Hello from the Heart of Dixie

[Chicken Legs]

Hello to all. This forum seems to hold a wealth of information and a nice collection of craftsmen. My name is Kevin and after 72,000 miles, and 28 states on two wheels tent camping Ive decided to build a TD. I love old cars/boats and think that a TD would suit both my taste and my needs. The wife and I went this weekend looking at pop-ups and they seemed over priced and had ammenities that dont really interest me, so that brought me to wanting a TD. I build heavy equipment for a living, performing electrical and fabrication work. I have also worked as a Draftsmen and a motorcycle mechanic. Currently I have two projects in the works, one being a 57 Larson All-American closed bow run about boat that Im in the process of finishing up a transom replacement to accommodate a later model Mercruiser I/O drive. My other project is a 1928 Hupmobile Century 6 Model A that I building into a retro-rod.

What Im wanting to build is a 4x8 TD much to the style of a Camp Inn with nice rolled fenders, 14" or 15" steel wheels, and baby moons. Ive read some threads on this forum recommending the 5 wide instead of the 4, but Im thinking the narrower body will have less wind drag, weigh less, and be easier to build. I have a Jeep Wrangler and a Mazda Miata that 4' would tuck in behind nicely, and may possilby pull it with the Miata should I decide to drag the boat while going camping, thus requiring two tow vehicles. My wife and I are both small build people, both around 5'7 tall, her weight at 110, and mine around 150. Using encyclopedias (prob the first use these books have seen in years) I boundried an area on the floor just shy of 4' and with us both lying there it didnt feel too cramped, so 4' may work just fine.

Questions about the build. I am wondering what would be the most cost effective way to go toward building the chassis in that I can weld, fabricate, etc, and have the tools to do so. I also have access to a press brake, and shear, along with scrap metal, piano hinge, etc. WHats a good place to get axle spindles, axle, springs etc? Also what about plans for the build. After a search on the web it seems there are numerious people selling plans. Are there any that you recommend? Thanks for your time and input.

[Tcurr]

At the top of the page you will see a link for generic benroy plans. Check those out and see what you think.

sdtrippers's index is an unreal list of resources for anything and everything tear.

And just look around and you will see tons and tons of pics of people building different tears with different designs. Several members here sell designs as well and kits and all types of things to help with the build.

Ow and welcome to the forumn.

[Mike C.]

Welcome Kevin,

Pretty much anything you need to know about building, including some sources for parts can be found in "sdtripper2's index" at the top of each page. It is alphabetical. Glad you found the forum and have an interest in building your own TD from the ground up. Hope you have fun and get in and post pictures as your build progresses.

See you around.

[Miriam C.]

to the playground Kevin. To answer a few questions.
Trailer tutorial
http://www.teardroptrailers.us/Trailer.html

sdtripper2's index
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=12276

see also Riches list
http://www.mikenchell.com/tttt.pdf

You can build with a bought pattern. However, the generic benroy plans are quite complete. I built mine with the help of the forum and those plans.

I see you understand the picture need so I won't nag.....
Remember when you start ---documenting is a great resource for you and other builders. Keeps the bubble oil level.

[neal b]

welcome aboard

neal b

[asianflava]

Welcome.

The free generic benroy are good plans especially since they are free. A few folks here have used them (link in the page header) successfully. You can use them and modify it to suit your needs/wants change the dimensions, change the profile, change the cabinetry it's all pretty similar.

Please do not buy the plans offered on eBay. There are a few out there who are scamming people. They offer plans but what they end up sending are a collection of plans and acricles that you can find for free on the web. Some of those auctions rip off some of our pictures to boot, showing a pic of our teardrops implying that it was built with those plans. I'm not saying that they are all scams but some are, several people were less than satisified with what they got.

[ReggieBell]

Greets from a fellow Alabama native. I hail from Madison. What part of the state are you in?

[Chicken Legs]

Just west of Bham, on the Warrior River.

[Jules Martel]

welcome kev

try finding hadco eng trailers, there steel is legendary, maybe you could dsimantle one and rblt to spc, they still sell steel today, google it

remember those samurai swords in quentin movies, they will go through anything, even after 1000's yrs of abuse, so those old riggs that are left alone, have just surface rust, specially since theyve been protected by the elements from above all those yrs.

hope this help

my dream belongs to you and them

jul

[Bill Fernandez]

Welcome kevin I'm sure you will have a good time here

[Roly Nelson]

Hi Kevin, welcome to the most informative camping trailer building site on the web. Building a teardrop trailer is a true adventure that is never ending, once you get it built and put it to use. I may be partial to 4 ft wide models, but if you two can be comfortable in a 4 footer, I say go for it. Both of my tears are built on Harbor Freight trailer frames and I am very satisfied with their performance. You can order a frame at HarborFreight.com and it will be delivered to your door in just a few days.

