5'x10' styled after Timberleaf Classic

[airdonut41]

So I've posted a few questions on here before getting started, but mostly have been crawling through tons of previous posts to get through the planning stages of this project. Anyway, I made the first few cuts today and figured I'd post some pictures of the plans and some pictures of progress as I go. As mentioned in the title, I'm going for something that looks like a Timberleaf Classic https://timberleaftrailers.com/classic-teardrop-trailer/ with a bare aluminum skin. I've drawn up most of what I'm thinking in SolidWorks, but am still not totally set on the cabinets/headboard setup I have right now. I'm definitely open to suggestions, but would prefer to keep it relatively simple as this is my first build and I'm extremely new to woodworking.

This picture has most of the layers, with the outer layers transparent so you can get an idea of what the structure looks like.

[airdonut41]

Today's progress: cuts for the trailer frame. I screwed up the miter cuts at the corners because I made the mistake of trusting the guide on the chop saw, but nothing that couldn't be solved with some angle grinder love. Tomorrow, I'll try to weld the the tubing for the frame as well as as many components as possible (spring mounts, tabs for mounting the teardrop body, tongue, etc.). The whole thing is 2" x 1/8" square steel tube that will be paired with a 2k kit from https://thetrailerpartsoutlet.com/.

[tony.latham]

I've drawn up most of what I'm thinking in SolidWorks, but am still not totally set on the cabinets/headboard setup I have right now.

I too like the looks of the Timberleaf trailers.

Just a thought, but I think your door may be a bit too far back.

Door placement is critical with teardrops. Put your computer down and go lay on your bed. Now sit up and swing your legs off as if you’re getting up ––but sit there for a moment. Note that this is the same place that you sat on the edge of the bed before you laid down. Your pelvis will be about 30 - 33” from the headboard. This is where the doors need to be –-right next to where your hips rest when laying down and where you normally sit on your bed.

Now back to your headboard question.

This is what ours looks like, poised for a photo:



There are sliders below it for access to the storage area below it:



Here's the side plan:



And the slider detail:





Tony

[airdonut41]

Thanks for the feedback! You may be right; currently the distance from the headboard to the center of the door is 36" (which was my guess to where our waists would be for two 6' tall people), but I think I'll probably go ahead and move it towards the head 3-4".

I do like your headboard. Two questions for your build: did you put any storage above the headboard (near the roof)? Do you wish you had? I don't see that being particularly useful for us, but it does seem like many people add it, and it does seem like a natural place to put light switches, etc. I'm thinking I may put electrical into the cabinets above the feet.

[tony.latham]

I do like your headboard. Two questions for your build: did you put any storage above the headboard (near the roof)? Do you wish you had?

I have not. And no regrets.



There's plenty of headroom up there but that would have to be considered.

One could do something, maybe some corner storage.

We've also got this little shelf in the rear where we park pillboxes and a water bottle at night. It's on a computer keyboard slider that locks in and out.





Tony

[airdonut41]

I think that interior setup makes a lot of sense. I like the flexibility of the shelves, and the sliding doors seem pretty space efficient.

I made significant progress today (with significant help from a friend!). The trailer is now mostly together. It needs lights, fenders, paint/powder (have to see how much powder coating costs), and a 2" receiver on the back to be able to carry bikes.

One thought: does it make sense to register it with the DMV at this point? Or wait until it's fully assembled? It would be super useful to have for getting all the wood for the project...

[tony.latham]

...and a 2" receiver on the back to be able to carry bikes.

You might want to take a peek at the post I did on my bike rack:

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=72730&p=1264443&hilit=bike+rack#p1264443

Your chassis looks great. If it were me ––and I had the need for it--I'd register it and use it depending on your state's laws. You may have to redo it after you're finished.



Tony

[airdonut41]

Thanks! I thought it turned out pretty well. The frame is much burlier than the axle/hub combination, but that's not really a problem.

I do like the bikes up front, but I want to do the hitch mount as it allows me to share a bike tray between my SUV and the trailer. Often, I have to drive to a trailhead from camp, and it would be nice not to have to take the teardrop along for the ride.

[airdonut41]

Slow progress at the moment, but progress nonetheless. I'm going to try to include a fair amount of detail on what I buy and how I build to help other new builders find their way. I'm also keeping a Google Sheet with prices, dimensions, and sources for all the materials to get an accurate cost estimate and to help others with sourcing. I'll post the link a little later on in the project. I'm sure we'll make many mistakes with this build, but hopefully they're educational for others!

With the trailer frame built, I made some fender mounts and welded them and the fenders to the trailer. Then I spent ~4 hours prepping the trailer for primer (would have definitely preferred powder coating, but the quote was $700) by 1) wiping everything with acetone, 2) wire brushing the welds, 3) sanding all the steel surfaces, 4) blowing the dust off, and 5) wiping everything down with IPA. I didn't take photos of that process because my hands were covered in black metal dust the whole time and I didn't want to touch my phone.

