New guy from Oregon (yes, it's raining)

[pruittaw]

I've been enjoying reading about everyone's building and traveling adventures and now it's time for me to join in. The depth of knowledge on this forum is incredible and I have learned a lot already.

I'm a reasonably handy guy and have experience with construction, plumbing (although I don't plan to have any in my TD), electrical and even a little welding. I enjoy projects but am looking forward to the using of the TD more than the building of it so my plan is to have it completed in 4-6 months.

I'm planning to begin my build very soon (probably do a little work this weekend). I already have a trailer for my "foundation". The plan is to remove the deck and the top rail. It's built from angle iron that is 2"x2" and 1/4" thick except for the tongue which is 2" square also 1/4" thick and it sits on a 3500 lb axel with 15" wheels. I want something sturdy enough to go off road but nothing too extreme (mud bogging, rock crawling, trail blazing). Weight is a lesser concern since my TV is a Toyota 4Runner and rated to tow 5000 pounds. I'll start a build journal in the appropriate section soon but here are some pictures of my trailer and an initial design I sketched. Let me know what you think.




Thanks for reading!
Tony (pronounced 'toe-knee')

[Vedette]

Welcome to the Forum
Personally I always question the inclusion of a "pass thru" in one's design??
Teardrops have limited usable storage cabinet space as it is, so losing that space on both the Galley Side and the Cabin Side is too great of loss for my taste.
It is like the ongoing argument about having a built in sink in your Galley. The loss of counter space, plus all of the other space lost to the other things a sink brings to the built, is far from worth the cost and space loss.
Yes, there is a ton of info here if you are willing to find it and use it.
Good Luck with your build.....we look forward to following it as a build journal.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[pruittaw]

Vedette,
Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate getting other people's perspective who have gone before me. As far as the "pass thru" goes, it's one of those things that is in the design as a compromise. You see, my wife is a home body and I am the opposite, meaning that I would be camping and exploring every weekend if it was up to me. Having a "pass thru" will allow her to be where she is most comfortable (in bed) while I'm doing meal prep in the galley and we can still interact (we still enjoy that kind of thing). A square foot of storage is a small price to pay as far as I'm concerned.

As far as the sink or no sink argument is concerned, today I'm on the side of no sink although I waffled a bit in my early days of dreaming. I've read a lot of new and old posts and learned a lot from the fine people here. I have most of my ideas formulated in my head and will provide a whole lot more details in the build journal to come.

Tony




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[tony.latham]

I agree with Brian on the pass through.

Also, what I'll call the flat-to-curve on the forward part of your roof is going increase your build's complexity in my experience. If you get rid of the "edge" and ease the curve into the roof it'll be easy to roll 1/8" plywood inside and out plus you won't have to bend aluminum if you end up going that route.

But it looks good.

Tony

[rmclarke]

Welcome Tony! I have a slider in my galley....haven't noticed any loss of space
Just build it the way you want it. BTW, nice trailer.

Richard

[Roly Nelson]

Good for you, following your own design and willing to listen to other's ideas. I agree, no sink and no pass-through, but we all have to keep the sweet wife happy. I too agree that getting rid of the roof-hump, would be a good idea. Smooth lines just look nice.
Roly, the li'l ol' So Calif woody TD guy

[Mushin]

You could always do a pass thru in the cabinets, yes no?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[pruittaw]

Thanks all for the great suggestions. I do appreciate hearing others perspective.

I have a build journal started called "BNBRR Build". Take a look and let me know what you think. It feels slow going but I try to make some progress every week.

-Tony


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[pruittaw]

You could always do a pass thru in the cabinets, yes no?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Right! That's what I'm thinking. It will only be about 12"x12" right near the top of the galley. I have a drawing but apparently I haven't scanned it yet. -Tony


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[pruittaw]

Good for you, following your own design and willing to listen to other's ideas. I agree, no sink and no pass-through, but we all have to keep the sweet wife happy. I too agree that getting rid of the roof-hump, would be a good idea. Smooth lines just look nice.
Roly, the li'l ol' So Calif woody TD guy

Thanks for the encouragement. The "roof-hump" I will blame on not being very good at drawing and maybe a little laziness in my sketching.

I do plan to have smooth lines as you suggest.

Thanks!
Tony


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk