Teardrop Camper Layout Design

[motas]

Maybe this was already suggested and I missed it, but have you considered offsetting the door to one side, allowing a solid kitchen space that nobody has to walk through the center of while you are trying to cook?

It was originally offset. The kitchen is already plenty wide enough as it is though so I’m not sure if there’s an advantage. You’d only have the table setup when you’re eating, and I don’t foresee people getting in and out of bed constantly at dinner time.

I've been teardropping since 2004 and am missing the usefulness and purpose of the third door. It certainly eats up the galley area and storage inside the cabin.

Take a look at my profile and note the shelves. They hold all sorts of stuff.

Tony

This is one problem with designing something I’ve never actually used, I’m not sure if it’s a useful addition or not. My thinking is similar to the Track Trailer where if it’s raining the living space is under the hatch (and awning if the weathers really bad), and you don’t have to go out into the rain to get into bed.

How do you find your camper is when it’s raining?

As I mentioned the weather here is often raining, or very hot so it’s important to me to have shelter from both rain or sun very quickly.

 

[Teardropper]

How do you find your camper is when it’s raining?

If it looks like it might be nasty, we put up this awning to cook and eat under.

But if it's extra-nasty, it's nap time, book time, or maybe even time to find better weather somewhere else.

T

 

[motas]

So, we went away over Christmas again in the swag and was unfortunately stuck in a very noisy caravan park all week. Didn't get much sleep but it did give me a good chance to look at other peoples setups and see how they camp.

I think the main difference is we spend very little time at camp. Most of our camp neighbors had fairly large setups, big awnings, flip over roof top tents, freestanding awnings etc etc. It took them a long time to setup, but they were very comfortable to spend all day hanging around camp and had plenty of shade to keep cool. Us on the other hand spent about 2 minutes throwing the swag out and probably spent about as much time hanging around camp as they did setting up. I think this is why I'm so focused on keeping setup time to a minimum, especially setting up and packing up canvas. We tend to spend all day out and move campsites a lot to stay close to activities.

I've also realized I have been trying to pack way too many things under way too small of a rear hatch, and there's no way we can comfortably shelter under there from rain or sun, which got me thinking about switching to a side awning like this:



This design does have a few advantages:

• Cheaper and easier to build (no hatch, less doors, simpler mould etc)
• Low bed & entry height
• More covered space
• Standard slide out kitchen
• Tropical roof when closed will keep the camper colder
• Double solar when open
• Lower roof height

Disadvantages I can think of are:

• Stiffness of awning
• Roof rack must be from A frame to rear of chassis
• Longer and wider

If the rigid awning wouldn't work, a canvas awning would fit as well. It would be smaller and lighter, but be more time and hassle to setup.

 

[billiebob]

So, we went away over Christmas again in the swag and was unfortunately stuck in a very noisy caravan park all week. Didn't get much sleep but it did give me a good chance to look at other peoples setups and see how they camp.

I think the main difference is we spend very little time at camp. Most of our camp neighbors had fairly large setups, big awnings, flip over roof top tents, freestanding awnings etc etc. It took them a long time to setup, but they were very comfortable to spend all day hanging around camp and had plenty of shade to keep cool. Us on the other hand spent about 2 minutes throwing the swag out and probably spent about as much time hanging around camp as they did setting up. I think this is why I'm so focused on keeping setup time to a minimum, especially setting up and packing up canvas. We tend to spend all day out and move campsites a lot to stay close to activities.

I've also realized I have been trying to pack way too many things under way too small of a rear hatch, and there's no way we can comfortably shelter under there from rain or sun, which got me thinking about switching to a side awning like this:

View attachment 563218

This design does have a few advantages:

• Cheaper and easier to build (no hatch, less doors, simpler mould etc)
• Low bed & entry height
• More covered space
• Standard slide out kitchen
• Tropical roof when closed will keep the camper colder
• Double solar when open
• Lower roof height

Disadvantages I can think of are:

• Stiffness of awning
• Roof rack must be from A frame to rear of chassis
• Longer and wider

If the rigid awning wouldn't work, a canvas awning would fit as well. It would be smaller and lighter, but be more time and hassle to setup.

awning? or sliding hard roof?
be cool if it were a hardtop with full extension slides

 

[john61ct]

Check out the Foxwing design

 

[motas]

awning? or sliding hard roof?
be cool if it were a hardtop with full extension slides

Sliding hard roof with full extension slides, probably made from fiberglass or a composite panel.

