The Maiden Voyage of The Escape Pod 06/03/2011

[Synthesis]

Less than two months ago I began the journey of building my first Teardrop camper..
Today, it is weathered in, wired in and ready to camp.

It will be making it's maiden voyage this weekend behind my Pontiac Fiero tow vehicle to the Wisconsin Dells for the annual Fiero gathering in the Dells.

I am excited. LOTS of thumbs up from everyone who sees it, lots of looks, and even several people who have taken pictures.

It is a head turner, and it is nowhere near as nice as other people's builds.

Going to be a hot and sticky weekend, especially without an AC. I'll see how it goes with just a Fantastic fan and the side windows though.



The build thread is here for anyone interested in seeing photos of the build: http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=43795

Wish me luck, and if you want to follow along on my trip, I am running GPS tracking software on my cell phone using Google Maps.. You can see where I journey for the trip there.
http://android.sygem.com/trackme/trackU ... y=ouesdxzw

[Deryk the Pirate]

Good Luck!

[Woodstramp]

Envious. Have fun on the road trip...take some pics.

BTW, I really like the name you chose for your project. Perfect for intended use.

[grant whipp]

Lookin' Good, Chris ... ...!

Enjoy the fruits of your labor! As always ...

CHEERS!

Grant

[kirkman]

Way to go!

[Woodbutcher]

Nice job..you should be proud. Stop by "Monks" for a burger and a Beer when in the Dells and celebrate! Yummm

[parnold]

Synthesis:

Looking great!

I haven't been to the Dells in 15 years or so, had a blast back then.

One comment, be very careful of how your front jack is mounted. Those rails can twist easily. You may want to consider having someone weld a support between the two rails to make it extra rigid.

[Nosty]

Looks great, Synthesis. Nice job. Have a great weekend. Nothing like sleeping, surrounded by something you built yourself.

[Synthesis]

Thank you all for the kind words.

parnold, I plan to build a tongue box that will do the majority of the bracing for me, but yes, I noticed the rail flexed quite a bit when I was in the camper working on it while the tongue jack supported it.

I camped with it hitched to the car for the weekend.

I entered the car show with the camper attached, and took third place in my class (Project) out of eight cars.
I am pleased with the result as I have attended this show for 6 years now and this is my first trophy from it.

The teardrop was a smash hit. Everyone who saw it loved it. Especially with the LED interior lighting that I installed. I ended up posing for photos several times by the car and trailer.

I played with my camera this weekend and used the "Tilt Shift" effect to make everything look miniature.
In this photo, you can see my car off in the upper center with the teardrop and a group of people nearby looking at it.
Click for a larger view.


Friday night, it was 80+ with 100% humidity, and without AC I had trouble breathing. I ended up getting the last room in the resort that night. Saturday night cooled off to the mid-50s overnight, and I slept like a baby in my new Teardrop.

I have some work left to do, but nothing too involved.

It also pulled beautifully on my way home from the Dells. 70MPH with no issues, I couldn't even feel it back there most of the time. And that is with a 2.8 V6 engine with 140k on the clock. Stock HP was 140 with a fresh engine.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Congrats on your maiden voyage and your trophy! Your teardrop looks great behind the Fiero!

[Nosty]

Congratulations, Synthesis!

Just to add to Parnold's comment, really, really, really consider that extra bracing on the tongue. I built mine on the Tractor Supply trailer with the 2X3" tongue bolted to the frame. On the third or forth trip out I hit some really rough railroad tracks and the tongue almost tore out of the frame and the flex from the tongue was unbelievable. I had to weld two additional 2X3 tubes from the frame to the tongue in A frame fashion to strengthen and stiffen it. I had a heavy duty box mounted between the tongue and the TTT, thinking that would offer enough support. The RR tracks just about ripped the box off the camper. You don't want that to happen to you, believe me. I have pictures in my album if you're interested.

Your build looks great. Really nice work. Sorry about the sleepless night. Down here, AC is a requirement, not an option.

[Synthesis]

Updated photo.