In need of inspiration

[MushCreek]

Another newb here, looking for inspiration to finally build a teardrop. I've been dreaming of one for several years now, and became the proud owner of a 5X10 utility trailer that's just begging for a body. We live in west central FL, but have acreage in upstate SC where we will be moving in a couple years. A trailer would be just the thing to camp on our property with, and a good way to haul stuff up there, too.

I have an interesting design in mind; tell me if someone else here has done this. The body shell will be two pieces, with the lower half being about 24" high, and the upper half about 36" high. It will be hinged in the front, and the upper sides will overlap the bottom in the 'travel position'. When set up for camping, the back end will be tilted up for head room, and a canvas filler made to keep the skeeters and rain out. I dabble in antique garden tractors, so the top could be tilted up to load a tractor for traveling to a show. Once on site, the tractor goes outside, and the camper gets set up for living quarters. I even have a name- The Happy Clam-per! OK- now that you know I'm crazy, I look forward to exploring the forum!

Jay

[hotrod]

Welcome aboard mushcreek,
You dont sound any more or less crazy than the rest of us so you should fit in. ask alot of questions and post pics, pretty sure its in the rules someplace. .. Paul

[Miriam C.]

to the playground Jay! We have a few different ideas for what you are looking for.

The first has been around a while.
http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/t ... tear36.htm

Then there is the Winter Warrior and Escape hatch. You can see both in the Hall of Fame.

Yes you are mad, it is contagious and only treatable with mega doses of and of course sawdust helps a great deal

Enjoy

[Roly Nelson]

Jay, you're exactly the kind of guy we're looking for. It is good to think out of the box. Do check out the many pics in the Hall of Fame, you can get a bunch of ideas for a flip-top, like you have described. Good luck, take pics, post em and enjoy.
Roly

[Steve_Cox]

Jay,

Hello and welcome. Inspirational message below:

Clams are cool.... Get busy making the sawdust fly!!

[mikeschn]

A larger version of this perhaps...



Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Mike...

[MushCreek]

What I have in mind is a pretty straight-forward tear, with a belt line about 18"-24" up, parallel with the deck. I'll make the bottom half a woody, and paint the upper half. The upper half would overlap the bottom to shed rain, and I might include a gasket in there somewhere. I'll hinge it at the front. I've thought about making the upper half out of klegecell (foam) and fiberglass, which is easily formable, and very light weight. The price might stop me, though! I don't plan any built-ins, because of it's dual role for hauling stuff. I'm not sure what to do about a door yet, except for simply going in and out of the back. It would be nice to have access without having to open the top. I'll post my preliminary design once I get some scanned and figure out how to post them.

[Juneaudave]

Welcome Jay...sounds like you have some great ideas on what you want!!! There are some amazing people here with a multitude of talents...if you run into questions be sure to ask!!

[Senior Ninja]

Welcome,

Let's get some wood and start cuttin'! You'll be wonderin' what took so long.
Let the memory makin' begin.




Steve

[MushCreek]

The hardest thing will be finding the time. I have a pretty good skill set for trailer building- I'm a tool maker by trade, with experience in machining, welding and woodworking. Many years ago, I had my own business building wooden boats, so the curvy stuff doesn't scare me. I've built a number of flat bed trailers over the years, so all I have to do is add a (pretty) body. I'll try to post my idea sketches soon.

[MushCreek]

I started tearing into my donor trailer today- a 5X10 flatbed I got a deal on recently. The main frame rails are a beefy 2X3X3/16" tubing, but the cross members are only 1" square, and paper thin. 3 out of the 4 intermediate crossmembers were broken on one side, and one was broken in the middle as well. It's a got a good drop axle, springs, and tires, so all I have to do is weld in some better crossmembers, and start my build. Once it looks like I'm gonna get started for real, I'll start a build thread.

Jay