Hello everyone! Happy Holidays and New Years to everyone!
First post here! I have been interested in building a teardrop camper for several years now, and have been something of a casual lurker at this forum off and on for most of that time. I believe I am now ready to start building a teardrop for me and my wife and our dog, I'm currently trying to solidify a plan, and I have no less than a million questions. I am posting today hoping some of you will be kind enough to help me with some questions and concerns about trailers, or offer some advice before purchasing one.
Here's a little background info that I think would help; any questions for me, please just ask. My wife is not a big fan of small, tight spaces, plus we will at times be camping with our rather rambunctious, 45 pound Boxer/Lab mix Stella Blue (and possibly a second dog in the future!). Therefore, I know I'd like to build a camper that's fairly large and roomy, at least as far as these teardrops go. For that reason, I am planning to accommodate a queen sized mattress, so our camper must be at least 5 feet wide, and maybe even a couple extra inches wider to accommodate the side walls. I have already done enough research to know that many have built a 5 foot wide camper on top of the trusted Harbor Freight 4x8 trailer kits. However, I'm concerned that such a build may prove a little "tippy" or unstable in tow. And though this is far from my biggest concern, I'd prefer it if the camper had some fenders and didn't have the wheels flush with the sidewalls the way I *believe* it would have to look if I used a 4 foot wide trailer kit. last, I am wondering how long of a camper can be built on an 8 foot long trailer kit. Can anyone comment on these concerns, or possibly recommended a trailer kit that would best suited for us based on what I'm hoping to achieve?
I so far have my choices narrowed down between two trailer kits, unless someone can suggest something different. I have heard tale of a Red Trailer 5'x8' kit, but don't see a 5'x8' on their website currently, so I think I'm down to:
The good old Harbor Freight 1720 lb. 4'x8' trailer kit. This trailer is currently priced at $499.00, but I have seen it on sale for $399.00. Plus, as I'm sure everyone knows, I can take at least 20% of the price with a Harbor Freight coupon, and sometimes I even get 25% off coupons. So the cost of this trailer as I see it would be $399.00 - $79.80 (20% off) = $319.20. I would have to pay 8% sales tax, so $319.20 + $25.54 = $344.74 total cost, plus I have to drive just over an hour round trip to get it.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1720-lb-capacity-48-in-x-96-in-super-duty-trailer-62647.htmlOr, I had previously dismissed the Ironton Heavy-Duty 5'x8' trailer kit as too expensive because through the Northern Tool website it's priced at $499.00 plus they estimated the shipping to my house to be about $127.00. However, I recently noticed that this very trailer kit is also sold from everyone's favorite online bookstore for $499.00 with free shipping and no tax. So that's $499.00 total, and it would be delivered to my door.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E5DW916?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=AF8EGQ3KRZQB6I like that the Ironton is wider and black in color, but my biggest question is do you think it's really worth the extra money for this trailer? Do I really need it to build a 5' wide camper? I am hoping to build my camper once and do it right so we can enjoy it for many years, but this build has to be at least somewhat budget-minded as I'm not made of the green stuff. The difference in the cost of the two trailers would pay for a good portion of a Fantastic Fan or possibly a nice RV window. Can anyone offer any advice or suggestions? I would be very, very, grateful for any help or insight that TNTTT community can provide.
I will add that I've pretty much disregarded the idea of having a trailer custom made as I have really no experience with welding or the equipment to do so, and unless I'm really mistaken, I don't see how a professional could custom weld me a trailer that would be on par with the price of these kits (though perhaps it could be made longer). If I'm wrong in that assumption, please let me know.
And if it helps, our tow vehicle will be a 2014 Ford Escape with the EcoTech V6 engine, which should pull up to about 3500 pounds.
Thank you in advance for your help, I really appreciate it!!!