Caution! Stay focused

[CowboyKell]

Or you will end up like me.
I'm sitting on the bare, sawdust and loose screw ridden floor of my teardrop daydreaming about having it out camping. I should be building but instead I'm overthinking cabinet and shelf layout.

Also note: Letting a 4 year old do all your measuring leads to a very asymmetric teardrop.

[doug hodder]

Also note: Letting a 4 year old do all your measuring leads to a very asymmetric teardrop.

Yeah but, she will always remember helping build the trailer, and will be able to tell all her friends about it...Priceless! Doug

[S. Heisley]

Keep your tires away from those loose screws!

[atahoekid]

Although I see the value of getting your child involved with the build, the former engineering student in me would have a hard time letting the child measure. I'm thinking tasks like gluing and painting would be better. At this point, I should also let you know that I've been told that I'm a control freak

[working on it]

Although I see the value of getting your child involved with the build, the former engineering student in me would have a hard time letting the child measure.

Also a former engineering student, I still have my "inner child" doing the measuring (and other tasks), -unasked!-, but I don't get the reward of a shared experience, though, dag-nab-it !

[RandyG]

I know what you mean, I stare at my half done trailer day after day but cant seem to get the work done. I get ideas and ponder on my next step but havent taken that step yet. My wife and kids ask when we can camp in it with my mumbled replied, "I dont know". How to get that spark back in my build? Winter or holiday blues? Maybe.

[Corwin C]

Although I see the value of getting your child involved with the build, the former engineering student in me would have a hard time letting the child measure.

Please let your child measure or even better measure with them and teach what all those little marks mean ... then check their work before you cut anything (that's the engineer in me speaking.) Important learning opportunities (like learning to read a tape measure) are abundant in a project such as this. How to wield a hammer to drive a nail, operate a handsaw and follow the line, select the proper screwdriver and drive a screw, use clamps to hold something while glue sets, use a wrench to tighten a bolt, and so on. These are all skills which are becoming more and more rare in our society today. Power tools should come a little later when hand tools are second nature.

I often wonder how many of the people who choose to buy rather than build would actually build if they had the basic understanding and confidence to try.

[PKCSPT]

I remember as a child helping my dad paint some cabinets. The next day he showed my mom what a great job I had done. In later years figured out after I went to bed he went out and repainted them. I was maybe 8 or 9. I have many memories like that, and I sure miss him.

Your camper is looking great so far. Can't wait to see the smile on your face and hers when it is done.

[PKCSPT]

I remember as a child helping my dad paint some cabinets. The next day he showed my mom what a great job I had done. In later years figured out after I went to bed he went out and repainted them. I was maybe 8 or 9. I have many memories like that, and I sure miss him.

Your camper is looking great so far. Can't wait to see the smile on your face and hers when it is done.

[jonesnforcampin]

I know what you mean, I stare at my half done trailer day after day but cant seem to get the work done. I get ideas and ponder on my next step but havent taken that step yet. My wife and kids ask when we can camp in it with my mumbled replied, "I dont know". How to get that spark back in my build? Winter or holiday blues? Maybe.

I feel your pain. I put the trailer itself together and the deck on within a couple days of getting the trailer. That was months ago and little progress has been made.

[CowboyKell]

Well, after months that feel like years I finally got back to work on the trailer. I have the aluminum skin on, some of the trim, the roof vent and one window in. It looks like a Teardrop now. I'll try to get some pictures up. I'm bad about that too.

All that's left.....The rear hatch. The door and it's window. Cabinets. Galley cabinets. The rest of the trim. Axel lowering. Lights. And a good polishing.

Danm. Back to staring at it

[tac422]

When I have a big project, I try to something every day. No matter how little, as long as it's related.
Might only be putting a tool or part where I know I'll need it later, making a list or a quick figuring on paper.
Just something every day, anything really.
I'm usually surprised by how much actually ends up getting done

[ctstaas]

I had my 15 year old son help build mine and it changed his life IMHO. I taught him to roll the tubing and fabricate the hatch frame. I had to teach him everything I know about building curved objects. It turned out perfect and he still has a hard time believing he made something so cool. Since then, I've convinced him he welds better than me, so now I can get him to do all the welding around the house. Pretty smart dad, right? He now works as a fabricator so he's set. He needs to teach me how to upload pictures.
Once I started working on mine I couldn't quit. I was limited by my budget and had to stop working while I waited for $ for parts, but other than that? Now I have some repairs to do and cant start. I am working on a stainless steel emblem for it. That's fun. Fixing my mistakes sound kinda like work.

[BeCeejed]

Tac422,

Yeah, keeping motivated can be hard, I fully agree with you here on this method. 100% college project tested and grade A approved.

When you're in the zone on a project of any kind that's gonna take more than a few weeks, you're holding a LOT in your head all at once. Time spent transitioning from more everyday tasks and back to the project is a lot of time just trying to reorient yourself to "What was I doing with this piece?" "Where did I set that tool again?" And it costs productivity! You take a few minutes longer to start, and the decisions you make on the project take longer too.

Spending a little time every day, or at least the pseudo-regular 'every so often', looking at the current status of the project and reminding you what you've done, what you're about to do, what you'll need to do it, etc keeps the project rolling in your head.

Our brains work a lot like computers - or rather, computers mimic how our brains work. While you are inhibited from working on the project due to resources like time or money not being available, you can actively keep the project's information running as a 'background process' in your head, making the time you can spend on it all the more productive. Plus, your much more likely to run into 'sudden moments of inspiration' that way, as your brain subconsciously makes a connection in the background of bits of information related to the project that you might not have ever made through conscious effort.

So, CowboyKell, 'staring at it' ain't always a bad thing!

[Vedette]

The dream of camping in a Teardrop is what kept me going!
And now the thought of being creative and building something else that is unique to me, is the inspiration to build a second one.
But first! It is "Camping Season"
Time to get out there and see the many friends we made last year!!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi