THE Teardrop Explorer

[PubUltraStar]

Ok, I don't really have a name for it, but the Grillenium Falcon will do for now. I got the go-ahead from the boss to start on the teardrop build in 2013, and she said that she'd even like to help. I've been lurking, researching, and drooling over everyone's build journals for months, and it's time for me to start my journey. I even spent a few hours tonight teaching myself Google SketchUp, and came up with my first mock up. I plan on building a woodie, as I'm a huge fan of old school wooden boats, so there may be some nautical themes included in the build. I will be finalizing the trailer design in the next few weeks, and have a local builder lined up. I hope to also have the template cut with a CNC machine to help jump start the project.





This will be my build journal, and I plan on taking lots of pictures. I already have a couple of dozen links bookmarked, and parts ready to order. Wish me luck!

EDIT: The teardrop now officially has a name: The Teardrop Explorer. The Grillenium Falcon was only a placeholder until I actually had my vanity plate I wanted in hand.

Mike

[JeremiahO]

Looks like a good mock- up! I too am building a woodie. What size are you shooting for?

[wagondude]

Nice prifile. That bottom rear curve may be a challenge, but I'm sure you will figure someting out.

[PubUltraStar]

Please note that all designs posted were compliments of Dave McCamant, and the credit and copyright stay with him.

I originally thought that I would model my build off the ATMA Travelear, as I fell in love with his build. He was gracious enough to share his plans with me for the trailer as well as the teardrop. As an experiment, I did a mock up of the tear as an 8 footer, versus the original ten. The reason that I did this, is because my CNC contact can only cut up to a 4x8 sheet, so it would eliminate having to splice pieces together. I'm 6'2", and I'm worried that I might not have enough bed space when shortening the tear to 8 feet. It would cut down on the space in back at the galley as well. Thoughts?



When I shortened the trailer frame, I also lost the space to put the spare tire mounted underneath in the back. Anyone put it underneath, but up front? I've added a 2" receiver on the back, as well as 1" receivers on the back corners. The 2" will hold a bike rack, and the 1" will be for side tables or awning posts. I've also seen conversations on the forum about stabilizer jacks on the back and how some feel that they are better on the front, so I'll continue to research that. I'll probably end up sticking with the original plans, just thought I would toss this around as an alternative. Any ideas and opinions are appreciated.

[danlott]

You could do a dropped floor storage area for your spare tire. That would also give you a little extra space to put a few other items like wheel chocks and a tire wrench. Here is a picture of my dropped floor storage area for my spare tire.





Dan

[KCStudly]

Because my inside wall height is a little over 4 ft at the highest point (4 ft of foam + a 2x2 sill) and 9' - 8" long, and I wanted the grain of the inside panels to run vertically, I had my CNC guy, who was also limited to 4x8, cut me three profile sections for TPCE matching the sections of paneling; 2 for inside cabin and 1 for in the galley.

Not the easiest way to go about it, but should be very accurate in the end. Even though mine is a foamie, it should still make the job of routing the wall profiles go much, much easier... someday when I get to that stage.

[PubUltraStar]

Having the spare inside in a dropped floor is a great idea. There would be some additional storage, for items you may not need all the time, and to get at them you'd only have to lift the mattress. After a quick conversation with the wife, she reminded me that having the extra space in the 10 foot tear would accommodate our derpy dogs if needed, so I'm back at the drawing board with the original trailer modifications. I'm planning on installing a Pet*Cool for heat/AC, and was also toying around with the idea of a raised deck to run the air return and some of the electrical. I see that most people wire their tears by going over the top. Has anyone who has wired some underneath have any comments. I was thinking that for some of the lights, and electrical to the galley could be routed in the raised floor, while other things like the fantastic fan, and trailer lights could be routed above.

Here is a sketchup of the sidewall sitting on the deck, and raised flooring, or at least this is how I see it in my head. This would be different than the original ATMA Travelear in the sense that it would be 2 1/4" taller, as it would be sitting on a recessed raised desk. If I didn't do it this way, I might run into clearance problems with the torsion axle. Again, thoughts are appreciated.

