about as new as you can get

[Dange]

well like the title says im about as much as a noob as you can be, i just found out about teardrops about 60 min ago..lol

anyway i drive a 1990 mazda miata that is street/track prepped. so i end up racing alot and that means traveling, plus i also like to go places like newmexico, the realmexico, colorado northen cali, etc...

now i cant see myself getting a new car so i was looking at getting a trailer to throw my racewheels/tires on, gas, cooler, sleeping bag, and etc.
but the last few days i had an epiphany that why not a small enclosed trailer and stumbled accros a teardrop on ebay and decided thats what i need!!
basically for the prices i spend on hotel rooms and etc i have my own bed i dont have to worry about what other people have done in it! plus have the room for my stuff i was looking for atrailer for anyway talk about win win!
anyway im looking for a cheaper way to build one, and which plans to go with, im looking for something rather llight as in preferably less than 700 lbs and below 100lb tounge weight, i know i can buy some for close to 500 lbs and thats ideal but i like the idea of making it myself!!

well thanks for the help

[Chris C]

Dange,

Glad you found us. Don't think I've ever caught someone as Newbie as you! Hang around here for a while and you'll gather so darned many ideas your head will be spinning. This is a good group. Lots already have trailers, most are building, and lots of "wannabys" like yourself. Soak up all the info you can and gather your materials and go for it. Roly Nelson is a super-light builder. Others have done it, too. Hang around and learn.

When you get comfortable with the group, you might post a personal picture as your avatar so everybody will “know” who they are talking with. Once again, welcome.

[Dange]

oh believe me im already over my head swimming, trying to figure making it as light as i can, but also thinking about ways to build a smaller galley w a generator maybe small window unit ac since i go to mexico all the time and can plug in. but depending on the weight im not sure

im liking the look of the cubby one http://www.kuffelcreek.com/8'_cubby.htm
but using this frame http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90154

now i just need to find the plans whether i want to order from kuffel creek or see if i can find a free plan.

[Chris C]

Just go to the top of this page and click on Generic Benroy Plans, or go to the Generic Building Plans Forum. You'll find all you need..........at no cost to you. (Free is good when you're on a budget!)

[madjack]

Dange, welcome to the board...the Kuffel Creek Plans are good ones and widely used...but for free you can't beat the "Generic Benroy" plans at the top of this page...you can use the techniques detailed there and modify to suit your needs and build it any way you like...using 1x1 framing with 1/8th skins and a simple galley you can build it pretty darn light...any other info can be had here for the asking, just one thing though...we charge...and the price is pictures...pictures of your little car (ever come East and do the Dragon), pictures of you/wife/kids/pets/yard/shop/neighbor(if good looking or just goofy)...anyway we just luv pics around here and it is the currency of exchange...so have fun dreamin', plannin', buildin' and we will be here when ya need us(whether or not)
madjack

[asianflava]

A member of the board tows a Kuffel Creek cubby with a blown Miata. Unfortunately, he is MIA and hasn't posted in a long time.

I found his website:

http://home.earthlink.net/~tony.cooper/TDProj/album.htm

[Dange]

wow im starting to learn that you guys are some of the more freindly people around! and thats just from putting around the board

i want to go down the dragon, it just didnt seem cost effective the last few years, but next year there is a meet called MATG (miatae at the gap) and usually in close proximity there is a dragon run, i was hoping that, that trip would one of my teardrops maiden voyages..

well here is a pic of me and the car back like 2 years ago i had just restored the paint and replaced the top myself, in here its actually pretty much stock, i have since put coilover suspension on and have some wide wheels and tires for this getting put on tomarrow, im modding it after the classic m2-1028 roadsters in japan

[Ira]

Welcome, Dange.

Jack, if you were gonna build real light so you can tow with a Miata, what are some of the things you eliminate?

Interior roof, or structurally dangerous? Cabin cabinets? The shell of a galley, or no galley at all?

I mean, with a Miata?

Hey, this is gonna be a fun build to watch!

[Miriam C.]

Dang welcome
Police, fire, emt????? Love the car. Check out Rollys 1/4 Nelson and some of the tears for motorcycles. I can't remember who but one of the guys has a really bad one with windows everywhere. Superlite.

Enjoy and a warning, we consider ourselves to be somewhat... well you'll get it.
Aunti M

[madjack]

Ira, if I were going lightest, I would start with the frame...very minimalist, built outta 2x1/8 angle, single tube tongue outta 2x3/16 with MAYBE some short angle braces, 13" wheels

... galley/storage would be shelves kinda like a l'il guy, 1/2" ply floor, walls would either be 1/2ply or a sandwich of 1/8th skins over 1x1 frame, ceiling would be open and use foil bubble insulation covered with some sort of carpet or other material

...I would probably skin with .032 Al and would probably still have 2 doors w/windows just because...this would be onna full sized tear and could be built to come in around 500#s +...if I still hadda go lighter, I would consider something like Roly's 1/4 tear and shorten to 7' and narrow to 36/40"s
madjack

[Dange]

well thats a pic of when i was a high risk security guard, since then i have CNA certs and am finishing my emt certification

i was looking at the benroy and though i like it i was wondering if it was a little more adaptable to the classic tear shape, im looking at freeway wind resistance and it looks to have the straight edge to where it catches all the wind over a miata so i wanted to see if it could be more rolled.


im going to try and find pics and plans of that 1/4 teardrop you guys are talking about

[madjack]

Dan, there are only a couple of pics of the 1/4 Nelson....they are here http://tnttt.com/viewto ... 1+4+nelson
the techniques outlined in the Generic Benroy plans can be adapted to virtually any profile you wish....
madjack

[angib]

Dange,

A teardrop is likely to make quite a difference to your freeway performance/mileage, as it sticks up above the Miata/MX-5 so far:



Sorry that's a new model, but I couldn't quickly find a drawing of an old one and I don't think the size change is great!

Don't get hung up on some idea that you need a pointy front end - what you need is to minimize the increase in your frontal area. There are two steps you can take:

- Make sure the trailer rides as low as possible. You've got something like 7" clearance under you car body, so you want to get the trailer down near there. If you use a HF-type trailer, you certainly want to move the axle over the springs, not under - that takes 3" off the height projecting above your car already. I think an 8" wheel model would also be lower than a 12".

- Consider making the teardrop body less than 48" high. A 42" high body will provide you with more than the 36" you need for sitting headroom. It's a trade-off between headroom and drag, so you choose.

Swapping the axle and lowering the body takes 9" off the total trailer height (the dashed line) - and that halves the extra frontal area the trailer adds.

I think the 'standard' generic benroy shape looks rather good when cut down to 42" high. But the orange clearance line shows how much of the hole in the air made by the car remains unused even with the axle swapped over.



Andrew

[madjack]

Andrew, it looks like from your drawings that he could just about eliminate the added frontal area by using a torsion or drop axle to get the trailer frame down to that 7" clearance height and chopping the trailer height...is that so......
madjack

[asianflava]

- Consider making the teardrop body less than 48" high. A 42" high body will provide you with more than the 36" you need for sitting headroom. It's a trade-off between headroom and drag, so you choose.

You can drop the body over the frame, kinda like channeling the trailer on the frame. You can still use standard 4X8 sheets without having to cut them down. Plus it will hide the frame. My trailer has a 3 1/2 in "skirt" on the bottom, which is conveniently the same as a 2X4 on edge.