Offroad Teardrop+ concept

[Hilldweller]

Uh oh...running into a problem. Any suggestions on where I could have the tent portion made?
Damn. Any suggestions?

Did you try Flip-pac?
I know you want to do it yourself but, dang.

If you find something around the big lake, let me know. I want to have some work done on my Conqueror items and I haven't found a good canvas shop yet.

 

[12husky]

Awesome concept! I have been sketching in my head something along similar lines. What file type can that program output to and would you be willing to share? I work in AutoCAD, RevIT, and Solidworks.

I just shot an email with your latest concept to a friend of mine here in MD that does custom canvas work to see if he would want to do something like this. I will let you know when he gets back to me.

Again, awesome concept and great work on the modeling!

~Matt

 

[JJBiggs]

Did you try Flip-pac?
I know you want to do it yourself but, dang.

If you find something around the big lake, let me know. I want to have some work done on my Conqueror items and I haven't found a good canvas shop yet.

Will do. I'll give a call to some of the larger marinas and let you know what I find.

 

[JJBiggs]

Awesome concept! I have been sketching in my head something along similar lines. What file type can that program output to and would you be willing to share? I work in AutoCAD, RevIT, and Solidworks.

I just shot an email with your latest concept to a friend of mine here in MD that does custom canvas work to see if he would want to do something like this. I will let you know when he gets back to me.

Again, awesome concept and great work on the modeling!

~Matt

Thanks Matt... the concept is in FormZ. It's a professional 3D industrial / architectural modeling software.

I will be creating the plans in the coming days. I can then export those to AutoCAD with ease. You are welcome to them. I will need a little time get it all in order.

I am planning to have all the wood CNC cut and ready for assembly. As luck would have it, one of the Expo members here is close by and has a CNC tube bender and steel shop. He might be making the trailer frame as well.

Slowly but surely, this is all coming together. :victory:

 

[JJBiggs]

A Note to all: FWIW - I am a 3D industrial designer by trade. I design stuff for a living. For reference, the following is my website:

http://www.centricreative.com

This trailer project is my playtime. So I am happy to share this with the forum as I have no intentions on taking this design to a full production based unit. However, if any of you decide that you would like to make money from this design, please consult with me first. I am happy to share, but I want the situation to be fair as well. Thank you for your understanding & consideration.

Cheers...
Chad

 

[evldave]

:lurk:

 

[JJBiggs]

Project Update.

Getting closer. Working the details. I have also confirmed a local source for a CNC Router to cut all the wood form plywood sheets. This includes the spars as the plywood will certainly be stronger than straight fir or poplar 1x2's.

More to come...

 

[Titanpat57]

From a personal POV...I'd rather see the water tank before the axle vs. after. Just seems that weight behind the axle like that can do some squirelly stuff. Love it...it's coming out great!:smiley_drive:

Good luck,

Pat

 

[JJBiggs]

From a personal POV...I'd rather see the water tank before the axle vs. after. Just seems that weight behind the axle like that can do some squirelly stuff. Love it...it's coming out great!:smiley_drive:

Good luck,

Pat

You're forgetting about the box in the front along, the spare fuel and the spare location. Works out nicely actually.

 

[Hilldweller]

Project Update.

Getting closer. Working the details. I have also confirmed a local source for a CNC Router to cut all the wood form plywood sheets.

Do you know Max McAllister at Traxxion Dynamics? He's in Woodstock off of Sixes.
He builds custom motorcycle suspensions but has an amazing shop and CNC machine that works wonders on aluminum --- if you wanted some aluminum work, that is.
I think you could do some work underneath. Water tanks, boxes for storage, etc.

 

[JJBiggs]

Do you know Max McAllister at Traxxion Dynamics? He's in Woodstock off of Sixes.
He builds custom motorcycle suspensions but has an amazing shop and CNC machine that works wonders on aluminum --- if you wanted some aluminum work, that is.
I think you could do some work underneath. Water tanks, boxes for storage, etc.

Stop! Yer killin me. :coffeedrink:

 

[nwoods]

The architect in me has some misgivings about your plywood forms. I think those cutouts will reduce torsional rigidity a bit more than you might find acceptable. Can you apply torque or twisting force in FormZ? if you are cutting your forms on a CNC machine, is there a reason why the cutouts need to be squares? Your strength will rise exponentially if you can make the rectangles into ovals. What plywood are you considering? I would suggest marine grade plywood, due to the quality of the adhesive and the fact that there are fewer (supposedly none) gaps or voids in the banding between layers. Not sure you can get it in 7/8" or 1-1/4" thickness, but its definitely available in 1/2' and 3/4". Perhaps two layers of 1/2" laminated together would be the hot ticket.

Another, cheaper option would be to use something like GP's "Dry-Ply" product, which I've specified with good success: http://www.gp.com/build/product.aspx?pid=4882

Also, I would make the panel forward of the doors solid, that corner is carrying a lot of load from the tent above, plus will bear a lot of the torsion force. If you don't want to make it solid, I recommend thickening the hinge side jamb rib so that there is a vertical load path down from the roof structure, similar to the strike side of the door.

 

[JJBiggs]

The architect in me has some misgivings about your plywood forms. I think those cutouts will reduce torsional rigidity a bit more than you might find acceptable. Can you apply torque or twisting force in FormZ? if you are cutting your forms on a CNC machine, is there a reason why the cutouts need to be squares? Your strength will rise exponentially if you can make the rectangles into ovals. What plywood are you considering? I would suggest marine grade plywood, due to the quality of the adhesive and the fact that there are fewer (supposedly none) gaps or voids in the banding between layers. Not sure you can get it in 7/8" or 1-1/4" thickness, but its definitely available in 1/2' and 3/4". Perhaps two layers of 1/2" laminated together would be the hot ticket.

Another, cheaper option would be to use something like GP's "Dry-Ply" product, which I've specified with good success: http://www.gp.com/build/product.aspx?pid=4882

Also, I would make the panel forward of the doors solid, that corner is carrying a lot of load from the tent above, plus will bear a lot of the torsion force. If you don't want to make it solid, I recommend thickening the hinge side jamb rib so that there is a vertical load path down from the roof structure, similar to the strike side of the door.

Not to worry. Only one layer is shown. The pockets shown allow for insulation. What you don't see are the verticals that have been designed into the structure aside from the panels. The material of choice is 3/4" ACX plywood for all structural elements. It will then be covered with 1/4 baltic birch ply on both sides.

That is...if I stuck with plywood.

My metal fab contact, just informed me this afternoon that we have available extruded aluminum. This whole thought process flew out the window with the discovery of what I now have at my finger tips. And..then there's the Fiberglass panels...Oooooo...

More to come.

 

[JJBiggs]

Well...after a good discussion with a friend (metal fab guy), it looks like some doors have opened to what direction we are going to take this.

Metal framing.

Base trailer structure will be steel. We are also investigating independent suspension options. My preference is simplicity by sticking with leaf springs. But we'll see where costs come into play.

The main cabin structure will likely be 1" extruded aluminum tube. Lightweight and strong. My structural layout concept is likely overkill. I was looking to tie as much into the upper sleeping area as possible.

Last little note - we have the opportunity to use some structural composites. These may be incorporated into the flip top portion. This will allow us to create a top that is super strong but also lightweight.

More to come.

 

[stomperxj]

I would suggest marine grade plywood,

I would recommend against using marine grade plywood, because of all the adhesives and chemicals they use in it. that stuff will off-gas for quite awhile and you dont want to be sleeping inside a box made of it...

Just my 2 cents.

Cool trailer and awesome cad work. I wish i could get my renderings to look that good