20' or less; sleeps 6; no tent ends?

ependydad wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
If the OP doesn't believe me, then I would suggest the OP create a "mockup" outline of a trailer using the box size of 8ft W x 17ft Long (the max inside dimensions) in their yard or garage.

Mark out in string or chalk the outline then try fitting in two full size beds plus say two twin bunks. Try fitting one queen size, one full size and two twin bunks..

If you don't have the place to play with a full layout then get some quarter inch graph paper use 1/4"= 1ft scale and cut out beds and other furniture to the same scale and try placing it all within the trailer.

Then add in full bath, kitchen and storage..

So, I had some fun doing just that. My tool of choice was Visio- mostly because it's what I have available to me. It's a diagramming software. I used simple boxes to represent the different things (beds, appliances, fixtures, etc.). I drew everything to the scale of 1" = 2'. I used a spreadsheet to convert every number according to that scale:
target/to scale inches = original size inches * (1 / 24)

This was a fun exercise. I came up with the following:

Click for larger version

To make it all work, I had to include 2 slides and a murphy bed to make it manageable:

1. Assumed a 8' x 17' box; 3" walls inside of that (no idea how thick RV walls actually are)
   
2. Shower, toilet, sink, oven, refrigerator and bed sizes were looked up and shown according to dimensions that I found
   
3. The murphy bed must be in the up position for the living area to be useable; otherwise, access to the fridge and dinette are tight
   
4. The murphy bed must be in the up position for travel (not sure if that's how they're designed)
   
5. I haven't thought out the placement of furnace, water heater, water pump (potentially in the wardrobe at the foot of the bunks, linen closet in bath and possibly under the sink)
   
6. I've committed the cardinal sin that the fridge is wholly inaccessible with the passenger side slide in
   
7. Appliances and sink in a slide - TBD how problematic this could be
   
8. No thought to placement of axles or clearance of wheel wells needed (this alone makes me wonder if this is a non-starter)
   
9. No thought whatsoever about weight distribution or tongue weight
   
10. Allows for 3' from the end of the camper to the end of the coupler
    
11. No bumper provisioned
    
12. Very little thought to storage/cabinetry
    

Well that was fun. And now to forget about it completely because I totally can't afford a custom built camper and this is outside of the realm of my ability to build.

I'm curious what peoples opinions of these are. Thoughts, likes, dislikes, witty commentary?

Clearly illustrates as to why you can't find what you are looking for and was not a waste of your time.

Laying out all the things you want is a great way of discovering what fits and what doesn't fit..

I would doubt any manufacturer would pick up on a dual hard slide in such a small foot print as others mentioned weight and complexity come to mind. Typically folks looking at this small size are looking for much lighter weight and that isn't happening with two slides.

With that said, with your budget not allowing for custom build then your going to have to bend somewhere..

Hybrids, popups, toy hauler or even putting a cap on your truck (you can buy a cap and cut in a roof mounted A/C unit add in a few homemade curtains and a couple of cots and you now have sleeping space for two adults or kids)..

Alternately you might need to consider just ante up for the extra 20ft of storage space (giving you 40ft which WILL fit trailers which HAVE the sleeping space) and get a trailer that best suits your needs..