1946 teardrop...I think

[Patrickteardrop]

Well, I went to bolt on the 15x6 Mopar steel wheels to the trailer, and they end up being tight against the framerail! So, I went to Plan B, and took two of the 50-year-old chrome reverse wheels and whitewall radials off my lowered '68 Dodge D100, and bolted them up to the axle...they look great! And, they have nearly an inch of room between the tire and the framerail, so they are going to stay on the trailer. This gives me a good spare for both my Dodge pickups, from the other two chrome wheels and whitewalls, as the lowered truck is getting new 17" wheels and tires, anyway!

I also have the wood floor mocked up on the frame. This is going to work out very nice. As I have a good bit of ground clearance under the trailer, I'm thinking about having David, my welder, build an 18" x 44" x 6" storage "locker" under the rear part of the trailer frame, which would be storage for tools, a small jack, spare parts and miscellaneous bits. It would be accessed through a full-width drop-down door that opens to the rear of the trailer, under the hatch. This storage area would open up the area under the rear hatch for more things that require ready access. Since the axle sits back somewhat on my trailer, any weight issues that might have been caused by this box, should be pretty much moot here.

[Patrickteardrop]

Well, I was going to paint and coat the floor bottom this evening, but I got the wrong paint for what I want to do. So, off to the box store to get the right stuff.

Meanwhile, you can see the bottom of the 4x8 floor, and the chrome reverse wheels with 205-75R15 whitewall radials in the pics. I had to trim up the one side, but other than needing to coat the floor bottom, the floor is ready to bolt to the trailer frame.

I used a floor jack, a 4x4 and a 2x4 to try to push the bend-in trailer shell roof back to something resembling a smooth surface. You can see that this is going to take a while! I'm so tempted to simply get a new sheet of aluminum and build a new roof, but that would take away that much more from the original look. Lots of work, no doubt.

[Patrickteardrop]

I painted the floor bottom (streetside) today with Rustoleum Red, and am painting the other side tomorrow. Since it's oil-based, I know it'll last a long time. I also picked up a new air chisel, so I can remove quickly the attachment screws holding the shell to the old floor. I should be able to test-fit everything tomorrow afternoon.

I've been tossing around ideas for the wiring, both the interior and the running lights, as well as the routing for all of that. I want to make as much of it invisible as possible.

Added: Got the whole floor painted red, top and bottom, this afternoon. I'll wait a day for the Rustoleum to completely dry, then test-fit both the floor and shell.

[Patrickteardrop]

The floor, sitting on the frame. I made a slightly crooked cut along one side, but that'll be covered up. Not much accomplished today, other than getting the floor set on the frame.

I've decided to install a five-gallon water tank and a lawnmower battery under the rear deck. I found a long, narrow water tank at an RV store that will work great. The small battery will be more than sufficient for the power needs of the trailer, since it will be powering LED lighting and a car stereo. Recharging will be accomplished with a solar charger that will have a removable solar panel for when the trailer is under way, it can be stowed easily, and set up quickly when parked.

[Patrickteardrop]

Got a little distracted from the camper build this weekend. I finally got the new fuel tank in my Coronet, did some work on my wife's big Chrysler, and got the ZTR mower started and ready for the new season...still need to order new blades, however. I also bought a new air-powered cutting tool and a few other bits I have been needing. I got a hell of a deal on a new Campbell-Hausfeld air cutter - half-price off of the normal $36.00 and change! I still need to buy a rivet gun.

Today, it was too humid and cold to paint; and the rainy, cloudy day kinda put a damper on doing very much of anything today in the shop.

[Patrickteardrop]

Not much so far...I've cut a few pieces of diamond-tread aluminum for the front splash panel, the rear valance below the galley door, and the backsplash in the upper galley. The five-gallon water tank I had found wasn't going to work like I'd wanted, so the search continues. And, my welder has been quite busy with other work lately, so the brackets I need for the bottom of the trailer are going to wait a bit.

[Patrickteardrop]

Yay! I finally got the teardrop shell off the old trailer and it's now on the new trailer frame, albeit just sitting on the floor for right now! I had to get a new cutting tool, as my old one fried itself. It was much easier to simply cut the bolt heads off than it was to get a flat screwdriver on one end and an adjustable wrench on the old-style square nuts. There were maybe two dozen fasteners that held the shell to the rotted wooden floor. My son and I lifted the shell off the old trailer frame and onto the new frame. It looks great!

[Patrickteardrop]

More pics of the old shell on the new frame:

[Patrickteardrop]

I've been looking at everything since I put the shell on the frame, and have decided to remove all of the paint from the sides and polish it. I'm putting a new roof skin and bracing on the roof, and new metal with the old finish on the sides just isn't going to look right. I've worked a small area towards the roof on the curb side, and it should look pretty good!

Next thing is sealing the frame to the floor. I was going with tape insulation, like you'd use installing a camper shell on a pickup. But, since this is never coming off again, I've decided to use clear silicone to seal the mating areas.

Does anyone know where to find old-style chrome and glass clearance lights? I want to put them on the lower corners, plus an amber one on each side behind each door, to use for porch lamps.

[Patrickteardrop]

Dang, nearly a month since my last post and nearly no progress on the teardrop! I did buy some beehive sidemarker lights at a trucker supply store in northern OK last week, and am disappointed in what I got. The rubber gaskets for the rear of the mount are too small for the lights. It uses a modern two-prong plug-in that would make for a pretty big hole each, in the aluminum sidewall. The look is great, but the lights will have to go on a different trailer project - maybe that teardrop frame that I'll make into a utility trailer!

I found a nice pair of utility trailer steel fenders that I plan on using for the time being. I can't swing $500 + shipping for the ones I really want, and the smaller fenders are ones I can buy locally for around $50 for the pair. They'll have to do, for now.

I still need to buy the sheet aluminum for the roof and the decklid. The existing decklid is what I'm using to build the curbside trailer door with. I have the paint stripper to remove the "patina" from the sides. It's now just a matter of getting out and doing it.

[Patrickteardrop]

I've got a question for whomever may be reading my build blog - Inside my trailer, is recessed areas where the angle iron side frame rails are. I was thinking about Styrofoam or similar product for interior insulation on the flat vertical walls. I need a different way to insulate the curved roof. Any ideas about what to use for that? Will Stryrofoam work on the sidewalls, or is there a better product than that, that I can use??? I'm itching to get this project off the ground again, and figure getting this part done will get it moving.

[Patrickteardrop]

Wow. I haven't touched the trailer in nearly eight flippin' months! I have, however, picked up a few bits for the trailer. Trailer light wiring, wood framing material for the doors and hatch, fenders, and some small bits are laying in wait inside the trailer. The beehive lights that I was going to use as side lights, might become taillights and turnsignals on the hatch, instead. I like the look of them, and think that four (two amber, two red) on the hatch might look pretty decent.

I found a rear tag bracket off my old 1937 Hudson that I'm going to use, as well. I've also got several lengths of diamond-tread aluminum that I'll incorporate somewhere. I really need to get the old roof off, so that I can get new roof cross supports welded in, and re-sheet the roof.

[S. Heisley]

Styrofoam is what most of us use. On curved surfaces, you just have to kerf it so it will curve without breaking and fit.

I'm a little surprised that you have had so few responses; but, it's probably because you aren't far enough along yet.