Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

After four years of good use, I am passing on my home built teardrop to my daughter.


The teardrop was fun but we are doing a lot of camping lately and wanted some more room.With winter looming I was looking for a project. At first I was looking into a cargo trailer conversion. However, with the same daughter previously mentioned getting ready for college, I needed to go cheap. While inquiring about a used cargo trailer down the road from a co-worker, he mentioned that he had a "hunters special" sitting on his farm. It had not been used in years. I decided to go take a look. I came home with this, $200 bucks later.




The skin shows some dents and has been repainted, but there are no broken seams. The frame looked great and I had no problems pulling it home about 30mi at 55mph. There is some roof damage above the door. Also, since it was on a farm there are a lot of bugs both dead and hibernating for the winter, YUCK! The fun begins...

Here are some interior shots:

Here is a shot of the water damage above the door.


The snow melted off and it was about 50 today so I took a look at the roof. The seam on the roof looked pretty tight but there was a small suspect puncture. I used some duct sealer to seal the seams just in case and to fill the puncture. Maybe I will do something different when it permanently warms up but I have been in AC for 20 years and know the duct sealer will expand and contract. We have used it on exposed duct work and it weathers well. Plus, I had it laying around...

After that I went inside and cut out some of the ruined wood. The ceiling joists look solid so that's good news!

I love all the nice big windows. Nice find.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday. I worked on the trailer...

I didn't trust the old fabric electrical wire so I reran some 14/2 to the outlets. There is an existing 30 amp disconnect in the trailer with one 15 amp breaker and an open slot. I can still get the breakers so I am going to put the old light fixtures and maybe add an exterior outlet on the other circuit. That can wait. For now I have enough outlets to run a space heater and some power tools (the trailer is my workshop since I have no garage).


I am working on the front half first. That way I can show the non-believers that it will look good when it is done. My 8 year old wanted to paint so I let her do all the first coat.




Notice that all the carpeting is gone. We picked up some cheap tile and started laying it down.


Only the walls are getting painted. The cabinets are getting refinished. The front cabinet is done in this pic.


I am not sure what I am going to do with the benches. I still want to be able to make a bed. Might use what I have and just reupholster them. A new table is in works. I don't think I will use the bed up front too much so the table will fold down and I will just have a piece of plywood ready in case we have extra company.

that is so cool. What a nice project.

The original pictures seemed to show water damage below the front window. Usually that is caused by old sealant around the window and can be fixed by some new putty tape.
I would also check the ceiling vent. That is another common source of leaks and could be where the damage around the door came from.
But $200 for the trailer? You may get arrested for stealing. It looks like a great trailer and you have a helper who can get down to do the low work.
I upgraded from my tear to a standie years ago and do not regret it at all, even with the extra gas for towing a taller load.


When you are ready to add an awning check out http://trailerawning.blogspot.com/. Marti offers many choices at fair prices. i did not use her but know many who have.

When the wind comes up and the rain is hard I love my tin house so will you..

dmb90260 wrote:The original pictures seemed to show water damage below the front window. Usually that is caused by old sealant around the window and can be fixed by some new putty tape.
I would also check the ceiling vent. That is another common source of leaks and could be where the damage around the door came from.
But $200 for the trailer? You may get arrested for stealing. It looks like a great trailer and you have a helper who can get down to do the low work.
I upgraded from my tear to a standie years ago and do not regret it at all, even with the extra gas for towing a taller load.


When you are ready to add an awning check out http://trailerawning.blogspot.com/. Marti offers many choices at fair prices. i did not use her but know many who have.

When the wind comes up and the rain is hard I love my tin house so will you..

Thanks, I think I got an excellent deal too. When summer comes along the exterior will get a lot of attention including pulling and resealing the windows. The roof leak has been fixed, and yes it was around the vent. My wife fell in love with the awnings. Looks like a great connection. I'll keep your link in mind.

Great works keep the pic flowing.

That's nice!

There hasn't been much progress over the last few weeks with Fall session wrapping up and Christmas honey do's. However, I finished the flooring and started working on the rear twin bed/ couch area.

Very nice re-do on the interior! Don'tcha just love those radius corners? Keep up the good work! Doug

I love the stove. Blue is my least favorite color, but it is so right for these vintage trailers.

My grandfather had one of these late in life. We used it as a fishing cabin. It basically stayed on site while we traveled back and forth 200 miles every other week. Lots of memories but our last fishing trip was Aug '83, he had me running the stove as a heater in 90 degree weather due to advanced lung cancer. Haven't gone fishing since, waiting on a grandchild. Darn my slow kids.

Any progress? Pictures?