The No Tears Teardrop Build

[Diemjoe]

I have delayed cutting the doors and skeletonizing the walls. Mostly out of hear from making a bad cut. But the 10 feet walls are heavy to move around and I had a wide open day to go slow. I still have to figure out the galley cabinetry locations so I didn't do that but The doors are cut and the front is cut out too. Luckily, I remembered that I am going to have an inclined head rest and stopped short of cutting out the last section of wall where I am going to attach it. Whew.

There was still some slippage of the router bit but nothing I cant fix in post. ;-)

PICs coming soon.

[Diemjoe]

I took a break from the lumber and got the tail light harness connected to my cars tail light system super easy. Now I just have to do the electric break wiring. I don't think that is going to be as easy.

[Diemjoe]

We have been having an early Spring up here in Seattle. Perfect weather to test out my solar charging equipment. Everything Hooked up easily once I got all the cables ordered. The Battery came fully charged so I didn't really prove anything other than the MPPT digital readout worked. Next step is to get a dry run of the MP4045.

Renogy Setup

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[Diemjoe]

Skeleton and doors;
Started on the walls. It took me a while to get up the courage to cut into them since there is no undoing a bad cut. I had definitely gone as far as I could with the other chores and it was time. I laid out the door on 1/4: press to match the size of the door minus the router radius. I did not think about the transition from the door sides to the curved top though so there was was a couple of inches at the corner where I would get a good corner if I stuck to the router template.

You can see the template gap around the door corner in this pic

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Luckily it was a diameter curve so I cut the sides and the top as much as I could and then just rotated the door template in either direction to continue template curve to the door sides. Worked great. I really was looking forward to cutting out a new template.

First door cut out

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With the one door cut, I lined up the second wall underneath to mark out the other door. repeated the step cutting steps and Voila!!! 2 doors.

I had waited to cut the skeleton until after the doors were cut. My thought there was that the walls needed to be less flexible for the door cuts and it didn't matter so much on the skeleton cutting. I lined up the walls and clamped them down I used a 1 1/2 forstner bit to drill pilot holes at the skeleton corners. I don't think It provided much of a curve though.
Oh well. I used the saber saw on these cuts because there was plenty of room to allow for drift of the saw over the 1 1/2 of plywood it had to go through.

Starting the Skeleton

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I almost cut out too much though. I realized just as I was going in for the final cut that I wanted to create an inclined backboard with storage and wood need some firm plywood to connect it too. Whew.

I didn't cut around the galley because I am still lining that up.

[Diemjoe]

Galley Layout
As mentioned a long time ago I have several pieces of Maple slabs cluttering up the garage. I hope to use them in the teardrop. They have been drying for 3 or 4 years, a little warped with some severe cracks. I took it over to my friend's house who just happens to be a genius with repairing such things.

Raw Material for the Galley Counter

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He took the electric planer to it to smooth it out then filled the cracks with epoxy. It took a while but the result is a nice smooth and pretty counter top. It still needs some sanding and a few more layers of varnish but I think it is going to work out fine. I am still trying to think about how I can use the wood for the cabinets inside and out.

Sealing the cracks with epoxy

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[Diemjoe]

Galley Layout (cont.)

I built a cabinet skeleton out of poplar and got it together with glue and pocket holes. Considered making a full plywood box for each cabinet but seemed like overkill in money time and weight.

I needed to fit the countertop to the proper width so I got the walls as vertical as I could an added the clamped the inside skins to them. By The Way, the only 4 by 10 plywood I could find was mahogany. With the bendy birch ceiling, It should be a pretty eclectic look.

the Galley view with out the skin

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The galley with the uncut mahogany skin

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Now I just have to figure out the galley drawers and cabinets. I have the cooler. I think I am going to set it up with camping stove so I don't have to pull out the Camp Chef every time I want a hot meal. No sink though. I don't think I would get much use out of one that would fit in the tiny space.

[Wobbly Wheels]

Looks like you're making some serious sawdust, Don

A thought on trying out your solar system: when I got mine, I set the panels up on the roof and ran an inverter off the battery, which was just outside the kitchen window. I made toast and/or coffee on it every morning for about a year to see if it was a viable option and it worked like a charm.

[Diemjoe]

Finally put the axle and wheels on last night. I waiting to get as much material that I would be using onto the frame as I could to get a good weight balance. I didn't find there to be much benefit though. I couldn't get very far on the galley since I didn't know how high the frame would ride until I got the wheels on. With out the galley built, I wouldn't know where it was safe to Skeletonize the back of the trailer walls. I also couldn't skeletonize around where the fenders would attach since without the wheels attached. The other problem I found was placement of the door. I used the lay down determine the door location by where my hips are. I am 6 feet so that moved the door towards the back. So with the fender clearance, the axle is pretty far back. It has me a bit worried, but with a new day and better lighting I am going to measure it out to see what I have to work with.

