The No Tears Teardrop Build

[Diemjoe]

Here we go. I am committed to starting the trailer build now. Hopefully that commitment includes finishing it.
My woodworking skills have mostly peaked out at making expensive sawdust. With the help of some far more talented woodworkers than I, there will be a nice looking teardrop under the next pile I make.
I am going to build everything, starting at the trailer frame and then the compartment. I have a split the cost of a beast of a welder with a friend that has built several trailers in the past. He doesn’t know it yet but he’ll be doing most of the welding. I went back and forth on having one made but the price difference was huge and I didn’t want to build on a bolt together retail trailer.

I have targeted Angi B’s 10ft Long cub profile. But widening it to 5 feet. I will probably build it as a woody as I have access to some Master craftsman talent. Not sure what material for the roof.

First step was to put a hitch on my 2002 v6 Ford Escape. Tow rated at 3000 lbs. I have wanted to get one for a while but just never had a need compared to the cost of getting it put on.


Sticking with the DIY philosophy of this effort, I bought one on the internet and installed it myself. I was surprised on how easy it was. Luckily everything was predrilled. I only had to grind out a small section of the heat shield to get that back on with the hitch in place. I haven’t added the brake light cabling but haven’t had the weather for it or time to be without my car if I couldn’t get it working. Didn’t want to go without brake lights if there was a glitch in the install.


So that was the first step….. Onward and Upward And Yes, I know I am being overly optimistic. I do expect there to be tears. Manly tears but tears just the same.

[KennethW]

If you get a wire kit for your ford. It just plugs in. Don't get the cheap universal kit that requires you to cut in to the cars wires. On my freestyle the connector is under the side post plastic.

[Glenn Butcher]

+1 on the wire kit. etrailer.com had one that fit my Subaru Outback just fine. etrailer is a great outfit with good advice for neophytes like me.

[Diemjoe]

From the Website that I bought it from, It looks like the Hopkins Converter Kit plugs into existing connections. I think it will be easy but won't need it for a while so lower priority at the moment

[Diemjoe]

First, The Good News. Weather forecast is shaping up for a typical rainy and chilly Seattle Winter. Perfect for hunkering down in the garage and getting this trailer built....

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Then there is the Bad News,
The Garage is a MESS!!! the results of 15 years of house project (some even completed) and my inability to throw out perfectly good lumber.

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The Car is Brand new, Not Mine and pretty much a Garage baby for the forseeable future. I think I'll make tomorrow a tidy up day.

[Diemjoe]

Wild Saturday Night in Seattle.....

Playing with getting the template to full size. Poor man style

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Looked in an Art store and Office supply store today but no wide rolls of paper. Taped 4 sheets of 18" painters drop paper together to get a feel for the size. Not perfect but will do for tonight.

[Gunguy05]

Looking forward to following this build. Post plenty of photos and good luck.

[Vedette]

Not to sound negative, and I hope I am just teasing you with this comment.
I hope you are laying out your teardrop on the floor of you living room in front of your TV, because you don't want to miss the Seahawk- Eagles game???
Or your "Garage" is to cold!!!!
Good Luck with your build!
And Yes, we will be watching for more picture progress.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi
PS
Wish I had something I could do on my new project in the house as it is almost kick off time and I don't have a TV in the shop.

[Wobbly Wheels]

Haha, your workspace is a paragon of organizational prowess compared to mine. I too am pathologically unable to throw away lumber - I have scraps of plywood that have had more lives than the unluckiest of cats. I'm a couple hours north of you and know all about waiting for a weather window - when the rain stops, you have to do all the stuff that can't be done wet. And today's the day for me !
Life on the wet coast...

BTW, good to see you've got the fire extinguisher at the ready - spontaneous combustion is always a threat when dealing with paper and tape. I assume the first aid is just out of sight for those arterial paper cuts ?
Safety first !

Looking forward to following your build - sounds like you've got an awesome attitude about building stuff.

[rowerwet]

Not every car has connectors for easy plug in trailer wiring, my grand caravan had no harneses offered for plug in install anywhere. Either way I didn't care, I fix air planes for a living and install avionics, wiring is simple, I even rewired my last house.
My focus is not rated to tow, the only harness out there required a connection to each wire, and a power wire run all the way back to the battery to power the trailer wiring.

[Wobbly Wheels]

...and a power wire run all the way back to the battery to power the trailer wiring.

For brakes ? The signal to the tail lights ought to be feeding the trailer lights directly (the flasher relay is already rated for it) with no additional power necessary.
My Ranger is "not rated" for towing either, but the kit connects where the tail lights plug into the chassis harness. I'm scratching my head as to why your chassis harness would terminate with the bulb sockets rather than a deutsch connector and a pigtail to the bulb - that's where my kit plugs in.

I've use a few of the Reese plug in light kits and, while they work great, the converter (black box) needs to be protected from road spray and weather better than it is. I have (a third) one still in the package and I'll be sealing up the box with epoxy or silicone before it goes under the truck.
Otherwise, they're great units. I never use 'flying taps' like the ones provided and I'm not crazy about modding the factory harness, so I like the plug in wiring kits.
YMMV, .02, and all that

[rowerwet]

The instructions are specific, the trailer lights need their own power as the car system is not made to take the extra load. I doubt my LED lights on the tear are even noticed anyway, but I was happy to find an extra fuse/power box behind the trim in the trunk, the converter gets power from an unused spot on it.
I didn't know they ever made a ranger not rated to tow, I had one with the wimpy 2.5 L engine and it came with the plug in tow harness as a factory extra. Rated for 2k lbs towing.

[Diemjoe]

I have been blessed to have been born without a team sports gene. So my weekends are wide open.
I haven't opened the trailer light wiring kit yet. I know that I won't gt to it for a while and by them it will be buried under some project debris. I checked the you tube install video before I bought. It looks pretty easy but I'll let you know.

[Wobbly Wheels]

Sorry for the hijack, diemjoe

Gotta make sure that the kit sits under the pile of debris just long enough that you can't return it if it doesn't work or isn't the right one

[Vedette]

I goo old fashion "Garage Clean Up Day" looks to be in order?
You have to do it some day!......and with the TD in the centre of a clean Garage as the focal point???
I sense "Brownie Points" here!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi