The Baja Benroy is done...

[mikeschn]

Whew! or Wow!

I've finally gotten my Baja Benroy to the point where I can take it on the road.

http://www.mikenchell.com/live/05_29_2004/index.html

The next step is to get it weighed and go to the DMV.

But we drove it around the block, and just like the 4x8, this one tows like a dream. This one also has electric brakes, and they are an excellent addition to a teardrop this size. It must be heavier than I thought, cause when I don't have the brakes on, it takes much longer to come to a stop. Hoping to get it weighed next week.

I'm done with the live webcam though. All that's left to do is the latches on the hatch, and some doors and drawers. I'll probably take my time doing that. Right now I have some house work to catch up on... new screen door, new kitchen floor, you know, that kind of stuff.

I had originally planned on working on this every weekend until this was done, to show how quickly a teardrop could be built. Soon after I started I realized the flaw in that idea. 1) I wasn't building a standard teardrop, 2) I wasn't building a conventional sized teardrop 3) I was not available everyweekend to work on it.

Still, I started it (the teardrop body) on Jan 4th, and 26 webcam days later it was done. What does that work out to be? 13 working weekends? If I recall, my 4x8 teardrop was about 10 working weekends. So the bottom line is, a teardrop is a lot of work. Is it worth it? It should be. I plan on doing a lot of camping in it!!! :drinking: :laughing8:

Mike...

[beverlyt]

Mike,
Looks great. That paint sure worked out nice. The information on how long it took to build is interesting. We would NEVER build another. Just too much. You learn alot by building your own though and we can't quite believe we actually made the thing!
The only regrets I have is I think perhaps we would have been happier with the Sequoia trailer...but it's one of those things you sometimes don't figure out until after the fact.
The Sequoia would have probably defeated the original purpose of building something small enough to tow with just about anything.
I think you'll find this teardrop more comfortable then your smaller one was.
Bev

[Ross Wade]

Looks good Mike. I know you are ready to take it out. We are ready to do the same. 13 weekends isn't bad, concidering the size and all the extras you've put into Baja Benroy. Hopefully sometime this summer we can see it up close and personal.

Ross

[Clancy Courtney]

Mike, You've done a great job!
Clancy

[mikeschn]

We are "good and ready" to take it out!!!

:shaking2:

The drawers and doors can wait!

Thanks for the positive feedback!!!

Mike...

[Jiminsav]

Mike, looks good..come finish mine for me man..*g*
Since i have the back half hacked off to redo it, I put some vinyl flooring in it last night..looks good, i'll get a pic later..have a nice day and remember the Alamo

[Gage]

Nice job Mike. One question. Are you planning on skinning the inside of the hatch? I'll bet it weights close to 1400# See you at the ITG next year (it's still in planning).

Have a good day,
Gage

[Steve Frederick]

Hey Mike!
Looks WAAAAAY COOOOL!! You deserve a few weekend's reward for all your hard work!
Very nicely done.
Congrats, Steve

[mikeschn]

We should know this week how much the thing weighs... I'll be sure to post that here! :hotsun:

Nice job Mike. One question. Are you planning on skinning the inside of the hatch? I'll bet it weights close to 1400# See you at the ITG next year (it's still in planning).

Have a good day,
Gage

[mikeschn]

Hey Gage,

Today I broke down and skinned the hatch. I'm glad I did, cause immediately afterwards I installed the gas shock hatch supports like Larry S did. They are wonderful. We may never go back to primitive simple sticks again! Did I say that's a wonderful arrangement?

I put 3 pictures in the photo gallery, here...
http://tnttt.com/album_ ... ?user_id=2

Mike...

Nice job Mike. One question. Are you planning on skinning the inside of the hatch? I'll bet it weights close to 1400# See you at the ITG next year (it's still in planning).

Have a good day,
Gage

[Gage]

Nice Mike. It won't be long now before it's completely finished. I can't put gas struts on mine. Because of the ice box I need two different lenghts with the same pressure.

Have a good day,
Gage

[beverlyt]

Mike,
Looks wonderful! You did such a nice job on your galley and hatch. Ours has been the pits.
We couldn't get the gas shock thingies we had to fit so we went with that metal cane contraption. But when we lower it, it lands on the shelf and ruins the shelf space.
We didn't make the shelf deep enough...so my Coleman grill stove won't fit and we have to tip it up on its backend when we close the hatch.
And of course we cut the hinge too short... stuffed it with insulating foam for now. hmmmm...have I forgotten anything??? :evil:
At least your's turned out good!
Bev

[mikeschn]

Wow, that sounds like all the things I did wrong on my first teardrop. Counter not deep enough, storage space lost from those silly prop rods, didn't leave enough room to mount the gas struts... See why I had to build a second one?

Mike...

[Joseph]

Hey Mike - you were hoping to get the BB weighed this weekend. Didja?

Joseph

[mikeschn]

Well no, we pushed to get the hatch done and add the latches and and bolted down everything that was loose so we could take it on the road. Hoping to get to the weigh scale this week though!

Mike...