Hello from St. Louis

[semosoldier]

Hey there, hope everyone is doing well.

I'm in the starting stages of my first teardrop project and have been reading a lot of the build information on these forums and looking at other projects and plans on the internet.

My long term goal is to have everything roughed in and road ready by November of 2011 with all the fit and finish items wrapped up by Spring of 2012. I will use my father's shop building that's 3 hours away, so I will be limited to one weekend a month and the occasional three day. Hoping to keep total project price as close to 2000 USD as possible.

I know I want to build off the 5x8 platform but haven't decided on any designs yet. I have read great reviews about the http://www.kuffelcreek.com/8'_cubby.htm, just concerned about my ability to adjust the blueprints for a 5 foot setup.

Any ideas on these plans for a beginner? Does my time table/budget seem reasonable or am I way out of the ballpark?

Look forward to any suggestions and tips. Hopefully I'll have a good plan in place and trailer in shop by Valentines day.

Justin

[T@Baker]

I'm afraid I'm not any help on the build, just wanted to say "Hi, neighbor". I'm 2 hours east of St. Louis, but our two oldest are students at SIU-Edwardsville so we're in your neck of the woods from time to time, and sometimes meet them at Carlyle Lake, IL. We love to camp in the MO parks.

Welcome. You'll get a ton of valuable info here.

[Big Dan]

I can't be mutch help build wise. I bought mine on E-Bay. I want to build one but thought it would be better to buy one, camp in it that way I'll have a better idea of what I want and don't want in a tear. But I think your close on the 2000 budget I think that will get you on the road depending on how thrifty you are. I'm sure you know if you have any ??? you will get the answers here. Lots of great people who know what they are doing. Good luck to ya.

[Nathan N]

Welcome Justin.

I know you are shooting for Valentine's Day but please consider driving over to Arrow Rock on April 16, 2011 where we are having our Show-Me Spring Break.

We have quite a few folks reserved so far and I expect more will join in as we get closer. This will give you a chance to check out quite a few different designs. If you are set on the cubby then checking out the galleys and how folks came up with ideas for maximizing space and function would be worth the trip.

It will be frustrating only getting one weekend per month to work on it - however it will give you time to ponder over issues or direction to take.

Nathan

[Steve_Cox]

Hey there, hope everyone is doing well.

I'm in the starting stages of my first teardrop project and have been reading a lot of the build information on these forums and looking at other projects and plans on the internet.

My long term goal is to have everything roughed in and road ready by November of 2011 with all the fit and finish items wrapped up by Spring of 2012. I will use my father's shop building that's 3 hours away, so I will be limited to one weekend a month and the occasional three day. Hoping to keep total project price as close to 2000 USD as possible.

I know I want to build off the 5x8 platform but haven't decided on any designs yet. I have read great reviews about the http://www.kuffelcreek.com/8'_cubby.htm, just concerned about my ability to adjust the blueprints for a 5 foot setup.

Any ideas on these plans for a beginner? Does my time table/budget seem reasonable or am I way out of the ballpark?

Look forward to any suggestions and tips. Hopefully I'll have a good plan in place and trailer in shop by Valentines day.

Justin

mornin Justin,

Welcome to the forum.

I bought Kevin's Kuffelcreek plans way back in 2005. The literature available at the time was a little sparse so it was a great introduction to teardrops and I always felt it was worth the $$ I spent. After I printed and read it, I put it away and read even more here on this forum before I started my 1st trailer build The building methods have evolved greatly due to the quantity of tear drops that have been built in this short time span. Look to the top of this page there are tutorials, a design library, detailed trailer plans that could be modified to almost any tear drop profile you might wish. There are also some builders here on the site that sell plans that explain some advanced techniques in building.

My biggest influence in building was from a 1947 Mechanics Illustrated article for the "Trailer for Two" It is available on this website. I printed it out and read it often.

Hope this was a help. Good luck with your plan.

[TwilightLane]

hey semo, welcome! I'm in KC but I spend a lot of time in StL. I've been working on my cubbie build. See my thread below. Have fun with it! Email me if you have questions!

-Rob O