Looking for designs and advice

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Looking for designs and advice

Postby ziffle » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:40 am

My name is Arnie and live in Calgary Alberta. I recently retired and want to build a teardrop to pull behind my 1949 Chev 1300 1/2 ton truck so I can travel to out-of-town car shows. Can't get reservations for motels so I might as well drag my own. I've built a 8'x 66"wide frame with a new 3500 lb axle and Camaro rally wheels. I bought a rear compartment door that is 42" high x24" wide a various rev windows. I've got the chassis done and wired but need advice on sides and structure along with advice on sealing the birch finish. Thx cheers :?
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Re: Looking for designs and advice

Postby drhill » Thu Apr 06, 2017 5:19 pm

Welcome to TNTTT Arnie. I am in Calgary too. There are a few teardroppers in Calgary. Some regularly post on a Facebook page Canada West Teardroppers. Facebook is great for being able to easily post pictures but it isn't much good for researching how to build a teardrop. Have you looked though the Design Resources tab on this page? And also you can spend many days browsing through the build journals. I got a lot of helpful information browsing here before starting my build. I never did actually see another teardrop until I had mine finished and took a trip to the states. But they are getting more poplar here now.

A couple things you need to do are:
1. Update your profile with your location
2. Figure out how to upload pictures and post a picture or two of that 49 Chev.

3 of us took our teardrops to the High River car show in September. One guy has a VW tow vehicle and is a big VW enthusiast and we set up with the VW's. Would be great to have several more out this September.

Is it a woody you plan to build?
Don
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Re: Looking for designs and advice

Postby mikeschn » Thu Apr 06, 2017 5:21 pm

Don't forget to check out the hall of fame...

halloffame.php

Mike...
The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten, so build your teardrop with the best materials...
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Re: Looking for designs and advice

Postby CamperDave » Thu Apr 06, 2017 5:59 pm

mikeschn wrote:Don't forget to check out the hall of fame...

halloffame.php

Mike...

Noooooo.... Don't go there.... you may never return!!
I was stuck there for over a week. I'd probably still be there is it wasn't for a Windows reboot :surrender:
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Re: Looking for designs and advice

Postby ziffle » Tue Apr 11, 2017 1:21 pm

Thx for the tips. I've been to the photo gallery and" holy wow" there are some very nice teardrops there. My wife thinks 8' is too small so I've gone the extra 2' ( already was there) so I'm 66" across and 119" long. All trailer wires are in the bsmt and power wires will be up top. I've drilled and plugged dowel pins in and glued 2' onto the first wall. Time for the next wall. I might make it to high river this year if it's done. Any tips on what to use to treat or seal the birch walls. Natural. Is the "T" mouldings for the door frame quite accessible? How about the trim for the roof/walls and outside the hatch? Again thanks for your advice. I'm loosing more hair over this project. Cheers any additional information you can email me at [email protected].
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Re: Looking for designs and advice

Postby drhill » Tue Apr 11, 2017 2:42 pm

I think you made a good decision going to the 10 foot length. The extra space will be really handy.

As for clear finish. I can let you know what I did but it is still an experiment in progress. When I built I hadn't actually seen a teardrop in person and my wife wasn't too keen. She has since changed her mind. So I built it fairly cheaply, but still so that I wouldn't be ashamed of it. I am sure the proper way is to liberally coat everything in epoxy and then varnish over that for UV protection. The woodwork in my sailboat has been holding up fine with just varnish, no epoxy. But I do keep it covered from the sun when not in use. On the teardrop I used a water based polyurethane. In some ways an oil based poly would be better as it is much easier to build up a dry film thickness with it. The water based requires a min of 4 coats according to the instructions, but I found at least twice that is better. The big advantages to the water based are that it is non-yellowing. So if you sand and repair an area, or add some modifications in the future, there is no problem matching the finish. It is also easy to apply 3 coats in a day, 4 if you start early. I finished my in 2014 and keep it in a garage when not in use. It has been on a couple month long trips and lots of shorter trips. Each spring I give it a good wash, lightly sand with about 180 grit and then apply 3-4 coats of the water based varathane. I think any clear finish is going to require a day or two of maintenance each year or time in the sun and rain will start to show.

I'd be happy to show my teardrop to you if you want a look. I'll email you,
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Looking for designs and advice

Postby Socal Tom » Tue Apr 11, 2017 2:58 pm

I'd look at a design like the cabin car, especially if you don't need a galley.


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