jelly bean

Insulation

2010-11-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

The back is insulated with 3/4 Styrofoam board.

I went with expanding foam insulation, while it did give me the results I wanted. It was expensive, messy, and expensive.

More better propane tank

2008-05-16T20:32:00.000-07:00

While in Florida I installed a larger propane tank. Clamped a piece of angle to the tongue and used redi bolt to clamp the tank between two pieces of angle. I installed the tank one inch too far back and the tank rubbed the body. Auntie M put a sponge in there that made it from Missouri to Washington state.

Dad wrapped the copper tubbing around a small propane tank three times to make the coil you see, looks cool I think, thanks dad. I tried using a regulator, but my heater will not work with it, so it goes without.

An adapter is required to install the heater. By far the most expensive part of this modification (other than the tank), cause dad gave me the copper.

I left a connection in the galley so I could add a tee and hook my cook stove later.

del

Nevada MO

2008-04-11T20:21:00.001-07:00

I spent two days in the town of Nevada MO with some fellow tear droppers. Here are some of their trailers. One person from Arkansas had the ultimate tear drop accessory, a barbecue mounted on the back.

This tear drop you can stand inside the back, where the kitchen is,

here it is folded up for travel.

More of a classic tear drop, simple yes, but miles better than a tent.

Two examples of manufactured teardrops.

del

6000 mile road test

2008-04-11T20:03:00.001-07:00

I reinstalled the now matching hatch.
Time to hit the road, Florida here I come.

Here is computer mock up of what I was suppose to build.

Me hiding behind door.

Half way through road test, resting in Florida.

so long for now del

no worries still to come a stop in Nevada MO, propane tank install, fenders, and more.

Odds and ends

2008-04-10T21:32:00.001-07:00

The windows need to have a curve, so lexan is in order. Regular plexi may break when you drill hole in it. First I marked in pencil the hole locations evenly around the opening. They are very visible so neatness counts. Next comes a two person job, one holds the glass from the inside (minding where the other person is drilling), and puts a nut and washer on the machine screws as they appear. the other person drills and puts the machine screws through. After all the fasteners are in loosen and apply a sealer, then retighten the fasteners.

I insulated the floor and covered with 3/8" ply. This may sound thin, but nobody walks on the floor, plus it is covered with a mattress. Note concrete gravity clamp to hold floor down while the glue dried.

In the back I found room for the spare and a tyre iron. The stabilizer jacks will lift the tyre off the ground no problems. The tyre liked to flip out of this strap, so a redesign is in order.

Here is my trailer in northern Alabama last December. Note no snow. Florida here I come.

Counters and 12volt

2008-04-10T17:15:00.000-07:00

The kitchen gets its fixed counters. The two holes get removable pieces. I have tried velcro, but they bounced out. Someday I will cover this with counter top covering.

Del's thoughts on electrical, make it easy to expand later. for now it gets two lights and power outlet. The hard part of working with a wood trailer is no metal ground, so I used bus bar purchased from an electronics store. The battery I borrowed from a ridding lawn mower (it is my riding lawn mower), yes my battery box will easily handle a bigger battery, and a deep cycle would be better (wheel chair batteries are deep cycle and small). I secured the box and ran all the ground through the bus bar. The battery is charged when the car is running. I have run my 12v electric blanket up to four 45 minute stints on this set up, with no noticeable light dimming.
Inside I installed a fuse box with more circuits than I thought it would ever need. I wired an interior light, a porch light, and a power outlet. Yes I did secure the wires so they look neeter, and you do not snag them when moving about in the trailer.

Here is the porch light controlled from inside. The plan is to add 110 volt later, and it is another subject.

del

Paint and coverings

2008-04-10T16:39:00.000-07:00

The bottom was covered with 1/8" ply, then painted with asphalt roof coating. I used two coats, and rubberized undercoating to fill in where I could not reach with the brush. When dry turn back right side up, and do all the body work before bolting to the frame (do not ask).

When the body work is done, primer is in order.

It is time for paint, and to assemble all the hardware back on. I should have waited till now to bolt the body on.

