Hello form Norwalk Ohio

[dms2871]

Newbie here: Hi I'm from Norwalk Ohio my name is Dave, and I'm going to build a teardrop camper. the wife and I had a pop up camper once we restored it just a tad when we got it, just so we could use it. well we decided to really tear into it and remodel the whole thing with ac and newly built cabinets that I built. then while working on the inside roof, was getting to a point of replacing the wood from previous water damage.
and some fresh insulation and wood I had the ceiling propped up with some wood and dunage. we had a very bad thunder storm winds heavy down pours the whole nine yards. well needless to say we lost our little treasure. the wind tore it apart ripped the top off flooded every thing and was ruined even the new carpet I installed. didn't have insurance on it knew little about this at the time. so we miss the thing it wasn't the greatest but it was fun and we enjoyed it so, I been seeing a lot about these teardrop trailers and we looked at some new ones and the things they offered in them was amazing. well we picked one out come to see it was 25,000$ and we are like WHAT. so I Goggled how to build one and several sites came up and here I am learning. I believe I can build one for I have a welding/fabrication background I work for an HVAC contractor and have wood working skills and sheet metal skills so why not right. I'm planning on building the Wyoming Woodie but not with wood
sides but with aluminum colored in burgundy like the vintage technologies one except with no lines on the side of the body. also with a 19" TV,dvd player or options for our dish provider and a mini split system that does all 3 heat/ac/dehumidifier. maybe fresh water tank and a small sink not Shure yet.

[Dave Gray]

Welcome to the forum Dave,

I can't wait to see your vision come to fruition. I too am in the planning stages of a build. The questions I am asking myself are things like, Why do I want a Teardrop Camper? Where will I use it? How many times will I use it? I am making a list of priorities and I keep ending up at the realization that it is to be used for camping.

Keep researching and Happy Building!

[Roly Nelson]

Hi Dave, welcome to the most informative TD building site on the web. Stepping up to a water-tight teardrop, will be a welcome step, since you had such bad luck with your pop-up. I'm a woody guy in So Calif, so absolute water-proofness isn't required here, as long as I keep my woody sheltered when not in use. Clading with aluminum in Ohio, is a good idea. However, you might want to re-think your plan about adding a fresh water tank, since it will eat up valuable storage space in your galley, and you can easilly load up fresh water in a seperate container at the start of your outings. Weight is another consideration, and if you are in a real hurry to get to building, you might look into a 4x8 Harbor Freight trailer frame that can be assembled in a few hours, in leiu of having a custom frame made up. That's just my 2 cents, keep us posted on your plans, and Do get involved in the TearJerker Chapter in your area.
Roly, the li'l ol' So Calif woody guy, and transplant from Illinois

[dms2871]

Hi Dave, welcome to the most informative TD building site on the web. Stepping up to a water-tight teardrop, will be a welcome step, since you had such bad luck with your pop-up. I'm a woody guy in So Calif, so absolute water-proofness isn't required here, as long as I keep my woody sheltered when not in use. Clading with aluminum in Ohio, is a good idea. However, you might want to re-think your plan about adding a fresh water tank, since it will eat up valuable storage space in your galley, and you can easilly load up fresh water in a seperate container at the start of your outings. Weight is another consideration, and if you are in a real hurry to get to building, you might look into a 4x8 Harbor Freight trailer frame that can be assembled in a few hours, in leiu of having a custom frame made up. That's just my 2 cents, keep us posted on your plans, and Do get involved in the TearJerker Chapter in your area.
Roly, the li'l ol' So Calif woody guy, and transplant from Illinois

thanks I'm going with the 5'x8' ironton trailer that northern tool sells but getting it somewhere else. the water tank was an option really haven't decided on that yet, I also am going to use a awning like thing over the td.

[Shadow Catcher]

Welcome from another Buckeye (near Toledo). One thing I will strongly recommend is that how every you do it, get breaks.
I will also suggest you joining TearJerkers. The Buckeye chapter is quite active.

[dms2871]

Welcome from another Buckeye (near Toledo). One thing I will strongly recommend is that how every you do it, get breaks.
I will also suggest you joining TearJerkers. The Buckeye chapter is quite active.

yeah I was told to join in the area, do you mean breaks on trailer or take breaks from building?

[AZ_Desert_Rat]

Hi Dan... Welcome to the Forum and hoping to see more of your build...

I went with a Cargo Trailer conversion and in lieu of a permanent water tank mount, I went with a removable 5-gal jug. This allows me to carry as much water as I think I may need via additional jugs in the truck and just swap them out when needed. I often also set a jug with a valve outside the trailer with a wash basin...
I used a sink, which some TD owners don't use, and plumbed the water through a Trailer Hand Pump spigot. There are a number of different size and type of containers that can be used as a temporary tank

[Shadow Catcher]

Yep breaks and brakes! Spell check only keeps me out of so much trouble

[lrrowe]

Oh, don't I know the dangers of spell check. They can be quite embarrassing. Once in my business life I let spell check get me into too much trouble when I put one too many "O's" in my name.