New to Teardrops... From Denver!

[Thenewguy16]

Wife and I have decided we are done with tent camping. While enjoying the wonder that is metered trafficking we discovered that our 2008 kia spectra can have a tow hitch with a capacity of 2000lbs. After researching online and being disappointed at the RV show, we've chosen that building our own will be the way to go.
I am a Union Electrician, my wife is a Medical Assistant.. We have 2 dogs and hope that if we get started soon on this project we can get it at least road worthy by September. Maybe not have it completed with all the fancy stuff but enough to sleep inside of.

Open to all tips, advice, etc. Lots of good info here.. Looking forward to being a part of this group of enthusiasts!

Jason & Beki

[jdarkoregon]

K.I.S.S.

Welcome to the fun, tell us about what you are planning for your teardrop

John

[Thenewguy16]

I'm all about keeping it simple

So currently I'm at pick out trailer and hitch for my vehicle. I'm probably going with this trailer from Harbor Freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/1720-lb-capacity-super-duty-48-inch-x-96-inch-utility-trailer-with-12-inch-five-lug-wheels-and-tires-94564.html

Then, from what I've read, I will buy better bolts, washers, etc, as well as check for any imperfections and then apply another coat of paint to protect it from rust.

Design wise I'm probably going to go with something similar to the Desert Dawg (http://www.asolidfoundation.com/) only because I like the square look over the rounded.
Inside the cabin in the back half with a single shelf splitting the front end in half, for our dogs to sleep on the floor and storage on top. In the back all we really want is a counter top, a shelf or two, and a mini fridge.

Keep it simple, right?

[asianflava]

Howdy neighbor, yes you must keep it simple to keep the weight down. I'd shoot for an all up weight 1000lbs or less. Four foot wide trailers can easily be built this light, but it's more of a challenge with a five foot wide design. My managed to keep my 5ft trailer fairly light it is around 1250lbs. We've towed it with my wife's 4-cyl SUV, but it has a larger engine than the Spectra.

I've camped a few times with Joanne, the builder of the Desert Dawg. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help you if you have any questions.

[canonsue]

Welcome to the forum.

Sue

[Vedette]

Welcome to the Forum, and Good Luck with your build.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[sagebrush]

Welcome aboard! Come on up to Pinedale in August (trailer not required!)

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=48014
Will

[Thenewguy16]

You guys are awesome! So to update, I found a trailer hitch company locally to buy the hitch and wiring for my car. For both, new, out the door, it will cost $186.
STEP 1 complete.
This weekend harbor freight is having some big sidewalk sale.. Any advice on things I should keep my eye out for?

[bobhenry]

Welcome to the crazy world of tiny trailers.......

The biggest single offering I have as advice is to lendgthen the HF tongue 18" and reinforce it with an added square tube down the center of the trailer. There are dozens of posts discussing this on the forum. Towing manners and backing up the unit will be greatly improved and the flex in the tongue will disappear. This flex was my biggest concern and why I reinforced mine ,the handling improvement was just an added bonus.


Just getting the trailer "campable" and testing it in various camping modes will help you to fine tune the unit for your style of camping. You will learn what you need and don't need and where to place little improvements like where you prefer your lighting,electrical switches, and outlets.

P.S. an external AC outlet is a great camping aid ( I even used mine during the build)

[Thenewguy16]

Currently planning on a 4x8 trailer but over building it to make a 5x8ish camper.. Obviously will be building up the flooring, will that increase or decrease the rigidity/stability of the trailer?

[bc toys]

Welcome from Las Vegas Nv sounds like you got it all together ready to get started Good luck and hope to see you down the camping trails

[Thenewguy16]

found windows I really liked at a local rv salvage yard today..



[



Except I did not like the $75.00 tag for each of them.. Also found a door but at $175.00, I didn't even take a picture of it. I even asked the owner if they will be having any kinda sale coming up where I can save some money.. and she said they don't typically do sales.
I guess I will start searching online.

Oh and I found a really nice custom made 4x8 trailer on Craigslist last night for $250.00. Contacted the seller, and he replied back that he wants $450 instead since he just put new tires on it. :: sigh ::
Will continue searching for that as well.

[bc toys]

Jason I to am a union electrician also local 357 Are you building a tear, if so build your on doors and put one of those windows in them. With a tear its good to have door on both sides so for the nights that one needs to go to a public place you don't have to crawl over her/him to get out. Good luck with your build there brother hope to see you down the camping roads.

[Pam Wright]

WELCOME!!!

Be sure to write the "Last Gasp of Summer 2012" on your calendar for Sept 27th-30. and Hopefully we can camp together soon!

pam

[Thenewguy16]

Sorry I haven't been back to reply to you guys in awhile...

bc toys:
Local 357... thats Vegas, correct? How's work out there? When I was an apprentice, I had the opportunity to work in Vegas, but opted to move to Denver instead. At the time I was out of 477, San Bernardino, CA, and we were totally dried up. Nearly my whole class was on the books at the time and my wife and I felt that that a minimum of 6 months (mon-fri, 40-50hrs + class 8am-2:3-pm Sat), only to be home saturday night thru Sunday afternoon just wasn't healthy for our young marriage. So we sold pretty much everything we owned, packed up our 2 cars, and never looked back! Best decision of our lives
We love it here. On a side note, we're now inching towards our 7yr anniversary and she's already told me that if I had the chance for bookoo bucks out of state for 6 months, that she's totally okay with it now! HAHA
We've thought about the double doors idea for that same reason, but we're thinking just huge windows instead Any other tips?

Pam:
Tell me more about that Last Gap thing. I googled it and there is several events with the same title. Are you in Littleton? We are just outside of Stapleton! Have you met other local tear owners? We've so far gotten a trailer, our garage cleaned, and our side yard destroyed with the intentions of building a new shed so we can move our trailer outside and put the ol' Volvo back inside! If it's not too much to ask would you (or possibly point me towards someone locally that may be willing) to let us check out your tear? We went to the RV show and there wasn't a single one there! We've only seen them on the computer, never in person. So what ya say?

Anyways, to update you all we picked up a really nice trailer. Custom built, full size axle and 15" wheels last week and I will soon post pics of it. Currently it is loaded up with what used to be the crappy shed we used to have in our side yard. Man, it was raggedy! Yard looks like a scene out of Hurricane Katrina, by the way. So once I get it unloaded I will take pics!
My list current list is:
1) clean up yard, try to find all old nails
2) change single gate into a double gate wide enough to pull trailer through
3) build awning/shelter (I will post pics of this too)
4) move unloaded trailer, park Volvo back in garage (89 740GL w/ 319k miles and still running strong)
5) buy plywood... start building "Sparky" ... WAHOO !! (that name taken yet?)