I waited to long to build the hatch, so I had to paint indoors. #$^&&* winter! Yes I used exterior latex, rolled on.

del

Door hinge and latch

2008-04-10T14:00:00.001-07:00

I built an internal hinge, yes you could bang your head on it. I called it the Binford head banger model
3000. It is built out of one inch square tubing, 1/4 plate, and 3/8 inch bolts. My first attempt was smaller and bolted to the other side of the hinge spar, it caused the door to hit the wall. This new design allowed the door to open 90 degrees.

Here is the door open.

I used the same latch for the door as the hatch (same key also). I used it for a template for the hole in the door. A notch was necessary, for the door to latch, in the door jam.

Here is the latch put together. A couple of notes the cables are to keep the door in shape (should have put more structure in the door earlier), and the picture was taken in Alabama, so several days of travel made a mess. I used bungee cords, top and bottom, for curtain rods, just drilled holes for mounting points. My neighbor made the matching curtains and bedspread.

del

2007-10-28T08:05:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of the skin trimmed.

An old picture showing where the four spars are. I did add two cross braces (no photo) and braces all the way forward at the bottom of where the skin goes. With the skin on I cut the four spars in between the two skins.

A couple of photos showing the hatch propped open.

del

hatch skin

2007-10-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

A seal has to run down both sides, and 1/8" ply is not wide enough. My solution is to glue more ply on the inside. I added three layers, with each layer just a little further back, so I could sand it parallel to the skin that will be put there.

This process took several days, and many many clamps.

Time for the first side of skin.

Trim to shape. I used an 8' aluminum ruler to find the trim line.

Installed the second side and trimmed.

del

Hatch latch

2007-10-22T07:26:00.001-07:00

The latch is installed flush with the top of the counter. Trim so it fits through the braces.

The top piece is 3/4" ply trimmed so the base of the latch sticks through. The latch bolts to this piece of ply.

I added these two pieces of 1 by that are only glued to the spars. I used spacers 5.2mm ply to hold the bottom framework off the body (to leave room for seal). The spars in time will be cut from the body (no it is not time yet)

Another view.

In the space left I added a small triangle of 1/2" ply secured to the 1 by, that a metal striker will mount to. Note the small rectangle piece of ply is a temporary shim.

del

Door part one

2007-10-19T21:13:00.001-07:00

When I laid out the sides I marked the door cut out, which should show through the fiberglass. Using a jig saw I cut out the window first, then the door.

Now I need to build a lip for the door to seal on. Andrew made this drawing (thanks Andrew). The purple (maybe it is blue) is the body. I am adding two pieces, an 1/8" spacer, to give room for the seal (black in the illustration) and the lip.

Due to the complex shape, I built the spacer out of many small pieces. Each piece is custom fit and goes all the way back to the interior spar. Cut out the general shape and held it in place and drew the curve, cut out with jig saw, glue and clamp. Do not make more than you can clamp. Let dry overnight, remove clamps and sand for exact shape. I made the lip out of two layers of 5.2mm ply (I have no idea where it came from, but it is nice thin ply). The lip is 3/4". Do not put the seams in the same place. This took about a week of clamping, letting the glue dry, cutting a piece to go over it, gluing, clamping.....

After sanding, coat the entire thing with fiberglass resin.

del

Tag part two

2007-10-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

To put a bottom on the tag box I cut a piece of 1/4 ply wide enough to fit between the braces, and slid it in. Holding it in place I traced the shape of the skin and cut.

I glued it in place, set my clamps to spread , and held it in place.

Added some fiberglass resin to coat the top, and filleted the bottom.

I hid the compartment vent in front of the tag (the battery goes in this compartment). When stapling this panel on I clamped the bottom so it bowed upward (figured the water would flow out).

Once glued and stapled, remove metal and fiberglass.

del

Fiberglass

2007-09-18T10:08:00.001-07:00

Before getting started make sure no staples are sticking up. Grind and/or pound the offending staples. The hardest part is getting the cloth to lay flat. Some one on the forum suggested using tape, to whom ever suggested it thank you, I have CRS and can not remember who.

You end up stretching the cloth slightly to get the wrinkles out. Focus your attention on the panel you are working on. I leave the overlap, and trim out the big folds. Yes when I work on the next panel it overlapped this one back the other way. The corners are covered twice.

