Death of our teardrop

[mspieth]

Due to some pretty bad delamination (Completely my own fault) its time to build a new one. Since we mainly use our TTT for Burningman, I have less than 1 month to build it. This really shouldn't be much of a problem, as I have some friends who can come over and obviously some of the internals will have to wait until we get back.

You can check out my build journal at

http://www.ganjachicken.info/v1/main/

We are building on a standard 4X8 Harbor Freight frame. After using the last one, we decided not to build another teardrop, but rather we extended the frame 12" or so all around and are building a mini shasta style camper.

[planovet]

Boy that sucks. Hopefully that won't happen again.

[mspieth]

It shouldn't. We never finished sealing it from our last trip, and trusted the tarp to keep it safe.. It was a bet we lost. This time around we won't make that mistake!!

[mspieth]

here is what it looked like pre delamination.

[Oasis Maker]

Keep your next teardrop level on your tow vehicle- you got a pretty severe nosedive going on which could present other problems on the road. An adjustable hitch would be a good investment. You would obviously just flip it over to raise the teardrop up.

Scott

[mspieth]

I should look into one of those, the accent really sits low to the ground. I didn't really have too many problems with the low height other than a few parking lots which had a steep drop off at the street level....

What I really need to do if finish the new camper and then finish up the El Camino so I have a real vehicle to tow it with... So many project... So little time!

[starleen2]

R.I.P. poor little teardrop

[mspieth]

Its not a total loss.. I'm thinking about turning it into a dog house since my dogs seem to like it out in the yard better than the actual dog house I built for them!

[grizz]

Its not a total loss.. I'm thinking about turning it into a dog house since my dogs seem to like it out in the yard better than the actual dog house I built for them!

....... Cloud, Silver lining ?

Sorry you had to kill it, hope the next one is twice as nice.

[kennyrayandersen]

Just for the record book and understanding database. It looks like you used paint on the outside, but no fiberglass? I’m thinking that paint alone won’t quite do it (even if its epoxy paint followed up with a UV protective coat). Can you share the how you unsuccessfully didn’t seal the teardrop?

[Chuckles2153]

Due to some pretty bad delamination (Completely my own fault) its time to build a new one. Since we mainly use our TTT for Burningman, I have less than 1 month to build it. This really shouldn't be much of a problem, as I have some friends who can come over and obviously some of the internals will have to wait until we get back.

You can check out my build journal at

http://www.ganjachicken.info/v1/main/

We are building on a standard 4X8 Harbor Freight frame. After using the last one, we decided not to build another teardrop, but rather we extended the frame 12" or so all around and are building a mini shasta style camper.

That really sucks fish sticks K, How many years did you have it to camp in before that happened?
I had something similar happen to my first one, the guys left it outside in the rain one night and it was only 1/3 finished and had to start all over.
didn't even get to sleep in it not even one night.

hope you don't have that problem with your next one.

[mspieth]

We did get to use it 6 or 7 times before it got put away under the tarp. Construction on the new camper began pretty heavily this past weekend. Also I moved my build journal to here:

http://www.deviantdonkey.info/v2/main/category/camper/

[bve]

What are your dimensions on the tear? That looks kinda big for your little Honda, especially if it still has the same forward rake as the previous one.


Burke

[Cliffmeister2000]

Looks like it will have lots of room. That photo sure makes the tongue look short!

[mspieth]

Believe it or not, its not really all that much larger. We widened it by 12" and extended it back by 12". The total weight of the wood (My lumber company prints that on the bill) was only 340 Pounds, so as long as the wind resistance doesn't kill me, I think I'll be ok. Lets hope so as its maiden voyage is at the end of this month and will be approximately 4000 Miles round trip.