Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hello every one, I'm Dianne, and new to the site. I have just graduated highschool early and have found that even with a full time job I got a little extra time to do "stuff" and I would rather be doing something productive rather then sitting in front on the tv. My friends and I are big into camping/parking in the middle of the woods somewhere and sleeping the night, hunting and fishing. I want to build a teardrop/grasshopper trailer. How much did you guys/gals spend on building yours?

Thanks very much! I know it will be an adventure building the trailer, but an even bigger one using it.

Most of us don't even want to think about it--we throw out our receipts.

But you can build one for around $2000, and some have done it here for a lot LESS. It's a matter of how much you want to put into it.

Alan is the master of low cost building. He put his together for several hundred dollars. But he spent a lot of time in the junk yard looking for parts, plus he had some materials from previous builds that he wanted to use up.

I would say that a scratch builder, starting with all new parts is not going to get away with less than $1000. Let me see if I can find a spreadsheet I did a while back... ah yes, here's the list I came up with... Notice there are no frills there... (it helps to use existing camping equipment too!)
http://www.mikenchell.com/images/lowcost.htm

Mike...

mikeschn wrote:Alan is the master of low cost building. He put his together for several hundred dollars. But he spent a lot of time in the junk yard looking for parts, plus he had some materials from previous builds that he wanted to use up.

I would say that a scratch builder, starting with all new parts is not going to get away with less than $1000. Let me see if I can find a spreadsheet I did a while back... ah yes, here's the list I came up with... Notice there are no frills there... (it helps to use existing camping equipment too!)
http://www.mikenchell.com/images/lowcost.htm

Mike...

Thanks for the website, I will look at it.
My friends most familiar territory is the junk yard.
Thanks again.

About $2,000.00 in material, 15-20K in labor.

hey dia,
welcome, i have discovered the price depends on 1 thing alone.how big a scrounger are u.for isntance yesterday went lookin for weels came away from junk yard with nice mags for 12$ each new 200 each.after i bought all my steel found salvage yard,same stuff 1/10 the price.just have to dig a little deeper! oh yeah and have fun doin it ...thats the main thing!

Welcome Di

Don't let the figures scare you. When you are spending a little here and a little there, it doesn't hurt as much. Cost is directly related to how complex you want to get. The simpler the design, the lower the cost.

CS_whypt2
For the trailer frame Miller Compressing has a useable steel lot, some place off of 14 and National Ave. If you talk to one of the operators they will hold off crushing a good boat trailer and save it for you. They some times get utility trailers that need some work but you can get them cheep. When they get one they will hold it for a few days. You can usually get a trailer frame for around 50 to 100 bucks, but some times even less. If you want to build a trailer the rear axel from a Dodge mini van will work. Most junkyards will charge a 100 bucks with tiers springs and hangers. All you have to do is pull the brakes out of them and repack the bearings.
Chuck

Dianne,

It's pretty much like anything else in life................you can spend as much or as little as you like. I think the least I've heard to build a teardrop was $500. And I bet there are people out there who could easily put 5 or 6 thousand into one. It just depends on the quality of the build, and then (of course) the accessories. I believe one could easily spend more on the accessories than the building process. But I think if everyone would be honest and put in their figures, I bet the average teardrop would cost around $3,000. (that is if one is building and not buying) Though I could be wrong. If memory serves me, I've been wrong a couple of times already this year!

My guess is that the average price is $2000. But what the heck... lets do a quick poll...

Mike...

P.S. Okay, I've turned Diane's question into a quick poll. Please, scroll back up and vote your mind... or your receipts!

I put over a thousand in just the wheels, tires, and fenders! We wanted it to look good so we didn't count the receipts till it was done so we could get it insured for at least what we had in it.

Ira wrote:Most of us don't even want to think about it--we throw out our receipts.

Not me. I keep every receipt and put the figures in a spreadsheet. I have nearly every item listed and where I haven't bought the item, I have an estimateed price. So, I have a total cost that keeps changing as I enter real costs.

Mine is not a TD, it is a TTT and probably 50% larger overall than a TD. Right now, I'm looking at around $3500 finished cost but won't be surprised if it goes up a little by the time it's done. That includes the AC unit.

I know but voted ' I don't know' because I included everything that went towards the finished tear. But most likely around $3000 for just the build, not counting my labor.

Have a good day.

Hey Di, welcome !! I'm buidin' a '' Weekender '' Built the trailer a 5x10 15'' tires and wheels $300. Got the floor and sides cut and fitted. $200. I'm keepin' costs wrote down and total every month. Started the galley& cabinets this week. Should have $ 800 or so in it.

Couldn't vote, it went from "less than $3000" and jumped to "over $5000". What about something for in between? So far I've spent about $3200. My wife keeps wanting to include the cost of tools, but that's not right. (Don't tell her I told you that)