I recently moved the family to Tampa Bay area to take advantage of a job opportunity. I've always lived in mountainous areas, Rockies and Alaska, with interests included hiking, backpacking, camping, mostly primitive, tent, or with basic campground amenities. After being in Florida for a short time I realized my interest of the outdoors hasn't translated so well to the area, so I've been looking to improve my prospects for outdoor living, as well adopting a compatible hobby. Building a teardrop fit the bill, and after running across the website, researching some teardrops, introducing the wife to the idea, I became committed to the idea.
My goals started out as keeping it simple and on budget, which I realized quickly were negotiable. I'm not a welder and wanted to keep metal-works to a minimum. After a fair amount of research I've committed to a Northern Tool 5x8, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I guess I need to start thinking about a build journal. First things first. I'm more comfortable with but not particularly skilled at wood-works. I do hope to invest time and tools here as I hope to increase my proficiency in this area. I'm more comfortable with electronics and computing, and I've been inspired by those who have utilized SketchUp 3D modeling. I've spent a fair amount of time on SketchUp and after some time have a good sense which direction I'm headed.
My early searches brought me to a few Tears that ultimately inspired my direction, so I thought I'd mention them here. The Atma profile and Grumman were at the top of the list, but initially I swayed away from them in effort to choose a simple design and the basic Benroy was at the top of my list for a short time. I spent a fair amount of time trying to determine how to squeeze into a 8 ft length but felt it's too tight. I was also challenged fitting 10 feet of profile on a stock 8 foot trailer. I ultimately gained confidence significantly through SketchUp. (I want to give credit to Ryan @ teardropbuilder.com for his great SketchUp work which inspired me to really utilize the tool). As my research expanded and my comfort level in the design process improved, I swayed more towards what I wanted instead of design decisions based on simplicity. I ultimately went with the Grumman profile. I ended up shortening a 10' Grumman profile slightly to achieve a fit on the stock 8' trailer base, but gained enough overall length to be able to do what I felt I wanted in the interior with galley, bed, and forward shelf. I threw away the idea of keeping wall structure simple and opted to go with a skeleton frame with insulation and inner and outer skins. While it looked intimidating initially, it really allowed me to think outside of a 4x8 limits to achieve what I want to do with the space. I was also sold on insulating for hot weather.
I have some outstanding decisions. I'm working on finalizing cabinet design. I could use some input. how deep should a standard galley countertop be? what is too short? what is too long? My spacing will be somewhere between 11" and 20", and of course impacts what I can do for a cabinet, but I have a little room to work in between the galley cabinet and interior cabinets. I'd really like feedback from those who have experience with being too short or too long or just right. I'm also looking for any recommendations on height (relative to the ground).
I could also use some input on skinning. I know I'd like to keep the outer skin white, not only to help with heat but also to match my tow vehicle (RAV4). I did not consider aluminum in my dimensions (I think it might work if i wanted to), but is not the path I'm headed. I like the idea of fiberglass or PMF so far. PMF seems easy to work with and inexpensive. I'm in my early stages of fiberglass research. I have no experience with either.
I'm going to try my first picture. A snapshot of my SketchUp in progress.
I suppose it needs a name. For now it's simply a Grumman Without An Interesting Name.
