Hello from Alabama!

[Babartlett]

Hi everyone,

My name is Brian, and I am a mechanical engineering student at the University of Alabama. I spend most weekends traveling and getting involved in more outdoor sports than I should. My biggest time commitment is whitewater kayaking and I have been the president of the whitewater kayaking club at the university for three years now. I met my fiancee in the kayak club and she is a crucial part of many of the trips. I have always considered myself handy, and thanks to my dad, I have had access to a garage full of tools since I was a kid. For the last couple years, I have worked as a mechanical engineering co-op at Nucor Steel in Tuscaloosa AL where I have picked up valuable steel fabrication skills.

I have always enjoyed camping for recreation, but now most of the camping I do is a primitive place to stay after a day on the river. After packing up one too many wet tents, I decided one day that there has to be an easier way to camp. I went back and forth with designs for a couple years until I discovered the world of teardrop trailers. After finding this site and a final month of heavy research, I am starting my build. This will be my last summer with a flexible schedule and I am hoping to finish my little camper before school starts back in August.

My build is a 5' by 9.5' benroy and I am starting from scratch. Both tow vehicles in the family are 4 cylinders so I am being conscious of weight and adding electric brakes. With the absurd amount of kayaks that I transport, I am adding a yakima roof rack for extra roof capacity.

I cant express how helpful this forum has been with my design process, and I hope that others can learn from my mistakes over the next few months!

[pjsauls]

Good luck with the build and don't fail to ask questions if you need to!
Welcome to the Teardrop madness!!

John Sauls
Magnolia Chapter (Tearjerkers)