Hello from Louisiana!

[forestfrog]

Hello from Louisiana!

The amount of useful information on this forum is amazing! I've spent the last couple of days (and very late nights) pouring through the posts and I've barely scratched the surface, LOL. I became interested in teardrops a few years ago while looking for a small camper to pull behind my '71 VW Thing. I ended up finding a '79 VW Westy Camper Bus in need of restoration instead, but I haven't been able to get the teardrops out of my head.

Well, the time has finally come to pull out those old sketches and notes and start researching again...YIPPEE! I'm planning a cross country trip next year and would like to build a teardrop to pull behind a diesel VW Bug. I'm leaning towards a lightweight 4'x8', but since I travel with a bed-hog Great Dane named Oz, that extra 12" of width in a 5'x8' is very tempting! Both size trailer frames are on sale at HF right now and I have a 15% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket, so I guess I should quit babbling and get back to researching (or maybe be patient and wait until the next sale).

Thanks again for such an informative site!
Kristi

P.S. - I don't have any TD pictures to offer yet, so here are a few of my co-pilot, Oz, and my current campers:

Senor Frog:


Oz and Zoe:


1940's American Coach (click for photo album)

[asianflava]

Hey Froggy, welcome to the nut.....er.... clubhouse.

Come on over to Lake Bistineau and camp with us. It probably isn't too far from ya. We don't mind people joining us who are not in tears, tents campers, or whatever the more the merrier.

Here is the thread in case you missed it.
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=10335

[TRAIL-OF-TEARS]

Kristi welcome to the board. nice bus and thing.
If your Dane is anything like mine you might want to think about a 5' wide tear.
P.S. make sure your doors are big enough for the pooch my dog can't get into my tear, without a lot of help.

[oklahomajewel]

Welcome to another teardropping gal! Welcome Kristi !

I love the look of that VW camper ! How cool !!!

Yes , go with 5' wide -- you DEFINITELY won't regret it. Lots of tders camp with thier doggies so that's nothing odd here.

Hope you can plan on making it to Lake Bistineau!!!

Julie

[madjack]

hey Kristi...we are neighbors...so welcome...I live in Pineville, whereabouts are you ...if I can be of any help just let me know....
madjack

[tonyj]

Definitely a 5! Mine is a 4 and I will be sharing it with my bedhogging border collie. Wishing I had built a 5. (But no width would spare me from his snoring!)

Welcome to the group. See you at Lake Bistineau.

[Juli n Bill]

Great Thing! Where'd you find a 1971? That's rare, most of the Things in the US are either '73's or '74's, so yours was made in Germany instead of Mexico, cool! I started with a 1965 VW squareback that was brought over from Germany by it's original owner. That was followed by a 1971 bus, 1972 Westy bus, 1984 vanagon Westfalia and now we have this 1973 beauty...

The surf stickers are on magnets, the theme of the show was Surfin' Safari, we won best theme.

[Loader]

Welcome Kristi. Look forward to meeting you at the gathering. Love the driving goggles on the pooch.

[forestfrog]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone! I'll definitely take your advise and go with the 5' width. Now I just need to find a HF within driving distance that has a frame in stock...I bet I end up in Lafayette this weekend, LOL!

Steve...handsome Dane and great point about the doors! I'll make sure they're a little taller/wider than normal.

Madjack...wow, we really are neighbors. I live in Fishville and work in Pineville, we probably pass each other on the highway everyday, LOL. Thank you for the offer of help...I'll be glad to lend a hand too if you guys ever need free labor on a project.

Juli n Bill...great looking Thing! I hope Zoe will be that nice some day. She was produced in Germany as a military model then shipped to Mexico as surplus for assembly. She spent 31 years in Guadalajara before heading to the States. The PO used alot of '74 parts on her, but I'd like to take her back to stock eventually. I also have a '77 Sunroof Bus and a '68 Ghia....I have a serious VW addiction, I should probably seek professional help, LOL!

[tonyj]

I also have a '77 Sunroof Bus and a '68 Ghia....I have a serious VW addiction, I should probably seek professional help, LOL!

I'll say! If you haven't come across it, a great self repair VW book, if it is still in print somewhere, is a spiral bound 70's published book by John(?)Muir called something like "The Complete VW Guide to Maintenance and Repair for the Complete Idiot." One of the best repair manuals ever written and entertaining as hell. Was usually referred to as the Idiot book.

I was a VW dealership service advisor and service manager for 5 years in a previous professional life. Keep the valves adjusted and change the oil every 3,000 miles. And the most basic: never, never, never continue driving if the generator light comes on until you stop and make sure you have a generator belt. Basic, but I've seen hundreds of engines rebuilt because it didn't dawn on people that the generator light also meant no cooling. At one time I calculated that I had driven over 10,000 VW's.

And you just thought people here knew about teardrops!

[tonyj]

Here is an Amazon link for the book (with the correct title!):http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1562614800/104-3157108-7497515?v=glance&n=283155

[forestfrog]

Tony, I love Muir's Idiots Guide! It's a hilarious and informative read (I think it's in its 26th printing these days). I also have an assortment of VW Service manuals, plus Hayes, Bentley, etc... I'm slowly learning the ins and outs of each of my engines (1500cc sp, 1600cc dp, 1700cc Type4, and 2000cc Type4 w/ hydraulic lifters).

Thanks for the maintenance tips! I always carry a spare belt, throttle cable, clutch cable, and an assortment of tools in each vehicle (and oil, LOL). I'm not quite comfortable yet with adjusting the valves on the '79 w/ the hydraulic lifters, but have learned to do the rest on the Thing (valves, brakes, oil, etc...).

The Ghia is a complete non-running project. I've only gotten as far as pulling the engine and sanding the body. The engine isn't frozen, but it needs some *serious* TLC.

The Sunroof Bus sat in a pasture for 9 years, but it actually fired up after a thorough cleaning and tuneup (and bypassing the nasty fuel tank). The engine sounds decent (considering), but it's getting zero compression on #2. I guess it's possible it has a frozen valve from sitting for so long, but based on how beat up the #2 sparkplug was, its probably going to need professional valve/head work <sigh>.

Sorry, I could babble on about the VWs all day! It really is a sickness.

[asianflava]

Is that the same John Muir that the Muirwoods were named after?

Muirwoods is a great place to see big trees if you are in the San Francisco area. Just a quick trip away.

[madjack]

Kristi, I grew up in Fishville...spent many a day at Dean's Hole and the skating rink...BOTH of them................

[tonyj]

Is that the same John Muir that the Muirwoods were named after?

Muirwoods is a great place to see big trees if you are in the San Francisco area. Just a quick trip away.

I don't think so, unless he wrote the repair manual 60 years after his death. I think (not certain) those woods were named after John Muir, the naturalist. Don't know much about the is JM except he wrote one of the funniest best selling VW repair manuals of all time.

EDIT--Just Googled Muir Woods, and it was named after the conservationist in the early 1900's.