To apply the resin I use a paint roller. I bought a half size roller handle, and cut full size rolers in half to fit it (thanks Doug). Use a paint roller pan with inserts to mix the resin. Start in one place and work away from it pushing bubbles away, remove tape as you go (do not bury it, ok try not to. Any staples sticking up will produce bubbles. The cloth I used is only 5' wide, so I will have to fill the bottom later. If I build this trailer again it will not be as tall, fixing this challenge.

Here is a picture of tape that is buried, shh do not tel anyone.

del

Roof

2007-09-13T22:28:00.001-07:00

For the roof I used 1/4" ply. The rear section (already done in picture) required one brace from side to side. Next decide where the vent will go in front. I decided centered, using the existing brace. Build a square 14 1/4" big. Note the directions with the vent say 14" but to do that, double the braces so the mounting screws have something to bite into.

Trial fit of vent.

Glue and staple the front section on. When you cut out the roof make it a little larger than necessary and sand to fit. The hole for the vent I cut out with a router and a trim bit, that is till the bearing on the trim bit burnt up, then I used a jig saw.

Sand the roof to fit, and fill the cracks with fiberglass.

del

Roadside of floor

2007-09-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

There are several schools of thought on how to seal the bottom of a trailer from water, you will find several threads on the subject on Mikes forum. Here is mine. First I removed the frame (paint it now) and rolled the body onto its side.

I used scraps of 1/8" ply to fill the gaps. When I covered the body mounts, I reached through the large openings and drill through the ply. Before covering the large openings I added a piece of framework. As you work glue in the spacers, clamping them with the body mount bolts.

For the three pieces in the nose I used thicker scrap, and added 1/8" stuff to fill the gaps.

When done it should look kinda like this. Do not mind the mixed match ply it all gets covered in black goo.

Tag part one

2007-09-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

Most states require a tag on the back of the trailer, this is how I did mine. I used the bracket of the harbor freight trailer and put a 90 degree bend in it so it would mount on the bottom of the wood brace (not shown). Pictured is the first of three wooden braces I put here, the other two are sandwiched parallel to this one, going towards the front. Yes the tag is facing the wrong way.

I cut a line above and below it and two on the sides. I hated it.

Here is one corrected line, I think it looks better. Now cut the other side.

del

Tail lites

2007-09-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Tail lites need to be added to your trailer, how you choose to deal with them is your choice. I choose round ones, frenched in, with blue dots (check with local laws before installing blue dots).
I went to a local irrigation supply and found pvc pipe the lites would fit.

I bought a hole saw that matched the OD of the pipe, and an extra long center bit for the saw. Mark center points and drill the holes in line with the center line of the trailer, not the skin. A lot of fitting and fusing will gain you two tubes that match. Once you are happy with the location, clamp into place and fiberglass in place on the inside.

Inside view of clamps. Let dry.

After resin dries trim the outside flush. I used 1/2 ply for the backing, fiberglassed in, to mount the lites. This method of installing lites will gain you minimal lighting for your trailer, if you desire more or different get creative. On the forum we debated whether I needed more lighting. There were two camps, and I chose to go this way knowing if someone did not notice my small lights, on a bright yellow trailer, they were not paying attention, and would not notice ten time more lights. My 2c.

del

tail skin

2007-09-12T13:24:00.001-07:00

To put the skin on, first cut the ply to length. Make sure the spars are running parallel to each other. You are about to put a lot of pressure on the spars, if one sticks out more than the others, it will be the cog that sticks up, and instead of getting beat down it will pop out(trust me). My strap clamps started out life as cargo straps. The straps are hooked to the frame underneath and I never found a good place on top (good luck). Once the glue dries trim the excess off both ends.

Repeat on other side.

Fillet in the spars and joints with fiberglass. A coat of fiberglass rolled on everything would be cheap insurance against moisture. Side note the second skin buckled as I bent it, should have removed it and installed a new piece.

Here is the only good picture I have of the trimmed tail. For now ignore the tail lite.

del

Framing the Tail

2007-09-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

I added a wall at the end of the cabin and started framing the counter top. The shelf at the right is for an ice chest. I also added the battery box. The triangular ply (1/2") is for the skin.

