Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I have made up my mind to build myself a drop. I will have lots of questions for y'all and any advice will be greatly appreciated. First one, I have about forty five feet of 1&1/2 x 1&1/2 steel angle iron, would it be sufficient to build my trailer frame? Second, has anyone made a parts list for a drop (all materials start to finish), if not it would be helpful to me as I may be able to acquire a lot of these materials at little or no cost as long I have advanced knowlege of what I need and when.

Most would use 2 x 2 square tube... I do believe that your angle is fine IF you have a good design. There were some diagrams here last week using 2x2 which looked good, but back then, I posted I thought it could actually be built using 1x1. Reason? After the tear is built, but tear itself if a very strong box and the angle becomes less critical....

So, I'd say, go for it, assuming it is at least 1/8" wall thickness.... but take a look at those drawings to get some ideas.

Depending on the thickness, I think it would work if you used something heavier for the tongue. Possibly use the angle to come forward to make a V but add a piece of 2"x 2" square up the center with the coupler on it, something like this (sorry Alan, I swiped the pic from your build page):
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/igofshn/teardrop/HPIM1275.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
Or this one from ALaska Teardrop:

2paul,
you might be interested in Jerome's yahoo pics page. it's a 2x2 angle frame bolted together.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/guffdrop/ ... df&.src=ph
as for a parts list, each teardrop is unique. kufflecreek web site sells plans with complete parts lists for each stage of the build. that is if you are going to build the kufflecreek tear.
norm

Don't be worried about the angle iron frame. My TTT is built with it and I've had no problems at all. As far as the list goes, don't make one or you will buy a lot of stuff you're not going to use. Build in chunks....... get the frame done first, then decide how your floor and walls are going to be made and buy the materials for that part.

Your mind will change a thousand times during your build, that's why I don't like a "list" to build from. Metal, wood, tires........... that is all you need to start.

Good luck, dude!! Have fun!!

My tear is 2x2x1/8 tube....way strong...overbuilt, you bet....next one is going to be in angle....and WarPony is right....I think you are only going to want to buy materials as you need them...it's a hassle...but I'm more than willing to bet that your plans are going to change as you go....don't end up with overbought items/ materials you can't use...I know you can probably always use them up eventually around the house however. That's why I built a tear....had sheets of mohogany plywood left over from a boat... well...that's not the only reason I built it....Doug

That is so true.... I built a house boat and bought all the things I thought I'd need.... wound up with hundreds of dollar worth of lights I didn't use and other items as well as the plans changed along the way..... It isn't like chess, don't try to think 5 steps ahead....

Even on the tear, I bought windows I send back because as I built and learned, it changed.....

Thank you all so much for the advice guys( and gals, if there were.) Y'all brought up some good points. I really did like the look of the Alaska tear, that frame was really something else, I will study up on that design as I may be able to reproduce it for myself. I will take into account that I need to slow down a bit, as it's been said "teardrop time." I will read over these posts again and all the forum that I can. I can see you folks are going to be an invaluable resource for my build. I will take lots of pictures for y'all also. Thanks in advance. Matt

Matt,

I built my frame out of 2" X 2" X 1/4" angle.


There are more pictures in my gallery.

As others have stated, you may not want to buy all the materials for the trailer right up front. That said, you might want to purchase some of the items that will impact your design. I would suggest buying the hurricane hinge, door latches and handles, windows, roof vent, and other hardware.

Just my .02 worth.

Joanne

2paul32 wrote:I have made up my mind to build myself a drop. I will have lots of questions for y'all and any advice will be greatly appreciated. First one, I have about forty five feet of 1&1/2 x 1&1/2 steel angle iron, would it be sufficient to build my trailer frame? Second, has anyone made a parts list for a drop (all materials start to finish), if not it would be helpful to me as I may be able to acquire a lot of these materials at little or no cost as long I have advanced knowlege of what I need and when.

How about using channel to build with?

Super strong - although it may cost more than angle.

Dave

I picked up all the angle I will need for free. WooHoo! 2"x2"x1/8. Nothin' beats a freebie, right? I'll keep ya'll posted.