After that, we hand painted Rustoleum Clean Metal primer with brushes and a mini roller and let it set for a few days. We went over that with a Rustoleum 7777 (satin black). It looks quite nice, but it's not as hard as I'd like. After that was wiring (currently attached to the frame with zip ties, though I'd love a cleaner solution if anyone can suggest something simple, sturdy, and rust-proof).

Then I took a trip to the CA DMV to get plated. I thought this was going to be super painful, but I roughly followed the instructions from some others in the community (http://td.roughwheelers.com/DMV/) and it ended up being a breeze, despite going solo. It took about an hour total (plus me getting there before it opened) to have a VIN and license plate with a title in the mail. Total cost has gone up quite a lot since that link; it cost me $109, which mostly went to "use tax".

I used the freshly plated trailer to go get all the wood in three batches: 2x4s (floor frame), 1 x 1/2" 4x8 Baltic Birch (galley/cabin divider plus drawers), and 3 x 3/4" 4x8 CDX (structural wall) from the local lumberyard; 3 x 1/4" 4x8 ACX (outer wall) and 3 x 1/2" 4x8 ACX (floor) from Home Depot; 8 x 1/8" 5x5 Baltic Birch (interior walls, roof), 2 x 1/2" 5x5 Baltic Birch (shelves, headboard, galley counter).

Finally, then, we started cutting some wood. The floor frame is simple: 2 10' 2x4s running the full length with crossbeams cut to make the total width 59.5" (the 1/4" ACX will overhang the edges of this to bring the total width to 60"). They're secured with wood glue and pocket screws. The floor is 3 40" x 59.5" pieces of 1/2" ACX glued to the frame. The original plan was to staple them down, but the 3/4" staples didn't really have any bite (note that the crossbeams are centered on the seam between plywood sheets). We ended up screwing them down, and will cover the screw heads with wood putty before sanding and varnishing. I'm not super happy with how this turned out, as there's a 1/16" gap between two of the pieces of plywood and the edges of the plywood aren't totally flush, but I'll router them down with a flush trim bit and the walls should cover most of the imperfection. The gap will be covered by bed, but we'll probably fill it in with wood putty just for good measure. The plywood also isn't totally flat, so I may add some more crossmembers for rigidity and to hold things flat.

The last picture shows some seriously heavy scrap steel acting as a clamp to hold the plywood down while the glue sets.

While I was cutting the frame bits, Kirsten (my partner) drew out the teardrop profile out of the 1/4" plywood by making a series of vertical lines spaced 3" apart and measuring and marking them according to our drawing. She freehanded the curves between each point, then took the jigsaw to it. The results were... ok. There was a fair amount of waviness that we mostly removed with a palm sander, but I'm still not enamored with it. Next time we're working on it, we'll go at it with the sander a bit more. We only cut the nose piece this way; most of the tear is still uncut, as we figured we'd start with the smaller section before doing the larger one.

Next steps are to cover the bottom of the floor/frame with asphalt paint, sand and varnish the floor, then finish cutting and smoothing the tear profile from the 1/4" ply. After that, we'll replicate the shape of the 1/4" cuts onto the 3/4" via jigsaw/router with flush trim bit, then start cutting out space for the insulation.

[eLink]

The original plan was to staple them down, but the 3/4" staples didn't really have any bite (note that the crossbeams are centered on the seam between plywood sheets). We ended up screwing them down, and will cover the screw heads with wood putty before sanding and varnishing. I'm not super happy with how this turned out, as there's a 1/16" gap between two of the pieces of plywood and the edges of the plywood aren't totally flush, but I'll router them down with a flush trim bit and the walls should cover most of the imperfection. The gap will be covered by bed, but we'll probably fill it in with wood putty just for good measure. The plywood also isn't totally flat, so I may add some more crossmembers for rigidity and to hold things flat.

The trick for this is to fasten the framing members to the plywood deck upside down so there are no visible screw heads. But filling the screw holes with putty will also be fine, especially since the floor will be covered by the mattress.

Looks like you are off to a great start!

[airdonut41]

I would have liked to do it that way, but put myself in a bad spot when the staples didn't hold while the glue was already setting. Also didn't happen to have 1.75" screws on hand.

Also, your build looks great. I would have loved to CNC the whole thing, but price is a big driver on this build (plus I need to learn some woodworking skills!).

