How long and how much and how difficult?

[noseoil]

So far I have 207 hours on my build (I'm running a spreadsheet to keep track). That having been said, it's taken a year because I have a full time job & took 3-4 months off this winter from any work on it. I've probably spent five times that much time, at least, researching threads here online, to learn from what other people have done see some of their mistakes & problems.

I had most of the tools I needed already, but did get a couple of cordless tools as I went along. I was a cabinet maker for 25 years & have done some commercial, residential & aircraft work in a past life.

I have about $5,000 in materials so far (fully insulated walls, floor & roof), but I bought commercial doors, have a flat screen TV, voltage inverter, stove-oven combo, solar panel, propane setup & CD deck. I was lucky to find a used frame to start with (craigslist), & I would recommend that the longer you work on the build, the better the quality & the better the ideas will be. The worst thing for me would be to set unrealistic goals for time, then not be able to meet them & become frustrated. I have a job, I don't want the build to become another.

There are some incredibly helpful people here on the forum who are willing to share knowledge & ideas. A trailer is more than a thing, it's a dream & fantasy you can live. Do it!

[ssutton]

My nephew just completed his, start to finish 8 weeks. He worked on it just about everyday after work and on the weekends. At this point, he will continue to add options and nice-to-haves but it is now camp ready. He had very little building experience when he began and I have to admit I had more than a few doubts he would complete it. I could not be more impressed with the build quality and ingenuity that he used to build his camper, tackling every problem with patience and purpose. I am so proud of him!

http://wanderlustwalden.com/?tag=diy

[Henry Benner]

When you don't have much woodworking experience I suggest that you plan on building at least two trailers.

The first one is a throw-away...a prototype. It will serve you for a short period of time (like a year or two).
It will be the one where you gain experience...with woodworking, with towing, with living in it, and so forth.
Doing it that way takes away the stress of "doing it right the first time".
When you build it you are not going to use expensive materials because it is a prototype.

Don't tell your family and friends you are building a teardrop trailer. Tell them it's a teardrop
prototype...it's an experiment. Negative pressure from them can derail your project because most people expect it will
look like a store-bought unit. Your first unit will NOT look like a store-bought unit.

Give yourself a reasonable start date, and then start building with what you know at that time.
Otherwise you can spend years "getting ready to build". The actual building process will feed itself.

Be creative with your prototype construction. Don't have a shop? Build it inside a gazebo or portable garage in the yard.
Don't own tools? Rent them from Home Depot. I once build a plywood tiny trailer in the parking lot of Home Depot. I set up a gazebo
in a far corner of the lot, rented the tools as I needed them. At the end of the day I tarped the whole assembly and brought it home.

The main thing is not to get "stuck" on some detail and lose your creative energy for the project. It seems that every
project has a certain amount of life energy available to it so don't waste it on some detail. Do the best you can but
keep going.

When you discover new ideas or methods, don't go back and redo the prototype. Instead, keep a log book of all the improvements that you will put into the second unit.
You want to get the prototype on the road ASAP.

After using your prototype trailer for a period of time you will suddenly become aware that you're
ready to start the second trailer.

This is the method we used at a Power and Water Utility that I worked for. We used 2 prototypes and a final version for plant improvements.
If, for example, we wanted to change a chemical injection point to get a better mix, we would try it first with canvas hose for a
short time (1st prototype), then plastic pipe for a complete seasonal cycle (a year), (the 2nd prototype), and finally hire contractors to
fabricate and install the final version with stainless steel pipe.

[bobhenry]

With a guy named Henry how can you go wrong !

There is a lot of sence in his post. I gained a great deal of confidence when I built Eggbert











It was a no frills build and the body was totally scrap and crap from where I work. I did purchase a 40 x 48 Harbor Freight Frame
( which is now under the chuck wagon trailer)

[Mary C]

Hi, I built a foamie, I used a circular saw and a jig saw to cut the wood and foam. I used a roller to put on the TBII glue and a cake spatula to smooth down the canvas on the foam I used a drill many times and a pair of good shears and, skewers and clamps to hold the foam in place while the glue dried. I borrowed a palm sander to sand the canvas after painting with gripper and a paint roller to paint the outside and inside. I had to clean up my poly window panes I used a lot of sandpaper, I did use a putty knife to help squeese the canvas into little places. I had to make some redos where in my brother used his tools to do special things that helped the looks but did not have to be done. Together total I built mine over two and one half years. As you can see eveyone builds differently, so the time spent is very different. Only you can decide if two hours of sanding is enough or wheather you sand at all. Everyones cost differ also I built my windows I used old fence wood and some poly I found on a junk pile. cost $0 The screens were made from left over material too. I was given two gallons of base paint, I found Lots of materials in junk piles where people were cleaning out or remodeling. I don't have a fantastic fan but I have a box fan if I need one.
Think through what you want, check out the build threads and the foamie section decide how large , Your needs, a big boy and big woman, or one with a little disability might need a 72 inch width for comfort Your needs dictate the size and how much money you will spend to have the extras. Is it just you or are you married and have one or two little ones or is it you and your wife and two monstrous love dogs. All of these are questions that will change the size and the ammount of money that you spend and how many hours you spend making it just right for you. And one big consideration, your Tow vehicle, how much weight will it pull?
Bob Henry Is so right, you may get it built and decide that you want to make a lot of changes and that the first one just is not what you want so plan now to be frugal on the first build, or you life changes.

It sounds like you have a lot of reading to do. Be patient with yourself and then decide what you want to build.
Mary C