Ice chest in place. Yes I am vertically challenged so if the chest sat on the counter I would need a ladder.

I built four spars for the tail, plus two lower half spars. In between the spars I put braces level with counter. Everything above the braces is part of the hatch (do not cut yet). The top of the spar hooks to the hinge piece at the top.

Since the battery will be in this space I added drains for the lower floor. I used 1/2" pvc fiberglassed into the corners. I used a piece of square tubing to support the next piece. I framed out the lower half of the tail.

Here is the frame work finished. Note the jack and temporary brace, this frame work is weak till the skin is on.

del

begining of tail

2007-09-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

Beyond where the spars are the wall will try to flatten out at the bottom, so braces are added. A cross piece is added to hold this thing square.

Determine how long the cabin floor needs to be, and install bracing for the foot wall. The top of the wall is a support for the counter top in the galley. The ply you see is 1/2" that the battery sits on.

Here I put a vertical support that ties the cabin foor to the galley floor. The frame work for the floor is also being worked on. The larger openings are soon to be needed for access, but will be framed later.

The top of the hatch is made from the other half of the oak board, and a triangular piece of 1/2" ply. The Hurricane hinge is from http://www.lilbear.teardrops.net/parts.html#hinge
You do not need a 4' one so call or e-mail, mine is about 2'. The picture is of it completely open. When putting this together allow for skin thickness when installing the hinge (I used scrap pieces for spacers). I used 1/4" ply for the main roof (1/8" ply should do if the trailer never sees snow).

del

2007-09-10T07:24:00.001-07:00

Here is the wall trimmed from the last post.

At the top of the wall goes a piece of oak that the hatch hinge mounts to. Once again I installed this piece, and then trimmed.

I cut out the rear half of the wall, traced it on to the other side, and installed it. Remember glue, staple, clamp, bend, staple, and clamp. Repeat on other side.

With the notes on measurements for the fender, I cut the bottom of the wall out so the fender could be reattached. Repeat on other side. I bought a spare at Wally World and according to Murphy, I had to test fit it. I then reinstalled the tires.

Framing back

2007-09-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

Before I get into the frame work, a note, filleting the joints in the skin with fiberglass on the inside is a good idea now. Easy access and not working in a confined space are reasons.
Space the third spar assembly back. I spaced it back equal to the distance of the top of the rear skin, minus the piece off oak used to support the hinge, and the hinge itself (see next step). Note I made this section 7" longer than the plans. I used 1/2 ply to fill the space above the fenders. I had to use 1"x * (3/4" working thickness) to space the body high enough so I could make the floor flat.
MAKE SURE BODY IS SQUARE BEFORE CLAMPING.

I next installed two shelves, the upper one for storage, and the lower shelf is the electrical raceway. I copied the one Mike used in the generic benroy (top of the forum page).

The cabin ends here, but your feet extend just a bit farther, so rear wall had to be installed. I Used dimensions from the mattress I will use to determine the floor size. To make it easier I clamped a strait board to set the wall on while I glued it and stapled it.

Another project to work on is the support for the bottom of the skin. The fenders and the tires are in the way, draw out and measure the fenders (later I trimmed out body so you can reinstall the fenders) so remove them now. The stabilizer jacks will be handy now.

Here is the wall on. When dry trim along spar. I also installed the raceway ends, an access door goes across the rest of the space.

Forgotten step

2007-09-07T10:14:00.001-07:00

This step should have been before last. The top corner of the hinge spar should have been reinforced, remember it has to be trimmed. Clamp your pieces in, no metal fasteners!

I added two cross braces. One at the very front of the roof, and one near the top of the hinge spar. The lower brace can be used for a shelf support. Repeat on other side, and when the glue sets up trim along front edge of skin. You did not put any staples or screws through the area to be cut did you, remove before cutting.

This picture shows what it looks like after trimming. next make a piece that goes on top that matches the bottom pieces angle, and install. The boards clamped on with orange clamps are temporary bracing till it is skinned. Now you are ready for the last step.

del

Nose skin

2007-09-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

If you only have one door, reinforce the window. Floor construction is now underway, but grew as the trailer grew, so I will show a picture later how it turned out. The connection of the floor and the wall needs to be very strong. The floor joists are 1 x 2 pine.

A spar is fabed up according to plans, and installed on one side. Make two spars.

The plans had curves drawn out for this piece, but i cut the inside curve only. The outside I let overhang. Starting at the bottom glue, staple, clamp, bend, staple, and then clamp.

Here is where I discovered the incorrect measurement at the bottom, and my curve was off. Straitening it was challenging.

Trim the out side. On the second side I cut the ply to length and installed it. When the glue dried I trim both sides. I now installed the second spar on the inside.

Next move towards the rear.

internal work

2007-09-06T05:33:00.001-07:00

My first job is to support the front bottom corner of the curve. I did this with the piece that supports the bottom of the nose skins. Andrew included dimensions for this piece, except my trailer is six inches wider. Basically I drew it per plans and added three inches to both sides. Until the skin is on, this piece is weak, so temp bracing is in order. I then fiberglassed the joints.

At this point one should clamp legs on the body and clamp it to something secure. Wind will cause damage if you do not, trust me. I added bracing for the door, and started fiberglassing it in.

More bracing.

Added bracing to the front of the hinge spar. Under the brace you can see a patch used to fix wind damage. If you want two doors turn over and repeat. If two people will share this space, it is really handy to not crawl over someone, for night time walks. Being the sole occupant of this trailer, one door was sufficient.

del

edit
1. the bracing was not enough, had to add cable tensioners, to keep the door in shape.
Thing I considered, but did not mention.
2. Plan where the door latch goes, and leave space for it.
3. Consider where the hinge will go, and add bracing accordingly.

frame II

2007-09-02T23:07:00.001-07:00

Part II of the frame. Since I am towing this with a small car I elected to install trailer brakes. I ordered an axle that put the wheels the same distance apart as the original axle. The brake hubs mean the springs have to move inboard. If I had it to over I would have ordered it with the spring perch location being the constant, yes it would have been wider, and the fenders would need spaced out. I had to move the spring mounts inward, which required two 2" x 3" angle that was 1/4" thick. The harbor freight springs are wider than the ones my new axle intended, so I had to use the top plates from harbor freight.

Here is how the rear cross member turned out. The rear overhang is to support the stabilizer jacks (it would have worked better if I had turned it over). The only welding in the whole project was on this cross member and the spring perches on the axle.

Here is the jacks installed. See the spacers (may show up better in last picture) and why this piece is upside down.

Here is my painted frame you can see the triangle reinforcing at the front, and the spacers for the rear jacks.

Things left to do, wire the brakes, install jam nuts on the U bolts, and cotter pins on the shackle bolts.

del

frame

2007-09-02T09:38:00.001-07:00

I am going to jump to the frame. I built the frame during the body construction, kinda like a time filler when I was waiting for the glue to dry on the body.
After assembly this is what the 40 wide by 48 long harbor freight with 8 inch tires looks like (jack sold separately). If your state requires inspection, bolt a piece of scrap ply to the deck, and do it now! If you want larger tires or a lower trailer, wheel wells inside your trailer is the result, I did not want wheel wells so I used small tires.

First modification move the axle back as far as possible. I believe it moved 8". A teardrop is a tail heavy unit, so this modification means the tongue weight will be enough. You want the right amount of tongue weight, too little, or too much and this is a problem. Andrew once again has a method. http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/teardrop/tear81.htm
See part six rules of thumb before pulling hair out.

The tongue was too short, and harbor freight sells a 3'9" extension. The nice thing was it bolted right on, and the price was good to. The down side was it took about two months to get here. Others have gone to a steel yard and found what they needed to make the piece. With the tongue extended You need a reinforcing kit. I neglected to order the reinforcing kit, so I made my own.

The extension is designed to be used with a boat trailer kit which reinforces the tongue by adding two triangle pieces. I added the brace to the bottom so it could carry more weight. Remember the longer tongue makes it weaker. Later I have pictures of the painted frame that should make this clearer.

