Birchcampers.com teardrop build

[Tony Latham]

I think the screen will work fine but...

But you'll get them to work. :thumbs-up:

Tony

 

[dabend]

It was -8 deg. F. here in Missouri last week but we did get a little snow for Christmas. My wife surprised me by getting me new Tongue box for the teardrop for Christmas. Now I really have cabin fever waiting for it to warm up some so I can finish phase one of the build. Phase one just meaning good enough for a test trip I've been trying to decide what I wanted for a tongue box and was mulling around making one out of a whiskey or wine barrel. The old buy versus build argument.. (Plastic is cheap but weather proof; a wine barrel would look cool with the wood trailer etc..) But, she went a different direction and bought an aluminum diamond plate box. It will actually match the current trailer fenders, so I think it will be great for now. But, I'm still keeping a barrel and fiberglass fenders on the table for a future phase. Come on spring!

 

[S. Heisley]

This is quite an innovative kit and it looks like you are doing a very proper job with it.

 

[dabend]

This is quite an innovative kit and it looks like you are doing a very proper job with it.

Thanks Sharon! I took a look at your teardrop links and WOW, talk about innovative. I really like the craft paper and leaves flooring! The folks on this forum have a crazy amount of creativity and DIY skill. I learn something new every time I browse around.

 

[S. Heisley]

This is quite an innovative kit and it looks like you are doing a very proper job with it.

Thanks Sharon! I took a look at your teardrop links and WOW, talk about innovative. I really like the craft paper and leaves flooring! The folks on this forum have a crazy amount of creativity and DIY skill. I learn something new every time I browse around.

Thanks! You'll find that not only are the people on this site very creative but also some of the best people you will ever meet. Once you are ready to camp in your creation, try going to one of the camp gatherings. You just might be blown away by all you see and hear.

 

[dabend]

After the Winter break and a spring project, I've had a nice couple of weekends to work on the camper. First, I have to give a big shout out to danlott for his Hatch Gas Spring/Strut Calculator (https://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=58263#p1052800). I've been stewing all winter trying to figure out how to do the Galley struts. My first and second attempts using the stock wood struts failed due to the modifications I made for the cooler. I liked the idea of gas struts but didn't want to put 40 holes in the camper trying to figure out how to mount them so I had resigned myself to using hinged poles somehow. Then this spring while browsing struts once again, I stumbled on the answer here on TNTTT. I ran the calculations per Dan's instructions and ordered the struts. I mounted the struts in just a few hours using the calculators dimensions and they worked perfectly the first time and cost less that the other solutions I was trying to cobble together. THANKS Dan and if you have a https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ account, let me know because you deserve it.

Following the struts, I've been working on the Galley shelving and I'm getting close putting the finish on. I trimmed everything to help strengthen it and support the shelves. The scalloped fronts are made using some of the 1/8" scrap that came with the kit and I doubled it up for strength and stained the front piece walnut to match the walnut trim on the counter and side table. I still need to figure out what to do for the side table leg and have more sanding to do, but it's good to be making progress again.

 

[tearful_se]

Hi I am also building this trailer and have been a bit stuck along the way. I'm not a carpenter but always dreamed of building a teardrop.

For the floor: when Jed lists "galley" is that piece the floor of the galley section? Thank so much for your help on this! Also where are Jed's videos? He hasn't sent them to me yet.

 

[dabend]

For the floor: when Jed lists "galley" is that piece the floor of the galley section? Thank so much for your help on this! Also where are Jed's videos? He hasn't sent them to me yet.

I'm not 100% sure to what you are referring but there are two pieces of 1/2" birch that make up the floor. The larger one with a square edge on both sides would be the galley end. The shorter one with the angle would be the front side. I had issues with understanding how that worked also and ask the following question. I've also sent you a private message regarding the videos.

Here's his answer to my question:

On Sat, May 28, 2022 at 3:24 PM Darrin Abend wrote:

I have a question about the floor panels. I'm struggling to figure out where the end with the 45 deg. angle goes. I'm guessing it goes on the front (hitch end) of the trailer and the bevel is up? So the longer flat side is on the trailer and the slightly shorter side is up?

