Hello from a teardrop wannabe

[LittleCritter]

Introducing myself here...

I know I don't have a pic up of myself - its too late tonight to do that. I'm Darla. I live in Northwestern WI, Barron/Rice Lake area. The teardrop has me intrigued!. I first saw the teardrop on E-bay as I was looking for a light weight travel trailer. I have a Dodge Caravan and want to use that as my tow vehicle without taking the transmission out the it or using my arm or leg for the purchase of a ready made unit. Our family enjoys camping and being outdoors doing things like biking and hiking.

I had initially purchased a set of teardrop plans from an internet vendor and was so disappointed with them that I gave up the idea of a constructing me own teardrop. But, the teardrop trailer just seemed to keep coming to mind and so I started a new search on the internet and found this forum.

I have the power tools and a little construction know how but was looking for detailed plans. I found them here I wanted to be able to fit a queen size mattress in for sleeping and the Benory Generic offers just that. I am so glad I found this wealth of information. Way to go!!

I'm sure as I get started I will have more questions, but will first read over the posts here to help me on my journey of constructing my Lil' Critter.

Thanks, Darla

[PaulC]

Welcome to the obsession, Darla. All the info, plans, secret know how and a bit of friendly ribbing are all available right here
Just get the pic thing happening so as Miriam's bubble oil is kept on the boil

Cheers
Paul

[Ira]

Hi, Darla! Welcome!

Don't know anything about Wisconsin (you guys got snow up there, right?), but we have some great guys here who live up your way.

Are you gonna build on a Harbor Freight frame?

[elmo]

Welcome aboard Darla!

Another Wisconsin person here. Glad you found us and there is a lot of good information here. There hasn't been a question yet that this group of people couldn't answer...even the non-teardrop stuff.

See you around the neighborhood.

Elmer

[Sierrajack]

Darla,
Don't ever listen to Ira - actually he knows nothing about anything especially the wonderful world of the cheese head. Welcome and stay tuned, there's always tons of help here and people actually answer dumb questions.



Ira actually thinks it snows in Wisconsin.

[b.bodemer]

Hello Darla and welcome.

It's always nice to welcome another lady builder. This forum is a great place to visit and everyone was so helpful to me this past year as I built my teardrop. You'll have a blast too.

Barb
(just took my first trip last weekend!!!!!)

[Miriam C.]

Have fun in the playground Darla. As Barb said "it is always nice to welcome another woman to the group."

Keep the bubble oil level. (thats your sense of humor too)

Enjoy

[toypusher]

Darla,

Welcome to the board! I'm sure that any question you can come up with, can be answered here (concerning TearDrops anyway)!!

[bledsoe3]

Darla, Welcome to the board. As someone who has used the Generic Benroy plans I can tell you they are great. But, don't be afraid to adapt them as you need to fit your needs. We'll all be here to offer advice and support.

[LittleCritter]

Thanks to all your welcoming messages. And your encouragement!! The other day when I talked about this idea to my family I could see by my mother-in-law's expression she thought I had lost another marble or more. My husband of course just shutters because he sees himself in on this project whether he wants to be or not. The kids think this is a cool idea. They are 14 and 10. They of course understand that they will be sleeping in tents unless it rains. Four in a queen size bed? This will become quite the family project.

I took some time this morning and looked at pictures of some of your builds WOW! I love them. You folks are a great source of information too!! I almost hyperventilate when looking at these pictures as I want to be sure to make just the right decisions when I build to get the perfect TD for me or I/we might be building multiple ones That must to be the addiction!!

Ira - no snow here now We would like some rain though. It is quite dry. Crops are going in. We actually did not get very much snow in our area this year, so that puts the water shortage even higher.

Build on a Harbor Freight Frame - That was my first option but I didn't see a 5 foot wide trailer on their website. The red trailer looks like another option. They have a 5 foot wide one. I read that someone had used a pop up camper trailer. I like that idea too. Like I said above - so many decisions I want to keep the cost down as much as I can but still have an adorable TD in the end.

[Miriam C.]

I could see by my mother-in-law's expression she thought I had lost another marble or more.

I can see by this statement you are going to do really well. My mother in law came by today and said "I don't think much of it." Almost hurt my feelings.

A 5x8 trailer would allow you to have full fenders. I really want fenders

(Kerry has some beautiful ones ) I built on an old pop up and I am not saving money. You need more of everything. The other side---you get more room for the kiddies. I have room for a potty or twin and a double bed.

If I could do it over again I would put the bed at the bulkhead and two doors at the front. I would also make the bed higher and put in a table.

The planning stage is a lot of fun but can take forever if you let it.

[LittleCritter]

I see it now.

1500 LB. CAPACITY, 60'' x 96'' TRAILER WITH TAILGATE RAMP AND 12'' WHEELS AND TIRES ITEM 93747-0VGA for $599.99

We have a Harbor Freight in Eau Claire, WI and a Tractor Supply Company in St. Croix Falls, WI. So I have options anyway without having to pay shipping charges.

[Miriam C.]

Darla, Red trailer makes a 5x8 no floor trailer that is better. That way you don't have to cut junk off before you start. You might also check on having someone make you one. There is a trailer tutorial in the menu above.

enjoy

[Loader]

Welcome Darla!

You might also want to check out Northern Tool, they have been advertising a 5x8 No Floor (same trailer as Tractor Supply carries) for $299.99 the past few weeks.

Here's a link where it was posted once before

http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=15132

[Ira]

You might also want to check out Northern Tool, they have been advertising a 5x8 No Floor (same trailer as Tractor Supply carries) for $299.99 the past few weeks.

Here's a link where it was posted once before

http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=15132

I didn't go to the link, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't include the wheels. If you look at Northern's printed catalog prices for this, no wheels.

Darla, HF has a "folding" 4 by 8 HF trailer with 12" wheelsfor real cheap. Wait for one of HF's 10% coupons to appear and you're talking 200 plus and change. And for some reason, I DON'T see this listed on their website right now. Either something changed over there, or this model is now only available in-store.

I'm confused, but this is the trailer suggested for use in the Kuffel Creek Cubby plans. Here's the link to Kuffel, and if you want more info on this, PM me:

http://www.kuffelcreek.com/8'_cubby.htm

The plans can be easily modified for 5' wide, no problem. But what you would do is listen to people HERE on how to build 5' wide on a 4' frame. Basically, you just hang your floor out 6" on each side for that extra foot of width, and your tires get recessed in there. It's no big deal. You could also do the same front and back to make it 9'.

And you can do this with ANY style TD you want to build, not just a Cubby.

So for around $250, you could be cutting lumber next week--and this is the reason I myself went this route.

Cheap way to get up and running.