http://www.40sinabag.com/
The people were awesome!
The show was wonderful.
I had a lot of fun but after drinking, I knew I needed to sleep before driving.
I slept in my car.
Needless to say, it sucked.
It's been a long time since I've posted here, have been doing many other things, also have some experimental teardrop stuff happening on the SOOPER SEECRIT!
Let's throw out all the secret stuff, currently doesn't apply. It will when I decide to make some money doing this but I've got other requirements that take priority.
I have to make a single season campable teardrop that fits on my trailer before May 4th. So here goes.
Teardrop 101, cheap, quick, and dirty.
The objective:
Fits on a 4x8 trailer.
Doesn't require massive bending skillz.
Quick build to be 1.5 season campable.
Basic storage.
Reasonably lightweight.
No fancy materials.
Caveats:
My converted 1956 boat trailer is in desparate need of an overhaul, so I'm investing a chunk of cash in the trailer itself as a 4x8 material hauler with new springs and tires along with some levelers to use it with the teardrop. The cost of the upgrades is nearly the cost of a new HF trailer but this gives me new 12" tires and a spare, wheel chocks, levelers, and a really sturdy 1956 steel chassis to work with rather than cheap Chinese c-channel and unknown bearings. This trailer has hauled boats to Canada and back for my grandfather, boats all over the Northeast of NY for my family, and hauled a LOT of materials around after being converted to a 4'x7.5' trailer. The axle is solid, no worries, so I figure the investment to straighten the frame, make it a full 8' long (adding 6"), add different leaf springs, lower it to be better towed by my car, and basically tune it up is well worth it.
$275.65
This has been hauling family stuff for years and will continue to do so, so figure some rust killer paint as well as probably another set of new lights and wiring.
$100 or so.
Materials:
4 Sheets of the cheapest 1/2" 4'x8' material I can find, may be 7/16" OSB...close enough. - $60 or so.
1 Sheet of 4'x8' FRP. - $35 - maybe?
10 of the cheapest 2"x3"x8' I can find. - $35 or thereabouts?
Cheap but new 9" roof vent - $21.50 - ordered.
120mm 12VDC Zahlman quiet fan - $9.16 - ordered.
Tubes of FRP glue/Liquid Nails. - $10 - maybe?
Screws, sheetrock, deck, anything cheap, recovered, salvaged, or otherwise. - Free
Gallon or two of exterior white oil based or other hard to destroy paint. - $40 or so?
Beg, borrow, steal, scrounge, salvage, anything that can be.... - Free
Random wiring and connectors are part of my life, I can't even enumerate the cost. I'm always buying, salvaging, or using wire of all sorts, plus crimp connectors, breakaway connectors, heat shrink tubing, high current connectors...it costs me money somewhere but I'm always using them, so I don't always remember that these things cost me $4, $8, $3, $10....
Going to enlist my little brother to help me re-weld the chassis and install the new springs.
So, I'm not really going to count the trailer as part of the project since it's a needed item (at least in my family, you can't do without one), but I'm going to attempt to keep a running tally of the trailer costs and mods, plus the the down and dirty teardrop construction costs.
The idea is to make a pretty basic profile. 4'x8' sheet of material, 2' radius on front, 4' radius on back.
Instead of a full hatch, I'm going to make a 2' tailgate for storage and leave the rest for inside shelves, as it will make for much simpler construction.
No idea how this will turn out. I have a vision in my head which is pretty accurate and will probably be the reality but the pictures will show whether or not it's practical.
This will probably be a horrible build thread, an ugly outcome, but if I can do this in a short time and have something to camp in for a night, it will be worth it for the experience and then allow me to move onto more complex builds and fun.
More than one of you have probably gone about this in the same fashion.
Enjoy watching your nightmares come to fruition.