This brace across stopped a lot of the twisty tongue.
Yes the body has grown beyond where I left you, I worked on both at the same time, but explaining is easier if I separate them.

Next on the frame brakes, jacks, and paint.

del

skining begins

2007-08-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

In the last post I talked about a grid and nails to mark the points. Here I am doing that to the skin, clamping my 8' ruler to the nails. You can make out the door and window outlines, they are much easier to draw on now while it is flat. Draw the window and door on both sides, trust me. The ply is 1/8" mahogany. Yes the nails go clean through it into the board below (note do not do this on the kitchen table). When you are done with cutting out side one, trace out side two.

Trial fit. Note boards clamped to bottom that do not let the wall slide to far down. When gluing the wall on first get the bottom where you want it and staple. Remember the 3/4" spar, only cover half, the back skin will need a place to attach. Next put a board across it and clamp the wall to the framework (it will pull free of the staples if you do not, trust me), then and only then bend the wall into place and staple the top. Use another board to clamp the top.

At this point in the build, wind is your worst enemy, clamp or tie down accordingly.

Note the upper left corner where the spar extends past the skin, later that will be reinforced and trimmed. If I had to do this over the body would be 6 or 8" shorter, I think making this problem less if not go away. Most teardrops are only four foot (or less) inside anyway. Now repeat on side two.

Next internal frame work for the door.

del

Hinge spar

2007-08-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

The hinge spar is a normal spar doubled. I sandwiched two 1 x 2's together for spacing.

I also used a piece of ply (1/2) to space the spars where the hinge(s) would go. At this point I was thinking of putting a door on both sides, but later, being single, made me reconsider. It gets one door. On the subject of the door the original plans call for a 28" wide door, but I wanted a 30" wide door. Allowing for one and a half inches on each side, I spaced the front and middle spar 33" apart. A note, I made the body 13" longer than the plans called for. The front section was 6" longer than the plans.

Now four 33" 1 x2's give my spars a third dimension. Next I install skins on my spars.

del

spars

2007-08-22T08:57:00.001-07:00

The internal frame work of the body is made of spars. In Andrew's drawings he gives a profile of the wall in the centre. It gives a point to mark on a four inch grid, I put a finish nail in each point and used an eight foot aluminum ruler to make the smooth flowing curve. I made one this way, and I used it for a pattern for the other five. I made them all about two inches wide on 1/2 inch ply for 4 of them, and 3/4 for the other 2.

Once they were cut out I clamped them together with more clamps than shown here, and sanded the profile till they were all the same. Note to any one trying a project like this, you now own less than 1% of the clamps you will use.

The middle (3 /4) an rear (1/2) spars get assembled kinda like this. I used 1 x 2 for the top and bottom. Measure carefully and use the very top and bottom to set the distance apart. I did not do it this way, I used the distance at the floor, and wished I had done the other. I found out later when I put the skins on the body, at least it is not 3/16 out of square. Once again I assembled one spar and used it for a template for the others.

They turned out looking like this. Next the front spar that the hinge hooks to.

del

jelly bean

2007-08-21T16:28:00.001-07:00

My name is Del and some time ago I seen this drawing of a teardrop trailer that, as far as I know, has never been built. I wanted to build this trailer from the day I first saw the drawing.

Andrew from olde England drew up plans from the drawings that existed (http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/teardrop/tear00.htm)(look at the bottom left corner of the page).

Now fast forward a few months. Mike, of a forum I belong to (http://www.mikenchell.com/forums), ran a contest where the winner received a 4 x 8 trailer. For my entry I used the 1947 Roswell pictured at the top. The part that scared me the most was those fenders, but I had to build the trailer anyway. Sadly I did not win the contest, but out of this came Mike's idea of a wider trailer with wheel wells, instead of fenders.

The amazing thing is Mike drew this on a computer, for little old me, a guy he has never met. Thanks Mike.

One of the problems with this trailer is although large for a teardrop, it is very curvy so interior space is compromised. Making it wider helped, I settled on six inches wider because that made it pretty close to my Subaru's width. Mike made it wider than that, but I did not want to put other mirrors on my 4 cylinder suby. Though now five foot wide at the middle, it is only four foot wide at the floor where the mattress goes.

del