First Teardrop Build - Updated 8/11

[aggie79]

Not too shabby for our first try.

Hell yeah! That looks great!

+1 on what KC said. That looks fantastic.

[Junkboy999]

That is turning out very nice.

This is the part the seams to slow down on every build I read so far. The big push to get it water tight and at least useable, then a long time to finish off the list of 100 + little things you like to add. Hope you have a good 4th of July and keep plugging away at that list.

[sabrown82]

Thanks for the support KCStudly, Aggie, and Junkboy!

Junkboy - I hope that's not the case! I'd like to finish this before the end of the year.

[sabrown82]

Well! It's been a while since I updated this thread. Summers get pretty busy around here! We've gotten quite a bit accomplished since the last post. The siding is complete with some of the trim, the galley kitchen is almost complete, and some wiring was added to the hatch. We have a bunch of supplies (door handles, trim) coming from Grant Whipp soon. I'm really hoping the teardrop is ready to go within the next month so that we can do a little camping before the season is over!

[cryptojones]

What did you use for the Top of your tear drop? Why didn't you use the same thing as the sides?

[sabrown82]

Hi Cryptojones!

We used a 0.032 aluminum sheet with a Mill Finish on the top. The siding is standard trim stock purchased at Home Depot. The reason for using the different products is two-fold. First, the siding needed to be hand-bent/crimped using an aluminum brake. It's much easier to bend trim stock than 0.032 aluminum sheet because it's thinner. (See a previous post about where I got instructions for the siding.) However, because it's thinner it's a little less durable. I wanted to ensure that I had something on the front that would hold up a little better to pitting from road travel. Second, the look. I like having a silver roof and the white sides. I'm actually intending on getting the whole thing painted at some point so it will be green, silver, and white.

[sabrown82]

Ok! We got some small things done today. I primarily worked on sanding and applying polyurethane to the cabinets in the galley. When not doing that, I assisted with installing some molding to finish up the interior of the teardrop. We are sort of at a standstill right now, though. We aren't really sure where to go with finishing our side doors or the hatch. I'm realizing I have no idea what types of trim and/or seals to use. All I have so far is some t-molding for the doors. If you're interested in helping a novice, I have a link to an album which contains pictures of the doors/frames and the hatch. I would appreciate any advice. If you have any products to suggest, I'd truly appreciate really specific advice (links to webpages, suppliers, pictures) as I really am not very good with this type of topic.

http://s1325.photobucket.com/user/Spherogirl/slideshow/Teardrop%20DoorHatch

And onto updated pictures of our work...

[Forrest747]

for not being cabinet makers it looks great. good luck on the hatch. and take it out even if its not all the way done. make sure its safe though.

[George Taylor]

HOW IS THE PROJECT COMING?

[sabrown82]

Thanks George, for sending me that message! It prompted me to post this quick update. It has been a long winter with seemingly no end.

We took the (unfinished) teardrop out for a test run over Columbus Day Weekend last year. It was great! We had a lot of curious passersby and a few funny comments from kids. I will say that sleeping was just a tad uncomfortable for me. I don't think we had enough padding. We used a 3" thick memory foam mattress. I think I'm going to add a layer of 2" firm foam to increase the padding.

We had a little bit of a mishap with the teardrop before the season ended completely. When we took it out over Columbus Day Weekend we still hadn't quite finished the side doors or the hatch. We hadn't anticipated dealing with torrential rain on the drive home from Maine back to New Hampshire in gridlocked traffic. There was a little bit of leakage and we didn't catch all of the water that had gotten inside..... with the subsequent heat wave some of the moisture turned into a little bit of surface mold in the interior. We caught it quickly enough to kill it off and sand down the wood, but it will be one of the many things on our list to (re)finish this spring.

The doors have been posing a bit of a challenge for us. We realize now we didn't go with the right shape really. The radii on the corners are tight which makes bending the trim challenging. We also keep underestimating how much smaller we need to make the base door in order to make it open and close property once all of the trim is installed.

The hatch has also been a challenge. One side closes up perfectly, the other doesn't. I'm hoping it's really just a matter of a bit more elbow grease in the sanding to make a perfect fit.

I wanted it finished last year but it looks like she should be ready to go this season! I'm looking forward to a lot of camping and hiking!

[George Taylor]

Check the hatch shape. I had an issue with mine. It turned out to be "spring back". The skin was actually pulling it out of shape. it took me 3 times to get it to sit correctly.