After spending two
years lurking at Teardrop
forums, I finally started building one. Jean gave me the Kuffle Creek
plans for Christmas last year so I had a great start. Unfortunately, I
didn't have a garage then. Jean and I got married and bought a house
with a garage so I couldn't wait to get started. Jean's been very
understanding with all the chores that need to be completed on our
fixer-upper house while I've been spending all my time in the new
garage.
9/10/04 Here's the
trailer frame that we used. It's a Harbor
Freight Tools
1800 lb trailer. It's frequently on sale so
if your timing's right, you can save
enough money to buy a spare tire and a tongue jack. I'm keeping
the fenders even though there are are nicer looking ones available.
That flat fender makes a nice beer shelf.
10/9/04 Here's
the almost completed decking. You can see the backing for the spare
tire, stabilizer jacks and the water tank framing. Its waterproofed
with several coats of Henry's asphalt emulsion from Home Depot. The
framing is 2x4s ripped in half. Make sure to install the 2x2s as soon
as possible as they warp badly after they've been ripped. The deck is
3/4" plywood. I'd use 1/2" plywood if I were to do it over because 3/4"
is heavy and 1/2" is plenty strong enough. I used sheet metal brackets
at the intersections of the 2x2s for added strength.
10/17/04 Completed
deck with the frame painted black. I used a paint from Krylon called
"Beaten Metal" that left a really cool texture. I replaced all the nuts
and bolts included with the trailer with grade 5 bolts and nyloc nuts.
I also used two washers on every bolt. It made a huge difference in the
stifness of the frame. I could pick up a corner and wiggle it up and
down with the original bolts. There was hardly any wiggle at all after
I replaced them all. I wish I would have thought of that before I
bolted it all together; I guess I built the trailer twice.
10/17/04 Spare
tire mounted under the front of the trailer. You can just see the water
tank to the left. The tank is higher than the axle so hopefully I won't
scrape it off on anything.
10/19/04 Here's
the stabilzer jack mounted to the bottom of the deck. I wish they
were about 2 inches longer. Luckily, the neighbor just built a swing
set for his kids so I got the left over pressure treated scraps for
shims. The uncut sides are sitting on top of the deck.
10/30/04 I
liked the profile of the Benroy for the way that it maximized the
galley space. I traced the ellipse at the hatch using the method
described here.
The front profile is just a radius that looked right. I
made the door as large as I could to aid getting in and out of the
trailer. The doors are square just because a square door looks "right"
to me. You can find free plans to build your own Benroy here.
10/30/04 Here's
a detail of the side connections to the deck. I never did find a
picture showing this when I was trying to figure out how to attach the
sides. So here's how I did mine. I don't know if its the best way to do
it but its what I ended up with. I wanted to make sure that the sides
where supported by the trailer frame and not just hanging off the deck.
The wood to the right of the wall is a temporary brace to make sure the
sides are plumb while the glue dries.
11/7/04 Framing
for the bulkead wall. I used 1X3 framing for the uprights so it would
be easier to find them later. They will be used to support the galley
and cabin cabinets
11/20/04 Wow,
where do all the wires go? I plan to use the space just below the hatch
bow as an electrical chase. I'll mount my fuse box, meters, outlets and
fans in the space after I frame it out. I've also insulated and skinned
the bulkheads. The cut-out is for a sliding table to set the
stove on. It will slide out 24" and slide back into the cabin.
11/20/04 Next
on the list is insulating and skinning the cabin. I routed out channels
in the insulation for the wiring to fit under. What a mess! Styrofoam
went flying everywhere and it stuck to everything it landed on.
11/27/04 The
cabin skin is on. No going back now, I hope I have all the wires in I
need. The sides are much stiffer with the skin on. I used 1/4" plywood
for the skins so I don't have to worry about rolling over in the night
and knocking a hole in the wall. More pictures to come.
11/28/04 The
roof bows are in. The right angle straps make the bows much stronger
than just screws in the end (which I added as well). I saw it
used at another Teardrop construction site and thought it was a
great idea. Now I can't find that site and I didn't bookmark it. I wish
I had because whoever was buidling that tear had a lot of great ideas.
The vertical support on the bottom bow is for a fold down bench.
11/13/04 Hey why's that Teardrop door
on
the ceiling?
10/9/04 Here's
the almost completed decking. You can see the backing for the spare
tire, stabilizer jacks and the water tank framing. Its waterproofed
with several coats of Henry's asphalt emulsion from Home Depot. The
framing is 2x4s ripped in half. Make sure to install the 2x2s as soon
as possible as they warp badly after they've been ripped. The deck is
3/4" plywood. I'd use 1/2" plywood if I were to do it over because 3/4"
is heavy and 1/2" is plenty strong enough. I used sheet metal brackets
at the intersections of the 2x2s for added strength.
10/17/04 Completed
deck with the frame painted black. I used a paint from Krylon called
"Beaten Metal" that left a really cool texture. I replaced all the nuts
and bolts included with the trailer with grade 5 bolts and nyloc nuts.
I also used two washers on every bolt. It made a huge difference in the
stifness of the frame. I could pick up a corner and wiggle it up and
down with the original bolts. There was hardly any wiggle at all after
I replaced them all. I wish I would have thought of that before I
bolted it all together; I guess I built the trailer twice.
10/17/04 Spare
tire mounted under the front of the trailer. You can just see the water
tank to the left. The tank is higher than the axle so hopefully I won't
scrape it off on anything.
10/19/04 Here's
the stabilzer jack mounted to the bottom of the deck. I wish they
were about 2 inches longer. Luckily, the neighbor just built a swing
set for his kids so I got the left over pressure treated scraps for
shims. The uncut sides are sitting on top of the deck.
10/30/04 I
liked the profile of the Benroy for the way that it maximized the
galley space. I traced the ellipse at the hatch using the method
described 
10/30/04 Here's
a detail of the side connections to the deck. I never did find a
picture showing this when I was trying to figure out how to attach the
sides. So here's how I did mine. I don't know if its the best way to do
it but its what I ended up with. I wanted to make sure that the sides
where supported by the trailer frame and not just hanging off the deck.
The wood to the right of the wall is a temporary brace to make sure the
sides are plumb while the glue dries.
11/7/04 Framing
for the bulkead wall. I used 1X3 framing for the uprights so it would
be easier to find them later. They will be used to support the galley
and cabin cabinets 
11/20/04 Wow,
where do all the wires go? I plan to use the space just below the hatch
bow as an electrical chase. I'll mount my fuse box, meters, outlets and
fans in the space after I frame it out. I've also insulated and skinned
the bulkheads. The cut-out is for a sliding table to set the
stove on. It will slide out 24" and slide back into the cabin. 
11/20/04 Next
on the list is insulating and skinning the cabin. I routed out channels
in the insulation for the wiring to fit under. What a mess! Styrofoam
went flying everywhere and it stuck to everything it landed on.
11/27/04 The
cabin skin is on. No going back now, I hope I have all the wires in I
need. The sides are much stiffer with the skin on. I used 1/4" plywood
for the skins so I don't have to worry about rolling over in the night
and knocking a hole in the wall. More pictures to come.
11/28/04 The
roof bows are in. The right angle straps make the bows much stronger
than just screws in the end (which I added as well). I saw it
used at another Teardrop construction site and thought it was a
great idea. Now I can't find that site and I didn't bookmark it. I wish
I had because whoever was buidling that tear had a lot of great ideas.
The vertical support on the bottom bow is for a fold down bench.
11/13/04 Hey why's that Teardrop door
on
the ceiling?
