Hi Everybody! (Newb from Sacramento)

[Rob & Mel]

Hi everybody! I decided to finally stop lurking and introduce myself. I'm Robert. Nice to meet you. I am taking the plunge and attempting my first build for my sweet fiance Melissa. If I have it done in time it will be our honeymoon hideout. If not, well... at least I'll have the satisfaction of knowing I tried. I have been reading these forums for several months now, planning my attack and gleaning priceless tips from tried and true teardroppers. I am looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible and getting as much help as I can. And believe me, I will need it! While I have no conventional construction experience, I have been trained in the art of Landscape Architecture, so I do know my way around a T-square. I am working on a limited budget and a time constraint, so enjoy the madness! I will begin posting pictures of my build soon, so keep tuned in and you're sure to get some laughs. That's all for now. Cheers!



-Robert

[S. Heisley]

Welcome, Robert and Melissa. If you can, come on up to the Dam Gathering at the Antlers/Lakehead area in May. (There is an area for tent campers, too.) You'll meet a lot of members from the forum and probably pick up a lot of ideas and techniques from other builders. For more information, Click on 'Destinations' from the "TD Friendly Websites" pull-down area at the top of your screen. Good Luck with your build!

[Roly Nelson]

Hello Robert, welcome to the forum. You will continue to find helpful info here, all you have to do is ask. As a Commercial Construction Superintendent, I used to work with talented fellows like you, and if I remember correctly, landscape architecture involves the design of outdoor public areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. Right on, Robert, now we can expect to see some of your original designs incorporated into your teardrop construction.

I too, look forward to meeting you and if at all possible, do take the time to drive up to Lake Shasta and attend the Dam Gathering. Everyone is invited, even if you just throw a bed roll on the ground and cover up with a tarp. No problem. This is the place to really get to know died-in-the-wool teardrop designers, builders and users. They are the friendliest bunch you will ever meet. Heck, Melissa can even climb into a tear to check it out for room and comfort, as an indication of how cozy she will be on your honeymoon. So, break out the T-square and a few basic woodworking tools, buy that trailer frame and get busy with your build. Take pics, post em and we'll see you at Lake Shasta, TD or no TD. (lets see, do the biggest plants go near the building, or against the edge of the sidewalk, I forgot.......all tongue in cheek, don't cha know).
Roly, So Calif TD designer, builder and user (as often as I can)

[canned o minimum]

Welcome ,Robert ! From a fellow Robert...
Keep a keen eye on that Roly fella... he has ideas and skillz that will floor ya ! He's the BEST ! ( my opinion)

Like Roly said... go to a gathering ! Trailer or no trailer... you'll be GLAD ya did ! You'll git sum wonderful ideas and a firsthand LOOK at these trailers and the many innovations that you will certainly borrow fer yer own rig ! There ain't nuthin like seein em up close and personal ! Tho a picture is worth a thousand words... seein em in person is the BEST way !

Build on !

[DMcCam]

Welcome from Reno Robert! Congratulations and have fun!!! I look forward to your pictures.

Warmest Regards,

Dave

[Vedette]

Welcome to the Forum.
There is a lot of good information here.
I have used the Forum all winter while I have been building ours.
Good Luck and Good Roads
From
Brian & Sandi

[Rob & Mel]

Hey everybody! Thanks for the warm welcome!

@Sharon: Thank you for the invitation to the Dam Gathering! I used to live in Redding and loved going to Shasta Lake and Whiskeytown Reservoir. I still need to talk to Mel about going, I believe she has a bridal shower that weekend, but we totally want to come up. On a different subject, can I ask what happened with the swing jack on your trailer? It freaked me out seeing that bent frame...

@Roly: Right on! Nice to know that not everyone thinks I just mow lawns! I'm glad to be here and I agree that teardrop aficionados are indeed a friendly group of people. I can't wait to see some trailers in person and maybe I'll get to show off mine soon too!

@Robert: Thanks for the welcome! I can't wait to go to a gathering, I know there are some really creative and ingenious people out there and love the fact that each trailer comes out different. I have a few members that I look up to as well, I'll keep my eye on Roly though. I haven't gotten a chance to check out his albums but I'm heading there right now!

@Dave: Hey Dave! Thanks for welcoming me to the group. I'm actually from Susanville originally, so I know the Reno area quite well. My mom also went to UNR and is a big Wolf Pack fan. I'll post some pics soon, all I got right now are some concept drawings and my new bolt-together trailer sitting in pieces all over the garage. I'll post those though, that'll give me a chance to see if I can actually post pics.

@Brian & Sandi: Thanks for the welcome! I wish I'd spent all winter building mine. I'm in super crunch-time now but firmly believe in doing my research first so I don't mess up too bad. Fortunately my first trailer will most likely not be my last. Seems like once you get the building bug it's hard to shake!

Well that's it for now, tomorrow I'm going to beef up and extend the tongue on my frame, try to finish building the frame, and then prep for repainting to get rid of that less-than-stellar red paint job it came with. Wish me luck!

-Robert

[nevadatear]

If you make it to the Dam, hopefully we will see you too! We are from Lovelock, 90 miles east of Reno. Best of luck on your build, it is great fun and camping is even better!

[Rob & Mel]

Hey Debbie and Randy! Thanks for the welcome! I've been all over the Silver State, so I know how beautiful places like Lovelock are (not to mention Gerlach, Virginia City, Tonopah) We've also got family over in Elko. I really like your teardrop, I am looking at making a similar profile. I love how your galley hatch curves all the way around to the lower part of the trailer, a lot of kenskills only went halfway. Was that hard to accomplish? Anyway, thanks again for the welcome and encouragement!

-Robert

[S. Heisley]

Hey everybody! Thanks for the warm welcome!

@Sharon: Thank you for the invitation to the Dam Gathering! I used to live in Redding and loved going to Shasta Lake and Whiskeytown Reservoir. I still need to talk to Mel about going, I believe she has a bridal shower that weekend, but we totally want to come up. On a different subject, can I ask what happened with the swing jack on your trailer? It freaked me out seeing that bent frame...

-Robert

Oh, you would bring that one up! It was my fault. That particular tongue is made up of 3 members. The two outside members, that make up the 'V', are only meant to be used as stabilizers. Only the middle one actually supports the trailer or is strong enough to support the trailer jack. I shouldn't have put the jack on one of those stabilizer pieces. When that thing went down, it freaked me too! I was really glad my feet weren't in the way! After I took those pictures, I had a retired CHP friend come down and help me get it back up, as I didn't want to take the chance of dealing with that when I was alone. He freaked worse than me, when he saw it! Then, I was so nervous about whether the trailer was safe to use that I wouldn't even take the trailer out of the garage until the entire thing was totally checked out and I had the green light go-ahead from somebody with extensive knowledge. It looked a lot worse than it was. It turned out to be one of those events that people could learn from so that nobody gets hurt by doing something stupid like that in the future. (I did "gently" write it up in my build thread; but, that got quickly obscured by the excitement of the first picture posted of 'MyAway' outside, with its roof up.) All is fine and life goes on....

[Rob & Mel]

Hey Sharon,

Sorry to bring up an embarassing situation... Glad to hear that everything was ok in the end. That trailer is awesome!

-Robert