Mark's Teardrop with Roof Top Tent; can sleep four

[3nero]

A few years ago i refurbished a tambour top desk and searched for ages for suitable pulls to fill the allready existing holes. I ended up using the caps from Humbroll hobby paint tins. They are tiny and shallow but just deep enough to get a grip on. I stripped the paint off two lids and polished them up with chrome polish and a dremmell then popped one in each corner of the top.



Edit: I've also used them in sliding doors instead of an empty finger hole.

[markhusbands]

yes, that's a good option, and i'd be more inclined to do that except my bottom slats are only 1.5" wide and 3/16" thick. I'm worried a hole big enough to accommodate a finger pull will split the slat. Maybe I'm too worried about it, but...the consequences are pretty high.

[rebapuck]

At the Thrift shop, look at ladies handbags for leather.

[markhusbands]

This weekend I got some help from a buddy soldering all the leads that will be sealed in the roof. Tested the 12v circuits and it all worked just fine. But I couldn't quite sort out the grounding for the trailer lights just yet. (I'll post an inquiry in the electrical forum).

Also, I polyeurethaned all the interior cabinets. Added a bit of shine to the tambours. Still have not made doors or may large bottom drawer.

[markhusbands]

Just bought some .040 mill finish aluminum from O'Neill's rolled metals in Brighton, Co.

4x8 sheets were $38, and a 4x10 was $44. That's as cheap as I've seen anywhere. One place quoted me $72 per 4x8. So I'm quite pleased.

There will be a few scratches to buff, but I''ll be camping with kids with this thing so being hung up on perfect finish is probably pointless.

[markhusbands]

I finished off boxing it in with 1/8" luan. More of a pain than the other 1/8" ply I used on the interior, but it did seem to work with a couple wrinkles. Also installed pulls on the tambour doors, and put in one cabinet door - but I'll need another approach to make these hinges work. See what I can figure out. Also stripped some old paint off an aluminum window I will be refurbing.

Soon - aluminum skin.

[markhusbands]

I got some aluminum on. I used some fairly simple edge molding which I was able to source locally. Mounted with stainless screws over butyl tape. Overall I like the look, although there was some puckering at the curves, which I reckoned with a rubber mallet, so the trim has bit of a dinged and aged appearance despite being new. Might work out aesthetically, since I am going to used refurbed windows that have plenty of flaws as well. In any case, one step closer to a camper.



I also noticed this thing in my neighborhood. Been here three years and never noticed it until now.

[rebapuck]

Looks like the neighbor is ready for 40 days and nights of rain.

[Melven]

Moving right along. Nice work Mark! Glad to see the progress.

[markhusbands]

Thanks. My weekends are seeming short.

[rebapuck]

On the east coast the weekends are wet.

[markhusbands]

After ignoring the teardrop for about six weeks, I spent a little time mitering door trim and starting on the hatch skin. Now that it's fall here, I should be able to spend some nice weekends finishing it up.

[Melven]

Hey Mark did you ever finish your teardrop? Let me know.

[markhusbands]

Actually, yes. Well, mostly. I had intended to finish it by late last summer, to get a couple uses out of it in late season, but just didn't get there. I got very frustrated and sick of working on it, and just decided to let the final steps go until spring. Over the winter I bought a new house and moved (four of us), so the whole project got moved to the new garage. This spring, when it got warm enough to enjoy garage work, and when the (quite good) ski season ended, I got the trailer to a camp-able condition and have used it a couple times, and really enjoyed it. Now I am basically down to little bits of interior trim work that I've put off until the end. It's been a while since I have regularly posted here, but one of these days I am going to do a wrap-up with some photos. One thing I am also going to put off until this winter or spring is some new round fenders and new paint job on the fenders, frame, and tongue box.

Thanks for asking, and I hope you've been getting good use out of yours.

Mark

[markhusbands]

So here are a few pictures of my campable, mostly complete teardrop-with-roof-tent. The remaining work includes some interior trim, the eventual replacement of the HF fenders with the simple round fenders that I prefer, and a paint job for frame, fenders, and tongue box. I like Oliver Green tractor paint at present. Otherwise, I consider it as done as a home project ever is. Pictures:



Here's the hatch all sealed up with simple side lever clasps. I have two small LED lights inside the hatch.



I used three salvaged Hehr windows with simple levers from some old airstream. I was lucky to have a buddy with a lot of trailer salvage, and traded some labor on a house project for three windows. I think they add a vintage look. The three windows add a lot of ventilation and make the small interior less claustrophobic.



Side view with the roof tent deployed. The ladder is weight bearing and the feel with the stabilizer jacks is quite stable. I used rectangular aluminum tubes as a rack, and the tent can removed with the withdrawal of four bolts. The tent weighs about 90 lbs packed.



The galley with the stove and cooler slide stowed. A little thumb catch keeps it from banging under way.



The galley with slide deployed. This arrangement let me create a lot of storage in a short trailer. There's not a lot of work surface, so the folding table is very helpful. But the small cooler and tambour cabinets create a lot of food storage, and I can fit all sorts of pots and pans and plates and stuff in the two lift-up doors above the stove and cooler slide. And I still have large cabinets inside the sleeper for clothes duffles. The tambour doors are among the only novel solutions in this camper, and I do like the way it "shifts" the galley back in this shorty. And I like to think there is some elegance to the way they match the overall profile.



A side view with the slide out.



Water heating for coffee.



And me making it.

I got a lot of great ideas by asking questions and just plagiarizing from other's hard work that they posted freely on this website, so I want to let everyone know ho much I appreciate it. I got the materials from all over the place - a lot locally in Colorado, and quite a bit from vendors. Grant Whipp was particularly helpful with design sketches and bits of advice to resolve various problems I ran into.

So thanks!