A few newbie quesitons

[stone_family3]

We'd like to build our own trailer but have a lot of questions.
We thought we'd be stuck with a big box until we found your site.

How do you get the wood to bend the way you want it too?
What type of wood is best?
What do you cover the outside with?
Do you seal your wood? With what?
How do you get things to safely screw into the walls when there are no studs?
What about the underside of the trailer, is it sprayed or sealed with something so wood wont get wet?
How do you get the back to open in close securely, do you just use regular hinges?
Do any of you have solar panels on yours?
Do any of you travel with small children in one of these types of campers?


We are justing looking for a sleeping area for two adults and a toddler so we don't need much but loved the shape of these. Thanks for your help.

[Dean_A]

Hi, and welcome!

The curved part of the trailer is usually done with 1/8" plywood. It curves very easily. Often it's birch.

Some cover the outside with aluminum, some with fiberglass, some just paint it. If just painting, it's best to use a very good sealer first, like CPES.

Many folks use sandwich wall construction, so there are studs on some builds. Others use 3/4" solid ply walls, which should give enough bite for some things to screw in. I'm sure folks have come up with other creative solutions as well.

Often the underside is coated with "black goo" asphalt emulsion used in roofing. It's cheap, does the job well, and is easy to apply.

The main issue with the galley hatch is waterproofing. Lot's of people use the Better-Than-Hurricane Hinge from Li'l Bear teardrops http://www.lilbear.teardrops.net/parts.html. It works great. Other have used plastic hinges from McMaster, and others have used regular piano hinge with a rubber covering.

No solar panels on mine. Just a deep cycle battery, but I only run a few 12v lights ad a fan. Some folks do use solar panels though.

We travel with our 4 year old daughter. She has her own bunk.

There are as many ways to build a TD as there are people on this board. Hang around, learn a lot, and have fun with your build!

[stone_family3]

Thanks so much. We were thinking about just putting a seperate bed for our little one with a dividing bar so she doesn't roll on us and vice versa.

I've never thought about a bunk. We are only planning on maybe running a light and a fan.

How wide is most of your trailers?

[mikeschn]

5' wide seems to be a popular size.

There are a number of folks that have done bunks... You'll see them in the Hall of Fame!

Mike...

[oklahomajewel]

Hey Stone Family ... welcome to our big family of great builders and campers and teardrop lovers!

That's lots of questions and understandable. I might give you a peice of advice, but not sure what part of the country you live in.

It would be great if you would try to see one , or attend a campout of a few teardroppers. Look underneath, look in the tongue box, lift the hatch, lay down inside ... some things are personal preference and some are from trial and error. depends too on what you can afford, your building skill and your type of camping.

I built mine about 3 yrs ago and it's held up well even though I did some things wrong! I bought a big deep cell battery but really for just two or three little 12v lights, I could do okay with a $20 lawnmower battery.

[Dean_A]

Our trailer is just under 5' wide (exterior body). Our bunk works great, and we're very happy with it.

[stone_family3]

That bunk is awesome. We are considering doing the same thing. Our trailer that we are starting with is only 4'x8'.

We've considered doing two things with the bunk for our daughter.
1) a bunk similar to what you have, only solid so it can double as a shelf if we ever decide to do a couples weekend or resale.

2) A slide out bunk area that would be similar to a dresser/cabinet drawer only bigger (obviously) It would be on a track and slide in and out of the actual trailer and have legs that came down to support it. There would be a small lid like cover for it that would lock securing it and covering the hole. it would be similar to a bigger slide out on a bigger camper.

Has anyone tried that?

Thanks everyone you've all been so nice and helpful.