the bluebird

[aggie79]

Kent,

First outing - way cool! What a gorgeous site. (Backing these short wheel-base trailers are a bit hairy the first coupe of times- aren't they?)

We've been on two outings, but almost everyone there had a teardrop or TTT. I can only imagine the questions when you're the only one there in the park with a teardrop.

Congrats and take care,
Tom

[CliffinGA]

Great job Kent Now show some closer pics of the trim installed and your doors fully installed. How many coats did you get out of your epoxy and which kit did you get from Aero, my 1 1/2 gallon will be here Tuesday. Looks great bud!

Cliff

[kinto]

thanks for the comments all

(Backing these short wheel-base trailers are a bit hairy the first coupe of times- aren't they?)

YES!!! at the campground we just unhitched in the street & pushed it into the site by hand, but getting it back into the carport at home... ACK!!!
my driveway is STEEP so i *had* to back it in with the car... what a nightmare. we're gonna take it to an empty church parking lot on a saturday soon to get some practice in.


@cliff... i dunno how to do double quotes on here, so regarding your comment... i'll post some detail pics when i get a chance... maybe friday i can shoot some since i have the day off & there will be daylight. also, i ordered 3 gallons of aeromarine... i got 2 coats on everything outside, 4 coats on the ply edges & about half of it is gone, so i'm guessing 1.5 gallons will be enough for you.



anywayz, got the back hatch gas lifter thingys installed. i totally winged it cuz i have no idea how much it weighs etc, but i completely lucked out cuz it works perfectly. you just lift it about 2 inches & it takes over from there but isn't difficult to close either. woohoo!




started putting trim on...


also decided i'm gonna add black paint to it at some point... i like how caseydog did the bottom part of his & i might do around the doors too... it just looks a little plain to me here...


even though i still have a lot to do on it, one of the things i love about it's current state is the fact that i can lock it up. since i don't have a garage it's awesome that i can finally just leave tools sitting in it instead of hauling stuff in & out of the living room constantly.

and even though my girlfriend has been awesome about my obsessive building since july, needless to say she's pretty happy that the living room doesn't look like a storage shed anymore!


also, since it's getting C.O.L.D now i picked up one of these from lowe's for 20 bucks & it's awesome for when i'm working inside the tear & will potentially be great for winter camping too. that little sucker really kicks out some heat!


and last but not least... the cow says... MOOOOO!



hope all's well with everyone... thanks for stopping by


kent

[WhitneyK]

Kent,

Still lookin' good. I may need to look into some of those gas shocks for mine, MAN is my hatch heavy.

I remembered you stating that you have never pulled anything before so we will assume you've never pushed (backed up) a trailer either.

The best advise I can give you on learning to back a trailer is:

Place your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel, if you want your trailer to go to the left, move your hand (the one on the bottom of the steering wheel, remember) to the left. Don't let your trailer get too far out of line before starting to correct it. Don't get carried away with the correcting part or you start doing the "snaking" thing. Move your hand a little to correct it and wait for the trailer to react (remember, you have to be moving, work with me here )

It just takes practice and an open parking lot is a good place to start. You can even try backing into parking spaces at a 45. 90 degree backing is hard and I wouldn't suggest it yet. Just try the inline backing at first until you get the hang of it. Just don't let it get into the back of your car/bumper.

At least you only had a, uh, "tree cow". We've been havin' about 5 of the striped kitty's out back. Sad part is, I think my wife's gettin' attached to one of them. I'll let her tame that one,... phewwweeee!

[VermonTear]

Kent...

Just looked/read through your whole build. Pretty impressive progress -- August to December. And a good looking result. Congrats!!

That gal you've got looks like a keeper too. Looks like you're both pretty lucky.

best...

[DMcCam]

Well done Kent, she's a beautiful trailer! Wow, first trip, I can't wait to do that.

All the best,

Dave

[kinto]

I remembered you stating that you have never pulled anything before so we will assume you've never pushed (backed up) a trailer either.

The best advise I can give you on learning to back a trailer is:

Place your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel, if you want your trailer to go to the left, move your hand (the one on the bottom of the steering wheel, remember) to the left. Don't let your trailer get too far out of line before starting to correct it. Don't get carried away with the correcting part or you start doing the "snaking" thing. Move your hand a little to correct it and wait for the trailer to react (remember, you have to be moving, work with me here )

It just takes practice and an open parking lot is a good place to start. You can even try backing into parking spaces at a 45. 90 degree backing is hard and I wouldn't suggest it yet. Just try the inline backing at first until you get the hang of it. Just don't let it get into the back of your car/bumper.

thanks whitney! your quote should be a sticky!


@ken... thanks & YES she is! (my girl, not necessarily my build...)


@dave... campable = good enough & i'll work from there! =D


also, cliff asked for door seal pics... they're not proven by any legal means, but do seem to keep the water out thus far...
(& t-shirts make good temp curtains!)





also managed to do a little work on cabinets, meet a reindeer, & make an eggnog pie, but you'll need to delve into album nonsense for that cuz this rum is kickin in

happy winter mofo's!

[Bob Patterson]

Kent, what can I say. Your camper looks awsome.

You've done a fantastic job. Now you need to start #2 so you can continue to entertain us with your posts.

[kinto]

thanks bob but i'm not finished yet!

actually i haven't really got a whole lot done lately at all... mainly due to the cold weather (& the fact that we probably won't use the tear again for at least a few months...)

but i *did* find a good deal on a 15" led lcd & a SUPER good deal on a mount that i couldn't pass up. realistically we probably won't even use it too often cuz we don't head to the woods to watch tv, but we're planning a 2+ week trip out west next summer so it might prove useful here & there for that.

pushed back for storage...


pulled forward for use...


easy access to inputs, etc...


happy holidays & cheers!



kent

[WhitneyK]

actually i haven't really got a whole lot done lately at all... mainly due to the cold weather

happy holidays & cheers!

kent

I know the feelin', work, work, work, work on 3 vehicles and everyone of them something "unforeseen" is wrong. Simple brake job, springs are bad. Next brake job, axle seal leaking, when I got back with $4 seal, it starts rainin'. Distributor, valve cover gasket, & timing belt on another, oil pump behind the timing belt is leaking AFTER I get it all back together.

Looks good man, and by the way...
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

[kinto]

heya folks!

long time, no post... (and the forum update is confusing me! )

so we decided on a name... our state bird is the bluebird (for some stupid reason because you NEVER see them around here) but after 40 years we finally did at cuivre river state park a few weeks ago. now i realize the camper is not blue, but i have some plans for an eventual color scheme.

anywayzzzzz... here's how it's looking right now...


though truthfully a little more like this...


becuzza this...


so yeah... it tows like a freakin charm even at 60, 65, 70... current estimate is *maybe* about 2 miles less per gallon but that's up & down thru the ozarks so on a reasonably flat highway probably not even noticeable.

since last check in got some galley work done. nothing near the craftsmanship of you cabinet makers, but it's functional. things open & close & junk stays in place...










also other random stuff in progress...

for an eventual side table...


and inside...




anyway, so after towing this thing around in a few hands-shaking, paranoid-it's-gonna-fall-apart, pull-over-and-check-if-the-wheels-are-hot, 6-hours-at-65mph jaunts my confidence is totally built up. we're taking this beast to moab!

hope all's well with everyone

kent

[parnold]

Good to hear from you Kent, and glad you're enjoying your teardrop!

[WhitneyK]

heya folks!
since last check in got some galley work done. nothing near the craftsmanship of you cabinet makers, but it's functional. things open & close & junk stays in place...

I'm with ya man! The older I get, it's funtion over form. I've got poly'd ply and left over scraps, but like you said, it's functional and things stay in place. (that's no small feat to acomplish)

Looks good and glad you're on the road with it. Maybe we'll run into you sometime (hope you've got good insurance)

[CliffinGA]

Looking good bud, and who said it has to be blue?? Way I look at it it can be called what ever you want it to be. Your galley looks great and it works so its a hit. Glad ya'll are out enjoying it and all is well here in fact we're camping at Lake Keowee in SC right now but in our pop up.

Cliff.

[S. Heisley]

WooHoo! It looks like you've got the bluebird of happiness following behind you now!
You've gotten some experience under your belt and been on some shake-down and dirty-her-up trips and nothing bad happened!
The bird of paradise didn't fly up your nose or anything! Good going!

It's good to hear from you and I look forward to hearing more about the Bluebird as you add and change her.