Registered...

[Luis]

Since December of last year I've been building my teardrop. Been feeling like I've been stealing by not sharing my progress so my conscience got the best of me and here it goes.
I decided when I started to build with Cubby plan guidance. I'll be posting pictures soon

[Luis]

Began with a solid foundation. Did several coats of the emulsion paint.

Insulated. Used spray adhesive and attached with screws and large washers... the bigger surface area of the washers worked better than smaller ones..

Attached to frame. I Didnt get a picture of the Harbor Freight frame build, but I was not fond of the red so i painted it black

Cut both sides at the same time and planned and marked important galley studs and drilled marker tiny marker holes to match stud mounting locations on the sides

[Luis]

Mounted both sides. I used the right angle jig created from left over plywood.. In hindsight, i wish i woulld have made another set to use during the installing of the spars to aid in better alignment.. It didnt turnout to off 90 but it was not a perfect 90. Its way easier to mount the furring strips (studs) before you mount the sides

Here is a side profile.. It definitely started motivating me once i saw the profile up on the frame

Once the sides were up, the galley header and framing was next. And yes for most of the initial build, the trailer was on HD buckets... surprisingly sturdy but their structural integrity was definitely tested.. But they kept the frame nice and leveled

Then planned the wiring and began insulation

[Luis]

There are more pics on my album which i need to narrate, but its getting a little late... I will add these soon but they are pretty self explanatory in the mean time :-)

[Woodbutcher]

Hey Luis, it looks like you are well on your way. Keep the sawdust flying and post pics as you go. We love to follow along.

[txcamper]

Looks great! I really like the profile of those.

[Luis]

Hey Luis, it looks like you are well on your way. Keep the sawdust flying and post pics as you go. We love to follow along.

Thanks for the support! I will keep up my posts

[Luis]

Looks great! I really like the profile of those.

Yeah, i love how the profile turned out. I did the front curve freehand and got lucky

[Luis]

Installed the interior birch skins.

Followed by the spars.

I bought a 4x10 sheet of bead boarding from home depot Then installed it as the interior skin.

Continued with insulation

and finally the luan exterior as a base for the aluminum to be installed later.

[Luis]

And of course the Fantastic fan vent opening

The Home Depot buckets were not going to cut it for too much longer so on came the wheels followed by three coats of primer

Originally I wanted to build a woody, but my wood working/staining skills soooooo i chose to paint the sides.
I love the look of flat black... I realize this may make the trailer hotter than normal... but i couldn't resist

Then i strapped down the aluminum to get it ready for the aluminum angle

After the aluminum was trimmed, I started to work on the galley. I bought a stainless steel desk top from Ikea and chopped it to fit in the galley. Aside from a counter the layout was not decided..

[LDK]

I really like the profile. It's coming alone nicely.

[Luis]

I really like the profile. It's coming alone nicely.

Thanks Larry!

[Luis]

Framed the galley. After much reading on this awesome forum, I decided to pass on the sink. I may add a water tank later... I tried weighing the pros and cons but it just came down to personal preference. The top left will be the electrical panel that is yet to be wired. I still need to build the drawer that will provide access to the cooler...

[Luis]

The teardrop is "done"... for now anyways... went to the DMV (california) and registered it with no hassle. I was worried since I read some horror stories but thankfully everything worked out. I made an appointment a couple of weeks ago and when i got to the DMV i drove into the inspection line. There I waited for them to verify the VIN number on the Harbor freight frame and told the guy I wanted to register it as a camping trailer. He asked me some basic questions (dimensions and weight) to which he filled out on a form. It helped to have the paperwork from the harbor freight frame. I then was told to go inside and tell them that i want to register a new camping trailer. Because I had an appointment, i was able to skip the line and go talk to the employee who gives you your window number. He had me fill out the remainder of the form from the inspection and gave me a window number. When my number was called I handed them my forms and told the person that i had bought a utility trailer that i converted to a camping trailer. He had me fill out another form (can't remember the name) but it had space for me to write a description of my trailer. In this section i wrote that i bought a HF trailer kit in California for $300 to which I converted to a camping trailer with raw materials bought here in the same state. He was a little perplexed but was able to ask a more senior person who performed some sort of magic because when he came back, he told me to write a check for $38 for my plate....

I would advise anyone who still needs to register their trailer to make an appointment for very early morning (mine was for 8 ). The employees were just getting started with their day and were in a chipper mood

[Loader]

Well done Luis! The teardrop looks great!

Glad the DMV worked out well, sometimes we can get lucky. Then again, having a positive attitude (on both sides of the counter) goes a long way as well.

Congrats on putting it on the road.