Beginning the Tadpull

[Tadlan]

Yep. It begins. I found a little 4x8 trailer on craigslist for $120. I told my wife that there was plenty of room in the garage for it.


Needless to say...there was. As long as it fits, right?
The plywood on top had pretty much rotted away and came off easily. I am surprised at how decent of shape the frame is in with the condition of the wood that had been above it. Will start cleaning and sanding soon. You can also see the windows that I picked up for $30 also through craigslist. This is going to be a long build because I will use craigslist, thrift shops, and such for a lot of my stuff. Have to wait for deals.

Here is a test match I did on the spare tire.


It is almost perfect for my tow vehicle.


It will be a woody sided teardrop somewhere between a Benroy and a Trailer for Two with a green aluminum top. Gonna be sweet.

[Tadlan]

So, after a lot of scrubbing, kneeling, scrubbing more, sanding, bending, laying on the ground, painting, kneeling, repeat process, my dirty red trailer now looks like this.


My knees and back hurt, but progress is good. Hope to start in on sawdusting soon.

[Txbum]

You got it going in the right directions ! congratulations and keep everyone posted. Txbum ..Richard

[2bits]

You think like I do with the deals! Looks like you are off to a good start, and the color combination really will be awesome once you are towing it! I like the windows too!

[Tadlan]

Thanks Thomas. Gotta love deals when you are not rolling in money. Your woody and black aluminum combination is one of my inspirations to start this whole thing...so thank you for that too.

[steve smoot]

Great deal on the trailer, and you are off to a good start...love the TV...

[2bits]

Thanks Thomas. Gotta love deals when you are not rolling in money. Your woody and black aluminum combination is one of my inspirations to start this whole thing...so thank you for that too.

Hey thanks! That black aluminum would not be there if it wasn't for a Craiglist deal on that too! I loved that find! Here's to deals a comin' that we are yet to discover!

[mcspin50]

You can also see the windows that I picked up for $30 also through craigslist. This is going to be a long build because I will use craigslist, thrift shops, and such for a lot of my stuff. Have to wait for deals.

$30!!??!! SIGH! You lucky duck! I don't seem to do that well on Craigslist up here. Maybe should be looking harder there for windows, otherwise it's $130 on ebay for the ones I'd like.

Good luck with your build. You're off to a great start. BTW No. 1 Son lives in Ogden, UT. Beautiful state.

[Senior Ninja]

Isn't it wonderful what a little paint will do?
Steve (ex paint manufacturer)

[Tadlan]

Yeah...the craigslist has not been as kind the last few weeks. Nothing new there or way overpriced. Almost got a stove/oven for $40, but someone beat me to it. Thanks for the comments and the support. The floor is bolted on, but no pics cause it is boring.

Epoxy arrived today, so I may get some stuff done this Saturday. I am reconfiguring the whole build in my head right now. Trying to come up with innovative ways to keep weight and costs down. If it is under 750 lbs I don't have to register it in Utah. Can I build the whole thing out of foam?

We shall see.

[Tadlan]

Sorry everyone. October has not been the best month financially. Medical bills, car registration, insurance, and my company is "fixing" the payroll system to be one week back...so I won't get paid for a week this month. Not much done. I have a floor and have done a few tests with plywood, foam, fabric, and epoxy. Hopefully I can get something done next month.

[Senior Ninja]

Before we began, we did some glue tests. We glued blocks of wood to a piece of plywood. We used white glue, yellow glue and construction glue to glue the blocks to the plywood. We clamped them and left them over night. Next morning we tore the blocks from the plywood. What do you think the results were?
Yep! No appreciable difference. Every glue joint held and the wood block broke. We decided to use the yellow carpenter's glue, saving us the cost of the more exotic glues. All the wood on our woody has three coats of varnish, including the bottom of the floor. No goupy black stuff for our woody. The TD is housed in a garage so sun damage is not a problem. We used the single hole Pilot hole jig. We held it with a locking wrench we bought at HF. I think we were fairly thrifty.
Steve

[grizz]

My build was not that thrifty in places, but I do love the idea of sensible thrifty building, even if you can afford to buy the whole shop.

Here is a thread I just started over on Retro Rides, on some of the treasures I pick up for nothing.

http://www.retrorides.proboards.com/ind ... read=89875

Wasting is a big industry in the UK, and unfortunately the beurocrats who scream "Green" are the same people who wont let you take stuff from a council/municipal dumpster.

[BigAl]

You made a nice tidy job of the trailer and extra bonus points for all the photographs! :D

I love the name "Tadpull".

Keep up the good work.