Jed's Response:

Correct, bevel up- referencing the notch in the 1/4” sidewall.

Thanks,Jed

So, when he says bevel up it's to match the the bevel on the bottom beveled cross support. I took the following photo to show how the wall panel is cut to match the cross support.

 

[dabend]

Well, life intervened and I had to take a break on the teardrop project but I finally got back to it this August. It was a productive week and I mostly have the galley finished now. I finished the shims that space the aluminum edge strips so that the galley now seals evenly all of the way down the side. And I added a 1/2" aluminum strip on the camper side so that the silicone seal would stick better and be easier to remove and replace later.

The last part of the galley to finish was the rubber jeep style hold down latches. There were no instructions on how to add the latch and the right angle catch that came with the hardware would not work, so I fabricated some aluminum catches out of the leftover 1-1/2" angle aluminum I used for the cooler slide.

Then all of the remaining silicone work was finished for the front seal strip, and the bottom galley strip. I hate working with silicone, so I was glad to be done with that.

Moving on to the teardrop doors, I found that I had mounted one slightly crooked and it wasn't going to seal properly, so I removed the door, birch doweled the holes and mounted it correctly. Once that was done, I put the door seal on and mounted the interior barrel bolts. I didn't like the cheap ones that came with the kit and changed them to loop style which has the added benefit of a pull handle.

And finally added clear seal coat on the interior floor to help the floor tiles adhere, and finished mounting the tongue box. Next, I'll need to purchase some more Baltic birch plywood to finish the interior shelving.

 

[dabend]

Made a little more progress today and finished the Galley lock. I've also started building a wood bumper because I want the license plate centered and not so low to the ground. I don't like the plastic license plate holder that came with the trailer (It goes under the tail lights and I've already bent the plate once by lifting the trailer a little to high when I was moving it).

I didn't really plan well (or at all) for the lock and got lucky by having a good place to put the catch right in front of the cooler base that I added for the cooler slide. The lock isn't quite centered in the Galley door which makes my eye twitch, but it was a good location that keeps the catch out of the way for the most part. I spent quite a bit of time researching locks on TNTTT and decided I liked the T-handle garage door lock best. I had a hard time to finding the cam for the lock since I didn't really know what I was looking for, but I finally found one and picked up the lock and cam on Amazon.

To mount the cam, I screwed and epoxied a block of hard maple to the Galley door. It's good and solid and I'll have to put some finish on it.

For the catch, I went back to my leftover 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 aluminum angle that I had left over from the cooler slide and riveted two pieces together with some aircraft rivets.

Next week will be wiring and/or interior shelves.

 

[bdosborn-SMB]

There are a lot of thoughtful touches and quality workmanship going into your build. Looking good!
Bruce

 

[dabend]

There are a lot of thoughtful touches and quality workmanship going into your build. Looking good!
Bruce

Thanks Bruce. I'm trying, but sometimes it gets frustrating constantly trying to retrofit ideas onto a kit that wasn't designed for it (wait till you see how I'm going to hack in some wire runs - its a compromise). Some things like the galley door hinge and seals took way too long to get close to what I think is OK and I still don't like it. But it will be a fun nice looking camper and I'll enjoy it for a while. I might have one more build in me and I'll be doing that Galley door Tony Latham style where there's no question about sealing (and don't worry Tony at that point I'll buy the book instead of getting it from the Library)

 

[Tony Latham]

(and don't worry Tony at that point I'll buy the book instead of getting it from the Library)

I didn't write it to get rich.

Tony

 

[dabend]

Good progress over the labor day weekend.

1. The tail lights were relocated to the rear of the trailer and I made a bumper to give it a finished look as well as a better place to mount the license plate. The camper hasn't gone anywhere yet and I've managed to bend the plate because it was too low hanging below the stock light location and I keep hitting the tail lights on the garage when I put it away. It would be better not to have a bumper at all, but it doesn't seem to get in the way much and solves more irritating issues.

2. Started working on the interior shelving. No photos yet, but I'm trying to keep it simple and will just have shelving for storage bins and only two cabinets.

