New Zealand Teardrop build almost complete

[Showstopper]

Hi there from New Zealand,

I thought i would put up a bit of a build journal once i was almost done, But i seem to have misplaced a few of the early stage pictures. Hopefully i can locate them, but in the meantime here a few recent ones that i have . Enjoy

[razorback]

wow
look great
congrats

[KCStudly]

Very nice!

[Showstopper]

Thanks Guys, Lots of inspiration came from this forum.

[Vedette]

Great Job!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[dales133]

Very nice work[THUMBS UP SIGN]

[Showstopper]

Here's a few more taken today outside in the day light, I took it for a quick tow around the block and gave it its first wash. Was stoked that there was no leaks. Still have the carpet to lay in the cabin and fridge to install when it arrives, 19" led TV to mount . I will be fitting water and holding tanks soon and finishing up the plumbing.

[noseoil]

Super clean build! Like the attention to detail, clean lines & trim work on edges & hatch, a job well done. Congrats on no leaks as well. What kind of weight & tongue weight at this point, any idea? Thanks for posting these images.

[Showstopper]

Hi Noseoil and thanks. At this stage its at a guess it around 90-100kgs on the draw bar,but this should change with the addition of a fridge and water tank etc as these are all behind the axle. I will be getting it weighed once everything is in place and complete. I think its probably going to weigh in at about 750kg , maybe less. I made it as light as i felt comfortable. The floor is a sandwich of 7 mm tantalized ply bottom with a 40mm x 18mm batten and polystyrene between and 7mm non treated ply on top. The walls are 22mm lite weight multi layer ply with most of it routed out to save weight and allow for insulation.The inside wall linings are 2.7mm lite ply wrapped in marine vinyl and the the out side is 3mm aluminium composite. I probably over killed the hatch construction as that is made from 22mm ply and 75mm thick with nogs/dwangs about 200mm centres , So it was quite heavey. But i didn't want it to lite as it would have sprung once the outer skin was attached. I took it for a quick tow the other day behind my van which is only 2.0 litre and very slow to start with but it made no difference and teardrop towed great.

[Showstopper]

I found a couple of in frame pictures



and a i just clad picture



and a picture of the vehicle charging system I'm using that i hooked up tonight, And my wiring is almost done.



Still have the Tv to install and I ordered the water and waste tanks today so getting even closer now.

[Showstopper]

I got sometime over the weekend to fit up the TV and radio aerial. I went with a 19" LED TV with built in DVD and free view receiver its all cabled up to get connected to a Sat dish when i get one . And the stereo has DVD capability's as well. Its also has blue tooth function and USB so works greats streaming from my Android and connected to my Ipod. I went with the little shark fin style aerial just cos its small and was easy to fit. But still has great reception inside my workshop where others seem to fail. I also got some Tiny little LED number/licence plate lamps that are in the bolts that bolt the plate on. I thought they were kinda cool.

[Showstopper]

Just received my tanks this morning, I got 2 70 litre rotary molded plastic tanks.




I just need to find the time now to make the frames that will hold them up and mount them in place.
Hopefully my mattress arrives in the next few days, and that will complete the inside.
Then its just the fridge to mount and a couple other small things to finish up and i'm done. Cant wait to use it.

[dales133]

You can buy brackets for those tanks if they are camec ones

[Showstopper]

Thanks for that, they aren't Camec tanks, but I am interested in who has the brackets tho.

[dales133]

The camec brackets are similar to the ones I have on my stainless tank.
Basicly they are strip of gal sheet metal about 50 mm wide that are bent to fit the tank where they are cast to fit.
So they fold up each side of the tank from the bottom and then have a small mounting tab folded out each end at the top.
The edges of the strap are fitted with that pinch weld you get from pararubber to both stop then wearing on the tank and also to stop it moving when secured