bit. Looking for criticism. Negative or positive.

The idea is to have a pop up but with no canvas. The top would lift up with either pneumatics or electric linear actuators. I'm leaning towards air since the 40 has onboard air, and I think it could probably be lifted up with a little Battery powered Makita tire inflator.

There's a bunch I haven't spent the time modeling yet. (I'm modeling this in software made for building cabinets....)
Things like windows. The back door. Drawers and storage. I haven't really touched the interior yet. Just trying to get the shape figured out.

The floor would be raised up for drawers underneath that would pull out to the right side of the trailer. whether the top is popped or not. I'd like to be able to access that storage from inside.

My current camp trailer with a roof top tent works awesome getting into weird places. Some friends and I have ideas about taking a month long trip to Alaska. I don't want to live out of that trailer for a month. That seems brutal. Especially if it's wet the entire time.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Nice concept. More like a upslide than a “side slide” on RVs. I think about weight being an issue depending on choice of building materials. Need sliding interface to be weather tight which can be a challenge with repeated use and wear. Add position mechanical fail safe locks once up so that it does not collapse you in if air or shocks fail. I would prefer worm gear over air or hydraulic for lifting. Building robust joining seams will be key. “Rivets” Will not last through Alaska’s Dempster highway. More robust frame and bolting panels to frame is more robust.

 

[matzell]

Karl,

I have been looking at small camper trailers as well. A friend of mine is building one right now. With the time and money he has in his, I would rather start with a "basic" kit and build it out. You have the skills and tooling to do just that. Some of the tear drop manufactures make such kits and let you finish it. What you get is the basic frame, suspension and shell. Proven platforms that do not leak, break and just work.

I like the TC brand for this. No holes in roof to leak, heavy duty frames and suspension. They have several models. I like this one best:

TCT Model: "TCTerrain"

Our TC Terrain camper is the culmination of our experience and expertise, combined with feedback from our customers. The Terrain offers a comfortable living space with a table and bench seating for four; convert that to a couch and table for two, or unfold the mattress completely into a queen...

www.tcteardrops.com

They also have others that may make more sense for your build. Just a thought. I have no affiliation with them just have watched what seems like 100's of you tube videos on home built over store bought.

If you search "playing with sticks" on You Tube, you will find a guy who does independent reviews of trailers and also shows all sorts of "why did I not think about that" type of things and what he likes and dislikes on each trailer.

Anyways, you can find a starter kit for under 6k and go from there. I would not want to have 30k in a 5 x 10 camper, but to each their own.

I will be following along to see what you come up with.

Rob

 

[sogncab]

I think about weight being an issue depending on choice of building materials.

The main frame would be 2-1/2 square steel tubing.

The rest I'm not sure. Couple of ideas for the body.
-Laminate 3/4" Foam with 1/8" plywood on both faces, cut all of the parts on the cnc so they lock themselves together on the corners. Once assembled, fibreglass the whole thing.
-Or, weld up an aluminum frame from 1" square tubing, sheet either the inside or the outside first with an aluminum skin (like an enclosed trailer), then either cut pieces of foam to fit between then skin the remaining face. Or spray foam it and cut it back, then sheet the remaining face.

The first option will likely be the heaviest, and require the most labor. The the initial assembly should go pretty darn quick if I cut all the parts correctly with the cnc.


I didn't really think about this until this morning. The steel portion of the frame could be made taller so it encompasses the drawers and supports the floor in the living space. That would probably add a bunch of rigidity to things and take a lot of stress off of the body.

Need sliding interface to be weather tight

My thought would be that there would be a 1/4" gap between where the top portion of the body and bottom part overlap. That would allow a seal to wipe against the bottom body as it goes up and down. When in the down position, it would be pulled down to some thing attached to the side of the bottom half of the body to lock that in place. Maybe at the top, a V falls into a V shaped notch to lock all of that in place laterally. I can machine plastic easily enough with what I have at the cabinet shop. Either manually or with the cnc.

Add position mechanical fail safe locks once up so that it does not collapse you in if air or shocks fail.

For sure

 

[matzell]

I saw you were looking at the Tribe brand trailer in another thread. That looks like curb weight is over 4000 lbs. Any idea what weight you are looking to come in at? I would think 4000 lbs might be a bit much for a 40 to tow.

 

[sogncab]

I saw you were looking at the Tribe brand trailer in another thread. That looks like curb weight is over 4000 lbs. Any idea what weight you are looking to come in at? I would think 4000 lbs might be a bit much for a 40 to tow.

That would be way too much behind a 40 i think. Also a lot wider than I would like.

I need to weigh my current trailer and see what that is for a reference. That pulls well. I'm not sure what it weighs full of crap, but I think it was about 1200# empty. Full of stuff its gotta be around a ton. That trailer is way overbuilt.

Two goals with this one is to have close to the same body width as the 40, same wheel track, and same bolt pattern and tire size. That way spares can go anywhere. I also don't want it to be any taller than the 40 going down the road.


I wanted to do a teardrop for years. For this I really want to be able to stand up though. I like the interiors on the TCT, the way they have that designed, it would be pretty easy to do with what I've got for tooling.


I should just make the whole thing from plywood like I did with the camper I built for the gooseneck a few years ago.

