Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

by **Geron** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 4:41 am

Whoa dude!!!

Way to go!!!!

:applause:

g

by **Steve_Cox** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:52 am

Juneaudave wrote:Richard...I'm really impresed with your work so far!!!! That is really looking nice!!! Ya know...taking your time...getting good materials...and doing the little extras sure ain't a sin around here!!! You've got a lot of potential going on...Best wishes and keep on making sawdust!!!

Well said! :yes:

by **rmclarke** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:23 am

Thanks guys for the kudos...this is a great forum (it's the best one I've ever been on) and the ideas and support here are truly inspiring.
:applause:

Today I worked on cutting and dryfitting some of the stringers. The sides are not epoxied in place yet; I've got to figure out how the galley wall is going to fit in there first and also I've got to finish the inside walls. I think I'm going to paint the inside walls, leaving the wood floor and footwell as they are and I might do some sort of headliner for the ceiling (not sure yet) sort of 'design-as-you-go' here

I'm thinking a small fixed window might be nice in the front also :thinking:

Richard

by **Catoosa Grani** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:12 am

Your build is looking great. It always makes one proud when their ideas turn out so well and yours are coming right along.

I do hope your wife is doing better. So glad there was no fracture but some times a bad sprain is just as bad or worse than a fracture.

Good luck to both of you!
Grani

by **Cliffmeister2000** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:30 am

lookin' sharP! Are you going to run all your electrical overhead?

by **mikeschn** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:19 pm

Your mini hopper is coming along really nice! How long is that? 10'?

Really deep foot well you got there too!

Mike...

by **rmclarke** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 7:09 pm

Grani, thanks for asking about my wife...the doc said she bruised the cartilage in her knee socket. She's doing much better...getting around with a cane instead of crutches

Cliff, love your Weekender...yes, wires overhead...I'm planning on using heavy duty, orange type 12g extension cord. I'm still not sure what my electrical system will consist of, but things are gradually falling into place. Want to keep it pretty simple....and lightweight!

Mike, thanks...the body is 9' 4" from pointy end to pointy end :lol:

and the footwell is about 11" deep (10 3/4" actual) and I have 7 1/2" of ground clearance.......I'm hoping that will be enuf :worship:

so, no 'off-roading' I guess :lol:

Richard

by **Steve F** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:38 pm

rmclarke wrote:Thanks guys for the kudos...this is a great forum (it's the best one I've ever been on) and the ideas and support here are truly inspiring.

Today I worked on cutting and dryfitting some of the stringers. The sides are not epoxied in place yet; I've got to figure out how the galley wall is going to fit in there first and also I've got to finish the inside walls. I think I'm going to paint the inside walls, leaving the wood floor and footwell as they are and I might do some sort of headliner for the ceiling (not sure yet) sort of 'design-as-you-go' here

I'm thinking a small fixed window might be nice in the front also

Richard

Put a window in the front if you can, It makes it so much roomier feeling inside and you can look up at the stars as you fall asleep

Cheers
Steve

by **rmclarke** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 1:31 am

Wow, two months goes by in a hurry :shock:

I thought I was going to have this thing 'campable' by October :laughing1:

But I am making some progress, walls are epoxied into place, so is lower galley wall.

I added extra stringers to the roof and the whole thing is now insulated (roof and front with 1 1/2" foam, walls with 3/4")

There's just sooo much stuff to do!!

it seems like I'm becoming distracted more easily...I start on one thing, and soon I'm doing something else....just trying to stay focused is a real challenge! :NC

Still working on the folding table over the foot well. I don't have the hinges yet or the table support; I cut strips of okume ply to support the bottom of the laminated pine table and epoxied and screwed them into place....seems quite strong. (I just propped it up for a few pics):

Forward interior headboard support (not finished with it yet, I'll post more pics of it later)

I'm just going with an overhead vent. I think it will work fine for us. No air conditioning...we do a lot of camping on the Oregon coast. Will probably need a heater before we need AC. I found a neat gray smoked colored vent that has angles instead of rounded edges....I think it fits well with the lines of the Sunhopper. Also, my windows are going to be smoked plexi.

Today, I started cutting the exterior side panels. Hope I can post some more before another 2 months goes by

Richard

by **Cliffmeister2000** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 8:09 am

Richard, your SunHopper is looking grand! I can't wait to see more!

by **dwgriff1** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 8:42 am

Seems like one of the best assets a tear builder could have is experience in boat building.

Richard supports my theory.

dave

by **S. Heisley** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:21 am

Richard:

You are doing a great job! When you finished working on that old chassis frame, it looked brand new! You've come up with a good plan for your build. The work on that floor hatch looks better than a ship hatch! Beautiful! Don't worry about how fast or slow things progress. Life happens! Things will progress as they are supposed to, not as you think they should. The important thing is that you are happy with what you are doing. I look forward to seeing you camping in it!
:thumbsup:

by **S. Heisley** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:47 am

Richard:

About your non-powered vent: If you live near a Walmart, they had 'O2COOL' fans on sale for $7 last week. If they have any left, it would be good to pick one up. These fans work on 8 D cell batteries but they come with an electric plug that actually converts AC to 12VDC. The fan itself is totally DC. So, you can get a matching cigarette lighter-style plug cord (12VDC, type 2A) at Radio Shack for $9.99 that should allow you to use your $7 wonder to move air in or out of the cabin from a DC plug. Also, these fans come with a built-in hook-hanger and are much more portable than an unmovable vent fan. :thumbsup:

(They sell something similar at the RV stores for about $74.)

by **rmclarke** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 11:44 pm

Dave,

Someday, I'd like to build a bigger sailboat :twisted:

but I think that's going to be a rather 'hard sell' to the better half ... at least until I do that kitchen remodel I promised :angel:

Hi Sharon,
Good call on that fan setup....I had already purchased one of those for that purpose...great minds etc

....O2Cool also makes a small 5 inch version of that DC fan

which I also bought with the intention of playing around with it to see if I could modifying it to fit in the vent housing ( I recall a thread where 48Rob mentioned doing such a thing) :thinking:

Best regards,
Richard

by **rmclarke** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:40 pm

Exterior skin is on

Next comes filling a 'million' tiny nail holes with epoxy

....wish I would have 'eased off' on that nail gun now!!

Richard

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