#4

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#4

Postby tony.latham » Tue Apr 23, 2019 8:43 pm

Here's my teardrop history:

In 2004 I spotted a Hunter teardrop and promptly stuck the couple up for a lookee-Lou. Three months later I bought a brand new 4 x 10' Hunter Silver Shadow in north Idaho.

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I have no idea how many nights we spent in that teardrop during those nine years but they were fine.

Then in 2013, I ran into a So-Cal 'drop that was a five-wide. Holly-smoly a foot is a mile. And it had a fan! So within a few weeks, I was building a five-wide. Here it is:



And yes, that snake decided my shop was a cool place to hang...

The maiden voyage was a week in Zion National Park in late October.

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We camped with my sister and her husband and of course they were tenting. It was cold with a bit of rain and my sis' didn't have a superb time. Knowing we'd been warm and cozy in the new 'drop, they started looking at teardrops and settled on a little 4 x 8' that they could tow behind their CRV. I looked at the price they were about to agree to and in a weak moment, I offered to build them the cabin if they would weld up the chassis.

So here's build #2:



And yes, another snake moved into the shop... I left that out of the video since my sister isn't big on the western buzz-worm.

So I thought I was done with building teardrops ––heck, they're a lotta work–– but my wife looked me in the eye that September and said, "Would you build a teardrop for my son's wedding?" I met her gaze, shook my head and said, "let's get them a toaster. A really nice one."

But you know how that went so here's #3:



And yes, that's my wife striking a bead and making sawdust. No snakes came to poke around.

Our five-wide is working great. It's doing fine. We just finished a nearly-three-week trip to the southwest.

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:thumbsup:

So why #4?

Just because... (that's my story for now and I'm sticking to it). I'll expand on that tale down the road but it's not because we need a new teardrop and it's not because I'm going into the biz.

Back to this build log. Here's the new profile:

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And the chassis plan. It's all 2" square tubing and 1/8" thick:

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Today I laid out the chassis frame and got it plumbed up:

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Struck a spark and spotted the frame together:

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That rear cross member in the distance is 2 x 2" angle and it's there to support the 7-gallon water jug and Group 24 battery that will live in the galley. I've got a Dexter Torflex axle that should be here in the next week or so that will act as a cross member too.

:pictures: :thumbsup: Wish me luck.

Tony
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Re: #4

Postby saywhatthat » Tue Apr 23, 2019 9:25 pm

beaucoup de chance. Nice profile.
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viewtopic.php?f=50&t=73945

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Re: #4

Postby Tom&Shelly » Tue Apr 23, 2019 9:53 pm

Been looking forward to this!

Best of luck Tony! I'll follow your build with interest, as I'm sure will many others here. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

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Re: #4

Postby MtnDon » Tue Apr 23, 2019 9:59 pm

:thumbsup:
Our 6x12 deep vee nose cargo trailer camper conversion... viewtopic.php?f=42&t=58336

We have a small off grid cabin we built ourselves in the NM mountains; small PV solar system; 624 watts PV, Outback CC & inverter/charger ... http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=2335.0
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Re: #4

Postby greygoos » Wed Apr 24, 2019 7:20 am

Good luck with the new build. I was wondering if you are going to skin with aluminum again or have decided on an alternative method. Thanks
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Re: #4

Postby tony.latham » Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:23 am

greygoos wrote:Good luck with the new build. I was wondering if you are going to skin with aluminum again or have decided on an alternative method. Thanks


This one will be fiberglassed and coated with Monstaliner.

Tony


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Re: #4

Postby Atomic77 » Wed Apr 24, 2019 9:17 am

Very nice work Tony, per usual! When you say fiberglass, are you talking about Filon?

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Re: #4

Postby tony.latham » Wed Apr 24, 2019 10:33 am

Atomic77 wrote:Very nice work Tony, per usual! When you say fiberglass, are you talking about Filon?

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Nope. I want the wood sealed. I'll be using 4 oz glass cloth. I'll de-blush it and give it a light sanding before I apply the Monstaliner. Thoughts?

:thinking:

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Re: #4

Postby saywhatthat » Wed Apr 24, 2019 10:49 am

when adding bedliner to fiberglass . The fiberglass need to be primed make sure it has no wax in the resin. If your going to cover with glass .Why use plywood
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viewtopic.php?f=50&t=73945

Build 4.5 by 8' using Trailtop fiberglass Components
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=70729
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Re: #4

Postby tony.latham » Wed Apr 24, 2019 11:01 am

Why use plywood


The roof of my builds are formed with 1/8" Baltic birch (ceiling and roof) sandwiching 2" of foam board and spars. If I left off that top layer of plywood and just glossed over it, you know what it would look like without a considerable amount of labor. Plus one layer of 4 oz cloth wouldn't cut it. 1/8" plywood is as light as a feather. Almost.

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Re: #4

Postby Atomic77 » Wed Apr 24, 2019 11:18 am

Tell me about the Monstaliner and why

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Re: #4

Postby tony.latham » Wed Apr 24, 2019 2:20 pm

Tell me about the Monstaliner and why


Uv protection, color, and some texture. It's a two-part urethane paint.

Here's what it looks like:

Image

Dan AKA kyakdlk used it on his build:

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=57065

Andrew Herrick has also used it on at least one of his commercial builds.

Tony
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Re: #4

Postby twisted lines » Wed Apr 24, 2019 5:34 pm

Atomic77 wrote:Tell me about the Monstaliner and why

Andrew Herrick has also used it on at least one of his commercial builds.

Tony

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Yesterday: I was trying to pick my Color's and learned It may be hard to get in California :lol:

(And) Andrew's Research and helpful post's helped me decide to use it. :thumbsup:


Keep that detail coming it may make my #2 :thumbsup:
Racking up; And Rapin foam
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Re: #4

Postby tony.latham » Wed Apr 24, 2019 6:52 pm

I held off on more chassis work today waiting on a welder part that should be here tomorrow.

So I sidetracked and started on the template. Here are the measurements I worked up using Sketchup layered on a 3" grid:

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If you use those measurements, take them with a grain of salt. I need to redo that graphic.

The first thing I did was join a 30" piece of 1/4" underlayment with a full sheet.

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I laid a piece of waxed paper under the joint and then screwed both pieces to the bench. I rolled out a strip of fiberglass sheetrock tape over this joint and slathered it with TBII glue. This makes for a quick and fairly strong joint. When I say quick, that's a lie. There is so much glue puddling in the weave that it's a full day to get it to dry.

In the meantime, I drew out the grid, and measured out my points. I drilled out these points with a toothpick of a drill bit and set and some 1 1/4" finishing nails in the holes to act as temporary pegs. Using a 1" strip of the 1/4" ply I used it to connect the dots.

Image

Hopefully that joint will be dry enough to flip tonight so I can get the other side taped and glued.

:thinking:

Tony
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Re: #4

Postby tony.latham » Wed Apr 24, 2019 7:10 pm

Here's a better shot of that template joint:

Image

And nope, this wasn't my invention and I can't recall who brought it forth on this forum. :applause:

Tony
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