I have a list of revisions in my head regarding the teardrop trailer.
- Five feet wide, not four. If you’re going to build something, make it comfortable.
- Aluminum trailer, not steel. If you’re going to pull something, make it lightweight.
- Aluminum frame, not wood. If you’re going to build something up in the air to face the wind, make it stable. The walls should be fastened to aluminum. The doors should be inserted into an aluminum frame.
More ideas:
- Ten feet long, not eight.
- It’s a folding trailer, meaning typically the two four-foot sections, fore and aft, are hinged together. Why not separate them by two feet o.c. (typical) and connect them with bracing between? An 8-foot trailer becomes a 10-foot.
- It’s probably a good idea to move the fore section forward by one foot and the aft section back by a foot so as to balance the trailer out.
- If 10-foot, I can move the water heater to the bottom level (now on the “second level”, so to speak) to save on overall trailer height. In other words, there will be room for an entire extra 2-foot section without hindering the bed or galley spaces. But … what’s the point? If I’m making it 5 feet wide for comfort, then why give it less headroom? I think the water heater will stay put.
- A 10-foot trailer isn’t such a great thing. When going up and down hills and bumps, the back end of the trailer may bottom out. Keeping it short will help to prevent this.
- The trailer I’ll probably be using, IBW’s 5×8, is not aluminum – it’s galvanized steel. Problematic?
- The weight-per-price ratio for IBW’s 5×8 is a little in my favour with this trailer. It’s 295 lbs.
- IBW also state that they’ll be getting aluminum trailers in this year, but it still says coming soon, and the one in the pictures is a 6×10.
- Foldingtrailers.ca has a steel one to choose from – a 4×8. It’s and 260 lbs and $649.
- Lowe’s sells an aluminum 5×10 with sides for $1500. It’s 600 pounds.
- It was suggested by another website to put the axle on the top of the leaf springs to lower the trailer. Will this add to the chances of bottoming out? Backing into a campsite may be an issue. <Crunch.>
Does it sound like I can’t make up my mind? In fact, I can – many times over! Try this, try that, go with whatever works.