I'm thinking it could possibly have partial walls dropping down the side as well.

I haven't been able to find any examples of something like this though.

The other option is a caravan style retractable awning but it would not be very neat sticking out each side of the roof.

 

[Teardropper]

I just noticed something... is that axle right ********** in the middle?

T

 

[motas]

I just noticed something... is that axle right ********** in the middle?

T

Probably...I haven't drawn enough to look at the weight distribution yet, it was more of a mock up. I am restricted on how far back I can put the axle with the kitchen there but I don't see it being a big problem. Worst case I'll have to extend it a little and put some more of the heavier items at the front in front of the bed. I could also potentially reverse the whole setup which would give it a more teardrop style shape.

 

[Teardropper]

and put some more of the heavier items at the front in front of the bed.

Just remember, part of the beauty of a teardrop type camper is the near-zero setup. Level if needed, unhitch, and throw out the table and chairs. And start cooking with gas.

T

 

[1000arms]

Probably...I haven't drawn enough to look at the weight distribution yet, it was more of a mock up. I am restricted on how far back I can put the axle with the kitchen there but I don't see it being a big problem. Worst case I'll have to extend it a little and put some more of the heavier items at the front in front of the bed. I could also potentially reverse the whole setup which would give it a more teardrop style shape.

Teardropper has written a book on tear-drop trailers: https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...thods-for-crafting-an-heirloom-camper.212402/

 

[motas]

Just remember, part of the beauty of a teardrop type camper is the near-zero setup. Level if needed, unhitch, and throw out the table and chairs. And start cooking with gas.

T

Exactly why I want one! My aim is maximum comfort and usability, with minimum size and setup time.

This isn't just about the end result though. What I'm designing may not be entirely necessary (or even feasible), but I like to challenge myself and try to do things a little differently. For example this will be getting hydropneumatic suspension on it, which is height adjustable, self leveling and self adjusting to different loads. I wouldn't say it's really necessary, leaf springs do the job just fine, but why not? It'll be a fun project with some real benefits, and I can experiment with how the suspension works in different applications like off road.

 

[motas]

Okay, new design. I've reversed the layout with the kitchen at the front and the bed at the back. The wheels can go further back now and all the weight is at the front which should fix the weight distribution issue. The front and rear are separate pieces which means only the rear half is insulated.

The front contains a Dometic slide out kitchen and a 30L drawer fridge above it. There's also room for a water tank and some general storage space which can be accessed from both sides. There is some internal storage above the bed which takes up some of the space. The rear half has the bed inside and the spare wheel on the outside.



Unfortunately this doesn't work with the awning concept I had. It would work okay with a 2.5m roll out awning, but it'd look a little funny sticking out the back. A 180° awning would work better, but be slower to setup.

 

[Teardropper]

What kind of construction will you use? And how tall is that door? Are there two doors?

T

 

[motas]

What kind of construction will you use? And how tall is that door? Are there two doors?

T

There's a few options for construction. The first would be a steel box at the front, and a composite panel rear. The second would be to make a rotational mold with a single layer front and a triple layer rear, similar to a space case and an esky. I haven't seen a rotational molded camper but we make horse trailers out of it. It's well insulated and extremely tough, you could bash it into trees or rocks all day. Plus there's no coatings to scratch and it is easily repairable with basic tools. The tooling is fairly simple and not overly expensive, I could build it myself fairly easily. The downside is a bit of a weight penalty, but shouldn't be massive for such a small camper.

Here's a boat made from it:

There's only one door and it is a standard 915x660mm (36"x26") teardrop door.

 

[motas]

Bit more of a Trax Trailer look to get an awning sitting right. Lose some storage height but it is smaller overall, looks neater and is probably a bit more aerodynamic.

I don't mind the idea of a legless 270° awning, but the issue is they come out on an angle, and actually don't give that useful of a space. Doesn't even fully cover the kitchen.


A legless straight pull awning, and an extra door wing. This covers the kitchen well but obviously doesn't have the space of the 270°

There is also a possibility of doing a hybrid straight pull and 180° awning. This is a bit of a hybrid with the most useful coverage, but also the most amount of setup and complication.

I could also go back to my original rigid awning now, which would provide a little extra coverage over the straight pull awning and be near instant to setup.