Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I have been lurking here a few days, decided to post about my build.
Recently I purchased a '12 8.5x20' EC. As it sits right now this is what it looks like:
I acquired this in a divorce sale from a guy I know. Needless to say it's brand new with less than 500 miles on it. My use will be to haul our 4 wheeler and RzR to and from the many different parks in our area and proved us a place to sleep, shower and hang out while we're out there.
It's set up pretty nice right now, with a 35 amp breaker box, 13,500 ac/heat unit, a few 4' shop lights and some dome lights, rubber floor mat and a 18' awning (not installed yet).
I'll be starting my build pretty soon. I'm currently getting ideas about insulating, wiring, and windows that needs to be done. I'm trying to keep it all as light as possible during this process.
I'll take as many pics as I can during this build and post accordingly.

nice trailer you will be glad its got the squared sidewall to ceiling and the v-nose will make pulling it easier and save you on gas mileage well keep the pics coming and we'll be watching your build

Nice big trailer......

We LOVE fresh meat & lots of pictures.....
POOR guy.....at least the wife could have let him live in his trailer & just taken his house

Welcome aboard

http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com/

SCORE!!!!! Today I scored a "donor" rv to assist me along with my build. I can't say how excited to know I'll have all the things I want to put in my EC for 100% FREE!!!!!! WHOO HOOOO

Very nice! What do you tow that monster with?

David_L6 wrote:Very nice! What do you tow that monster with?

Right now, it sits in my yard. My half ton Chevy just won't do the trick with confidence. It's for sale right now. I will be getting a 3/4 ton ford that I have my eye on.

Ok, questions for the master minds. Let's talk insulation for a second. I have been looking at putting regular roll r13 fiberglass insulation in there. Cost wise, is there anything better and less costly that you'll suggest? What's the norm that people use for insulation.

Most folks that I see are using 1" pink or blue insulation board. Not sure about price comparison but the r-13 you are wanting to use will not last very well in a CT due to movement. The batting will seperate. I am using 1" foam board. I have source that is not costing me anything. It's r value is not as high as the pink or blue board but I can't beat the price. I am also in Texas. If its too hot or too cold to enjoy outside we don't go anywhere. You might check several of the CT builds here and you will see what material I am talking about.
Good luck,
Earnest

Well, after I scrolled down quite a bit I found a thread about insulation that answered a majority of my questions. I do appreciate your response and help in this matter. I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row so when I do start gathering my material, I'll know what kind of cost I'm looking at.

4mud bug I just got mine done with new plywood 3/4 floor and metal cabinets bead board walls 3 windows i'm 2500$ into it so i'm still under the 5k with trailer and all but if i get the roof top a/c i want i'll go over its all the little stuff that gets you paint, stain, liquid nail, screws, rosets with screws, you get the picture

Thanks for that bit of info BC.

As excited as I am to get started on this build I'm still in the planning stages of this. I only want to do this once and have everything how I want it. I knew it was going to take time, but I had no idea of how I wanted this to be, weight distribution, how to fit everything I want to do, etc etc etc. There's so much to take into consideration at one time.
Just fair warning....lol, this is going to take longer than I thought not only to get started, but to build. Time is no matter to me, I'm not in a hurry to "jump on it". I'm going to take my time, do it right, use it a little in between this build. I probably won't get hit and heavy on it until Nov sometimes. Please be patient with me. I'll post as many pics as I can to keep everyone up to date. Thanks everyone for their input thus far.

It won't be as bad as you think.. Mine is 7x24 plus the V nose. I also built it as a toy hauler for our RZRs.. Took me about 3 months.. That was working on it here and there.. Even used it twice while it was under construciton.. Best advise I can give is don't try to play Every little detail.. Some stuff you will just have to deal with while your building the trailer. Also for your layout go buy you a roll of painters tape and lay out wall cabinets, ect.. Stand in the trailer walk around. Sit on your toilet lol.. All that kind of stuff to get a feel for the lay out.. It gives you a MUCH better feel for stuff then drawing it out on paper. This is how I did mine and several things got moved a little from my original plan because of it.. I also would advise not buying everything before you start.. There again as you work on the trailer the plan might change.. You might need one extra light, or a larger/smaller shower pan. If I would have bought all my stuff at the start I would have been either returning or selling several things because of small changes I made a long the way.. Heck I decided to add a 3 way refridgerator in the middle of the build just because I found one on sale for a very good price.
Here is a link to my Toyhauler. Might help you out since your also hauling a RZR. Don't think there is to many of us on here. I'm sure you know they take up a lot of floor space when loaded so it gives you less room to work with. Your trailer being so wide will help you a lot.. I built my trailer so my half ton could pull it. I now have a half ton and a 3/4 diesel.. If I had known I was going to end up with a diesel I would have probably wen with 8'wide vs my 7' viewtopic.php?f=42&t=43448

Damn that's NICE man....awesome job. I'll have to sit down and absorb all that when I have more time to read it.

Well, we got some decals installed yesterday. Not too bad for a couple of amateurs, it only took myself and my wife about 2 hours to get this done. As I said earlier....this is a SLOW build.

A few pics of the donor camper:






As you can clearly see the shell is pretty much no good to me, I do plan to utilize most of what's inside to build mine.