Ready to give it a try.

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Ready to give it a try.

Postby JonD0317 » Thu Jun 08, 2017 10:17 am

I really don't know how I got the itch to do a teardrop, but I have been consumed with it the last few months. We love to camp and have a nice travel trailer already, so I guess I just wanted a fun challenge. I've never built anything on this scale (however small it may be to some), but I wanted to try. After reading hundreds of articles and pages about teardrops, somehow I came to the conclusion that while the 4x8 build is nice, it just isn't very wide. This thinking kind of steered me towards pop-up frames. I purchased an 80s model Coleman pop-up fairly cheap yesterday, so now I'm ready to disassemble and get started. The dimensions are approx 6'4" wide by like 7'4" long for the frame. I wanted something a little wide, which I'm glad I got, and something around the 8 foot length. I think my plans are to go with an all wood build, including the skin. I think that route will be cheaper, but maybe I'm wrong. I know I'm going to be challenged on the electrical side of things. I would love to be able to hook up to electric like I do in my travel trailer, but don't know the feasability of that. I also want regular electrical outlets and possibly be able to incorporate an AC unit (though I'm not %100 on that yet). By biggest and probably first challenge I'll run into is the frame itself. I've read that the axles need to be moved back for better towing and stability. If that is indeed the case, I may be doomed already. I can't weld and I don't have a ton of money to throw into that. Anyway, I'm going to get started on the demo of the pop up and try to get my 12 year old son to join me on this project as a cool Father - Son learning experience. I'll be scouring these pages for info. Any good suggestions are greatly appreciated! - Jon
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Re: Ready to give it a try.

Postby KennethW » Thu Jun 08, 2017 8:18 pm

Axle does not have to move if you watch where you put your weight.Plan on every thing that can be moved to be on the tongue. Battery, propane tank, cooler, cast iron ,Etc.
Last edited by KennethW on Thu Jun 08, 2017 8:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ready to give it a try.

Postby JonD0317 » Fri Jun 09, 2017 7:41 am

Thanks for the suggestion KennethW. I will definitely do that. :thumbsup:
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Re: Ready to give it a try.

Postby Boodro » Sun Jun 11, 2017 9:14 pm

Hi ,,, you need to monitor your tongue weight, so dont just pile on the weight to even it out . you will regret having too much weight. the tongue weight should be about 15 -20 % of total trailer weight. Have fun.
We are all travelers in this world , from the sweet grass to the packin house , birth till death , we travel between the eternities . ( Robert Duvall as Prentiss Ritter)
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Re: Ready to give it a try.

Postby JonD0317 » Tue Jun 13, 2017 10:33 am

Thanks for the advice, Boodro :thumbsup:
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