tearhead
I took the name "tearhead" because for the last two weeks both my husband and I have become totally obsessed with teardrops. It started when we visited a nifty little auto museum in Hartford, Wisconsin, which had a vintage really little teardrop and as we walked by we thought, "Hm, that's just the kind of thing we'd do." And then later on, my husband saw a tear being towed and brought the subject up seriously.
Since then we've been searching online and trying to figure out whether to buy or build. Tears seem scarce as hen's teeth in southeast Wisconsin, but we've been checking Craigslist in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Janesville. Yesterday we lost an ebay auction on a really sweet trailer. Somebody else got the deal!
We could build one. My husband is very handy (farm boy). But we want to get camping! Did tent camping for years with our three kids, then discovered that hotels are pretty darn comfortable (discovered that on "the circle tour" around Lake Superior, which would be great in a tear) and have mostly been doing European travel. But we got a new little tent a couple of years ago and started camping again.
We're just not wild about sleeping on the ground, and don't want some huge rig. Looking to buy or build a 5 foot wide with 12 volt fittings and don't need a TV, microwave, etc. The hunt is fun though! And this website is absolutely amazing! I just found the alphabetical listing yesterday and realized that reading that will probably keep me busy until fall! You guys have a good thing going, and I'm happy to have found you!
SAME HERE! What a coincidenceseses. :-)~
It must be spring fever, 'cause after casually pondering a teardrop on and off for a couple of years, I caught the same bug you and your husband have, and at about the same time! Look at my join date... Hahaha... (I had joined here just over two years ago, and under what username I have no idea. I might've posted once or twice, too.)
Point is, I've got the FEVER, and it shows NO sign of abating. In fact, although I had planned to build mine and wanted to begin immeditately, I can't start mine just yet (oh! the agony!) for a couple of reasons. Work is slow -AND- I'm gettin' married!
Tanya wants to travel in the tear, too; she thinks it's great as well as a great idea for travel from SoCal to Portland to visit family twice a year. She knows we can cut our hotel bills in half... but what she doesn't know is that we'll be doing a LOT of camping, too. Hee.
So, although I can't start the build process right away and am bummed about that, the trailer design and build plans improve. They improve with every minute I spend here, reading. There is much to learn... and if I'd started building when I wanted to, the project would have to have been done over due to what I know now just after 2.5 weeks.
2.5 weeks of reading about trailer chassis, trailer axle options, electrical systems, both 12V and 120V (you want both in your tear), deep cycle batteries... woodworking tools, woodworking techniques (glue! and clamps! LOTS of clamps! rofl...) screws, hinges, trim, weatherstripping, hatch door designs... trailer lighting... skinning aluminum... the list is freaking endless but I'm now about halfway prepped to build a nice, lightweight, solid, good-looking little teardrop.
I see now at the bottom of your post that you've discovered sdtripper's Most Excellent Alphabetized Information Index:
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=12276 Thanks again, sd!
I had to laugh when I saw the thread title (remember the '70's? Eh, you're not old enough but I do, barely... *cough* *cough*), seeing the word "crack" (substitute any word you like) and then seeing your lovely avatar pic. I would've never guessed!

Welcome!