Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I picked my trailer up Saturday and got it home. Looking forward to the 100 deg days to get it ready for a trip at the end of September. I got it for a song and a dance, $2K. 2004 model with about 1000 miles on it. Pretty much got my head wrapped around it. Thanks to many ideas in this forum that I am planning on incorporating from the many builds I have read about. Being the shade tree mechanic and carpenter that I am, it a good thing I have plenty of nice trees to work under. Will try to keep updates posted as I find time and work get accomplished. Most of my material is going to come from an old 5th wheel that I have. Every thing in it works, the roof is rotten. This CT/toyhauler will fit our needs at a cost that I can deal with.



Earnest

Congratulations on your new trailer! From your pictures it looks to be in great shape and you got a really good deal.

Can't wait to see what you have planned. You definitely have a lot of room to work with. What part of Texas are you in?

Earnest congrats on your new to you trailer. You will love working on it and enjoy the reward of the outcome when its done. I can't wait to see it complete I will be following this build for sure. Good luck and if you need anything just ask and we will answer it for you.

Thats a good size trailer congrats.. Now get to work!

Nice trailer

Like your grill too.

Cheers

bigbendhiker wrote:Congratulations on your new trailer! From your pictures it looks to be in great shape and you got a really good deal.

Can't wait to see what you have planned. You definitely have a lot of room to work with. What part of Texas are you in?

Thanks. The only thing that keeps it from looking like new is it has some minor damage on left side close to the front at the roof line. It has been repaired very well and is of no concern. My concept is make the wife comfortable & haul my Harley to the mountains. Her back is messed up, so no more long bike trips & get her off the ground out of the tent. We are in Eastland close to Abilene.

bc toys wrote:Earnest congrats on your new to you trailer. You will love working on it and enjoy the reward of the outcome when its done. I can't wait to see it complete I will be following this build for sure. Good luck and if you need anything just ask and we will answer it for you.

Thanks, I have had that reward before & yes it nice. I always seem to never really finish anything. I suffer from a disease called "improvementitis". I am sure I will be asking questions and hunting input.

8ball_99 wrote:Thats a good size trailer congrats.. Now get to work!

Plan come and go, this weeks schedule is lay out work, strip the interior and go from there.

pappaw wrote:Nice trailer

Like your grill too.

Cheers

We sure enjoy the grill, fired it up a while back for a big party. 6 big ole racks of ribs. It's amazing the material you can come up with when your a scounger. Thanks!
Earnest

Glad you got a good deal; look forward to seeing what you do with it.

Small world. I've been to Eastland many times. My daughter goes to school in Lubbock and I like to camp in the Big Bend area or at Balmorhea State Park. So when traveling west om I-20 I always stop in Eastland either at the McDonald's or the Subway for a bathroom break and some food for the road. I've also bought gas at WalMart. Used to stop at Starbucks until it closed.
Anyway keep us posted on your trailer.

bigbendhiker wrote:Small world. I've been to Eastland many times. My daughter goes to school in Lubbock and I like to camp in the Big Bend area or at Balmorhea State Park. So when traveling west om I-20 I always stop in Eastland either at the McDonald's or the Subway for a bathroom break and some food for the road. I've also bought gas at WalMart. Used to stop at Starbucks until it closed.
Anyway keep us posted on your trailer.

Eastland is a good way point on I-20. We get lots of traffic passing thru, both good and bad. Starbucks got hit in their cut back of stores. They said the revenue was not worth keeping it open. Hard sell, it was always busy. They didn't have camp coffee on the menu so I never went in.

I am spending this evening going thru build pics I borrowed (thanks everybody) and playing with Google Sketchup.

Earnest

Made some progress today. I would have gotten more done but I was distracted by a local gun and knife show this morning. Priorities. When I was doing my prep work to paint the roof I found that the RV caulk around the roof vent had lost it stickum. So I scraped all the caulk off, steel brushed both surfaces then cleaned it with paint thinner. I used eternabond tape to seal it with. If you've never used this stuff it is easy to install and a miracle worker for sealing leaks.

I scrubbed the roof with dawn soap (grease cutter ) and water, hosed it off and then wiped it down with vinegar water to kill any oxidation. Hosed it off again then let it dry. I painted it with Henry Solarflex 287. It took almost a gal to put 2 coats on it. It hit 100 deg here today but it was tolerable under my shade trees. Glad thats done.




Earnest

Hello Earnest,

Hope that your build goes as you plan (never did for me always change plan). You did to your trailer what I am planning on this fall (caulk and paint the roof along with installing a window). Hope that you enjoy the trailer as I do mine.

Jeff

lmajeff1 wrote:Hello Earnest,

Hope that your build goes as you plan (never did for me always change plan). You did to your trailer what I am planning on this fall (caulk and paint the roof along with installing a window). Hope that you enjoy the trailer as I do mine.

Jeff

Jeff,
Thanks, I have never had a project go as planned either. With many years in construction I have learned to adapt and overcome. A plan is just a guide and be ready for adjustments or changes. I enjoy the challenge. I have comtemplated on adding a skylight at a later date. That would be really nice to have.

Earnest

Great idea on replacing the 5th wheel with a CT, just moving the contents over. I think that the CT will be much sturdier. Love all the trees, we used to have most of the house and yard shaded by big maples and poplar, unfortunately, they are almost all, "Gone With the Wind".

Can you tell if the Henry's is making any difference in the temperature inside the trailer? I have seen others claiming that it lowered the inside temperature by 20 degrees. ( does that mean if you apply 4 coats, you can use your trailer as a refrig?

Insulated my ramp door this evening. My free insulation is 1" foam board. I am sure there is a better product out there but not for the price. I wanted to get that done before I go any further. Next step is to remove wall plywood and paint my floor with Rustoleum Epoxy Shield. I will put silica/quartz fines in the paint that is going on the ramp. Not sure if I will on the main floor of the CT. This stuff sure adds friction to it. Before anyone throws a shoe over this, I am aware that this is designed to go on conc floors and has the possibility of cracking due to flex. I have read on more than one race forum where they have used it in their toyhaulers/CT and it has worked fine. So I figured I would roll the dice and see what happens. I will be hauling my bike and this stuff is impervious to gas, oil and various chemicals plus its waterproof. Yes I just opened myself up for harassement. My bike is a Harley.

pmowers,
Thanks, sorry to hear about your trees. That really sucks. I have several post oaks that range from 16" to 24". I love them except for winter. Dealing with the leaves really SUCKS!

The CT fits our needs much better and is sturdier. My 5th wheel is a 92 Prowler and is HEAVY. The wife has a jacked up back and can no longer ride long range on the bike. So we had to decide what to do and be able to take the bike with us. "Toyhaulers" cost way too much and are no more than a travel trailer with a ramp. They are still not made near as well as a CT. They are way out of our price range which is crazy.

Yes I can tell a difference in the temp inside. I can actually work in it during the day with only a fan blowing. I used a simular product 30 yrs ago on a roof of a mobile home and it really helped. It helped enough that I did not have a question on whether to do it or not. idea!!! I have an old 50 cal ammo can I might try putting 4 coats on to test your idea out on. Ya never know, this might be handy to keep the beer in the trailer before I install the refrig and has the potential to start a new business with if it works.

Hi Earnest,
It's good to see another Texan on the board. Congratulations on your CT purchase! I look forward to your conversion progress. Try to stay as cool as possible!
Take care,
Tom