My first teardrop - the Kampster, Final Posting

[planovet]

I've just never heard a sentence with the word "cool" and "Pinto" in it.

Wouldn't that be an oxymoron??

[Nitetimes]

I've just never heard a sentence with the word "cool" and "Pinto" in it.

Wouldn't that be an oxymoron??

Never seen one with a 351 and a 4 speed in it have ya?? Very cool!!!

[Arne]

I'm going to be critical here. I'm glad your topic says: "my first teardrop".

That frame could carry a car.... on your second one, think: lighter.

Not that it won't work... just not necessary.

[bbarry]

I'm going to be critical here. I'm glad your topic says: "my first teardrop".

That frame could carry a car.... on your second one, think: lighter.

Not that it won't work... just not necessary.

Actually, when you see it in person, it's quite light duty and not terribly sturdy. It is all open channel 1/8th wall and was originally rated only for 1100 lbs. When we used it as a utility trailer, we beefed it up slightly with about 25lbs of add'l angle iron to help with some of the flex. I estimate the new weight at about 140-150 lbs with axle.

I will admit, the new tongue is overkill!

Brad

[bbarry]

Brad, there are plans out there for that profile. What I've found is that you don't necessarily need to do a flat area on the roof for a ceiling fan. I've made all mine radiused and fit a Fantastic Fan into it with no problem. They have enough flex in the base to fit the slight curve where it would install. Doug

Doug,

I have a tendency to think of plans as a place to get inspiration. After all, why follow a plan to the letter when you could made it much more complicated by re-engineering everything to meet your specific needs? I've already been playing with the basic dimensions, hoping to keep the profile similar and the feel the same.

I was planning on keeping the radius along the entire top and back. I hadn't given the vent much thought. I guess I figured I could always epoxy in a flat mount if necessary. It's good to know that the Fantastic vent will bend enough to avoid this.

Thanks,

Brad

[bbarry]

*****A big THANK YOU to Roger M. for letting us come by and take a look at his current teardrop, his collections of cars, license plates and other projects.*****

In my quest for the right look at a reasonable price for my wheels and tires, I've stolen an idea from someone else here (sorry, can't remember the originator) using the 13" wheels I found at the trailer store. Painting them flat black and mounting baby moons on them hides the ugly wagon wheel design. Here's a photoshopped mockup of approximately the look on the Trailer for Two design. I think if I can find a pair of old, beat-up baby moons it'll look even better than new shiny chrome ones.



Thoughts?

Brad

[t-vicky]

Brad, Was nice visiting with you & your wife & grandpa. Hope I was able to give you some ideas that won't cost too much. Feel free to stop by anytime. Roger

[bbarry]

Not a ton of progress, but here's what there is:

Finished painting the axle. As you can see, I cut the axle tube in the middle and inserted solid steel pipe and welded it up. This added some weight (about 35 pounds) but I trust it more than the old open wall tube axle.



The old tires from great-grandma's Chevy II are mounted on the new wheels. Not too bad for about 40 years old...no cracking or noticable wear. The new rims will get a coat of black paint and I'm crusing eBay and local salvage yards for cool old hubcaps.



Here it is all installed.



We installed the tongue (another weight penalty at 44 lbs) and took it for it's first test drive. No wiggles, jiggles or otherwise! It tracked well with no tendency to sway (up to 70 mph which is faster than this trailer will ever see).

Weight with frame, axle, wheels and tires: 260 lbs
Tongue: 44lbs

Add $67 for new wheels. Total: $97

Next up: floor. Unfortunately even though my wife works for the areas largest building supply company we are having problems finding plywood in oversize dimensions. Updates to follow...