[swoody126]

don't forget to install your rear stab jacks before you deck the frame

no need to ask why i make this suggestion

i like running my wiring in sections of metal tubing/conduit preventing it from getting rip'd off when driving over brush etc

sw

[airdonut41]

It's been a while since I posted, and that's mostly due to slow progress over the holidays (we moved in addition to lots of other things taking up attention). Recent progress has been much steadier, though. All the tear shapes have been cut with a jig saw, sanded to something resembling the right shape, and then mirrored with a flush trim router. One issue I'm having is that the tear shape, while generally correct, has waves from not being perfectly cut/sanded. For our original guide, we drew vertical lines on the plywood every 3" and marked off where the curve of the tear should intersect those lines. Then, we hand drew the spline between 3" segments. Some error there compounding with imperfect jigsaw cutting means it's pretty unsurprising that the results aren't perfect. What I'm wondering is 1) whether this will be a problem later on, and 2) if so, what to do about it. The waves are small enough that the 1/8" ply and be forced to conform to them (for attaching the 1/8" ceiling on the 3/4" structural wall) or the 1/8" could span the crests of the waves, only attaching there and leaving a gap. Has anyone experienced this before/have any recommendations?

Other bits of progress and things to note:
Floor has been sanded (pictured) and varnished (not pictured) with water-based satin finish varnish. We did not thin, and applied three coats. It's not perfection, but it looks pretty reasonable.

Shapes have been cut! The 1/4" was cut first in two pieces (10' trailer) such that the mate between the two pieces would happen at a different location than the mate between the two pieces of 3/4". Those were used as a template for the 3/4" skeleton walls, which were cut with 2" offset on the bottom (1/4" exterior will cover the 2" of floor material; 2x4s with 1/2" ply floor; 3/4" will be pocket hole screwed and glued to the top of the floor) and 1.625" offset elsewhere (1/8" ply ceiling plus room for 1.5"x1.5" spars that I'll rip from some 2x4s). To do this, I simply made a 1.625" spacer and traced the 1/4" curve on one side with a pencil on the other side. It worked out... Ok. Again, a little imperfect. In retrospect, I think I would have projected a to-scale image of the CAD drawing onto the wood and traced that.

The previously-wet 10' 2x4s running the length of the floor shrunk a bit, so now the floor has a slight curvature and the 3/4" skeleton wall doesn't sit perfectly flat. I'm hoping that pocket hole screws every 6" along the 3/4" ply will pull it all in together, otherwise I may have to run some trim along the floor to cover the small gap.

To cut the skeletons, I screwed the 2 3/4" pieces of ply together, drilled holes at the corners of the to-be-removed material, and had at it with the jigsaw. On the second to last cut, the jigsaw failed; the spring keeping the blade-holder in the locked-in position snapped, so now it no longer holds a blade. I was able to finish that cut by wrestling with a circular saw, buying me some time before the next time I'll have to use the jigsaw (for the hatch).

Next we started attaching the 1/8" interior part of the sandwich wall. Pretty simple clamping + weights, and everything trimmed super nicely with the router. Note that we're building the wall this way such that we can put pocket hole screws and insulation into the 3/4" ply from the outside, before covering the outside with the 1/4". The 1/4" will be attached to the 3/4" + 1/8" sandwiches via glue and 3/4" galvanized screws after the 3/4" +1/8" have been attached to the floor.

As always, any feedback is greatly appreciated!

[airdonut41]

Life got busier and I ended up having to choose between keeping up with my log here and spending time actually building (and researching parts, etc.). Given the lack of updates on this thread, I imagine you can guess which one I chose. I still have ambitions to go back and document the construction process, but I thought I'd post some images of the mostly-finished product in use. Also, a big thank you to everyone on here who has shared their wisdom/ideas along the way!

Our first trip was a ski weekend. We slept in a pullout Friday night, then got covered in 9" of snow while skiing on Saturday (first picture). Saturday night, we slept at an elevation of almost 9k' with temperatures in the low teens. We were mostly comfortable, except that I had battery voltage cutoff on the solar controller set way too high (it cut power to the cabin at ~12.3V) and left my electric blanket useless. The snow pictures are the morning following the snow/low temps; forgive the messy bed! We had pretty significant condensation, but it wasn't enough to make us really wet/uncomfortable. Lots of frost on the inside of the door frame and ice accumulation on the outside of the windows. The last two pictures are the cabin interior at home before leaving for this trip.

I think the build has mostly been quite good! Things I still need to work out:
1) The 12" queen mattress is incredibly comfortable, but probably takes up too much cabin volume. I got a great deal on a >$1k MSRP mattress and figured we'd try it, but we may pull it out, replace it with a ~6" mattress, and use it to replace our old one at home.
2) We don't have a great way of drying gear/clothing following big storm days. Does anyone have any advice here? I'll add some hooks inside the camper to hang stuff up, but I think we'd have to add a heat source inside the trailer to have significant effect.
3) I still need to figure out gas springs on the hatch. I've been putting it off because it's a bit of a pain, but the hatch isn't very useful without supports.

[tony.latham]

but I think we'd have to add a heat source inside the trailer to have a significant effect.

You did a great job. :thumbs-up:

Propex heaters really do a number on drying things out. You can see my installation post here:

https://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=72075&p=1271153&hilit=propex+heater+installation#p1271153

They are simply the perfect teardrop heater.

Tony