Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I am just getting started on a new build ( my first venture into teardrop construction) and was curious what is the most expensive part of the build? Is it the frame, plywood for walls and floor, or finishing materials?

The fenders were the most expensive part of my build. Second was the sheet aluminum (I bought a 16ftx8ft sheet), then the Dexter axle, and the Optima deep cycle battery. Other than the top 2, nothing cost more than $200 IIRC. Most of it was bought as I built. If you really want to include them, the tools I bought for the project added up. Those are optional, you don't really HAVE to buy them, it just made the build faster and easier.

Mine was the doors, and the aluminum. I spent about $600 on each of those.

Anodized aluminum - $1000
Frame (not including cost of torsion axle) - $750
Fenders (not including paint) - $700
Wheels - $500
Petcool (A/C) - $400
Tires - $350
...and so on.

Camping in a teardrop...priceless!

First let me say that I never had any intentions of building thrifty. I'm not one to scrimp and hunt for bargains or "found opportunities". I want to design and build with purpose, so buying or custom building things to fit my vision comes before waiting for opportunity to knock or patching odd things together.

There seems to be a consensus that most people run over budget by at least 20/ct. This seems to hold true whether you plan for a $2500 build or a $7500 build. At the moment I'm more like 30/ct over my high end estimate, but (hopefully) all of the big ticket items have already been purchased.

That said, the off road style suspension, wheels/tires, and axle with brakes really added up on mine. The four 2x10 x 10ft "select" (clear straight grain) cedar boards that became my internal framing were pretty dear at $600, but I have no regrets; not a single knot worth mentioning, light weight and rot resistant. Something like 13 or 16 sheets of 5mm marine spec Okoume plywood, with shipping; no regrets, except I would build 60 inches wide instead of 64, and might even buy more sheets to have less seams if I were to do it again. The foam was a good chunk. I bought canvas and extra glue, then changed my mind and decided to go with epoxy and fiberglass for my outer skin instead, north of $500 for composite materials (I'm thinking this is about the same as what most spend on aluminum and trim).

$200 for windows, at least a few hundo for hardware, and on and on.

Extra lumber for templates, jigs and fixtures; you can't always count on having the right piece of scrap on hand, so sometimes it takes an extra trip to the lumberyard.

The Maxxair Deluxe roof fan was a big dollar item, too. All of the wiring, even for a simple electrical system can add up, especially when you start buying multiple rolls of different colored wire; and while the modern LED lights are amazingly affordable, they start adding up when you use a bunch of them.

Everything else can nickel and dime you, too. $20 worth of chip brushes, $60 in sandpaper, $100 for three gallons of wood glue, then add stains, polyurethanes, paint, masking tape, etc. These things all keep the funds trickling out. If budget is tight, it is better to sharpen your pencil and look at everything as closely as you can... then triple it.

Tools. IMO, to build a quality TD you must have a good solid table saw with out feed table/workbench, and a power miter saw doesn't hurt either. You can get by w/o these, but you will have to work much harder to get the same results. Assuming you have these in place, or plan to work around not having them, there will be at least 2 or 3 router bits that you are likely to want to add to your collection before your build is done. Those flush cutting bits, one with a top bearing and one with a bottom bearing, will really come in handy. I also added a rabbeting bit with a separate bearing set, a guide collar setup, several different size round over bearing bits, and a trim router to my router collection.

People will poo-poo me for counting up all of the consumable supplies and "extras", but when someone comes on here and expresses concerns about affordability and lack of funds, it is not fair to omit these "hidden" costs. Sure, there have been some truly budget builds, and if you keep things simple you can have an affordable camper, too, but then again it seems that most people don't keep accurate accounts, so they forget to include all of the smaller stuff when they add their build costs up in their heads. "The best way to build an affordable camper is to not keep track."

Here's one last thought: I build at a friends shop, about 3-1/2 hrs extra driving time per week. It wouldn't surprise me if I have spent more money for gas commuting to the build over the last 3 years than many people spend on their whole project.

Consider all of this before you build, but if you are looking for a fun creative project that you can build with pride, don't let budget stop you. Build what you can with what you have, just plan it well and stick with it. You can make it happen if you work for it!

