Starting my first teardrop. Campable...

[cop1406]

Well, it's official. I have started my teardrop and I must say, I made some real progress.

I will update this post as the build goes on. I am sure I will have lots of questions for you experienced builders. It will be a Benroy 4x8.

[StandUpGuy]

Well right off the bat I am impressed. You have started building in a light weight fashion. Good for you.

[cop1406]

Thanks, it will be pretty basic. No sink, Ice chest not fridge. We are used to tent camping so this will be like a mansion. I am leaning toward wood sides with aluminum top. I like that style.

[cop1406]

Got a call from HF today, my trailer will be here Monday.

[LDK]

The HF trailers are used alot by members of this forum. I got the 1700 lb trailer. Which one are you getting?

[cop1406]

Yep. The 1700 lb. version. Very excited to get going on the trailer.

[cop1406]

Hello again. Well I worked on the trailer for about 4 hours today and got it finished. Not too bad, directions were okay. The only pain in the a@# was getting the chain threaded through the bolt and then trying to keep it up from falling out while trying to put the washer and nut on. I may have said a few cuss words during that, maybe... Here is a picture of the progress. Have to go to the blue box store and buy some stuff to finish the deck and continue the build. Today is my birthday and my wife is buying me a router table. Should come in handy for this build.

[cop1406]

Worked on the trailer a little more over the last two days. I got the floor insulated. The picture below shows how I used slight pressure on the styrofoam sheets to imprint the pattern of the space I had to insulate. I then cut it out with a razor knife and placed it in the spot.

Also took the trailer to DMV. 45 minutes at DMV and I had a temporary registration form. If you live in California you will need a Certificate of Origin for the trailer. I called Harbor Freight and one is coming to me in the mail.



Here is the deck with all insulation installed. I will now add a bottom sheet of plywood and mount it on the trailer.

[txcamper]

Enjoy the build! What profile are you going with?

[cop1406]

Enjoy the build! What profile are you going with?

Benroy with wood sides and aluminum top. I think.....

[cop1406]

Okay guys, I have a question. Bought my sides this week and they are 3/4 inch oak plywood finished on both sides. My question is about insulating the side walls. Is there a big benefit in insulating the side walls? We are primarily fair weathered campers but weather is unpredictable. Does the side insulation help much with condensation? I am trying to figure out if the benefit is worth the extra work. I am not opposed to side insulation and was going to build it that way but as I look at many of the build on this site, alot of you decided to only insulate the top and bottom and not the sides..

What do y,all think???

[StandUpGuy]

Okay guys, I have a question. Bought my sides this week and they are 3/4 inch oak plywood finished on both sides. My question is about insulating the side walls. Is there a big benefit in insulating the side walls? We are primarily fair weathered campers but weather is unpredictable. Does the side insulation help much with condensation? I am trying to figure out if the benefit is worth the extra work. I am not opposed to side insulation and was going to build it that way but as I look at many of the build on this site, alot of you decided to only insulate the top and bottom and not the sides..

What do y,all think???

I think you just stopped building in a light weight fashion. Insulation is not only going to keep warm in or cold in but it also is going to control humidity inside the trailer.

[cop1406]

Okay guys, I have a question. Bought my sides this week and they are 3/4 inch oak plywood finished on both sides. My question is about insulating the side walls. Is there a big benefit in insulating the side walls? We are primarily fair weathered campers but weather is unpredictable. Does the side insulation help much with condensation? I am trying to figure out if the benefit is worth the extra work. I am not opposed to side insulation and was going to build it that way but as I look at many of the build on this site, alot of you decided to only insulate the top and bottom and not the sides..

What do y,all think???

I think you just stopped building in a light weight fashion. Insulation is not only going to keep warm in or cold in but it also is going to control humidity inside the trailer.

I am not too concerned about building lightweight. I want it to be usable but not overdone. I have camped with tents so I don't need sinks and refrigerators but I want it to be comfortable inside. Just not sure how much the side insulation does. I know it will help, just a matter of how much. I just noticed a lot of builds, including professional builds that only insulate the top and bottom of the trailers. I am still leaning towards insulating but it is kind of a shame to cover up that pretty oak...

[cop1406]

Okay guys, I have a question. Bought my sides this week and they are 3/4 inch oak plywood finished on both sides. My question is about insulating the side walls. Is there a big benefit in insulating the side walls? We are primarily fair weathered campers but weather is unpredictable. Does the side insulation help much with condensation? I am trying to figure out if the benefit is worth the extra work. I am not opposed to side insulation and was going to build it that way but as I look at many of the build on this site, alot of you decided to only insulate the top and bottom and not the sides..

What do y,all think???

I think you just stopped building in a light weight fashion. Insulation is not only going to keep warm in or cold in but it also is going to control humidity inside the trailer.

I am not too concerned about building lightweight. I want it to be usable but not overdone. I have camped with tents so I don't need sinks and refrigerators but I want it to be comfortable inside. Just not sure how much the side insulation does. I know it will help, just a matter of how much. I just noticed a lot of builds, including professional builds that only insulate the top and bottom of the trailers. I am still leaning towards insulating but it is kind of a shame to cover up that pretty oak...

[cop1406]

Got my walls up today. Made my first mistake or oversight or what ever you want to call it. I wanted the sides to come down and cover the bottom of the deck but I did not cut my deck down to compensate so my trailer is now 49.5 inches wide. That will make it more difficult to cover the top in 48 inch aluminum. Maybe I can use 1 inch trim to cover the 3/4 inch ply plus 1/4 inch of the aluminum....

I am sure I will make lots more errors and oversights during this build. This is the first time I have taken on something like this. I am having fun and I am sure I will figure it out with help from you guys and using my noodle... Got to use my Bosch router today, worked great.