Brad

[t-vicky]

Brad, The areas largest building supply? Kinda sounds like a star. If so then you should know that they speak a different language there. Dont ask for 5X10 plywood, they dont have it. If you ask for a ping-pong table top you might get it. They dont have 1/8" plywood but they have all the door skins you want. I get so mad at them I only go there as a last resort. I used 3/4 tongue & groove on my floor. Roger

[bbarry]

Roger, I'm sorry you've had problems with Star in the past. I get all my lumber from them as it's much higher quality (especially the ply) than I can get elsewhere. Becky's employee discount doesn't hurt either. The guys at the lumber desk have searched and called to all their suppliers but the mills that Star buys from have discontinued most of their oversize production. That's not to say it's not out there but just that it will be prohibitively expensive get it from another mill with whom Star doesn't have quanity purchase contracts and will have to pay for freight.

They do carry ping-pong table tops but they are made of an MDF-like material that I'm not a fan of. 1/8" ply is readily available in 4x8 or 5x5. Star can get whatever I want in 5x5, so I can scarf if necessary. I'll pursue one other option first.

[TinKicker]

Hey, I'm late to contribute, but about the wheels and for future reference: Chevette. Or, at least, what the salvage yard guy TOLD me were Chevette wheels.
I've got a pair of 13" Chevette rims on a utility trailer of mine. 4" on 4". I had a machinist friend cut the centers out to fit the cast iron hub 'cause it was bigger than the car's hub flange. Mounted them backwards for some offset to the outside. There's issues with the tapered lug nut seats being on the INSIDE after you do that, but if anybody needs to know how to deal with that, I'd be glad to explain. Anyway, they worked perfectly.
And I think the Chevette's (and other similar body styles) had some 14's available. Maybe a Citation?
I'm not trying to highjack the thread, but let me ask a question concerning a problem Brad and I both seem to be having.
I was reading closely to find out where Brad was getting 5'x10' plywood since here in Alabama every supplier (even a plywood-specific manufacturer in Birmingham) looked at me cross-eyed when I asked about it. Nobody's got it!
Can ANYBODY recommend a source here in the Southeast I can either drive to or afford shipping from on the ply? I like the slipping-in-the-backdoor idea about the ping-pong board and door skins...sometimes you have to be slick with the retail folks.
I'm really beating my head against the wall here. It's getting so frustrating that I've started studying the fine art of biscuit joining, which I guess would be okay, but I'd rather have no seams except where I want them.
Thanks for ANY info you can send my way. Peace.
Now, back to your regularly-scheduled threading.

[ssrjim]

The old tires from great-grandma's Chevy II are mounted on the new wheels. Not too bad for about 40 years old...no cracking or noticable wear. The new rims will get a coat of black paint and I'm crusing eBay and local salvage yards for cool old hubcaps.



Brad

You are not really going to risk 40 year old tires on this? 6 years is the max from every thing I have read. 7 or 8 maybe if you want to live on the edge but 40 is a no brainer. It is not safe. Get new tires after you are done. Those will make nice construction tires but don't put them on the road.

[bbarry]

You are not really going to risk 40 year old tires on this? 6 years is the max from every thing I have read. 7 or 8 maybe if you want to live on the edge but 40 is a no brainer. It is not safe. Get new tires after you are done. Those will make nice construction tires but don't put them on the road.

I appreciate the concern. The elastomer rubber in tires is broken down by several things: a dry environment, exposure to UV rays, weather and of course, physical abuse. These tires have been stored in a dark place for their entire life and have seen none of the above. They were winter tires for the old Chevy II and probably don't have 5000 miles on them. I carefully inspected them for cracks, weatherchecking, etc. and am comfortable with them for now.

This trailer won't be venturing very far from home and never at highway speeds for extended periods of time. If the time ever comes to take a longer trip, I'll replace them with a modern bias ply trailer tire.

Brad

[Nitetimes]

If the time ever comes to take a longer trip, I'll replace them with a modern bias ply trailer tire.

Brad

Actually most of the modern trailer tires are going to radials. Much better ride and handling characteristics.

[Wolffarmer]

I often wonder if there isn't a difference in tires of today compaired to 40 years ago. I have a tractor that has tires that are probably 40 years old. Still working great. Of course I don't get them hot with high speeds. No weather checks yet.

But I have seen some old pickup tires come apart in 3 miles