New Member

[Carter]

Keith,
About you being 6'3". I'm 6'1" and my standy bed is 74". a bit short for us but it is 60" plus wide without any side walls hampering your sprawl. I get by pretty good but I sleep wrapped around the wife on a diagonal. I've decided that the interior minimum size for a teardrop would be 58" x 78 or 80". Decide how much room you need for the lower part of the galley and wall thicknesses and that will add up to your length. I could probably get by with a 5x8 but would be much more comfortable in a 5x 9. Just remember that the "cute" factor may be reduced by the extra size.

Jim

[CPO]

Jim,
I agree, if the TD gets to big, it loses it charm and look. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a 5' x 9' x 5' wide layout. When I first started thinking about building a TD, I thought it would be easy to find a used trailer but I've been looking on Craigslist and few other sites and not having much luck. I know a lot of people used the HF trailer but I want to build on a solid foundation with 15" wheels. I have found some trailer with 1' rails around the frame but the dealers said I'd weaken the frame to much if I remove them. Also, the bad thing about using a heavy duty 2000 lb rated trailer is you have more weight to tow. Do you have any first hand knowledge of the HF, Northern Tool, Red trailer or TSC trailers? So far every thing I've looked at for a 5' x 9' trailers run about 7 to 800 dollars. I think I'm gonna bust my budget.
Thanks,
Keith

[nevadatear]

we are half way through our build. It is 5 x 10 woody, room for queen bed. We are using 3/4 ply, not sandwich build but solid, for simplicity even though it is heavier. we used two pieces of birch ply biscuted together (good reason to buy a biscut cutter) as 5 x 10 ply was not available locally, but in your area I would bet you can find it. yes, there is a seam, but it doesn't look bad and it is smooth. Epoxy and fiberglass over top to seal, then marine spar when we finish my first experience with epoxy. ) You do loose a little bit of the "cute" factor with less curve over top, but comfort was more important to us. we downloaded the generic plans and bought Steve's shop manual, and that, along with lots of ideas from this forum is all that has guided us. As for trailer, my husband is a welder so we were lucky enough to just build exactly what we wanted to fit, but most folks don't have that option! More pics in my album, and more to come soon as we are putting in the headliner.

[CPO]

Debbie & Randy,

I wish I was as far along as you guys, really looks good. I checked on 5 x 10 plywood here in Houston but no luck, I figure on splicing which from a cost stand point is best. I'm not 100% sure on the exterior yet but leaning to aluminum, so splices don't matter. I also agree with you that comfort is the most important thing, espesically if we go on a week or two trip.

Thanks for sharing your build.

Keith

[xrover]

Great looking interior shots in your album. Very nice attention to detail. You seem to have a lot of patience. Unfortunately I live by the motto "patience is a virtue, but I don't have the time!"

[Miriam C.]

to the playground Keith. If you work really hard you can find a used trailer and bigger plywood. You might check for a welder and ask if they can build you a frame. If you find the right good ole boy you might get it cheap and done right.

Have you had time to look at the Trailer Tutorial?
http://www.teardroptrailers.us/Trailer.html You can adjust it too. Our Red trailer said they could get hubs for what ever we wanted to just bring in the spindle............. If you have one close you might talk to them.

Hey have fun and be sure to remember the Gotta keep the bubble oil level.