New guy from Ontario

[PhotoGuy]

Hey Everyone. I have been reading for about amonth. But this is my first post. I am a freelance nature photographer from Ontario Canada and I am looking to build a TD to head out shooting on my own. I have a fullsize 30' RV that I use when my wife kids and myself go away. But I just dont see the need to tow all the weight and size when I head out on my own. So I have desided to build something smaller.

My unit will have to be lifted. ( seen one on here that I liked) as I will be heading off road and off the grid for a week at a time. I'm looking at going solar and have a water take built into the floor. I carry a lot of camera gear and a lot of it needs batteries that need to be charged. Along with a laptop, back up hard drives etc etc and a radio ( I will scare the bears out of the woods if I sing ) My TD will have to be a little longer then the normal... As I am 6'4" tall. Just hope I can find a frame long enough without having to custom build one.

Anyway.... That a little about me. Hope to meet and talk to some of you soon..

Cheers
Ken

[NightCap]

Sounds like something I'd like to do. I take pictures as well. Panoramas HDR etc. Loads of fun.

Welcome to the forum and feel free to post us photos of your progress on the new tear.

[Roly Nelson]

Welcome to the forum. Bulding a teardrop that will handle a 6 ft 4 inch sleeper, should be no problem, even if you only build a unit that is 8 ft long. All you have to do is shorten he depth of the galley cabinets, so your feet will fit below them. Hey, I have a 6 footer, that will sleep me, and I am only 5 ft 9", no problem.

Build a scale model of your proposed teardrop, and you will be amazed, how much room you will have, dispite your height. Good luck on your build, and be sure you make your maiden voyage to So Calif, there is plenty of room in the driveway, and the coffee is always on. You must take pics and post em, (we love pics) and check out any local TD gatherings in your area.......A close up look, is worth a thousand words.
Roly, So Calif TDer and user..

[PhotoGuy]

Sounds like something I'd like to do. I take pictures as well. Panoramas HDR etc. Loads of fun.

Welcome to the forum and feel free to post us photos of your progress on the new tear.

Thanks for the message. I have looked at your TD and it looks great... I will be sure to post some photos when I start my build . It will be some time before i start, As this is prime photography time in my area. And I have a lot to get done, and a lot of trips planned. I want my first TD to be built to exactly what I need the first time.

[PhotoGuy]

Welcome to the forum. Bulding a teardrop that will handle a 6 ft 4 inch sleeper, should be no problem, even if you only build a unit that is 8 ft long. All you have to do is shorten he depth of the galley cabinets, so your feet will fit below them. Hey, I have a 6 footer, that will sleep me, and I am only 5 ft 9", no problem.

Build a scale model of your proposed teardrop, and you will be amazed, how much room you will have, dispite your height. Good luck on your build, and be sure you make your maiden voyage to So Calif, there is plenty of room in the driveway, and the coffee is always on. You must take pics and post em, (we love pics) and check out any local TD gatherings in your area.......A close up look, is worth a thousand words.
Roly, So Calif TDer and user..

Thanks for the invite I will be sure to look you up once I head to your area. I have a lot of spots I want to travel to on the west coast of the USA... AZ, Texas etc. As I site in my other reply, this is going to be a long build, since I dont think I will be able to start till this fall. I do plan to make a scale TD and play with some different ideas on paper.

I looked at your gallery, Your unit is over the top. I can tell by the photos that you put a lot of care, skill and time into yours..

Please keep in touch

[PhotoGuy]

Been some time since I updated this. I am still planning my build and picking up some items that I know i will need. When I am not working on my client requests and out shooting or editing, I have been spending a lot of time on this site. I seen a tear drop on here some time ago that has a slide out in the side. very fast this was added to my " must have list " Then I found some really cool off road tears that I just loved. Since I am will be spending almost all of my time off road and off the grid, I have to plan to have enough power to charge my camera batteries, GPS, cellphone and run my laptop, lights, fridge. I have seen a read a lot about the LED lights and think that is the best way to go.

My final plan is almost done and I am thinking of building a scale model before I start making some saw dust. I put a lot of thought into figuring out how to build my slide out.. And I think it should work Next on my plans is to plan the frame. I need it to be strong for off road use and sit high off the ground. Now its a matter of finding someone to build the frame for me. I don't own a welder and figure the cost of buying everything I would need would be close to the cost of having someone weld it up for me.. and I'm sure it would be stronger.

Been seeing a lot of nice tears on this site.. Keep up the good work everyone