New tug and new trailer....to be ....

[jackdaw]

:thumbsup: You bet we are watching. Just don't want to tie up the thread too much... I just love your fenders. Well all of it really!

Thank you Aunti M, Feel free to tie it up It always good to get feed back , in whatever form...It helps spur us on sometimes, knowing we're going in the right direction, and others are along with you
We must be getting close to campable...Rosie's made the curtains, and is stiching celtic knots into the tie backs tonight

Cheers Dave

Doh I hit the quote button instead of the edit

[Gene S]

NOT SURE HOW YOU DID YOUR 3 WAY. mY CONTROLS ARE IN THE BACK. i WAS GOIN TO PUT A DOOR ON THE OUT SIDE WALL TO GET TO CONTROLS.

HOW DID YOU DO YOUR VENT? ARE YOU VENTING INTO THE KITCHEN AREA?

I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET. THANKS, GENE S

[jackdaw]

:thinking:
NOT SURE HOW YOU DID YOUR 3 WAY. mY CONTROLS ARE IN THE BACK. i WAS GOIN TO PUT A DOOR ON THE OUT SIDE WALL TO GET TO CONTROLS.

HOW DID YOU DO YOUR VENT? ARE YOU VENTING INTO THE KITCHEN AREA?

I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET. THANKS, GENE S

Hi Gene,
I'm not sure what controls you have at the back Have you looked at page 3 of the thread.... the bit where the fridge is fitted .

I think it's very important to make sure the products of combustion (that sound technical ) are removed from the trailer safely. In other words the burt gas fumes should be exhausted to the outside.

The three way I've used comes with a flue or exhaust that would normally be pointed directly behind the fridge to outside. I've added an elbow and a short piece of pipe to achieve the same goal.

The flue pipe or exhaust rises at 45 degrees, and the hot flue gas should rise, and manage the bend with no problems.

I fitted the same unit in our first teadrop, and tested it prior to using it. It has worked for the last two years and I'm still here. I will of course test this one before using it too. I'm confident it will work. The flame on this unit is not unlike a pilot light. It doesn't produce a huge amount of toxic gas, but it will produce some, so best be safe and ensure it works correctly.
The large vents are to encourage air to pass over the fins at the back of the unit. Normally , when fitted to a regular caravan, both vents would be in the wall behind the fridge. I've fitted one in the floor , and one in the wall to achive the same goal.
I've added a removeable stainless dish in the top, so more air can pass through the rear chamber if needed. When it's hot outside we often lift the dish 1/4" to allow extra circulation. The warm air that has passed over the heat exchanger is harmless. It will leave the trailer either through the side wall vent, or through a higher vent at the top of the galley. They could be vented into the cabin if you wanted to heat your sleeping area.
It would be prudent to fit a CO alarm in the cabin for peace of mind should you be worried about not waking up.


Can you post a picture of the fridge you want to fit ? and where the controls are ? and the flue detail ? I may be able to advise, but it would be sensible to get a gas engineer over there to check it out either when its done or to advise you if and how it can be done with your unit.
I know you guys have a 'where there's blame theres a claim' culture, and wouldn't want any trans Atlantic law suit going on

I'm away for a few days , but I'll be happy to let you know what i would do when i get back.

Dave

[jackdaw]

We've had a right busy summer with loads of fun trips. Thypods been great, but I wanted to get out int the new trailer before the weather changed.
There wasn't too much more to do to be campable, and one of the things was the worktop.
I've used an internal door this time, and clad it in laminate. It's turned out a lot lighter than the one on Thypod, and almost as sturdy.

The mahogany sits into the chassis


It's got a hole recessed in it to take the chrome support, and a second mahogany timber that has a couple of dowels in to locat in the worktop. The worktop is an internal door, clad in a lamiate panel.


I've used some caravan window hinge to slide the top on

With the work-top in place, there's plenty of access for the box drawer to slide out under the top

Plenty of access for the sink too.

The chrome tube locates in a bit of shaped mahogany, to hold the hatch up (another of the jobs that needed doing)


I'm not sure the mix of light wood top and dark mahogany works .....I might have to paint over the supports

I've got around to putting the inner skin on the hatch. It's firmed things up a treat. I've had to box out the lower section to hide the back of the rear lights, and the bar lock . I've still got to close the ends off, but we're campable. I added a couple of strips of led lights that give a very blue light.









The first trip in the T'ird went very well. I haven't weighed it yet, but I know it a lot lighter than Thypod.

Cheers , Dave

[jackdaw]

We got campable for a trip to our secret campsite with a few other trailer folk
Heading into Chepstow


Over looking the Wye Valley


Thypod and the T'ird, back to back


About to leave the campsite, along side Adi's cabincar and Dans Roswell


We had us a convoy down the M4 on Sunday..... I think we had a few looks




We've got to organise the galley, and conect up a few more lights.
We didn't notice the 4" reduction in width, as there's still plenty of room in the cabin

The one thing better than building a teardrop is using it

Cheers Dave

[Lookfar]

Dave, it's come out beautifully. I'd sort of wondered of what had happened since the "birth". You raised it well. Great company you camp with too.

