New kid on the block with a toy need changin!

[augiebdog]

Hello everyone, my wife Char and I met a guy in the bottom of Canyonlands last year and caught the off-road teardrop bug. We have been looking to buy one ever since. Ultimately, I will build our dream TD but don't have the time at this point in my career so we decided to look for a used one that we could cut our teeth on. We finally found one in Kingman,Az that fills the bill. It's a 2008 Las Vegas Teardrop, 5x10. It's pretty much a blank slate. It has an empty galley, isn't internally wired, no water storage or other amenities at all. The tongue has been extended for spare tire and a truck box. 3000lb sprung straight axle, no brakes. We will be pulling it with our Wrangler Rubicon and I intend to lift it, articulate the hitch, fit it with the same wheels and tires as the Rubi. I want to build a nice galley with built in Stove in a pull out, refrigerator also on a pullout, water storage with simple sink (dog dish style). I want 12 volt and 110 capability with Solar charging and from the tow vehicle. I'd like to put the water storage under the trailer over the axle. I think I can flip the axle to get the clearance for the 31" tires and thinking that 3500 axle will be way over sprung for my 1200-1500 lb trailer. I haven't pulled an off road RV before but certainly want it tough enough for the job but don't want to tear it apart with a too stiff suspension. Last but not least, this trailer comes from the desert and we live in Oregon. Rain wasn't considered by the builders of our TD. I'll need gutters above the doors and a better seal for the galley hatch. It leaked on our way home.
I'm really excited to belong to this forum community. My hope is that there are new friends here that can help me turn this into our dream TD.

[Vedette]

Welcome to the Forum
There is a lot of information here!
You sound like you know how you want to use your new Teardrop.
Good Luck with your mods.
Brian & Sandi