when did your build feel like it was teardrop

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when did your build feel like it was teardrop

Postby meedgar » Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:41 am

Just curious.

When did you all take a look at your build and say "Damn, it is taking shape. Im building a teardrop!"

After several stops and starts and cursing. My first one came this weekend. Walls are up level and plum. Studs and installation in one wall.

Motivation is back and a feeling of accomplishment. I know there will be many more stops/starts and cursing. Hopefully there will be more feel good moments to push through.

Mike
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Re: when did your build feel like it was teardrop

Postby lfhoward » Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:52 am

I’m with you on that. When I got the wall skeletons up and I could see the shape the trailer was taking, it started to be “real” and less of a theoretical exercise. “I’m actually building this trailer!!” I remember setting the windows and ceiling fan in place and imagining how it would look when it was all done. It’s a good time in the build. :thumbsup:
My off-road camper build on an M116A3 military chassis:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=62581
Tow vehicle: 2008 Jeep Liberty with a 4 inch lift.
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Re: when did your build feel like it was teardrop

Postby working on it » Tue Oct 17, 2017 3:48 pm

meedgar wrote:Just curious.

When did you all take a look at your build and say "Damn, it is taking shape. Im building a teardrop!"

After several stops and starts and cursing. My first one came this weekend. Walls are up level and plum. Studs and installation in one wall.

Motivation is back and a feeling of accomplishment. I know there will be many more stops/starts and cursing. Hopefully there will be more feel good moments to push through.

Mike
lfhoward wrote:I’m with you on that. When I got the wall skeletons up and I could see the shape the trailer was taking, it started to be “real” and less of a theoretical exercise. “I’m actually building this trailer!!” I remember setting the windows and ceiling fan in place and imagining how it would look when it was all done. It’s a good time in the build. :thumbsup:
  • I never had the feeling that I was building a teardrop, but instead, a "one-off" trailer meant for my personal use, but also to see how difficult it would be to make more of the kind, for the off-road market, or for use at racing events. "One Off" is the term used for manufacturing only 1 item of a particular item. This phrase was first used by Henry Ford when he was designing new car models, parts, etc. He would build a prototype model of something and if he did not like it, he took it off the bench and shelved it. Therefore coining the term "One-Off").
  • one-off vs. other forms of production.JPG
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    production of a single model prototype, or scaling up for many
  • At the time I was thinking about building a small trailer, for use by my wife, and then later by me (after retirement), I was already "retired" from drag-racing (my old hobby). My best friend ( engine and chassis-builder, and racing team founder) had been trying to entice me to come back to racing, after 3.5 years out of it, because I was pretty good at it, recruited many good racers to the team, and was a good "second fiddle" in the team shop. When I told him that my new interest was to become trailer building/camping, he said he would help build it (mainly frame welding, because he was skilled, and I was a rookie at welding), if I would help out in his shop while we were working on my trailer.
  • Plus, he thought that
  • 1)I would again become immersed in the car world, luring me back into racing,
  • 2)he could bend my ear with possible improvements to my car, a '66 Chevelle, so I could compete and win, in the final/fastest/toughest class of the sanctioning racing organization, so I could say I had raced and won in all classes, and
  • 3)he suggested that we might try building this trailer as a prototype, using my planned construction methods (bolt-together panels of plywood, using steel connectors and common hardware, with simple straight cuts, and no special tools), so that we might try building more for friends/family/associates, and later anyone.
  • After 11 months at his shop, 50 miles from my house, where I had to travel 100 miles each time I was to work on the trailer, I finally reached the point where I realized that the trailer was never going to be finished, until I took it home. At home, I could work on it daily, instead of sporadically on weekends, and could try things that I wanted to, at the moment an inspiration hit me. At his shop, 90% of my time was spent on racing projects, and sometimes I would get no time at all spent on the trailer. Slowly, it became apparent that he had lost any interest in my project (though others visiting the shop had said that they would like one too), and my interest in returning to racing took a backseat to my trailer (my small budget at the time also made me choose one or the other).
  • We often had disagreements on what should be done, so as soon as I had the exterior painted, and doors and hatch mounted (no windows or interior of any kind), I suddenly pulled it home, and finished it there (taking another 11 months to do so). I still returned to his shop to help with his projects, but as the racing team continued falling apart without me to hold it together (believe it or not, my abrasive manner was much milder than his, so he alienated the team), our friendship ended, and so died the plans for building more trailers.
  • After that, I went full-custom on my build, personalizing it with features only I would desire, so that's why it is a true "one-off" trailer, not a teardrop, nor really anything definable. Two times I experienced a renewal of motivation were when I finished the exterior construction (signifying that it would soon come home), and when I finally installed the windows (one of the last major touches...it was just a cargo box until then, since a true camping trailer needs windows to view the outdoors). To build it over again, I shoulda/woulda kept my racing past separate from my trailer/camping future, and perhaps I could do either one at will. I can't return to the racing, having burned my bridges behind me, so camping is my present and future avocation.
2013 HHRv "squareback/squaredrop", rugged, 4x8 TTT, 2225 lbs
  • *3500 lb Dexter EZ-Lube braked axle, 3000 lb.springs, active-progressive bumpstop suspension
  • *27 x 8.5-14LT AT tires (x 3) *Weight Distribution system for single-beam tongue
  • *100% LED's & GFCI outlets, 3x fans, AM/FM/CD/Aux. *A/C & heat, Optima AGM, inverter & charger(s)
  • *extended-run, on-board, 2500w generator *Coleman dual-fuel stove & lantern, Ikea grill, vintage skillet
  • *zinc/stainless front & side racks *98"L x 6" diameter rod & reel carrier tube on roof
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Re: when did your build feel like it was teardrop

Postby jsnbergman » Fri Nov 03, 2017 10:01 am

Yesterday, took the day off to play the last round of golf for the season and got rained out. So got a lot of work done :thumbsup: Canvas is on both sides and roof is all trimmed out. Time to mount the tongue toolbox, finish wiring and paint. hopefully build the hatch in the next couple weekends :twisted:
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Re: when did your build feel like it was teardrop

Postby 2bits » Fri Nov 03, 2017 10:08 am

Sounds like the consensus is when the walls went up and that's how I felt too.
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Re: when did your build feel like it was teardrop

Postby tony.latham » Fri Nov 03, 2017 10:54 am

On my builds, it's when that first wall is set on the floor and attached to the deadman.

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But really, it's when you're camped and wake up that first morning, lift the hatch, get the coffee going and walk down to the lake.

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That's when it comes together.

Tony
Last edited by tony.latham on Fri Nov 03, 2017 8:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: when did your build feel like it was teardrop

Postby jondbar628 » Fri Nov 03, 2017 7:17 pm

On my foamy build, I used the TD floor, covered with heavy plastic drop cloth as a "build platform". After the shell ( including bulkheads, but minus the galley hatch) was complete, I lifted it off, turned it on it's roof, and PMF'd the interior. I then glued the shell to the TD floor. That was when I knew I had a "real" build going......Sat back, had a few celebratory adult beverages, and knew I was going to make this thing work like I (more or less) had envisioned........jd
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