[jackdaw]

Thanks Butch
We've had a busy summer, camping at every opportunity. It ment we didn't get finished until just before this last trip. The first time on the road was 10.30 the night before the trip, just to see that it pulled OK. Hopefully we'll get weighed this week.

As we've been using Thypod for the summer, loads more people have seen it at shows and festivals. We've let everyone know it would be sold when the new one was finished. Well the time has come.....
We've but Thypod on ebay, with a healthy reserve. It's up to £2600 so far with 7 days to go. I hope it sells to someone nice.

Dave

[fromeo]

Looks great, Dave!

[Gene S]

I saw in your pic where you put in a LP ref. Looks great. I have put a 3-way ref in my Teardrop. work great.

But where did you get the small exhaust cover??? I have look everwhere and can not find one.

Please tell me.

Thanks,

Gene Shockey

[jackdaw]

I saw in your pic where you put in a LP ref. Looks great. I have put a 3-way ref in my Teardrop. work great.

But where did you get the small exhaust cover??? I have look everwhere and can not find one.

Please tell me.

Thanks,

Gene Shockey

Hi Gene, the flue came with the fridge, but they are available from the manufacturer. I just found some on ebay too.
New kit;
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DOMETIC-ELECTROLU ... 20b3de4426

Used kit;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/caravan-campervan ... 2c57a59f87

Make sure it's suitable for your fridge before you fit it.

[jackdaw]

I've had a chance to get the Tird weighed. it came in at 600kg ...a saving of 150kg . Whilst it's not the 500kg I was hoping for, it's still a substantial saving. It's a lot easier to move about on my own, that's for sure.

[jackdaw]

We've been using the trailer for a year now, and all is well
The galley has been fitted out with a bread bin , plate rack, oven , and all the necessities for a great trip.



The side tent has been cut down, so it fits inside the event shelter. It has a door at the back so it connects the space from the trailer to the galley nicely



Sometimes we take Scooby with us on our trips, and he's been mostly happy sleeping in the side tent. About a month ago we went on a trip, and he got spooked with the thunder weather. We thought it best to let him sleep in with us.... but he insisted on taking up 1/3rd of the bed.
He really likes it in the trailer, and it then seemed a bit mean to make him sleep outside, even though he's been happy doing so for the last year.

I decided to build a removable bunk so he can have his own space in the trailer. It sits in front of the cupboard and goes up to the door. We still have 2ft of space above the bed, so we have plenty of room to move about too.

He seemed quite happy at the test fitting



Last weekend was our first trip with the bunk ... We're happy to report Scooby likes his new bunk, and didn't stir once during the night.



The bunk's made from a removable spar that sits in line with the doors, and some ply that sits over to the top of the drawers.

[campmaster-k]

Very impressive sir. Well done.

[jackdaw]

Very impressive sir. Well done.

Thank you Kirk. The build seems like it was a long time ago now.

We've used the trailer loads this summer,and had a couple of great trailer gatherings.

We have a small but growing number of teardroppers over here, and it's always great to get together....
Here's a link to our meet last weekend

Happy camping

[jackdaw]

November 2010 we bought a new tug.... well it was new to us.....A 1964 VW split screen in poor shape....

It spent a year in the welders....had had the bottom 6" replaced, Loads of new metal was needed to make it good again.
This is how it looked in it's most bare shape



We finally got a solid shell back last Christmas, and have spent most of our time this year rebuilding it. Firstly preping it for paint which took ages....Then fitting it all up once we'd painted it. I'm happy with what we've done, and chuffed to bits with the end results....
This was taken just before we had it MOTed and registered...




It's been a fair while since we did any updates on the trailer .... but after a couple of years, we now have the new tug up and running
We hooked up the trailer and took it up to the workshop for a couple of mods/ alterations. It seemed to pull well, but I'd like to monitor the heat of the engine before we go on any long trips.
This is how we're looking as we get to the workshop



Part of the work to be done was to upgrade the finish on the mudguards..... They were OK, but still a bit rough, and my bodywork has come along way since we made them.



I've learnt to use a flat block to rub stuff down .....So that was the first job.... It shows all the low spots



After spreading a fine layer of filler over the fiber glass , it needs sanding back with some 80 grit on a long block



Once it's all sanded smooth, it gets cleaned off with panel wipe.



Mask off the surrounding area, and give it a couple of coats of primer filler. Then head home for a couple of Crabbies...



The following day they needed to be flatted back with finer wet and dry ..... finishing with 600. A little stopper in any pinholes or low spots that may have come up also need flatting back to a fine finish.... and then cleaned off with more panel wipe.Then they were ready for top coating

I've taken the masking paper off, and some of the tape . The rest will come off tomorrow when the paint has gone off hard



Looking a shed load better



We've just started on another new trailer build... So we'll maybe start a new thread for that one

Happy New Year Y'all