So I got rid of the pop-up and after much lurking on this forum I decided that a teardrop was just what I needed! My garage is solar powered, and everything I have done so far has been accomplished off of 50 watts of solar and 210 amp hours battery bank.
I caught a great deal on a harbor freight 4x8 1200 lb trailer and put it together. After seeing many builds with the sidewalls sitting on the lip of the trailer, I decided to do this as well. I built my floor supports out of 2x2, and then decided it would be easier to go ahead and install my subfloor insulation before I put on the decking.
I got the trailer a week ago yesterday, and had it put together a week ago today. So subfloor was completed on 6/12/15
With copious amounts of liquid nails I screwed down the decking, then foil taped off the insulation seams underneath and applied undercoating.
I thought the undercoating would eat up the insulation, but with careful light coats it did pretty well.
Next up was figuring out the shape of my camper. I like the look of the teardrops with the curves, but I didn't want to tackle all the work needed for that, plus I wanted to build this with as little help as possible, so I went with a hard angle design.
I got that door on ebay for $60. It is actually a side access door for a large RV, but at 30 inches tall and 27 wide I felt I could duck a little lower to save $300 on a door. The window you see there, I got a pair for only $60, but they didn't come with trim rings. (but I got that figured out!)
After carefully making all my angle cuts and door/window cutouts, I set the walls up on the trailer lip and glued/screwed them on!
As you can see from the last picture, The door is actually pretty good sized, and I have no problems getting in and out.
Since I opted for the trailer lip, my finished inside width will be 45.5", and I thought that would be way small. After getting things together, it seems like two could sleep pretty well in there. I made the sleeping compartment as long as a regular bed, 75". But, with my legs off I need less than 5' length to sleep
So as of yesterday that was all I had accomplished in a little under a week. Because I can't stand around for too long without my legs getting uncomfortable I would work for about 15 minutes then sit and take a 10 minute break. So I'm working a bit slow!
Today I planned to get much accomplished, but the storms in TX have pushed thunderstorms up here to KY, and I had to tarp over the build and call it quits early today, or get rained on. I did get some important things done, though.
Since I knew nothing about camper windows I didn't realize that I wouldn't get a trim ring from my inexpensive ebay set. I didn't want to drill through them and screw them in from the outside, so I got a little creative. The windows have an inside lip that is only just big enough to fit through the hole in the wall I cut, so I used the 1x2's I had planned on using for framing the door and windows to hold the window in tight.
I don't know if you can see it well from the picture, but the side framing sits flush with the inside lip/edge of the window. The top and bottom framing, however, I cut a groove into about .5" deep all the way across. I pushed the window all the way in, then I gently tapped the top and bottom framing behind the window lip, and low and behold the window snugged up tight and is solid in place. My only issue with this is that if I ever need to replace the window I will have to cut into my interior wall covering to get those frames out!
I also got a bit of insulation in today before the rain chased me inside the house for the afternoon.
I have a ways to go on this build, but I sure am happy with my progress so far! I am also sure the UPS man is getting tired of seeing me, seems like he is bringing me parts I have ordered on a daily basis!
Neil
