Willy3486 teardrop build

[willy3486]

Hello everyone. A little about myself. I actually was here at the site about 9 years ago for a while. My wife and I wanted a small Scotty but we couldn't find one. So we decided to build a teardrop. Then before we got started we actually found a scotty and restored it. We had rebuilt a larger 20 ft Aristocrat before. Here is a picture of the scotty after restoration.

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q657/willy3486/2225541910101948653RIcRvy_fs_zpsed5a3ccb.jpg

We have camped out in that a few times and still have it. Years have passed and out daughter has gone off to college. Now the teardrop bug has bit us again. My car a dodge neon died and I bought a Honda CRX to replace it. We plan on using it to do most of our trips out together and save her Jeep. So We want to go camping again and the CRV only has a towing capacity of 1500 pounds. So the scotty is probably close to that and adding anything we may want to bring along may put it over. We decided to build a teardrop. My Father in law passed away a few years ago and my wife and I bought his truck from her brother. It had a vintage camper that was one of the old wood and aluminium skinned campers. It has fell into disrepar but still had good aluminum trim. So we plan on using the skin as the skin for the teardrop. The side windows I hope to cut down and make the width smaller. I hope to use them in the doors to be able to let air in. I had a similar window that I used to fill in a opening in my scotty. I looked at how it was put together then I cut and filed the pieces to go together like the window was made.
Here is a couple of links to the camper in the weeds.

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q657/willy3486/teardrop/IMG_0122_zpswqgqs2qb.jpg

And

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q657/willy3486/teardrop/IMG_0119_zpsrkpyxcmi.jpg

What I plan to do is to use as much of the aluminum as I can. I do have some other aluminum roll I can use as well. I plan to dig the aluminum roll out tomorrow to see how much I have.

As far as a trailer goes I had thought about using a harbor freight trailer. I would like a vintage trailer frame but around here they are hard to find and pricey. I even saw a used harbor freight trailer put together higher than a new one. So as I was looking today on the web I saw a vintage looking trailer and thought I have seen those wheels before then it hit me. My MIL gave me this old trailer my FIL had that he used around the farm. It was one he made from a old axle. My wife remembers it as a child. She remembers helping him to put hay on it. It had a wood deck that is all gone now. Its a 30s or 40s axle I think. I plan on putting springs on it from Tractor supply and making a new deck. I hope to drag it out of the weeds tomorrow to get a better look. I hope I can use it to fabricate a teardrop.
Here is the trailer, or at least it is in there somewhere.

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q657/willy3486/teardrop/IMG_0132_zpsjvjlci6o.jpg

I hope to make this over the summer so I can use it this fall to go camping. I plan on making a stick frame for the sides and then luan paneling on the insides and the aluminum on the outside. I want to make it look like it is from the 50s or 40s. I plan on fabricating my own fenders. I want a look like the 30s or 40s curved fenders. I just need to search the web to get ideas. If anyone knows of a dealer in the middle Tennessee area that sells teardrops I would love to know of them, I would love to see one in person. The two things I am needing to see is how the galley deck lid fits on and seals out rain and also how the doors attach and seal the rain out. Other than that I have a good idea on how to do the build. Anyway I hope to get started soon. If all goes well maybe I can get the trailer frame made and welded up in the next month or so. I got the scotty around August one year and had the shell rebuilt by the end of that October. I was able to go camping by March the next year. So who knows I might have this camper out by September. Anyway wish me luck on this next camper adventure.