Wheels on!!!!

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(The trailer is tipped up so I don't have to stoop over while working on the electric junction box)

[KCStudly]

I think you will be okay towing with the V6 Escape. In fact, if you don't load the tongue up with a bunch of heavy items, the rear set wheels will help it track well and back up easier. While the axle is a bit further back than the 40/60 rule of thumb (I'd estimate about 25/75 from your pic) that is in keeping with some of the classic vintage designs, so, again, I bet it will be okay.

[Diemjoe]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll report a final balance ratio when I mount it permanently.

[Diemjoe]

I finally committed to handles and windows, ordered and received them. I must have ordered them before my 5th cup of morning coffee because my spatial senses were way off. idea on how big my doors are was way bigger than they actually are. Not including the curved section, the door measures 27 1/2w by 35 1/2 H. The windows are 20w x24h. Which as I am writing this seems like a pretty selection.

When I laid them out last night with the latches, I was obvious that the latches were going to slightly over lap the window even if I slide the window over a bit. I think I am going to have to return the window for a thinner version. Too bad, I was excited for a big breezy window with the screen.

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Oh Well, Plenty of other things to do in the meantime.....

[Diemjoe]

I received the replacement handle in the mail the other day but have a while before they get installed. I have been making some good progress the past couple of weeks.
I thought that having a Bumper on the trailer would be a good idea. Easier to weld a frame rather than rebuild the cabin in case of a minor rear end collision. I got the idea for a removable bumper so that it wouldn't be in the way when using the galley.

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The wheels are tack welded onto the frame. Since I am still not sure where they will finally be placed, I decided to move ahead with less skeletonizing around the lower back sections of the wall so I make sure I have something to screw the fenders into when the time comes. Speaking of Fenders, I bought a couple so I could get a feel for length and width. I think my axle might be a bit wide because the distance from the outside wall to the outside tire edge is about 4 inches wider than my fender. I think I'll just return these and build my own fenders. It doesn't look like a big undertaking.

I attached the inside skins using construction adhesive. I should have spreads it out better before I laid on the skin but it was setting up pretty quickly. I will put that in the nice to do category since the skins don't look rippled or anything. I am a little disappointed in that spots and streaks of the floor undercoating have gotten on the skins from having to store them in the same place I am building the trailer. That stuff doesn't sand out very well, especially on that thin plywood. I should have waited to buy the skins until I needed them.

I am using a version of Frederick method (Dado Joint) for joining the walls to the floor. I sliced of the bottom two inches of the wall (including the floor height), glued and trimmed the inside skins, Stained all sides of the trimmed off bottom of the walls and glued and screwed them to the floor. Finally, glueing and Kreg Screwing the walls to the floor. Seems pretty solid.

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While I was doing one final check of the wall dimensions to the floor, I noticed that the bottoms of the wall were 1/2 inch shorter than the floor. I have no idea how that happened but luckily it was easily solved by trimming the extra length off the floor.

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[Diemjoe]

I glued the inside skins on but have held off on the outside skins since I still have to run lights and I am worried about damaging the walls through the construction process. I am going to keep the woody style. I have starting putting in the roof spars though. Trying my best to keep them perpendicular to the walls. I am Kreg screwing and glueing them in place. That construction adhesive is risky business. It doesn't come up very well so I am trying my best to keep it off the inside skins. Not always succeeding.

I have a skylight and a fantastic fan to make room for in the spars that is pretty easy, The hard part is the spar to spar 1x2. It is difficult to get the angles right so that it fits just right. Not to mention the curve that the roof line will follow. Tonight's project.

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[KCStudly]

That construction adhesive is risky business. It doesn't come up very well so I am trying my best to keep it off the inside skins. Not always succeeding.

May I recommend blue painters tape? Tamp it off on your T-shirt or pant leg first so that it doesn't lift the grain of the wood so much, and just lay 3 small pieces around each of your spar pockets before gluing. I have found that it is best to hold the tape back about 1/16 inch as it is much better to have an even line to scrape around the tape than it is to have blue tape trapped under the edge and not be able to pick it out.

I have a little 1 inch detail paint scrapper (similar to this one) that I use for some glue cleanup. Sometimes it works better than sanding because it is a hard edge that has a bit more control than sandpaper, but you do have to be careful not to gouge with the corners of the blade.

[Diemjoe]

That is a good idea. Not sure why I didn't think that way. Eager to get camping, I guess. ;-)