3. Hacked the wiring runs into the galley. Since the Camper wasn't really designed for wiring, I had to surface mount the wiring runs. I thought about trying to get fancy and craft some wood runs but in the end I just selected some plastic runs from Amazon that I think look OK, and plastic is probably a better choice to enclose the wire. The adhesive worked well on the finished birch, and I'll add some silicone around the ends to make sure it stays put.

4. I picked up a dome light and installed it while I was running the wiring up to the fan vent wiring run.

 

[dabend]

Well, I'm getting close to the end of the build. The last two weeks we had some rain here in Liberty, MO, so I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. My main goal for the last two weeks was to finish the interior shelving and put two coats of acrylic urethane on. I kept the cabinets pretty basic and after much internet searching decided I liked the fold out desk cabinet and open shelves for closet storage organizers. I did use the stainless piano hinge that came with the kit for the cabinet doors. It looks a little industrial but I think they'll be stronger since it doubles as a desk. Next week I plan to finish the electric wiring and flooring and get it ready for short trip in October!

I had a little time before the rain one day and got the spare tire mount installed. I overcame my cheapness and went with a nice stainless mount even though is was 3 times as much (ouch - I still picked the cheapest one I could find).

 

[dabend]

The total cost for what I consider the complete build (up to this point) is approximately $7740. There are still some things I want to do, but they are extras for next year. I did not include the cost of new tools (since I will use them on other projects) or supplies that I already had on hand (sand paper, chip brushes, glue, finish, hardware etc..), but only new items that I purchased specifically for the build. I definitely could have spent less, but in some cases I was just particular in what I wanted, and in others it was buy versus build and the juice wasn't worth the squeeze to build. There are probably some things I missed adding to the list along the way so a ballpark figure would be $8000, which is about $1500 more than I guesstimated at the start.

 

[Tony Latham]

You've done a remarkable job!

If you were going to head down the road and build another 'drop, what would you do differently?

Tony

 

[dabend]

You've done a remarkable job!

If you were going to head down the road and build another 'drop, what would you do differently?

Tony

If I were to build another one similar to this one, I would probably do or consider the following changes:

1. Design my own version with insulated walls, wire runs and vent fan port.
2. Change the windows. I like the porthole look but not how the windows work (I think they will likely leak).
3. More complex electrical system. I kept this one a basic 12v only, with a small inverter, dome light and a few charging ports. Maybe switch to an electric cooler.
4. Change the galley door design to be more like yours. I like the way that you have the door wrap around the side walls.
5. Change the door design. I like how the doors come off but they were designed with zero clearance for the gasket seals, so I wound up buying a sheet of 1/8" black ABS to put some spacers behind the hinge plates, so it would compress the seal properly when closed. Also, since the door was just a solid 1/2" piece of plywood it can (and one did) warp a little.
6. I might get fancier on the cabinetry. I keep telling myself it's just a camper but I do like the looks of some the woody builds that look like fine furniture.
7. Spend some time researching on TNTTT while designing. I've seen some really good ideas for door seals, creative finishes and other design elements on this site and I've only scratched the surface while searching for improvements or fixes for this build.
8. Maybe do a custom trailer with full size wheels. I like how the larger tires look with the retro fenders, but for this build I did want a light-weight camper, and the Aluminum Ultra-tow trailer was pretty easy to work with.

 

[Tony Latham]

If I were to build another...

Well, CAMP! Camp on! Everyday a picnic, every night a campout!

You've got a great camper. Use it and enjoy it.

Tony

 

[dabend]

If I were to build another...

Well, CAMP! Camp on! Everyday a picnic, every night a campout!

You've got a great camper. Use it and enjoy it.

Tony

Thank you Tony, those are kind words from a master of the craft!

This weekend was finishing touches. The 12V electrical systems is done and everything checked out on the first try. The last few things I had to do was get the floor finished and put silicone around the bottom of the Teardrop where it slightly overhangs the trailer. It's as complete as I can get it for now, and I gave it a short shakedown run to make sure everything is in working order. I'll be taking it on a trip to Pulltite Ozark National Scenic Riverway (https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234357) for a float trip this week. It'll be a short trip just work the bugs out and it should be some nice Fall weather along the Current river. I'm looking forward to it, since I haven't been canoeing for quite a while.