New guy from Utah.

[Modstock]

Hi eveybody. Im new from W. Jordan Utah. Ive been wanting to build a tear for quite some time to tow behind my old 30's chevy.
I was thinking of building a generic benroy (something bare bones and simple) but I have a chance to buy a tear from my friend .
its about 85% done.
I have a question or two.
1.) Do you have to register a tear in utah ? I know on small flat beds if they can see you plate your fine.
2.) What should I be paying for a good used tear .
3.) Any suppliers in utah if I should have to build. (aluminum, dead-soft T , handles ect.)
Ive looked alot on this site and it has a ton of info and great people to help. I look foward to having my first tear ( cuz tents suck in the wind)
and posting build pics.

[Wolfgang92025]

Modstock,

Welcome to the fun. I just moved into a house down the road in Herriman. Wish I could tell you about suppliers in the Salt Lake area. But I built my trailer while I was living in So Cal. I will watch this threat to get info on were to buy stuff in the local area.

[PSBreen]

Welcome to the insanity. I started building my Teardrop right after Christmas. It's going to be a 5 x 8 Benroy style Teardrop. I not a woodworker by any stretch on the imagination, but I enjoy tinkering with all sorts of things. If you are anything like me then building your tear will be......fun, frustrating, a learning experience and a great way to make new friends. Jump in and have a blast.

I'll throw my 2 cents in on your questions

1.) Do you have to register a tear in Utah ? Here's what I've found out... In Utah, a single axle trailer under 750 lbs does not have to be registered. If you take it out of state, then you might have issues. That being said there are several people here who travel a lot and have never had a problem. I had my trailer frame built and I have paperwork that states it is a utility trailer complete with a VIN. I called the DMV to ask about registration. Neither office I called had a clue what a teardrop trailer was. I told them it was a utility trailer with a box on it that I can sleep in and has storage space for supplies. The first office I called said to register it as a utility trailer for $70 (reg + tag) and it would be good in all 50 states. The second office said "Oh you can sleep inside it, so it's a TRAVEL TRAILER. That'll be about $230 a year".

2.) What should I be paying ? All I can tell you is I've got $1400 tied up in the frame, materials and hardware. I'm guessing that we'll be closer to $2000 (or more) by the time we're done.

3.) Any suppliers in Utah if I should have to build. (aluminum, dead-soft T , handles ect.) ? I haven't had great luck with that. I got most of my hardware on-line. Best Way Trailer (801-268-1412, open Mon thru Fri) in SLC sells a variety of aluminum trim. Many of the big RV places buy their trim from these guys. I just bought some 1" x 3/8" aluminum corner molding to use for roof edge trim in 16 ft lengths.

[TENNJIM]

Welcome from a little bit north of you. I bought a Hunter Shadow and do not really have some build experience to share. However, there are many people on this forum that can answer your questions and/or offer ideas. As indicated above, registration in Utah is a bit of a guessing game if your trailer is under 750 lbs. Good luck on your build and we hope to see you down the road someday.

Jim B / Utah

[sunny16]

Welcome to the forum and to the wonderful world of teardropping. It looks like we are getting a few more teardrops here in Utah. Maybe we can get a gathering planned for later this summer. I have been trying to get a gathering together for a couple of years to no avail. Anyhow, I built my trailer a few years ago and like others have posted, mine cost me around $1500 to build. I did register mine an it costs around $45 a year. I did it cause I went to California and didn't want to have any trouble there. It also makes it so you have some way of ever showing you own it if (heaven forbid) it ever gets stolen. there have been some that have been stolen. It's not hard to get them registered here in Utah. They do want to look at it. There are some places to get parts and pieces around here. You have to do a little research or the internet has places to buy parts from This forum is a big help while building a trailer. I learned so much from here before starting my build. Good luck and maybe we will meet at a campground or gathering sometime.

[jmtk]

Welcome to the forum, Modstock! Here's a thread from a while ago listing some of my favorite SLC area suppliers. Sorry, no listing for aluminum, as my trailer is a woodie: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=21102

I haven't tagged my trailer since it's in the less than 750 lb. category, but I keep thinking that I should for the reasons that Sunny mentions. I've got over 25,000 miles on it, visiting most western states and as far east as Wisconsin, with no tag issues yet (knock on wood).

Have fun!

Jeanette

[Modstock]

Thanks guy's for the replies and info .
My friends ended up falling through. He sold his for more than my budget.
So I kept an eye on one in the classifides and picked it up today.
Here's some pics.



Here they had a small bunkbed instead of cabinets. Looks like a good place for the bulldog to sleep.

I already started putting camping gear in just to get an idea of how I should finish the galley.

There's a few things to fix in the future but I'll do some camping first.

[Modstock]

A get-together sounds great . Im in . Maybe the 5 of us could get something together this summer.
I'll probably tag mine next year once I do some mods/repairs to it.
Im gonna get some foam thru work in a few weeks then I can take it campin.

[suckerpunched]

When I called the DMV they told me that under 500lbs didn't need to be registered...either way,,,,I've only towed mine just under 1000mi and have never been questioned.....good luck with your build....hope to see ya on the road...
TC

[talkturkey]

if your trailer is 750 lbs empty it doen't have to be register in utah. But you go out side of Utah its diferent. I got pulled over on my way back from the redwoods in nevada right before the utah boorder. The officer said it does needs to be register or get a tag from nevada to travel in nevada. I have been told that he was wrong, its just like your car if one state it is registered then its good for all states. I think he just wanted to see the trailer he followed me for 5 miles before he pulled me over then he wanted to see in it. So i'm not sure about taking it out of state if its ok or not. I plan on just registering if i'm going out of state to be safe, for 45 dollars its not a big deal. I'm know working on my second teardrop i have alot of cool ideas now that i've done one. Its been a fun time for my family having it. I built my first one to be light enought to be pulled by a polaris side by side you should see the looks i get pulling it around with my side by side.

[Modstock]

So ive had my tear out a few times already and even done some mods , I'll be posting up a build thread shortly.

[bc toys]

welcome to a great site nice trailer how does it handle with your jeep

[Modstock]

Thanks.
It tows well....but its only a 4cylinder so its slow going when going up hills.