I see that you are an old fiberglass boat enthusiast, well so am I. You sure have a fine looking boat and trailer that you must be proud of. Some years ago I bought a 1963 14ft Glaspar and planned to trick it out. That was before I found out about teardrops. So I sold the boat and built a tear. If you are interested, there is a very active message board dedicated to old fiberglass boats of the 50s and 60s era. Here is their website: www.fiberglassics.com Check it out, I think you will enjoy it.

Good luck on your proposed build, take lots of pics, ask any questions you like and try to check out some of the local TD gatherings in your area.

Roly

[Chicken Legs]

Roly, thanks for the welcome. You have a nice looking TD there, love the wood work! As for the old boat website, I am a current member but thanks for the info just the same. Im hoping to have this motor conversion completed on my boat soon. Then its off to start the TD. I do have a couple question maybe someone could shed some light on. I have been looking over the generic Benroy design,,,,,,,,,

With out rubber door seals, how watertight is a convention built TD? If I wanted to install gas shocks on the rear hatch, do I need to reinforce those spars, and or add anthing else to the hatch. If going with a 4' wide whats the best way to lay out your cabinets so that you can incorporate storage for things you use versus, using things that fit the cabinet space if you stay with the plans. Also, whats a good list of things needed in the way of ammenities for both the bunk and the cabinet area. Seems one could easily overlook some things if not accustomed to camping in a TD.

Dont you just love these newbie questions.

[Roly Nelson]

Kevin, due to my particular 'all-wood' theme, including the galley, I decided that I didn't want to have bacon grease all over my cabinet doors, so I didn't install a stove and do my cooking on the table with my coleman propane stove. We also do all we can to keep water out of the galley, due to future dry rot problems, so I wash my dishes in a dish pan also on the table. No water tank, pump or drains involved.

I have always felt, for my needs, a cork-lined "quick-melt" sheetmetal ice box installed in the galley area would waste a lot of space. I know that an extreme cooler is better and can keep ice frozen for days and can be carried in the tow vehicle.

So, to answer your question, I have 4 storage areas within my galley, one is for bulky stuff within deep cabinets and silverware drawers, all located below the galley counter. The next area is a row of 3 drawers just above the counter and above them are 3 storage cabinets for canned goods and plates and such. Lastly, an upper shelf with a front retaining barrier for condiments and small stuff within easy reach when cooking. I felt no need for added support at my hatch supports. I looked at dozens of pics of existing galleys, and this design works well for me.

As far as the inside goes, I knew I wanted dome lights, and individual reading lights above the pillows. A 12 volt outlet and a couple of 110 volt outlets were added for mattress heating pads, a small electric heater and perhaps a clip-on 110volt light to save battery power. I added exterior lights above both doors as well.

I knew nothing about interior storage needs, but built shelves for small stuff that fold up, at each side of he pillows, and a long one near the ceiling. I have an unusual wall to wall, 3 doored, 3 shelved storage cabinet above our legs, which folds down flat against the front wall. Then whenever it's raining we can have the the neighbors over to share our prime rib dinner, while 4 of us sit with all 8 of our feet in the foot well and relax with our elbows on the sliding table, that flips up from the footwell cover, all within our 4 x 8 woody.

I won't go into detail about the AC unit located within the tongue box which blows cool air up along the ceiling from above the pillows. I hope this answers some of your questions about the needs of a teardropper, and I am sure there are a whole bunch of more 'stuff' that you can incorperate into your build. We all think differently so it's up to you to make it as original as you want. (flip-down TV, sound system, etc.)

Roly, sorry about being so long winded, but just got on a roll. (actually, I've been "Rollin" all my life).

[Tcurr]

Something you may want to consider first, how much space do you need to lay down confortably. That will directly reflect how deep your bottom cabinet is unless you build a step up.

I am with roly on alot of things. First the sink. I stole tonyj sink Idea I believe and use a mixing bowl in the slot. We lift it out to use for cooking, cleaning etc. and makes a nice place to store stuff on the ride like chips etc. I carry 2, 5 gallon water containers with me.


I have a electric cooktop that can be moved around as well. But 90 percent of the cooking is over the fire, I mean whats the point of camping.

Some of the things are there for different situations were there may be a need to use them so keep that in your thought process. I never go primitive camping well not never but very rare. I have both ac and dc incase electric goes out, Or I want to camp along the way in a rest area, or what ever you mind can think of and I am sure its tons of reasons to have it.

I am not a plans on paper kind of guy, but I did use those plans as a guidline for my tear. It was extremly helpful. If/when I build next one it will be a 5x10 pretty much everything else would stay very close to the same.

[Rarin2go]

Decide what you want most and build it accordingly. Then it will work for you. This is not a one size fits all kind of place. Happy building