Jeepers teardrop trailer build.. And give away.

I am going to have a go at building a teardrop trailer. A teardrop will not work for my family and our needs, so I will then be giving it away to my MIL, who desired nothin more to camp, but is having a hard time with tents and hard ground now that she is aging. The plan is to keep the trailer a secret from her, and give it as a Christmas gift. We have previously been able to purchase cars and other major needed items for her for Christmas, and it has always been a lot of fun. I will be enlisting the help of my BIL's, both with labor and financing.

To start, I am a complete newbie when it comes to something like this. I also have a tendency to finish items to a 'good enough' standard, not a desirable standard. I am hoping to complete this trailer with some 'wow factor'. The trailer will be fairly simple in design. If I try to get too fancy in design, it will kill my motivation to finish the project, and kill the quality.

The plan is to make it on a 4x8 trailer. This will be small enough to tow begin her car, small enough that her children can't use it with her, and small enough it won't be a problem for me to have to keep on my property for storage. I think a 4x8 is plenty big for one person.

I am leaning towards one roof vent, and one small window per side.
I would like to go with no hatch, for easy of build and water issues... But haven't decided for sure.

I know there have been a couple builds here on rme, but I couldn't find them. Will somebody link them for me?

My three biggest questions so far
1- what is a typical cost to build?
We will be making our own trailer frame also.
2-what is used to skin the trailers? Metal, fiberglass, etc?
3- What is used on the exterior corners to seal the edges?

1- I have no idea
2- Aluminum or fiberglass. Aluminum is generally cheaper. Fiberglass looks nicer, IMO.
3- Typically aluminum corner molding backed with putty or butyl tape.

Have a look at this photo gallery http://imgur.com/a/WzKBL?gallery

frieed said:

Have a look at this photo gallery http://imgur.com/a/WzKBL?gallery

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Most excellent!

frieed said:

Have a look at this photo gallery http://imgur.com/a/WzKBL?gallery

Click to expand...

Awesome build!

If 2 people are sleeping in it then a 4x8 is a bit cramped. I'd recommend a 5x8 to sleep comfortable with alittle wiggle room.
Average cost im told was $1400 to 2000 depending on how fancy ya wanna get. I picked up mine for less than I could build it but galley wasnt finished and the hatch needs to be re-done .
Also I highly recommend a memory foam bed. I love it . Better than what I sleep on at home .

ModStock said:

If 2 people are sleeping in it then a 4x8 is a bit cramped. I'd recommend a 5x8 to sleep comfortable with alittle wiggle room.
Average cost im told was $1400 to 2000 depending on how fancy ya wanna get. I picked up mine for less than I could build it but galley wasnt finished and the hatch needs to be re-done .
Also I highly recommend a memory foam bed. I love it . Better than what I sleep on at home .

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5' wide you can fit a queen bed in it so it opens up mattress options.

ModStock said:

If 2 people are sleeping in it then a 4x8 is a bit cramped. I'd recommend a 5x8 to sleep comfortable with alittle wiggle room.
Average cost im told was $1400 to 2000 depending on how fancy ya wanna get. I picked up mine for less than I could build it but galley wasnt finished and the hatch needs to be re-done .
Also I highly recommend a memory foam bed. I love it . Better than what I sleep on at home .

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We had thought about a little bigger, but lumber costs would dramatically increase, along with weight. Additionally, if it were big enough for 2 persons, then others (like myself and her children) would want to borrow it..

I think for ease of moving it around, towing with her car, and storage, keeping it 4x8 is best.

Spork said:

5' wide you can fit a queen bed in it so it opens up mattress options.

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How would one get a full size mattress though the little door? wouldn't you have to build around a mattress?

jeeper said:

How would one get a full size mattress though the little door? wouldn't you have to build around a mattress?

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Memory foam mattress, since they come all rolled up tight. Don't open the package until you have it inside.

I am having a difficult time finding aluminum sheets to skin it with. Where does one go for this? SSS has metal roofing rolls,but they are only 41 7/8 wide

I have looked at like 10,000 trailers.. It seems most people are not making a double wall. They have just the plywood wall. I was anticipating having a second interior panel board with a 1 or 2" insulation space.. Am I over building??

jeeper said:

I am having a difficult time finding aluminum sheets to skin it with. Where does one go for this? SSS has metal roofing rolls,but they are only 41 7/8 wide

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When I was building the lid for my trailer, Metal Supermarket http://metalsupermarkets.com/salt-lake-city had 4x8' sheets of aluminum.

jeeper said:

I have looked at like 10,000 trailers.. It seems most people are not making a double wall. They have just the plywood wall. I was anticipating having a second interior panel board with a 1 or 2" insulation space.. Am I over building??

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I've never owned a teardrop, but all of the RV's I've owned have been double walled. I'd build it as you have planned, or at a bare minimum double wall the roof. Maybe something that small doesn't need the wall insulation, I dunno.


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Have you seen the tiny trailer site? http://www.tnttt.com/

jeeper said:

Am I over building??

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Yes. You also lose interior space and drive up cost's. Building doors and installing windows is more difficult . You can always carpet the walls or lower section for more insulation .
Check out that site if ya havent yet . Spend alot of time looking at builds , gathering info, ect. Cause alot of builds never get done.

Check out "steps 1 thru 21" in here. It makes it really simple, especially the hatch.
http://www.tnttt.com/viewforum.php?f=34

If I remember right Modstock actually had problems with his teardrop being too insulated and sealed up. That tiny space will heat up quickly

BCGPER said:

I've never owned a teardrop, but all of the RV's I've owned have been double walled. I'd build it as you have planned, or at a bare minimum double wall the roof. Maybe something that small doesn't need the wall insulation, I dunno.


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I agree with BC on this one. That build posted earlier in this thread is sweet with the exception there's no insulation. Part of the beauty of trailers is you can easily take them out year round...but even with an insulated trailer, without heat, you may as well be camping in a tent. You may lose a little bit of space and it may be a bit more expensive, but it will be much nicer in the end.

Brian P said:

When I was building the lid for my trailer, Metal Supermarket http://metalsupermarkets.com/salt-lake-city had 4x8' sheets of aluminum.

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Affiliated Metals is where to go for aluminum.

Made a lot of progress today. I drew up some plans over the past week. Instead of going for the typical hatch, we have gone with opening side storage doors. In keeping with the simple idea plan, and knowing that this is a tent upgrade, and not a cross country traveler, storage doors seemed adequate. We got our wood base together, walls up, door cut out, and windows inserted in place.




You'll notice that there isn't an actual trailer under the camper yet... I designed the camper to attache on the sides of the floor, giving it a full 4' of inside room. I wanted to have the base completed, so that I could match the trailer frame exactly to the camper width.

The trailer frame is our next step.

Nice progress. Cant wait to see the finished product .