The Mid-Life Crisis Build

[climbnkd]

I just turned 40 about a week ago and decided that for my mid-life crisis I wanted to build a teardrop.

Here's where I'm at so far...


So back around Thanksgiving I got bit by the teardrop bug through a conversation with my brother. I found the tnttt website shortly after that and have spent all my free time studying how best to build a trailer.

I decided that I really wanted a 5x8 instead of the traditional 4x8. I decided on this mainly because I want to put a small bunk above the main sleeping area so I can take one of my kids camping. About the only planning I really did was to build a little cardboard model before beginning my build.

I spent some time looking for a used trailer that I could use for a base but nothing was in the price range I was looking for. So I did the inevitable and got a heavy duty Harbor Freight trailer.

I purchased the trailer the day after Christmas and started to build the trailer. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.


Here are the trailer boxes fresh from Harbor Freight.


Here is the trailer mostly assembled.


The base framed is put together.


So I decided to use the thin foil-backed bubble insulation instead of foam or Styrofoam. It has the same R value as ¾ inch RMAX (5.1). Plus it is super easy to work with.


Here is a view of the bottom after the floor was installed. I decided to use 7/16 OSB for the floor. It is stapled, screwed, and glued down. In retrospect, I think it would have been better to use actual plywood instead of OSB. I did screw up when cutting the second piece of the floor, forgetting that it was supposed to be 5’ wide instead of 4’. That is why the bottom vertical bracing is different than the other vertical bracing.


I used the Rustoleum Spray on bed liner to coat the exposed bottom. It seems to do a good job.


I got the side profile cut and sanded so both sides are identical. I am using ¾ maple plywood from the depot of home.

[climbnkd]

The saga continues:


I got the floor put on the trailer and anchored down.


Here is the view from down lower. I ended up with about a 5 inch overhang on each side.


Here I have got half of the linoleum glued down. When I purchased the glue it said the coverage was 40 – 44 square feet. Silly me I thought it would be enough, but it wasn’t. I ended up having to buy more. I swear I have made more trips to the store in the last week than I can count.


Sides are going up. I had my Dad and son help to keep everything straight.


Here are the beginnings of the roof spars. I framed in the area for the roof vent. I’m not sure if I will spring for the Fantastic Fan or not. I’m trying to keep everything on a budget of sorts.



I ended up putting the spars about every four inches on the radius. Also you can see the bulkhead installed in the back of the trailer.


I rough cut the door opening since I don’t have the door just yet. I do have it ordered though. Cost me $9.99 on eBay for a 36x30. I figured you can’t really beat that. I think it is a cargo door from a RV but I will make it work.


Here is a view of the galley. I plan to have cabinets on the top, a countertop, pull out storage for a cooler, storage for a big water jug, and a pull out shelf for a cook stove. I call it functional without overkill.



All wrapped up for outside storage. Have to give the garage back to the wife. Plus I’m out of funds for now so work will slow down considerably. So far I am in it about $1000 total. The overall goal is to keep the project to no more than $1500. I can definitely see that this is going to be very challenging, but I think I will be able to do it.

I am going to seal the outside and then paint it with a good exterior grade paint.

One interesting note about the trailer is that I extended the leaf spring brackets down by about four inches. It worked really well and allowed the tires and fenders to sit under the frame.

Well, that’s all for now. I feel pretty good about the progress I made in 9 days time, especially considering some days I was only able to spend and hour or two working on it.

[KCStudly]

Good start. If you keep everything simple you can probably get the build done very quickly, and maybe stay on budget, although the consensus seems to be that most people tend to run over by about 20/ct. Still, if you can get campable for $1800, you have done good.

Have you heard bout GPW's "special mixture" for water proofing wood? It's a mixture of oil based polyurethane and mineral spirits.

[bc toys]

you are moving right along sense Xmas looking good keep the coming hope to see you on the camping trails some time

[climbnkd]

KC,
Tell me more about GPW's "special mixture". I haven´t run across that in my lurking around the forum.

[KCStudly]

Water Proofing Your Wood Foamie style.

[climbnkd]

I got an exciting delivery from the UPS man today! My door and a couple of LED lights came in. I only paid about $30 for both so I'm extremely happy.

The door is 36" wide by 30" tall. A little different dimensions than normal but I'll live with it.

[rick e]

Looking good and moving along at a good pace. Great deal on the door.
For the fan keep in mind the Fantastic fan has a larger fan, most of the less expensive have a small, about 4", fan. That was the deal maker for me.
Nice work.

[climbnkd]

Well, I had a pretty productive day. It seems like I got a lot of little thing started but not finished. I decided to get the interior at least partially skinned and boy was that a battle. I started by strapping the skin (5mm ply) to the outside and left it there for a couple of hours. I've never been a very patient person so I took the straps off and decided to try and fit it inside. After a one hour battle I am still about 3 inches short of the spars. I braced it in place and I am going to leave it over the weekend and try to finish it on Monday. I also got the first spar cut and put together for the hatch. Then I ordered a ton of stuff for the TD. I love buying stuff! I did take some pcs and will try to get them up later tonight.

[climbnkd]

I managed to get a couple of more pictures of the progress that I made over the weekend.



Here is the basic galley layout. The top will be cabinets with doors and the bottom will be a countertop with a slide out drawer for the cook stove (left side) and another for the cooler (right side). There will be enough space between the two for a 5 gallon water jug (the green jug in the picture).



I got the door fitted. To me this is a very exciting phase of the build. I can really start to see the trailer coming together.

[climbnkd]

Yesterday I was able to work on the trailer for a little while. I had left the interior roof skin in the bent position since Saturday evening. I guess 72 hours is enough time for the wood to take the proper shape and I was able to get it fitted and attached with only minor struggling. I had to get inventive and ended up using the jack from my car to push the skin into place so I could permanently attach it. I wish I had taken a picture of it cause I'm pretty proud of my ingenuity.

I am planning to take Friday off from work giving me three solid days to work on the trailer with the MLK holiday on Monday. I fully expect to have a nearly finished product at the end of Monday .

I will be sure to take lots of pictures. Most of the part I ordered are supposed to come in on Friday so I shouldn't be slowed down by lack of materials.

[climbnkd]

I managed to get a little work done today.



I finished to interior cabin portion of the roof. You can see where the vent will go and the two cut-outs for the LED lights.



Here is the front of the interior. I'm really happy with how it turned out.



This will eventually be the bunk for my kids to sleep on. Its about 22 inches wide.



And last but not least I got a couple packages from the UPS man today. This is the vent that I got off eBay. I also got my 6 inch LED tail lights (I didn't figure they were worth a picture).

[Chrome6]

We have a Fantastic Fan in my wife's little canned ham camper- well worth the expense. Nice build!

[climbnkd]

I have been working all day on the trailer with the help of my brother. He has graciously decided to wait until I have finished my trailer before he starts his so he doesn't have to make any of the mistakes I did.

So today I got the wiring run, got the window cut in, installed one of the sliding drawers, finished the rough framing of the rear hatch and skinned part of it, installed all the insulation and finally started to put the outer skin on it. Every time I think I am getting close to being somewhat finished I think of 10 or more things that I still need to do.

I know you're all dying to see the updated pics so here you go.



Here is the slide out drawer for the cook stove.



Here is the face of my upper cabinets.



This is the cutout for the window opposite the door.



And finally the insulation and first piece of outer skin.

I decided to build a tongue box to house all of the electrical things and the generator.

I'm off work on Monday so hopefully I will finish the skin and finish building the tongue box. I'll try to update on Monday night.

[KCStudly]

You work fast!