Newbie from R.I.

[66 Shorty]

Hello everyone,
I have been lurking here for a little while checking out some of the threads here & I've got to say I Love what you guys (& gals) have done with your trailers!

A little bit about myself:

My name is Steve I'm 35 years old, I live in Rhode Island, I have 2 children & a fiancee. We all love to camp. So far we've been tent camping every year. I've always liked the teardrop trailers & when I found this site I've been hooked! I don't have a trailer at this point, but, I was offered a single axle, 4' x 6' trailer & thought I might be able to use it build a teardrop & pull it with a 2004 Beetle. Not sure on how well it will pull it though. So, I may end up pulling it with my 2000 Blazer. The Blazer just isn't that great on gas...

Anyway, if there's anyone in the area that has one I could check out in person that would be great! I need to keep reading & learn as much as I can before I start into it. Plus, I have a couple of other projects ahead of the teardrop. (Both VW's, a '74 Bug, & a '66 shortened Bus, hence the name 66 Shorty)

[Alleged User]

Hello from a former Rhode Islander (Bristol & Tiverton),

Found this... on craigslist. It's right in your backyard (as is pretty much anything in RI). Might not be what you're looking for, but you can at least get a feel for the size of the box.

[Dean_A]

Hey Steve,

Welcome! What part of R.I. are you from? My wife's from Woonsocket.

[66 Shorty]

Hello from a former Rhode Islander (Bristol & Tiverton),

Found this... on craigslist. It's right in your backyard (as is pretty much anything in RI). Might not be what you're looking for, but you can at least get a feel for the size of the box.

Hello!

That looks really nice! Thanks for the heads up!
Actually if I had teh extra money right now, that would be an option. Seeing that I'm sure it'll cost more then that to build a teardrop as nice as that. Although I could be wrong too...

Hey Steve,

Welcome! What part of R.I. are you from? My wife's from Woonsocket.

I live in Warwick, but, I was born & raised in West Greenwich, which is mostly all woods. That might be how I grew into loving the outdoors. I was on the pond all the time, which was only a block down the street from me.


Thanks for the Welcome!

[Barry and Darby H.]

I'm over here in Ma. and am the director of the New England Chapter of Tearjerkers (a teardrop camping club) and would like to welcome you to join us at one of our gatherings. We have one coming up July 17-19th at Ross Hill family campground in Lisbon Ct. That's not far from you and you'd have a chance to check out some Teardrops and meet some of the folks. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Barry

[66 Shorty]

Thanks Barry, that sounds great! That would really give me a good idea on sizes & what goes into these things.

[jay]

i don't know how current this information is:


http://www.tinytears.cc/index.html

http://www.teardrops.net/plans01.html

http://www.tinytears.cc/patterns.html

[Nitetimes]

Wooow...cool.....people live in R.I.??? I thought it was just an industrial complex. Learn something new every day.

[Miriam C.]

to the playground Steve. Now repeat after me "I will put teardrops above all other projects". Say this 10 times a day, every day and soon you will have your very own TD.

[66 Shorty]

Hey guys, I've been gone a while, building a Dune Buggy. It's been taking me longer than I expected...

I just picked up what I was told is a 1965 16' Franklin Travel trailer. The interior is in pretty decent shape, but, the outside is a little worse for wear.

The good:
There are new tires on it.
interior is decent
frame is solid
small enough to pull with my Blazer
big enough for my small family
plenty on storage
110v electric in good working order
already been given a small fridge by neighbor lol!

The bad:
12v wiring problems with the trailer lights
needs complete rewire from trailer light plug to lights
unknown electric brakes
didn't come with fridge (but see above)
paint chipping off sink
bathroom was totally gutted
propane lines need to be replaced

Will up-date with pics soon!

Steve X.

[Ageless]

Greetings from the Wet Coast!

With many trailers of that time, they used aluminum wiring for the 110V. Get that stuff out!

[66 Shorty]

It looks like someone may have up-graded at one time with normal romax wire. I'll double check that before I do anything with the 120v. I have issues with my turn, brake, & stop 12v system. So, I'd like to get that straightened out first. Then I'll worry about plugging it in to 120v.

Seeing that it has electric brakes, do you guys think I should get them working? The guy that towed it here has the brake hook up on his truck. He said his controller said "No connection", so they are not working. After I looked underneath I could see why. Lots of wires are hanging. That would explain the light issues as well.

I have no clue how it all wires up with the big round style plug. I need to get a schematic for that style. I do understand the wiring of the flat 4 connector though. Can someone point me to the right direction of connecting them, & seeing if it all works.

EDIT: Good news, I looked under it again & found one of the brake wires was not hooked up. SO, I hooked up a 12 volt power source & I could hear the brakes moving inside. I still have to jack it up, pull the wheels & grease the bearings, but, at least it seems like a step ahead! I also found that the rear light that wasn't working wasn't properly grounded, so, I think that may be straightened out now as well, but, I have to wait till I get a connector for my truck to see if everything is working correctly. Going back out to snap some pics of it.


Oh Yeah, & I checked the 120v wires & they are copper wires like in my house, but, all the receptacles are set-up with only the 2 prong outlets, none of them have the 3rd ground hole. Once I dig in a little further I'll see if all of the wires are 3 wire grounded wire or not.

[66 Shorty]

Pics as promised...












Well, that's it... Not that pretty, but, not in bad shape. Overall I'm happy with it!

[parnold]

That doesn't look bad at all!

Even the exterior isn't too rough, a good cleaning, some paint and your looking good!

Can I ask what you paid for it?

[66 Shorty]

$200.00 (+$20.00 for the haul home)

I was told it was a good idea to pull the hubs & re-pack the bearings with grease before I tow it up to New Hampshire. So, now there's something else on the list... More stuff to keep me from finishing my Buggy... LOL!

You can see where the PO used some sort of white paint on the sick, but, it's flaking off, & the counter top is worn out a bit too but, all in all, it's in pretty good shape considering the age. The chassis is solid with surface rust, but, no rot or anything. I do have to get new wires & a connector for the tail lights too, but, that seems easy enough to tackle.