Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

@davidl743 Nicely done with the tire. I didn't even think of looking for those two holes for the bracket as when I move the battery All the holes are now covered. I'll have to unbolt the battery and see if I can use those holes instead. I like that method better than what I'm doing now.

@PCO6 Good good job repurposing your kayak lift! The shower rod setup we're using was a removable one bought off Amazon. With the textured finish of the 2020 models the suction cups wouldn't grip, so purchased some flat adhesive backed plastic circles used for mounting cell phone stands on dashboards. That worked very well even in windy conditions this past weekend.

Here's a few pics of our camp setup this past weekend at 2021 Jeeping with Judd. Our friend next to us is using a Weroll trailer that he's built into a pretty lightweight camper.

Nice to see pics of these trailers being used.

Made a couple of more mods to the trailer. Added a nice large tongue box to the front, and then finished the solar panel install. For the solar panels I used the original roof rack, but cut it down flat so the camper will fit into my garage. I then mounted 2, 75 watt, 12 volt solar panel to each side. They do charge the battery, but haven't had a chance to see if they will keep it charge with the refrig running. I place the battery and the solar controller in the tongue box, but still have lots of room.

@davidl743 - Looking good!

About the 2021 models ... is the exterior skin aluminum? I like the smooth glossy look. Likewise the front black checker plate. It looks like it could be aluminum or rubber.

@PC06 - The exterior skin of the 2021 is aluminum including the front checkered plate. I also like the looks of it compared to the older version.

Today I undercoated the trailer with Herculiner, as I wasn't too happy with how they painted the underside, leaving several areas bare wood. Looks a lot better down there and should have no issues with the wood under flooring rotting out due to rain, snow, and mud coating the underside.

Lockdown wrote:Instead of going with one of those portable 12V cooler/freezers, has anyone thought about changing out the "dorm" mini 120v fridge that comes with the V-pkg units to something like a Engel SR70 AC/DC Front Opening Fridge-Freezer (12/24/110/120 volt)? I'm at work, so haven't measured the opening, but I'm thinking this Engel (or something similar) may fit the exact existing cutout.



Yes, these are pretty pricey... Here's more info on this specific unit: https://engelcoolers.com/products/sr70- ... ing-fridge

Thoughts?

Late to the party here. I was able to make a Dometic CRX50 fit with little effort. Truck Fridge also has models that will fit.

dergrah wrote:Late to the party here. I was able to make a Dometic CRX50 fit with little effort. Truck Fridge also has models that will fit.

Thx, any pictures of the install? Was it an easy install?

Lockdown wrote:

dergrah wrote:Late to the party here. I was able to make a Dometic CRX50 fit with little effort. Truck Fridge also has models that will fit.

Thx, any pictures of the install? Was it an easy install?

Remove existing fridge two small screws from the bottom underneath the trailer. Amazing that worked to hold it down.

Remove this piece. 4 pocket screws in the back. After the screws are gone you’ve got staples to carefully pry apart.

The then this Dominic CRX50 fits perfect. I haven’t finished the install.

Don’t laugh used it a couple of times by putting a fat bike tube around it putting it in the hole and blowing up it up to secure it. Will be properly installing it this weekend and doing the electrical.




Moving to 150Ah lithium battery and 220W of Solar. Should be good for perpetual camping in the summer.


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Nice, thanks for the update! I'm leaning towards a portable Alpicool APLT60-LG; it has more space, and the area where the existing fridge can be converted to storage space. Of course, that would mean transporting and securing (from theft) the unit while camping.

bigbadbarty wrote:After spending 5 days camping at the beach over the 4th of July holiday, I realized the trailer needed a couple of upgrades. Yesterday I swapped out the speakers. Because of the shallow depth of the wall, I had to use spacers. They are in at an angle because the factory speakers are mounted at a 45 degree angle or so. They did that so 2 of the screws would hit the 1x wood in the wall and not just attach to the fiberboard. That little swap made a huge difference. Whizzer cones just don't compare to a coaxial.

What size are these speaker? I’m a bit confused on how to mesure the stock ones. What did you use to extend them out to accommodate the extra depth ?


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dergrah wrote:What size are these speaker? I’m a bit confused on how to mesure the stock ones. What did you use to extend them out to accommodate the extra depth ?

I believe they come with shallow 5.25" speakers. I also changed out the stock ones for these https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1 from Amazon. Unfortunately, I never even considered putting in spacers so we could get deeper sounding speakers.... I'll have to revisit this idea....

So today's project was to complete the RV side of our outdoors kitchen. Seeing that the trailer has hot & cold water onboard, it only made sense (to me) to bring the water out of the RV to use for a sink outside (still working on a design for that portion of the project). Anyway, here's some photos of the before and after. Gotta say, never worked with Pex plumbing before, but LOVE IT now!!

Before:


After:


And now the outside connections:


Think the next mod project will be removing the small 110v fridge that came with the RV and convert that area to storage. Someone here did that and changed the outside vent to a storage door; interested in where that door was sourced from....

Looks good Lockdown.

I used PEX for part of my water system. it was a first for me too and I liked working with it. My Brother recommended it. He's a Plumber (retired) and said that if he used it throughout his career he could have lasted another 10 years, not that he wanted to. He said that lugging much heavier copper around for years took a toll on him.

I removed the fridge and AC from my Clipper. The total weight savings was 72 lbs. I converted the fridge vent into an access door. I used the original vent panel (which is removable) and the frame for it. It was bit tricky but I managed to add 2 small hinges so that the door swings up. I skinned the vent with sheet metal, which, believe it or not was from a cookie sheet (new) that I cut up. I basically cut it to shape and screwed it to the vent. I like the finish and grey colour of cookie sheets. I used one for the AC vent cover too but I didn't build it as an access door. I don't have any close ups of it; hopefully you can get the idea from these pics.

One thing that surprised me was that the fridge and AC vents helped with decompressing the trailer when you close the lid. It wasn't bad when I filled them in but it was a bit harder to close the lid. I added 3 half moon vents to the trailer which help a bit with closing the lid but I like to have a bit of ventilation especially when the trailer is put away for the winter. One vent is on the back wall and there's one over each window.

PC06, Nice adaptation. Thanks for the 'how to', and the heads up about the pressure... Hadn't thought about that. We're going to keep the A/C, but give away the fridge. The A/C extends the camping season for us here in SW Florida.

Has anyone managed to add a rear bike hitch to a 9.0 Clipper? Thanks!