New build in Maine started

[sschevel]

Finished the 2 drawers in the galley, put the mattress in, mounted the poles for the galley hatch, put some foam tape and weather stripping around the doors (more for bugs than water protection), and thinking of the teardrop get together in NY next week................
Not sure if I can dive right into camping like that, so many things to learn, what to take, what not to take, what works and what makes things worse!

We are considering it though, I would love to see all the teardrops!

Guy

[sschevel]

Put a name on the side!



Finished the hammock and our daughter was trying it out!

[canned o minimum]

Just now read this whole thread.Yer pretty "self reliant" and the build went well.. all by yerself ! My grandmother lived in Freeport.. I lived in O.O.Beach.

My TD is a "salvaged" Little Guy 4 wide and "I" rebuilt it from the ground up by myself. It is a very rewarding journey and the "results" are ALL MINE !

I tow it with a 1965 VW beetle and I go darn near everywhere !!

What to bring? What to leave behind? Differes on every trip fer me. I have NO galley so all my stuff goes inside the TD and/or in the VW.

I always bring my easy up shelter for shade or rain cover and just have FUN at the gatherings or solo on my wilderness camping trips.

Mine is called "canned o minimum". Had a name contest with my family and my brothers contribution was the winner.

Congratulations on building yer own teardrop ! Now go have sum FUN camping !!

[sschevel]

Put the "Y Knot" up on ramps to check the frame / welds / bolts. All was well after dragging it around for a few days.

Built a small hanger that will hold a DVD player or my smaller laptop.
Built a shelf for my daughter.
Pulled my Ham radio out of the truck to hand carry with us this weekend over to the teardrop get together in NY.

Very close to being ready for the trip this weekend!

Guy

[oregonguy]

I like the hammock. We have a little bed for our kid built in at that same spot on our personal trailer...works great... Though we sometimes miss the storage that normally go there.

[sschevel]

Just back from NY ADK camping!

Discovered why the galley hinge is supposed to extend past the sides of the tear after the overnight rain at camp.

Second learning opportunity came during the rainy drive home. I believe that my windows were not made to drain out the bottom (I've been told that I placed my window on its side so I have a new "bottom"). After the new bottom filled with water it worked its way into the tear. I am hoping a drill bit will take care of that issue and while it was not much water, I would hate to get to a camp and find a wet bed.

We have not had a chance to get to any photos yet.

Had a great time, first camping in over 12 years and first time with the family so a few bumps here and there.

[sschevel]

Wow, it has been some time since this thread had any posts.

Wanted to give a little update on the Y-Knot.

While the decision to use the flexible plastic hinge for the galley and doors remains a good choice, I did find that my galley had leaked a little. I suppose any hinge might have trouble in that situation where the hinge has to butt up against the roof. I used some liquid nails type stuff in there and it did not do the trick. I pulled the galley lid, cleaned it, and used silicone and after driving through some really hard rain, it has proven to be holding water tight.

I pulled the doors and took a router to the top edge with a 45 bit. Not needed but it made for cleaner lines and a nicer look.

Finally using the paneling for the roof, well I still like the look but I had a terrible time getting resin to stick to it. Well, I recently made a trip out to Iowa and back. After getting home I discovered that some of the "paneling" paper/photo started to de-bond from the wood backing. Hard to explain but if you look close at that stuff, you see fiber board stuff with a "photo" of the wood applied to it. It is that photo paper that now has resin on it breaking away from the board back.

Now I am in a real toss up on how to move forward.
I can put more resin down which will now soak into the fiber board backing and keep thinking about how many more chunks may come off into the future,
I can pull the photo stuff off and then the resin will soak into the board, leaving a dark brown colored top (I do not like this)
I can pull the photo stuff, resin the top and then get the proper paint to cover the resin (I can not see how this would look with the wood sides and a painted top)
I different option might be to pull the photo stuff, then go with the foamy process by using wood glue and canvas to recover the top. Thinking here that my daughter and I could paint some design into the canvas and then put that on top. Only concern would be the joint line between the roof and the side walls and how to ensure a water tight seal.

Any thoughts?

[sschevel]

I like the hammock. We have a little bed for our kid built in at that same spot on our personal trailer...works great... Though we sometimes miss the storage that normally go there.

I agree and during this last trip, our 7 year old said she did not fit in the hammock any more (I think she was tired of hitting her head), so she moved down to the queen bed...........Now I am really glad I went with the queen bed.

So now I can start designing a cabinet to do into that space. I'll likely leave the hammock poles there and build a "slide in" cabinet held in with just a few screws. Makes it removable if I ever need to do that or removable to make changes easy..........

[sschevel]

This past weekend the Great North Woods Chapter or Tear Jerkers held a build / mod weekend.
I went hoping to assist other builds or mods and rain Friday night left me with a drip on my foot! Good weather and friends allowed me to pull the old hinge and work in a repair that I am confident will not leak again. The haze look is new resin put down over the old silicon removal "damage".




I also had been thinking about mounting a TV, shelf, cabinet in the hammock area. I started small and I feel that I will leave it that way. The more I close it in, the less space is left in the interior. Right now the interior space has an open and large feeling. Cabinet doors would cut down that open feeling. I'll likely put in a shelf on each side and leave it like that.




Finally I pulled the noisy fan and replace it with a quiet PC case fan.

[sschevel]

This past weekend was near Perfect!!! However, since I am in the design phase for teardrop number 2, we have decided to sell the Y-Knot.

[celticquetzel]

I enjoyed your build and got lots of tips. Especially since I'll be doing most of it alone. Nice profile and details. Hoping to learn enough from all of you kind enough to post as I probably only have one in me. Enjoy building no 2. Will be watching to see what you do differently.

[sschevel]

Well for the final entry on the Y Knot teardrop. It has been sold to another retired military person. I hope he will have many years of enjoyment.
As for me, well I picked up a "canned" ham at just about the same overall length. Now I have over 6 foot standing head room. Sadly I have been unable to identify the maker, only that is says;
M
MALLOY
Kingston NH

I would guess it is somewhere around the 60's. Last owner had it two years and never moved it, had plans to use it as a spare sleeping space at camp. The owners before that had completed a large majority of rebuild work, paint, repairs, and who knows how much.

Hope to help a friend build a teardrop before the end of summer so I will be around the forums...........

Guy

[S. Heisley]

Congratulations on your sale. We look forward to your next build thread!