Hi there!

[HBarbinMI]

Hi, I am another of those lurkers who finally registered. I am located in Mid-Michigan, and am hoping to recruit my husband and two sons for this build... I enjoy camping, but after a rough couple of nights in a tent, and barely being able to move the next morning I decided to look for other options. I travel some fairly long distances by myself to visit family, and I haven't towed anything before, so the idea of towing a large camper through the mountains down south does not excite me in any way! I stumbled on a teardrop build site and it seems like the perfect fit! After a few months of discussion with my other half, I decided to go for it!
Now for the tough part, where to start? I have a trailer that is currently sitting idle in the yard and has been since my atv's were stolen. The downside is that it's a snowmobile trailer, so I am guessing a lot of modifications would be needed to make it suitable. It would make for a nice size build if I used the entire deck area (8x8 I think), but it may be cheaper, and less of a headache to buy a Harbor Freight trailer and start from scratch. Any thoughts on using a snowmobile trailer?
I have not yet read all of the posts, so maybe someone else has some insight into this kind of trailer use.

[jeff0520]

Hello!
Welcome to the forum. I have seen half a dozen dfifferant types of snowmobile trailers. It would halp a lot if you posted a picture

[HBarbinMI]

I think I am leaning towards purchasing a Harbor Freight trailer but I do have a couple of pictures here- one is before I took the wood off. Whether I use it for this project or not, the wood needed to be replaced. At the moment, the entire wooden deck part has been removed. One more thing I should maybe add- this trailer is one of the tilting ones. So here they are:

[jeff0520]

Oh, yeah, That'll work fine, especially if the metal lips around the edges are removable. If not, you can either build inside the lip, or take an angle grinder and cut them off. I don't see any reason why you couldn't use that trailer.

[HBarbinMI]

Thanks for taking a look at it. There are some pro's and con's either way I think, I need to maybe take a look at some of the other trailers out there before I commit the time and money to making this one work. This one would be a nice size for the sleeping area, but I think (based on what the tires are rated for) that it may need a new axle, and tires, as well as a lot of metal work to move said axle to where it needs to be. At this point I think financially it's a toss up between using this one, or buying a somewhat smaller one from Harbor Freight.

[Greg M]

I'd suggest putting a plywood deck on that trailer and putting it on Craigslist to offset the cost of the HF trailer. There's an awful lot of work needed to modify that into a good teardrop base.

-Greg

[HBarbinMI]

Not a bad idea Craig, I will see what my other half thinks.

[HBarbinMI]

Well we finally decided that a Harbor Freight trailer would be the best option, and after I replace the decking on the old trailer my husband will either sell it, or use it to haul things too big to fit in the car (like the sheets of plywood I am going to need).
So today I went and picked up a Super Duty trailer and we are about to start our build!

[Greg M]

Excellent. Make sure the camera's charged up too, cause we love pictures around here

[Shadow Catcher]

One of the limitations to the ubiquitous HF trailers is that it will unless you modify the plan limit you to 4' wide. At 6' 3" and a bit too much weight turning over in the middle of the night with Nancy in the trailer would be a strictly cooperative effort. On top of this she is a bit claustrophobic and there is no way she would be comfortable. There have been a number of folks who have mocked up the interior space of a tear using cardboard which I highly recommend. You both might want to come to one of the Tearjerkers gatherings and see first hand what teardrop living is like. The gatherings are also one of the best ways to find ideas and see what folks have come up with. We will be attending Boogie In the Hills (Ohio) and would welcome a visit at home (we are 4/10 of a mile south of the Michigan border) however our tear is at the extreme of elaborate and a 6 X 10 so large.

[bobhenry]

Who in the world told you a Harbor freight trailer limits you to a 4' wide trailer. MIne is 5'7" out to out and 10 foot long and has 9 feet of counter space in the galley.

Bob

[Mary C]

HI! Welcome to the forum!! You will do fine I just finished building a HF trailer and it was fun and it took a little work but you can do it. if you decide to go that way, let me know I can talk you through it. I built a base of 5x9 with 1x4s and 2x4s to go on top. I plan to make a foamie to sit on top. As they say you can do it. the only thing that limits you is you. I am 63 and my son and daughter just moved to Houston and I hope to go out there in a few weeks. I am very busy right now going through the stuff they left behind. so my foamie is on hold for a few days. maybe a week. so you can build it yourself but it helps to have some help turning the trailer over as you will probably need some help but you can build it larger. Good luck!!!

Mary C.

[HBarbinMI]

Thanks for all of the advice, we started on the trailer assembly- and it got dark, so it is on hold till we get a few more hours of downtime, hopefully this weekend. My husband was very concerned about the 4 foot width, but we did find a few posts on the forum here about maybe extending past the frame 6 inches or so on either side, so we plan on researching that a little more. A 5 x 9 or 10 sounds pretty nice size-wise.

[jeff0520]

Thanks for all of the advice, we started on the trailer assembly- and it got dark, so it is on hold till we get a few more hours of downtime, hopefully this weekend. My husband was very concerned about the 4 foot width, but we did find a few posts on the forum here about maybe extending past the frame 6 inches or so on either side, so we plan on researching that a little more. A 5 x 9 or 10 sounds pretty nice size-wise.

Take a look at the Command Post. It's 74 inches wide, and 13 feet long, build on a Harbor Freight super duty chassis.
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=50384

[Roly Nelson]

Welcome to the forum, where all kinds of friendly folks are anxious to encourage you on your teardrop build. I have built 3 tears on HF trailers, and have never had any problems, even after 30,000 miles on my 8 foot woody. Take pics as you go along, attend some of those gatherings, and I am sure you will be happy while pulling the new HF trailer, instead of that heavy, long and wide monster shown in your pics. Good luck, and keep in touch.
Roly, the So Calif woody guy.