Brand new to teardrops

[romac]

Hello all! My name is Roman and I was just married in July (at just 22 years old! =P). The wife and I had been kicking around the idea of selling my modified 03 Focus (my baby) for something a little more useful for home improvement projects and hauling our stuff, and with the benefit of being able to haul outdoor equipment down the road (camper or boat etc)=) So about a month ago I landed myself a nice low mileage 04 Dodge Ram to go with the new house/wife Anyway, I was sitting around tonight browsing the web and looking at truck tents when I stumbled across these teardrop trailers. After doing some light reading I decided these could potentially be perfect for us. So I guess my main question is; How much does it cost to build your own? I don't want anything outrageous or elaborate, and I'm also realistic and wouldn't expect it to be done in a weekend. It could be a nice side project over time. I Just want one nice and simple. Brand new ones look to be about 5k-10k, which is more than I would want to spend on one. I'm fairly mechanically inclined, and at the very least a fast learner. And my Dad is a carpenter so that'll come in handy I'm sure So what are prices to get a teardrop on the cheap? Is it better to buy one used?

Thanks all.

[asianflava]

Welcome to the forum. and congrats to you and your bride

Judging by your description of yourself, I'd say to build one yourself. If you have the skills, the space and the time (or have access to someone withe skills space and time), you can do it over the Winter and be finished in time for Spring.

This is why you should build it yourself.

1) You can control costs by installing exactly what you want/need and building it exactly the way you want.

2) You can control how much it will weigh

3) You can make it look how you want

4) You can buy things along the way, you don't need to drop a big chunk of change down at once.

5) When you are finished, it's paid for, no payments.

6) When people ask you for a tour of the trailer, you can say, "Yes, I did build it myself."

[bobhenry]

So I guess my main question is; How much does it cost to build your own? Thanks all.

I'm 90% done and I have $840.00 in Chubby. This does not include the camping equipment I.E. Pop up , pots and pans , sheets ,curtains, and I did buy a few tools ( mostly clamps and drill and router bits which are included).
I scrounged big time my HF frame was $75 bucks on E-bay I had a lot of odds and ends on hand . My little TV was a hand me down from mom the under the counter AM FM casset player was $4.00 at a yard sale. Cabinet doors were $1 -$2 each at Habitat for humanity restore ( A great sorce for hardware cabinets trim carpet ect ) Had almost all of the electric on hand. Spent about $70.00 on half depth electrical boxes and small toggle switches. I used flip toggles for the 120 volt and rotary switches for the 12 volt to make them easy to identify. I took lights on hand and made them 12v and 120v dual purpose, (There in the album.) You don't have to pour in thousands of dollars just figure out how to use what you can find. I worked by myself and took six month working only on Sat and Sun as time and family would permit. The build is 1/2 of the fun just go for it !!!!

[Miriam C.]

To the playground Romac. If your dad is a carpenter then you have all the tools you can borrow and someone to get to help with the fun stuff.

It isn't always cheaper to build yourself. It is more challenging and fun. We even have a member who is doing his with stuff he had salvaged and is I think up to $20. oo in cost. Just depends on how resourceful you can be.

Enjoy and keep us in

[deputydogrick]

Welcome go as big or little as you want. Your only limitation is your imagination and your pocketbook. Plan now, make a list and when you see 1 of the items priced right, buy it. I had great luck with ebay and all the great "threads" here. I'm still building, but I lost my mind and went huge, I'm not sorry, it's become a labor of love. Enjoy and jump right in........... oh yeh check the hall of fame, lots of great ideas

[Bill Fernandez]

Welcome you will have a good time building one .

[mandy]

Welcome to the madness that is teardrop building.

Mandy

[sseaman]

welcome aboard, start checking your local craigslist, i found my 5x10 trailer in good shape for $180, so i figure im already starting out on the cheap end. I think i found some windows out of a camper top for abour $40. Good luck and take your time, ive already changed what i want to built 3 times, and i havent even started yet

[mikeschn]

Hey Roman,

Welcome to the forum...

So what have you learned so far?

Mike...

[Mike C.]

Hey Roman,

Glad you found us. Hope we can be of some help when you start to build. Any questions, just ask. We are full of answers, and some of them are even right.

See you around.