Hello everyone, Just a note about me and what's going on in my head. I grew up in Kentucky (hence the username) but have lived in Southwest Michigan for the majority of my life. In a little less than a month my wife and I will be empty-nesters for the firt time in 20 years. That brings us to the point about what's going on in my head. Long story short, we've been camping with a pop-up since the kids were little. Since they've gotten older we haven't used our camper in about 3 years. My wife and I camp but use a tent for the 2 of us so I now have an old unused camper that hasn't been opened in quite a while and is really too much for the 2 of us. I've loved the idea of the teardrop and thought about getting one. Then it hit me....I have the beginnings of one sitting in my yard. After looking around on the internet for plans I came across this forum and so here I am.
I have the donor frame for my camper but now I need to figure out the best use for it. Right now I have 3 ideas. The frame as it is right now is 7x11.
Plan A would be to trim it down in width to 5' and do a 5x8 floorplan probably in a more traditional profile along the lines of a Kit design. It would have a 3' platform on the front for hauling gear or bikes. I can get 5x8 ply at the local big green store so the floor and walls (4x8) could all be done without having to join any wood together. It's a little small but unless it's raining (like it did on our trip last month) we only need it to sleep in. We never cooked inside the popup, just used the external hookups for the stove so the galley would be nice to have. Still outside but not having to set eveything up. I'm figuring pullouts for the propane stove and our electric cooler. Then some cupboard space for all the stuff that's currently in totes.
Plan B would be trimming it down but making it 10' long with just a small storage box on the front. It would probably be more of a Benroy profile. The upside would be a little more room and the downside would be more material cost. Other than that, it would be the same as the 5x8.
Plan C would be to leave the frame as it is and make a 7x11 standy. It would probably be a modified version of Steve Frederick's Rondack Lodge. The galley would be removed in favor of 2 narrower beds running along the walls with an aisle between them instead of 1 bed running across the camper. After years of sleeping in the popup it was decided that from now on one of us wasn't going to have to crawl over the other to get in and out of bed. The dinette area would be nice for the times when the weather doesn't want to coooperate.
I'm really leaning towards Plan A for my first build (notice I'm leaving it open for the idea of a future build). Mainly from a cost standpoint and just to get my feet wet.
Now for the interactive part of this post. Any thoughts, suggestions or ideas on how to proceed?