Hello from Baraboo,WI

[robc in wi]

I have been a tent camper for years with my family, and now that the boys are gone, with my wife. We love cooking and sitting around the campfire but because we live 5 minutes from the most popular (deservedly so) state park in Wisconsin our camping trips usually consist of one and two nighters. It means loading the car up to the roof with stuff, then tearing down and drying the tent and ground cloth a day or so later. My wife began showing interest in pop ups and surprisingly, Air Streams (WAY out of the budget).

About that time I saw an internet story about the Australian luxury teardrop (Gidget?) and discovered the teardrop culture by accident. I found that several Wisconsin companies manufacture complete campers as well as kits and plans. Blown away by the craftsmanship and knowledge of the builders on the homebuilts on this site and others. I am a handy guy but wondered if I could find the time, energy, (and money) to build one myself. I am pretty much hooked on the idea and will likely spend quite a bit of time learning what I can here. A guy can dream, can't he?

[KennethW]

A lot of teardrop are built with people that have no wood working skills.
Don't let the curve scare you it is easy with a pair of ratchet straps.
Your wife could build one.

[robc in wi]

Current plans are a 5x8 Northern Tools trailer, Benroy with wooden sides and .040 aluminum on top. I will be building outside so next spring at the earliest for a start date.

[skinnedknuckles]

Welcome Rob from a few miles , ok more than a few , South of you in Janesville
There sure is a wealth of information on this site and most likely if you run into any problems on your build someone can help you. You don't have to be a woodworker to build one of these, I'm a heavy equipment mechanic and I'm used to working with metal and I'm building one. To be truthful this is the largest wood project that I have ever done and its been fun and its coming out decent.
Good luck and have fun and just think of the looks you will get when you pull into Devils Lake State Park with a teardrop,
Paul

[AZ_Desert_Rat]

Howdy; welcome to the group and congrats joining the Tiny Trailer/Teardrop community.
;a084;

Like you, I have been camping for years and went through a number of different camping shelters from lien-tos to trailers ... And finally went the stand-up trailer route that gives my wife and I the comfort we older folks like and a way to haul my ATV ...


By the way, we are having a gathering over here in MN at Father Hennepin State Park over Oct. 16th - 18th. Take a look at the ST. Croix Chapter on the TearJerkers site at viewtopic.php?f=37&t=8513 and if you are getting the itch to get out camping (before winter) and meet some great folks, shoot on over and join the group ... camping shelter is your option ... Tent, camper, TD, Standie ... I know you'll see several different types there _ Hope to see you and yours there ...

[robc in wi]

Welcome Rob from a few miles , ok more than a few , South of you in Janesville
There sure is a wealth of information on this site and most likely if you run into any problems on your build someone can help you. You don't have to be a woodworker to build one of these, I'm a heavy equipment mechanic and I'm used to working with metal and I'm building one. To be truthful this is the largest wood project that I have ever done and its been fun and its coming out decent.
Good luck and have fun and just think of the looks you will get when you pull into Devils Lake State Park with a teardrop,
Paul

Hi Paul, are you using plans or just winging it? I will be buying plans from a company based near Eau Claire but the more I look around this site the more I see that there are many different ways to build these trailers. I plan on making a real effort to avoid cost and weight overruns. As far as Devils Lake goes, I have only come across 2 teardrops this summer and both of them were the larger, pre-made type. I think a woody or partial woody would definitely get people's attention.

[skinnedknuckles]

Hi Rob,
I would say that I am just winging it. I basically just figured out what mattress that I wanted to use that gave me the width then I went onto the design resources part of the forum drew up a full size profile, using Grumman 2 for the front and Kenskill for the back, onto some luan 1/4" plywood and figured in what I wanted to store and a comfortable counter top height and thicknesses of certain key pieces of wood. This turned out to be my 1 dimensional plan and template to cut my sides out with a router. I didn't worry about weight too much as my tow vehicles will range from a 1936 Ford rat rod pick up ,a Dodge 2500 diesel truck and a shortened 2 1/2 ton military truck and they will be able to pull it. There is so much information on this site that even if you have plans you may want to change some things and there are great ideas to be found here. The building materials are easy to find locally ( especially in Madison ) and I found most mail order items only a couple of days out when it comes to delivery.
Have fun,
Paul

[breb]

Hi Robc and welcome to the group. I have started my project and as of yesterday have pretty much finished my frame build. As you know weather here is getting cooler and I wanted to finish with a rolling chassis. I live in Waukesha Wi. I to camped when family was young ( tent & small travel trailer) the Idea of camping again appeals to the wife and I but do not want to tent and don't want the big trailer. My design is very close to Vintage Technologies in Michigan if you look at there 5x10. I have spent some time drawing details and dimensioning different parts of trailer. I do not have a full scale drawing but am planning on a template profile ( 1/4 ply) and drawing in my details like full size print. This was passed on to me by woodbutcher from this forum and he said it worked very well for him. Unless you need to set a time line for this project I think a nice trailer can be built in a years time . I have read about TD being built in 4 or 5 months and some taking more than a year. I always thought this should for me be a project to enjoy when building not to fight it and pressure my self in the process. I want to wish you the best in your research and hope you can join the fun. Brian in Wi.

[Vedette]

Hi Robc and welcome to the group. I have started my project and as of yesterday have pretty much finished my frame build. As you know weather here is getting cooler and I wanted to finish with a rolling chassis. I live in Waukesha Wi. I to camped when family was young ( tent & small travel trailer) the Idea of camping again appeals to the wife and I but do not want to tent and don't want the big trailer. My design is very close to Vintage Technologies in Michigan if you look at there 5x10. I have spent some time drawing details and dimensioning different parts of trailer. I do not have a full scale drawing but am planning on a template profile ( 1/4 ply) and drawing in my details like full size print. This was passed on to me by woodbutcher from this forum and he said it worked very well for him. Unless you need to set a time line for this project I think a nice trailer can be built in a years time . I have read about TD being built in 4 or 5 months and some taking more than a year. I always thought this should for me be a project to enjoy when building not to fight it and pressure my self in the process. I want to wish you the best in your research and hope you can join the fun. Brian in Wi.[albugm]136034[/album]

Great looking chassis.
Nice start!
Welcome to the Forum Rob!
You are going to love the Tear Drop Community!!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi