Finishing someone else’s teardrop

[chucktownsend08]

I have an opportunity to buy a 90% complete offroad teardrop that was built by a friend. It just needs some interior finish to be completed.

Any words of wisdom/caution before I pull the trigger on it?

[tony.latham]

Any words of wisdom/caution before I pull the trigger on it?

It's difficult without photos. It depends of course, on the quality of materials, craftsmanship, and maybe design elements.

Got any pics?



Tony

[chucktownsend08]

Here are a couple of pictures, It has all LED lighting, Insulated walls/roof/floor, 110 Amp hour battery, Fantastic fan, offroad tires and coupler.

It is worth Noting tony that I bought your book and have a couple of guys locally quoting the trailer frame build, the first one seemed REALLY high and I can get into this almost complete trailer for about the same amount of money.

dSquaredrop2.jpg (352.03 KiB) Viewed 3439 times

dSquaredrop.jpg (318.35 KiB) Viewed 3439 times

[tony.latham]

First of all, thanks for buying my book. I really hope it helps.

That looks like a well-built 'drop to me. How well does the hatch seal work? Looks do-able from here.

There must be something going on in his life to get rid of this at this stage?

Tony

p.s. when you have a chance, please give my book and honest review. Thanks again.

[Tom&Shelly]

It is worth Noting tony that I bought your book and have a couple of guys locally quoting the trailer frame build, the first one seemed REALLY high and I can get into this almost complete trailer for about the same amount of money.

Quotes for trailers here in Albuquerque were also much higher than the comments in the teardrop forum led us to expect. Not sure why, but interesting to hear it's the same in Colorado. Shelly and I had our heart set on building our own teardrop from scratch (minus the trailer welding, since we have almost zero experience, and a good trailer is really important), so we swallowed hard and paid for the custom built trailer. (Another option would have been to enlist a friend who could weld.)

If we weren't so set on doing it ourselves (or didn't have the time to do so), buying a partially well-built camper would have been a good option. Certainly the more economical option.

Tom

[chucktownsend08]

Yea the first quote I got was almost $2000 and that didn't include the axle or the coupler. pretty much killed that option.

[tony.latham]

Yea the first quote was almost $2000...

That's for $200 worth of steel (my price, not theirs), and what a half-day of welding?

T

[chucktownsend08]

their estimate is a day and a half of welding and prep. If I don't go the route of this 90% I would likely take welding classes for that cost and buy a welder.

[saywhatthat]

On a frame best to shop around .Make sure your not buying a overbuilt frame. $2000 just for a frame no axle that a thief

[tony.latham]

I would likely take welding classes for that cost and buy a welder.

And you'd never regret it. This is the chassis my wife welded for her son's teardrop:



T

[Tom&Shelly]

Yea the first quote I got was almost $2000 and that didn't include the axle or the coupler. pretty much killed that option.

Ours was $2000 including the axle, springs, tires, spare, fenders, jack, and some custom stuff welded on. Painted frame. Still awfully high! Can't remember if that was during the Chinese steel scare.

Our first quote was $4000 from a company that bragged they started making custom trailers for individuals in Albuquerque, but, by then, they had industrial contracts and obviously weren't interested in the one off market.

A welding class (are they back in business?) seems like a reasonable idea.

Tom

[noseoil]

Frames are pretty simple to build, if you have the skills! Learning to weld is a good one to have for general use, it's fun & rewarding to see something designed & build well. That said, the shop needs enough room, money & tools to work on for building a trailer.

That off-road camper looks like a good starting point, assuming the wiring is correct & things were done properly. If there were problems with the build & you don't catch them, it can be a lot of work to sort out later (sequencing is important). Check with the owner & get a list of things which need attention or might be in need of some TLC to make things right.

[chucktownsend08]

Got my 2nd quote back having someone else weld a frame for me is certainly not going to happen. This one was $1750 for the frame and another $600 for the axle plus shipping. That answers that dilemma for me, I'm officially going to pursue the 90% complete trailer and see if I can make that work.