Building a Teardrop for Pick up truck!

[ELM]

We bought ours from this place. http://www.thefoamfactory.com I used Polyethylene Foam 3/4" Thick as the bottom layer. My reason for this is I wanted something water proof on the bottom. You see this used for packaging. Then 4" of foam and then a mattress topper. It's comfortable we slept on it for 23 nights on our first trip.

[jonnyo]

priming the outside with zinc chromate.....



and i decided to keep it crafty and cheap...rolling rustoleum paint with a foam roller....

Coat #1



it s actually relatively glossy so far..... but will need a good 4-6 coat to get full coverage and uniform tone....

i m using 50% paint, 50% mineral spirit and it lay down very nicely

[jonnyo]

6 coat later.... it s white! i wish i could have painted black to match the truck but living in the Okanagan bc.... it s too hot in the summer to be a dark color. I m trying to think of any accessory that i could add in black color to make the unit a little more matchy with a black F150! any suggestions?




my local sign store made me some vinyl stickers to go on each side. I pick a world map with black dots. I will have some red dots so my kids can add colors everytime we go to a new place!



it took me a good 2h to install those dots. hopefully the other side will go quicker as i m getting the hang of it!




next on the list, 2 more windows to install, A front rack for LED light bar and finishing some interior trims..... i m getting closer!!!

[ELM]

How about some black pin stripping to tie it in to the truck.

[KCStudly]

Google snow camo images.

It is at the top of my most likely paint schemes right now. Black Jeep but no desire to over heat or cause delamination between foam and epoxy.

[jonnyo]

i figure out a hoist system to lift the pod over the truck. very easy and make the process so much smoother than corner jack.



a little nerve racking when you lift it for the first time...





then, backing up the truck for loading



the fit seems good.... dosnt stick out from each side too much..







next step, i m in the process of testing for leak....we are having torential rain and it s the perfect time for this.... sitting inside, finding the small leak and figuring out the final caulking to have it 100% dry proof...

should be camping next week. Front rack for off road lighting: LED 50 inch to be done and it should look pretty decent....