Selling my unfinished Teardrop

[David Grason]

I have put my teardrop project on Ebay. I started this a long time ago but I could not have known what twists and turns my life had in store for me. As a result, my little teardrop got shoved into a storage building and the project has stagnated.

My wife left and my business closed down. It was a victim of the economy. With no kids, no wife and no other responsibilities, I decided to do something I had never had the opportunity to do. I went to college. I'm in my freshman year at 55 years of age and I'm loving it. But I'm as broke as I have ever been. LOL But I don't mind if I can make some really good life changes. I figure I will start a new teardrop project going when I graduate and find that job that is looking for me. But, since that will be a good 3 to 4 years off, I thought that it was probably a good time to sell this one.

So I've got the teardrop on Ebay and there is no reserve. I started the bidding at $1.00 and I figure that whatever money I get for it, will go into paying for college. Here is the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0765102818

[S. Heisley]

Good luck to you, David. What are you majoring in?

[Wild Bill]

Looks good, I would have sold the stove seperate. With the economy I hope you get enough to pay for the stove. Is the frame from another camper or did you build it? Title? I decided to sell a complete chassis with brakes and standee framed with windows etc. and not an offer. I will get to it eventually if I do not sell it. Good luck with yours. Thanks Bill

[David Grason]

I built the frame myself. I have had a considerable amount of experience with metal fabrication and building the frame was a walk in the park. The frame is WAY overbuilt and the trailer is so benign to tow that it is unbelievable. When the time comes that I get out of college and start another, I will have no problem getting back to this point in a hurry. That was one of the compensating thoughts that made me decide to go ahead and sell this one.

Still, I have to admit that I'm somewhat heartsick over it.

My major is Spanish. Anyone that is familiar with the learning of foriegn languages would know that there are different levels of fluency. Basically, there are five levels of fluency. Level I is basic tourist stuff and Level V is native. I speak Spanish at a Level IV and I am quickly gaining ground learning to speak Mandarin. My particular university does not offer a major or a minor in Chinese but I can take my Mandarin efforts and apply the credits towards a minor in Asian studies. During my college career I will be studying one year in Beijing. With the ability to speak both Spanish and Chinese, I hope to get work with the U.S. State Department. And I have to say that they pay REAL well! My jealous and very competitive brother is going to be SO SO ticked off. LOL. But that's a long time off still and there's a LOT of work to do between now and then.

[parnold]

David:

Best of luck in your college career!

What is the frame size of your trailer, and what kind of axle, leaf spring or torsion, and does the axle have the plates mounted for brakes?

[David Grason]

I built the frame out of 2x2 square tube. I differed from the plans in that I didn't build an A frame. Instead I used a long piece of 3x3 square tube for the tongue. To my way of thinking, it took all the guess work out of keeping the dimensions squared up without having to run the risk of making a mathematical error and then having a trailer that might not track correctly. All the steel used is 3/16 wall. This is actually thicker than the Kuffel Creek plans called for but I didn't want to have to worry about my welder burning through and creating holes I'd have to fill with more weld. To me, that's just unacceptable work. But I really do like to crank up the heat on the welds and make sure that penetration is perfect.

I used a 220v Miller MIG welder, .035 wire and a CO2/Argon mix for the inert gas. I was really proud of the welds. Too bad I had to cover them up. Haha.

The 4 bolt plates for brakes are definately there. The trailer is so light, in spite of the heavy duty frame, that I saw no need for brakes as I would have been towing it with a half ton PU truck. But, if someone were to tow it with, say a smallish economy car, it would certainly tow easily but having brakes would be a little extra piece of mind. Unless the trailer is really loaded for a camping trip, it would not present any braking problems even then. You can't believe how easy it is to move the thing around the shop by hand. It's that light.

Here are some other facts that I forgot to put in the ebay ad. The underneath side of the trailer has all been coated with asphaly emulsion. The paneling on the interior is Lyptus but I hadn't stained it yet. I had not decided if I wanted to stain it or just finish it the way it was. The paneling on the outside is also Lyptus but it has a Minwax Mahogany stain. I was planning on accenting it with white oak which would be finished natural.

The curvature on the teardrop shape is absolutely PERFECT. I spent a lot of hours laying out those curves. I drew the lines around battens that I sprung around "ducks" that I had layed out on the plywood. Anyone that has built many boats and had to plot these curves might be aware of what these "ducks" are. Anyway, I got the line perfect, then I cut a little fat of the line with a saber saw and finished by sanding to the line with a belt sander.

OH yeah. I do have a pair of fenders for the trailer. They're simple trailer fenders from Redneck trailer but I think that they have developed a pretty good case of rust. I haven't seen them so I need to go look for them. I wouldn't promise how they look, but if the buyer wants them, he's certainly welcome to them. I wanted these fenders, not because they were cheap but because I felt that they actually looked more "vintage." I love the look of some of the fancy fiberglass fenders but I was really going for a look that had observers asking "Dude, how old is that thing?"

Be aware that the photos of the interior show the linoleum flooring with sawdust on it. There's nothing wrong with the linoleum. I just didn't sweep it out when I took the photos. (at least I don't think there's anything wrong with the linoleum) The linoleum was really pricey but OMG it looks SOOOOOO good when it's cleaned up. When I first got it, it had this AMAZING aroma of lindseed oil. I love this stuff.

[parnold]

David:

Thank you for the quick reply!

Is the frame 4x8? Is it a leaf spring or torsion axle?

[canned o minimum]

Major props to ya David fer takin the lemons handed to ya and makin lemonade !

When one door closes.. another opens.. As a country song says: "If yer goin thru hell.. keep on goin !"

[David Grason]

Canned, you are not the first person that has used the lemons to lemonade analogy with me. I appreciate that.

Parnold, the frame is a 4x10 and the axle is a Dexter Torflex torsion axle.

Haha, I just noticed that the bidding is up to a whopping $20.45. Well, a deal is a deal and if it doesn't bring anymore than that, I'll be selling it really cheap. That's really ok, though. I would like for someone to do a good job finishing it.

[parnold]

I just figured out it would cost me approx $300.00 in gas to come get it, and it's a 15hr drive each way... lol.

[Gage]

Haha, I just noticed that the bidding is up to a whopping $20.45. Well, a deal is a deal.

Aw, it's up to $102 and there is still 3 days left. The way I see it. It would only take maybe another $1000 to finish. Then if you don't want it, you could sale it for $4000 to $5000. Such a deal.

I just figured out it would cost me approx $300.00 in gas to come get it, and it's a 15hr drive each way... lol.

And Paul, if that's all it would cost me to get that project, I'd be after it in a heart beat.

[David Grason]

I just figured out it would cost me approx $300.00 in gas to come get it, and it's a 15hr drive each way... lol.

Don't look at it that way. It's all about attitude. You should rather look at it as an opportunity to travel to God's country - Tennessee. And right now, the leaves are all changing. WOW it's gorgeous here!!

[Verna]

Up to $147.50 now....

Verna

[Alfred]

Hi All,

It went for an even $500. Did anyone from the T&TTT group buy it? Sounds like someone got a good deal!

AL

[sid]

Well Al.... one of us tried.... .... but didn't get it. $500 was my top price, and it made it there in the last couple of minutes.

It should make someone a nice project to finish.

Mark