Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi everyone.If you dont mind me asking what type of light and license plate bracket is in your picture. And were can I get one?
Thanks John

john curtis wrote:Hi everyone.If you dont mind me asking what type of light and license plate bracket is in your picture. And were can I get one?
Thanks John

Here's a source for some old stuff... hit the link and do a quick search for license plate. The lights and brackets are seperate pieces.
http://www.vintagecampers.com/vintageparts.php

edit: much cheaper stuff here.... http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/Exterior_Lights_s/8.htm

Mine is made by trail-lite

sid wrote:Nice work Kenny, really nice... we look forward to seeing it soon!

Give the little ones a hug for us,
Mark and Pat

Thanks Mark & Pat and I will do. They will be coming with me on the next few outings. The twins love camping. Only hoping the newest addition does too.

Got the outside about finished. Its going to need some fat white walls. I've got some little nit picky stuff to do but its campable as is. Interior is at about 75% needing some repair and paint and other possible changes but its more than useable now as is.





Love them hubcaps.


The inside as it sits.


The cabinets are begging for some modifications. Just not sure of all what I'm going to do yet. It will get hardwood floors. (the engineered type for weight) I'm also considering a butcher block counter and table. The table might get an inlayed chess board in it.

What a fun project! It's really shaping up....some WW's will look good on it. Have you located the correct badging logo for it yet? Gotta have that! You can letter up the caps with vinyl copy as well with the trailer make on them. Doug

doug hodder wrote:What a fun project! It's really shaping up....some WW's will look good on it. Have you located the correct badging logo for it yet? Gotta have that! Doug

Thanks Doug... I decided to go with my own badge logo. I have pics of the original but since I didn't stay original on the inside, might as well make it my own. I've handed off to an artist family member already my idea. Instead of the word Aloha, it will be the Filipino equivalent, "Mabuhay". Since I'm irish and she's filipina, it will be some rendition of a coconut palm/tiki hut on one side with 4 leaf clovers on the other.

Its our culture mix & the aloha equivalent. I'll post pics of it when it happens. I've got the original serial# badges still on the trailer to show its origin and a simple decal like the original can be made if a future owner prefers.

Here's the original. I've got a better pic of it with a ruler next to it for a sign shop if I need.... just didn't go looking for it. lol

I have a similar trailer that I took apart a few years ago. It is all 1 x 1 steel tube frame, sides and top. I am trying to get going to build it new again. I need new windows as the old ones were not in good shape. I do ahve a question on your interior. I see you painted the walls and ceiling. How did you handle the seams and what did you use for plywood? I have been looking at plain 1/8" ply or even using wood paneling, except that would make the interior a bit dark I think. You have done a great job on that trailer. I ended up recycling the exterior aluminum so that will be new when I get to it. The interior was pretty close to what yours looks like. And I am thinking of rebuilding it pretty much the same. Keep posting pics as you continue your interior rebuild.

doug hodder wrote: You can letter up the caps with vinyl copy as well with the trailer make on them. Doug

Hadn't thought of that. Not a bad idea.

sunny16 wrote:I have a similar trailer that I took apart a few years ago. It is all 1 x 1 steel tube frame, sides and top. I am trying to get going to build it new again. I need new windows as the old ones were not in good shape. I do ahve a question on your interior. I see you painted the walls and ceiling. How did you handle the seams and what did you use for plywood? I have been looking at plain 1/8" ply or even using wood paneling, except that would make the interior a bit dark I think. You have done a great job on that trailer. I ended up recycling the exterior aluminum so that will be new when I get to it. The interior was pretty close to what yours looks like. And I am thinking of rebuilding it pretty much the same. Keep posting pics as you continue your interior rebuild.

The windows can be salvaged with a lil elbow grease, but if I had the money I would have replaced mine too. The ceilings and walls are just 1/4" luan. The seams came together nicely where they met and are just stapled to the spars as my spars are wood. I've filled the seams and staple divots with a paintable wood filler and painted over the top. It hid the seams well but I still see them so I might just use a decorative trim over the seams. I can tell you from experience that working with the old aluminum was not so easy. If I would have had the money I'd have recycled mine and went new on that too. As for my cabinets, I won't replace the frames. They are screwed on from under the outside tin. I may however just pull the 1/4" skins off and replace them when I do the countertops. I'll continue with pics. Might be awhile though as the camping season is here and I'll probably wait till the off season to tear into project mode again.

Here's what I did, but a similar color to your logo would look great on it. Lots of cars and trailers had the same treatment, back in the "day". Doug

Yep I like it. Not sure why I didn't see that before. I poured over the pics of that camper too. Not sure where your design ideas come from but they are good.

So I just got my trailer weighed today. Tongue weight is 300# and overall trailer weight is 2100#.

Is 300# tongue weight excessive on a 2100# trailer?

This was fully loaded ready to camp btw. I probably have somewhere around 100lbs of gear onboard.


Also I have a subaru forester.... the tow rating is 240 x 2400 but the hitch is 300 x 3500. Would you trust maxing out the tongue weight on the hitch?

I know this thread is a couple years old, but what the heck! Why stop here? I am really curious to see the final look.

nomad wrote:I know this thread is a couple years old, but what the heck! Why stop here? I am really curious to see the final look.

Whew life really got busy after I got to this point and I never took the inside apart due to time. I did modify a cabinet and install a TV and microwave, and built a campsite in my yard to park it and use it between camp outs. Its hard to find time to camp anymore much less work on it. I'm just going to enjoy it for a few more years before digging back in for mods. :-)

Glad to hear you are still using and enjoying it.. I often wonder what happens to a lot of these campers.