Back-country tear project

[greekspeedoman]

Greetings. This forum has inspired me so much I decided to start a build. I made a website to document it. It is at: http://www.overlandtrailer.com/

I cannot decide how to finish the exterior of my 5'X10' tear. Ideas?

[Miriam C.]

to the playground. Finishing is pretty much a builders choice. Do you want a woody? Painted finish or aluminum.............

From the blog it sounds like you have the chassis going strong, but do you have a profile you are going for?

Enjoy the planning and be sure to keep the coming and the bubble oil level.

[mikeschn]

Welcome to the forum.

Just checked out your blog. Looks like you are off to a good start. Let me know when you have some more progress so I can go looking...

Mike...

[dreadcptflint]

I would get Senior Management involved immediately. If she isn't happy with the design then you never will be. Oh yeah, welcome to the forum from another non206er.....

[greekspeedoman]

Senior Management is heavily involved in the process. I need the intuition of design she has to offer. I've seen this touch in other tears (Joanne's Desert Dawg for example). Plus, if it were me, I would have built a roof top tent and never would have thought of a tear. So i have her to thank for a fun project.

Thanks for the tips. The outside finish is my problem. I am currently thinking of doing the aluminum sheeting and then painting it with rustoleum -like I did the chassis. This is because it is likely going to be getting a bit beat up and get nature's pin stripes from bushes. Rustoleum will be easy to repair and pretty durable. I haven't read about this specific process.

Has anyone got feedback on this?

[angib]

I think you should check some of your other ideas with Senior Management. I bet you haven't told SM about your plans to tie wenches to the back of the trailer:

...a hitch receiver on the back of the frame (easy place to attach a wench...

Andrew

[pete.wilson]

Hey

Welcome to the forums. Jeeps Rule! Looks like your off to a good start, a keeping the senior management involved is always good. One always hates micromanagers though! LOL

Pete Wilson
Midwest Bigfoot Investigations
Ottawa, KS

[greekspeedoman]

Senior Management actually originated the idea of the wench on the back. She is a Jeep person and thinks like one. This is one of the many reasons I married her. This is actually a fun project because it is a co operational effort between the two of us.

[SuperTroll]

for Off Road use I think aluminum BAD...branches can do more than scratch the paint, they can cut through the skin...

I know a little of this, as my beloved SELF brush striped my Dodge Ram 3500 during a trip down a, shall we say, NARROW track.... one branch holed the left rear wheel well ...and that was STEEL. (Moot now, the truck was totaled by my stepson....but it was a lesson on the power of mother natures creations).

I'm thinking that the sides could be skinned with unpolished Steel Diamond plate (Paint it with the same paint).....the roof could be aluminum, it's less prone to impact/....not exactly lightweight, but it beats patching thin sheet aluminium.....

SuperTroll: Founder of "Overbuilders A-non-i-moose"

[greekspeedoman]

I'm sorry to hear about all of your first hand problems. Thanks for the feedback. I will look into the steel option. That is a good idea. I also have a plasma cutter that I could use to cut out all of the holes (doors, windows, etc).

Cheers

[greekspeedoman]

Update: I am going with Steve F's suggestion of epoxy with a boat paint over the top as my finish. I have one layer of epoxy on my walls so far. I hope to raise the walls soon. See my www for more.

here is an example drawing of my electrical plans. I haven't looked to see if there are others out there yet. This is just from the head of someone who grew up with an electrical engineer as a father.

Feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

[dreadcptflint]

Ok, I have to ask. You have a shore power listed on your electrical and are doing a back woods trailer. Would it make more since to use a solar or wind option instead of shore power?

[greekspeedoman]

Excellent point. This is why I put this diagram out for critique. I am making some assumptions.

I have a solar panel that will feed into the battery via the 12v line that I run from the Jeep's alternator (I need to add that line to my diagram). The line will clip with a WARN quick clip so it will be easy to attach other accessories to it or other methods of charging.

The 110V line is just a matter of convenience in case it is needed or I can maintain my battery during the off season just by plugging it in. Also, I don't plan to put the 110v part of the system in until next summer some time (I want to see if it is even warranted). But planning ahead on my drawing never hurts.

Good feedback. I've revised my diagram to include the 12v Jeep harness (below).

Thanks!

[Cliffmeister2000]

Welcome, greekspeedoman! I spotted your blog a bit ago, as I have a google alert for 'Teardrop Trailer'.

We have a lot in common. I, too love photography and bicycles. I own 6 bikes, 3 road and one mountain for me, 1 road and 1 mountain for my beloved. Own 5 cameras, too. Insanity, I suppose.


I once had the privilege of driving Bob Roll (now color commentator for the American broadcast of the Tour de France) and Steve Larsen (road and mountain bike legend) around Redlands the day before the start of the 1995 Redlands Classic! The next day Julie Furtado (ski and mountain bike legend) signed my jersey, and I still have that jersey.

It is awesome to work with your beloved. My wife and I are always involved in some project on the house (she thinks of them, manages the work, and performs the final inspection, I handle labor). We started bike riding for my 40th birthday. I was getting pretty portly, but hated the gym (still do). She has had carpal tunnel surgery which eliminated racket ball and tennis, so we looked for quite a while for something we both could and would do for exercise. Turned out to be bike riding, and we have many thousands of miles on the road together, and a few hundred on trails. I plan to put a bike rack either on top of or behind the Phoenix (new name for my weekender, just decided on it yesterday or the day before).

Curious, what do you teach?

[greekspeedoman]

Cliff,

Kudos on the Greek phrase in your message! Or should I say "Καλόϛ".

It seems that we are nearly the same people. We share the same passions (bicycling, photography, teardrop trailers). I am mostly a road biker (as you can tell from my bike and blog). Thus, I am somewhat envious of your exploits with people from "THE TOUR" and such. My wife does the triathlon thing and does mostly road as well. My sister is a sponsored Ironman and has some pretty famous friends as well.

As far as photography, I am the yearbook sponsor for the school I teach at and shoot about 19,000 photos a year (5 cameras sounds great to me). It is a side hobby/job and part of my career. I teach History, Life Skills (based on basic Biblical principles -love your neighbor etc.), and Attic Greek (for fun). It would also seem that we have similar tastes in animals. Two small dogs on your album and two small dogs in my house. So far, they have been a way to delay our spawning of children. I fear my time is getting short, however.


I looked at the album of your build. It looks like you had a trailer with dry rot but then rebuilt it into quite a nice weekender. Luan as bracing (creative, light and strong in that situation..."Καλόϛ"):applause:. Are you going with a natural finish?

I also noticed that you have the same door latches that I have purchased. I like them but cannot figure out the best way to install them. If you have wisdom, I would appreciate hearing it.

I also liked your SMART car photo. Is it yours? That is a great idea. Those little things are finally making it to the US from Europe. I liked those little things when I lived in UK. I'm happy to see that they're skipping across the pond.

Cheers!