For me, it's the doors at $600 for a pair (And yes, you can save money by building your own doors, but add up the windows, hinges, latches, and trim and you'll see that homebuilt doors aren't cheap.) But the trickle of little stuff really adds up.

Tony

Continuing with KC monologue, as someone in the planning stage, depending on your desired features/ammenities and what you want to build versus buy, the build cost can jump up. One can easily get over $10,000 for materials. Obviously labor is extra.

Tools add to the costs quickly. Depending on what you need -- you can easily add a few thousand dollars assuming you do not have a wood working shop to begin with: saws (hand, power), routers, clamps, vacuum, planer, chisels, bisket saw, Kreg Pocket Hole Jig, clamps, jig saw, miter saw, did I mention clamps? Even clamps at $3-20 each add up if you are getting 20+ of them. One can justify this expense as something to have for future projects. (Does one have to justify tools?). But it is a real cost of the first build. Even with at least half tools already in place, this will be a significant part of the build.

The same can be said for equipping your TD afterwards: easy up(s), camp chair(s), shower tent, mattress, extension cords, dishes, glasses, bedding, dutch oven, griddles, cookware.

And a lot depends on what you want to do with each area of the build. Adding 7 and 4 wire harnesses with electric brakes, separate independent break away battery/charger and 15 inch wheels on a torsional axle with towing vehicle charging on the custom frame is a lot more then just a 4 wire system on a simple trailer.

And you need to decide on what you consider good enough. I have seen many builds with AC done as extension cords and power strips. Others have 30/50 amp inlet to a multi-breaker distribution panel with all GCFI outlets. The cost can vary quite a bit.

Yeah it does add up!

I went cheap (but not nasty)
As I built my trailer chassis from scratch that was my biggest expense. BUT!
My trailer will eventually be versatile as my TD will be removable giving me a garden/ motorcycle/ Quadbike/ Boat trailer!
(yes readers, there is more to come on my build!)

I budgeted NZ$1200 and probably spent $1500

Cheap used Northern Tool trailer at $175.

Jalousie window at $73 shipped, other one rebuilt for about $15.

Hurricane hinge that wasn''t water proof at $60 shipped.

Plywood floor and vent at $35-40 each.

Underpayment $12 each but I bought 5.

Paint, glue, paint, caulk, screws... ($?). So much little stuff adds up.

In the end I have a useable camper/motorcycle hauler that is nice to use and easy to pull. Build heirloom quality and it'll cost a bunch more. Build like me and it will look like an old restoration trailer.

Tom

Thanks for all the replies, I guess it just depends on what your budget is and what you want to get out of your build! Maybe balance comes in there someplace too! Thanks for all the feedback!

I stopped counting at abiut 3000....that was a lonģ time ago.
Ive probably spent somewhere in the region of 500 just on glue.
As kc and tony said the little things add up fast and ive easily got a couple of thousand in miscellaneous stuff.
About 1000 in trailer and gaurds,1000 in doors...if i had to guess ive probably spent around 6000 or so and still got a bit to go

For me I build a low cost 5x9 canvas-foam-FRP hybrid.
I used a HF super heavy duty trailer.-Fantastic fan- gate hinges for the doors-2" foam for the floor-1" foam for the walls and roof- FRP(4x8 for menards)for one side of the walls roof and floor- canvas and glue for the other side-$5 miss-color paint-lots of tubes polyurethane sealant-shed door latches-5 $5 trailer lights,led lights to fit lights and wire- a 6' 2x6 and plastic for wylie windows-plastic feed trough for wheel wells- center jack and coupler-$100 tongue box.
Tools $20 HF router- orbit sander-saber saw- rachit straps -a tarp and sand for gluing weight - 2 adjustable paint poles(to hold thing against the wall when gluing)-utility knife-ETC.
I uses no trim just covers the edges with glue and canvas.
That should cover most of a low cost build.

Single piece?

Frame ($499 from northern tool)

line item? Doors ($300x2)

Overall I built mine for under $3000 including tools purchased for the job