 

[matzell]

That would be way too much behind a 40 i think. Also a lot wider than I would like.

I need to weigh my current trailer and see what that is for a reference. That pulls well. I'm not sure what it weighs full of crap, but I think it was about 1200# empty. Full of stuff its gotta be around a ton. That trailer is way overbuilt.

Two goals with this one is to have close to the same body width as the 40, same wheel track, and same bolt pattern and tire size. That way spares can go anywhere. I also don't want it to be any taller than the 40 going down the road.


I wanted to do a teardrop for years. For this I really want to be able to stand up though. I like the interiors on the TCT, the way they have that designed, it would be pretty easy to do with what I've got for tooling.


I should just make the whole thing from plywood like I did with the camper I built for the gooseneck a few years ago.

I saw that one too. the gooseneck trailer. Figure out that 40 one and price out what it would cost to build a 2nd one... It will be cool to see what you come up with.

 

[sogncab]

Figure out that 40 one and price out what it would cost to build a 2nd one...

The problem is, you never get the first one right. Takes about 3 in my experience to stop learning things. Especially if this isn't what you do exactly for a living. I've built thousands of cabinets, thats easy. This stuff is a little out of my wheelhouse.

I've redone the drawers in my camp trailer 2½ times now. One wholesale dumpstering and one remodel to land where I am now. I have a redesigned drawer for the kitchen side that will make that much more user friendly that I haven't cut parts for yet.

 

[80t0ylc]

I didn't really think about this until this morning. The steel portion of the frame could be made taller so it encompasses the drawers and supports the floor in the living space. That would probably add a bunch of rigidity to things and take a lot of stress off of the body.

I would build the whole lower frame (bottom part) out of steel. Not only would it simplify the build, but it would, as you say, give it more strength. The whole upper part make as light as possible to keep weight down. I'd stay away from using wood as any part of the structural body. Wood works OK in housing construction because they're generally on a concrete foundation and don't move. Wood is bad enough in older mobile homes and travel trailers that spend most of their lives on paved roads, but if taken off road, the vibration and constant pounding substantially shortens the life and integrity of the joints. Not to mention how it has a tendency to split during trauma or stress. And then there's dry rot or if it gets wet from a leak. Aluminum is a much better choice, IMHO.

 

[sogncab]

I would build the whole lower frame (bottom part) out of steel.

I think you are correct.

I like this approach more

 

[80t0ylc]

I think you are correct.


View attachment 4102027


I like this approach more

View attachment 4102030

What I meant by "the whole lower frame" was the entire side walls that don't pop up. Just extend the steel side walls up. The pop up will slide down around the lower steel portion when lowered to the traveling position. Just the outside rails, keep the floor horizontal rails where you want to allow storage. What I meant by simplify the design was that you won't have to build a section of the lower part of the cabin walls (that's not steel) to rest on top of the steel frame. I copied and tried editing your 2nd figure to try and explain the idea. The red lines will be the top of your steel frame.

 

[sogncab]

What I meant by "the whole lower frame" was the entire side walls that don't pop up. Just extend the steel side walls up.

I see what you are saying. I'd have to think about that a bit. That adds some simplicity, and removes having to join the "tub" to the frame mechanically.
It's just one piece then.
The trade off would be more weight. But maybe that could be countered a bit by going with a smaller sized steel tube.


I wish I was willing to fork over the money for the fancy version of Solidworks, (or Solidworks altogether), then I could stress test things, see the weak points, weights, and adjust the thought process from there.


(edit) Added up the length of the parts that are in black.

2-1/2", 1/8" wall square tubing is 3.9# per foot
1-1/2", 1/8" wall square tubing is 2.25# per foot

I ended up with 465# of 2-1/2"
112# of 1-1/2"

for a total of 577# I don't know if that is a lot or not. LOL

 

[NyNomad]

I like the Venturist 4x8 and the Taxa TigerMoth overland

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[dirtyham]

 

[sogncab]

View attachment 4103469View attachment 4103470

Some good ideas there.

https://kimberleykampersusa.com/hybrids/

 

[coleAK]

I've been dicking around with this for a bit. Looking for criticism. Negative or positive.

The idea is to have a pop up but with no canvas. The top would lift up with either pneumatics or electric linear actuators. I'm leaning towards air since the 40 has onboard air, and I think it could probably be lifted up with a little Battery powered Makita tire inflator.

There's a bunch I haven't spent the time modeling yet. (I'm modeling this in software made for building cabinets....)
Things like windows. The back door. Drawers and storage. I haven't really touched the interior yet. Just trying to get the shape figured out.

The floor would be raised up for drawers underneath that would pull out to the right side of the trailer. whether the top is popped or not. I'd like to be able to access that storage from inside.

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My current camp trailer with a roof top tent works awesome getting into weird places. Some friends and I have ideas about taking a month long trip to Alaska. I don't want to live out of that trailer for a month. That seems brutal. Especially if it's wet the entire time.

I’m in Alaska. You nailed the wet entire time, which it could be, less likely in June and July but in those months everything is busier and more expensive (peak tourist season). So I’d make it large enough to store all your gear be able to hang dry wet things, and think about it if you were to spend most of 3-5 days straight inside it.

Pm me if you ever have questions about the trip.