Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I finally finished the do-or-die project at work and have a few days off to recuperate. What better way than to dig the tear ouf from under the sawdust and GIT 'ER DONE??

This past week I built a faceframe:

The doors to go with it:

And the upper kitchen cabinet:

I do love progress! Sanding epoxy is so much fun I could just puke. But it's done now.

Plans for the next few days:
-- Build the under-the-counter cabinet
-- Finish the cabs and install
-- Shoot the whole exterior with 6 coats of Emtek. Love that stuff. I hope it holds up to the sun. Only time will tell.

Think I can do it?

Me neither, but I'm gonna try. Wish me luck!

excellent!

Update:
Well, I put my best defense contractor planning and estimating skills to work. Let's see, what are the rules:
-- Nothing will go wrong. Yep
-- I know everything. Check
-- I'll have everything I need. Sure
-- Nothing will break. Of course
-- The tooth fairy will clean up. That's her job, right?
-- The weather will be a cool, balmy 70 degrees. Uh huh.

Time for reality. Not too bad, really. The cabs are in, except for the under the counter cabinet. That's not going to happen for a while. No tooth fairy, but my wife helped me clean the garage. If I start about 4AM tomorrow I stand a chance of shooting the Emtek before the heat kills me. That's the plan now.

wannabefree wrote:Update:
Well, I put my best defense contractor planning and estimating skills to work. Let's see, what are the rules:
-- Nothing will go wrong. Yep
-- I know everything. Check
-- I'll have everything I need. Sure
-- Nothing will break. Of course
-- The tooth fairy will clean up. That's her job, right?
-- The weather will be a cool, balmy 70 degrees. Uh huh.

Time for reality. Not too bad, really. The cabs are in, except for the under the counter cabinet. That's not going to happen for a while. No tooth fairy, but my wife helped me clean the garage. If I start about 4AM tomorrow I stand a chance of shooting the Emtek before the heat kills me. That's the plan now.

Alright!!! I'm really interested to see how it turns out.

Juneaudave wrote:

wannabefree wrote:Update:
Well, I put my best defense contractor planning and estimating skills to work. Let's see, what are the rules:
-- Nothing will go wrong. Yep
-- I know everything. Check
-- I'll have everything I need. Sure
-- Nothing will break. Of course
-- The tooth fairy will clean up. That's her job, right?
-- The weather will be a cool, balmy 70 degrees. Uh huh.

Time for reality. Not too bad, really. The cabs are in, except for the under the counter cabinet. That's not going to happen for a while. No tooth fairy, but my wife helped me clean the garage. If I start about 4AM tomorrow I stand a chance of shooting the Emtek before the heat kills me. That's the plan now.

Alright!!! I'm really interested to see how it turns out.

+1

Update:
Get 'er done days are done! So is the Paskett Case. Mostly. Laid on 6 coats of Emtek today. In 2 years I'll know if that was a good decision, but for now it was the right thing to do.

6AM start:


Shooting trim:


Shooting the body:

Glad I don't have an outside job. This time of year it's like working in a furnace.

I finished the conter a few days ago:


What's left" Plenty, but it will be campable as soon as I add lights. That won't take long. I hope.

She's looking mighty fine!

What's the counter made of? (In the picture, it doesn't look like formica.) Is it lighter weight than the alternatives?

The counter is Corian. Heavy as lead, but it is our one concession to civilization. It works well with carbide tools and we got it pretty cheap - $30 for a 6ft x 30 in slab.

That is so cute! I love the counter. It will hold up for a very long time.

Update 8/2/09:
Wired my lights yesterday. And the vent fan. Love that fan!


Most of my wiring is soldered. Not much room for crimps.


Used to be hair up there.

Pulled the Paskett Case out of the garage tonight for a test run. But first we put in the bed:


Then hithched up. Those antenna ball things are a great idea, but wasted if you have actual doors in the back of your TV. Can't see them


Hitting the road.


Took it up the steepest nearby hill and dropped our speed to 45. Not bad, considering the TV. Tried backing into the driveway (in the dark) when we got home. Almost a disaster; couldn't see where the trailer was going. Came within half an inch of crushing the front right corner of the tear. Don't care what happens to the van, but I would hate myself if I hurt that tear!!.

Congratulations!!!!! The Tear looks great!!! So...ya going to give it the camp test this weekend? Sure looks like your set!!!

She looks good! Congratulations on finishing her. (Glad you mentioned going down hills and backing her up as these are some of my future concerns.)

Yup! It's time for a camping trip and those first camp-out pictures!

Well done "wannabefree". Great Username by the way. And when you head off into the sunset with your new teardrop, I think you'll say to yourself - Finallyfree!
Scott G.

Nice job. I like the inlay striping and contrasting plugs on the bottom. You'll get used to backing the tear. That short footprint will let you jackknife pretty quickly, but now that you know that tendency, you'll be fine. Enjoy the fruits of your hard labor.