Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I really enjoyed pouring over Friz's build journal for the CLC teardrop. I love the size and shape of it, and that it weighs in at around 500 lbs including trailer. I'm also a big fan of the stitch and glue process. I built a CLC boat years ago and the thing is still rock solid after 18 years of paddling in salt water. I am undecided though as to whether I will build from the CLC kit or build a more traditional tear. Cost wise, estimates for both methods are running about $3K (for me anyway).

For anyone who has built a CLC tear I have a few questions:

Do you think it makes sense to epoxy a piece of glass on the interior doors prior to cutting them out to help minimize spring back?

CLC offers an insulation kit for a whopping $345. Cha-ching! Friz used rigid foam in his which I would like to emulate. Would it make sense to use the cabin pieces as templates to cut foam insulation before stitching everything together?

Mushroom vents - good idea or bad idea? From what I have read some people are experiencing water intrusion on the road during rain storms.

If you did it again, what would you do differently?

FYI, I see on CLC's live shop cam they are building a prototype for a raised platform that the tear will sit on and will include drawers on the back and sides. This will raise the height of the galley approximately 8-12 inches. They are planning on including a stow-able step that can be pulled out.

Thanks!

I think it would help to glass the door area from the inside prior to cutting out. The doors just tend to be a moving target in general. I was able to make mine work without straps by pre loading the doors while gluing the stiffeners. Still required some cutting and modifying to get the result I wanted. In the end it was worth it.

If you are familiar with this method, you will have a huge advantage. I would love to build a second one to fix all the little mistakes in mine. That said, I'm the only one that sees them.

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Well, I just pulled the trigger on the CLC kit - Kinda scary plunking down that much cash at once. I think it will be worth it though once it's all together. I should get the kit next week.

Has it arrived and is it exactly how you were hoping it would look (some assembly required, obviously)?

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It did and it’s almost ready. I’ll post some pictures of the build in another post. I do like it but in retrospect I think I should’ve stuck to my original plan and built the Wyoming Woody - primarily because it would have given me more options for cabin/galley layout.

I did a rather standard tear/squareback using Revolution ply and glue on chine board technique instead of taped seams, or stitch and glue. I installed the sides, put ribs across and stuffed the ceiling in under the ribs. Small pieces of 1x2 were glued side by side over the edge of the curve and straight boards on the flat part. This 1x2 edge gave super strength and made it easy to glue on the roof. Iused battens to stiffen the thin sides. It is very lightweight! Only the roof is insulated, 3/4" foam and sandwiched. I painted the camper bright white to reflect sun. The reflection does as much as insulation. This technique may be as light as any build, easy and inexpensive too.

Tt