Building The Atma Travelear Teardrop

[tathead41]

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[tathead41]

I'm new here and if u couldn't tell , I love yr design and.models:)) I would love to build one of these awesome teardrops, but I am not a welder or a enginer. I have a ? That I think u can help me with ...will a prebuilt trailer work ? Like a 'karavan' utility trailer ..4 by 9 ? I want to buy one and strip it down to save weight ..the floors of those things are extreme ... What's yr scoop on it ? Thanks for yr input and yr building posts

[DMcCam]

Thanks again for your kind encouragement Chris!

Hey Debbie, it turns out that we needed the whole rebuild kit for the Senco brad nailer...bummer. It's still about 1/3rd the price of a new one. Hope to get it before this weekend.

Thanks for the kudo's tathead41! I'm no expert on trailer chassis by any means. If you click on my trailer chassis thread you can see I sought out the members' guidance too. You might try posting your questions in the 'Trailer and Chassis Secrets' section of the forum. Also you can use the search in the masthead area for answers.

Cheers,

Dave

[atahoekid]

One word, 3 letters... WOW. Someone said it much better than I can but I agree totally, Superb Design, Great Craftsmanship. I am truly impressed. I remembered that you were in the middle of a build when I saw your comments on Johnny D's build. I stand by what I said earlier. There are going to be some real nice TD's here in Northern NV. I've had my head stuck in "Foamie" land for a while but real glad I caught up with both of your builds. You've both set the bar real high. Both will serve as inspiration as I start my build soon. I hope I can measure up!!! Gotta keep the Northern NV tradition of great TD's going

[DMcCam]

Hi Mel, Thank you for the great kudo's sir! I can't wait to see what you come up with for your build!

I've been battling a typical sinus and lung ailment for the last 2 weeks so not much has been done. So much for my August 1 deadline. Last week I did manage to cut the whole for the Fan-tastic vent before I got ill.


She actually fits!


I was pleasantly surprised that the slight curve of the base matched the roof.


Yesterday I finally felt well enough to install our two Lumenautix Novalux reading lights. They only use 2.65 watts but put out the equivalent of 30 watts of light. They're rated at 20 years of useful life and generate almost no heat.


You can choose to use a clear lens or the diamond pattern one. I've got the diamond one on the drivers side.


Here is a crappy image showing that one lit up.

We'll be back in full swing in a week or so. Thank you all for following the build.

Cheers,

Dave

[kentucky bryan]

It's a good thing I didn't see this build earlier or I would have had to make some changes .

Really like the profile. True Art Deco look

It's going to be a beauty.

Bryan

[Rudyjr]

Looks great! Hope you get feeling better soon. Jim

[DMcCam]

Thanks Bryan and Rudy!

Just got back from hopefully our last tent camping trip and am back on the hunt.


My brother finally gave me the green light to move the AT over to the shop for finishing. So today I got her wheels back under her and did so! She doesn't weigh very much yet so I was able to do it by myself. This is the first time she's seen the daylight!




She's a lot smaller looking outside of the garage.


Once I got her moved, I put the tongue box on to see how things are shaping up.




Now it's going to be a lot easier working in the same shop space.


Here's a view of the tongue box ready to get the lid and inner tray built.


I did manage to finish installing the water drawer on its slides.

Cheers,

Dave

[S. Heisley]

She's a beauty, Dave, and adding that tongue box on the front really makes her lines pop!

I'm looking forward to seeing your continuing progress. Having more space to work in should definitely help.

[Rudyjr]

Dave, She looks great! I really like the profile and tongue box and door shape, everthing flows real nice. Keep up the good work and glad you are feeling better. Looking forward to the next update, Jim

[Dusty82]

No kidding, Dave - this is one sweet build! I'm almost as eager as you are to see it finished.

[aggie79]

Dave,

I think everyone has already used all of the superlatives. What can I say but incredible. That also has to be your feeling too, with the first time out in the sun!

Take care,
Tom

[DMcCam]

Thank you all for your continued support for my little build! You have no idea how much I appreciate all of your comments. It really keeps me motivated!

It is amazing to have the AT inside the shop, I can really move now.


Even though I have the upper sliding door cabinet to build in the galley, I wanted to start fitting the lower doors and drawer face today.


Because they are all full inset instead of overlay, I have to fit them before was spray on the varnish. This is how I'll be treating all the doors in the cabin too.




I attached all the retainers and pulls too.




At least one area is ready for final sanding and finish!

Cheers,

Dave

[Rudyjr]

Cabinets look great. I know firsthand how difficult it is to make drawers and doors fit that well with a nice gap, nice work. Now on to the master sander and wood finisher! Keep up the great work you two, Jim

[Dusty82]

The attention to detail is fantastic. If you look at the first 3 pics in Dave's last post, you can see that the grain in the drawer front and doors match up perfectly. That's the kind of thing that makes this such an awesome build. Love it!