[DMcCam]

Hi Mike, The Travelear is designed around a queen length bed for us tall guys (I'm 6'2" as well). There's quite a bit of room in it. The tongue box has room for a lot of stuff like the PetCool.

Your wall attachment plan looks like it would work just fine. Lots of builders have routed their wiring in the floor and under it in conduit. Others routed theirs in the ceiling like me. This is going to be a fun build to watch good sir. Thank you for the shout out!

All the Best,

Dave

[PubUltraStar]

I've got my CNC work lined up to be cut in a few weeks, so that is progress I suppose. On a side note, does anyone else get their tools from Harbor freight? I feel like I drop at least $100 every time I'm in there. I had my eye on the Kreg pocket hole jig for a while now based upon everyone's use of it on this site, but ended up buying the one from HF to save money. I also get myself a Plate Jointer with a free 2 year service plan when I was there. I figured that I might need to join something together with biscuits during my build so why not. The hand tools all have a lifetime warranty, so as long as there is a HF nearby, you can exchange it if it goes bad. That store is dangerous, and like candyland for me.

I now hope to order the custom trailer in early February, as I keep procrastinating on that as well. It's too cold here now to work on the trailer anyway. Brrrr!

[DMcCam]

Hi Mike, I just realized that when I typed that, "The tongue box has room for a lot of stuff like the PetCool", you might think I fitted a PetCool in it. I have not even seen a PetCool in person or have the dimensions to check. I'm sorry if this has mislead you or anyone else. Tom's built a beautiful tongue box with a PetCool in it and it LOOKS like it would fit sideways.

It's good to hear you're moving forward on you build. Having the chassis will put the fire under you for sure.

All the Best,

Dave

[PubUltraStar]

I'm super close to finally ordering my trailer, but thought I would run the plans past the group to see if anyone sees anything obviously wrong. My trailer uses the ATMA Travelear as the base for its' design, but has some slight modifications. First, it's 2 inches wider. With my walls being thicker due to the wood design I'm planning, I wanted to ensure that the internal width could still fit a full size mattress. I've added a 2" receiver on the back for accessories or my Yakima Bike rack, and a 1 1/4" receiver facing outwards on each of the back corners for tables or an awning. The cross members have been moved around slightly due to the addition of the receiver on the back, thus making room for the spare tire. Am I correct in assuming that I can order a Flexiride torsion axle at my new trailer width?

Mike.

[DMcCam]

It looks good to go Mike! If memory serves, you can order Flexiride axles in 1" increments but I'd check them online to make sure.

All the best,

Dave

[PubUltraStar]

Things to Do Before Starting Teardrop:
1. Build 8x12 Shed to make room in garage for teardrop build
2. Clean Garage
3. Clean Basement (per Wife or else)
4. Organize Basement, Garage, and Shed.

Now that my "to-do" list is done, I finally placed the order for my custom trailer for the teardrop build. The builder expects to have it back to me no later than April 1st. I also sent my design documents to my CNC guy to cut the templates for the walls. He's ordered the 4x10 signboard and we'll be cutting in the next couple of weekends. It has begun.

[DMcCam]

Hey Mike, that sounds great! One thing to check out BEFORE getting the walls CNC'd is to make sure the fenders you want to use will fit the curve of the skeleton! I made the fender backing curves thinking that I would have the fenders made to fit my design. The problem came when I found out how much those fender would cost! So I called Grant Whipp at Lil' Bear so see if his beautiful 30's style fenders would fit the curve. He was awesome! Grant sent me a pattern to check the fit with and thank the lords of teardrops, they do indeed fit. Just an FYI to CYA as it were pal.

I'm very excited to see your build start.

All the best,

Dave

[KevinC]

I like the name a lot.

I looks like you are being very thorough in your planning. The result should be great. Looking forward to the pictures.
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