Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

So I think I hit paydirt today! I don't want to get too excited until I get some input from the experts...that's you folks!

I was at a customers house today (I install internet satellite) and it was the type of house that had things everywhere. Broken down cars, etc. I asked her if by chance they had a smallish utility trailer that they wanted to get rid of. Guess what? They did!

It's a bit hard to see in the pics because there is crap all over it but it's a 4' x 8'. It looks way more heavy duty then the typical HF one I was going to get. I didn't see any rust on the trailer - what I could see of it. Two concerns....she said it's never "been registered" before but she has the paperwork to do that. And....as you can maybe see the front of the frame where it joins the tongue is a triangle. There are no square, right angle corners at that end of the trailer which concerns me. I'm NOT going to weld anything to make this work....Oh, and she just wants $60 for it. The tail lights look broken but the wiring is there and that's a cheap fix. I didn't ask about the pin (?) connector that you connect to your car.

So what do you think? Good deal? Bad deal? I wouldn't go with it if she couldn't produce the paperwork. Getting a title for items that don't have the paperwork here in Washington state is a PITA and takes months.

Also...some of you may think it's not much better but I've decided I'll build my TD in an "instant garage instead of the shipping container. This is a 10' x 20' canopy type set up that has four sides and will do well I think. I got the idea after seeing another builder - Dunenutt - use one for his current build. He also built his rocking truck in there too so if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me. AND it will save me $600 in the long run AND the thing will be mine!

Thanks for eveyone's input!

That looks like a converted boat trailer to me. Sounds like a good deal if it passes a thorough inspection. How are the tires on it?

Is it parked under the truck rack full of stuff or is all of that stuff sitting on top of it?

Yeah , I’d grab it for 60 bucks ... Boat trailers are made much better than the HF trailers , and if you have to do a bit of restoration they are worth it .... JMHO My First TD (the wooden one) was on a stout Boat trailer we bought used ... The FS is built on a modified boat trailer ... made by my neighbor down the street that Gave it to me ...

As long as it’s not rusted too badly , it’s an easy restore .... and you can run the new LED taillights which take less electricity and don’t burn out ...

Licensing a trailer here .... grrrr!!! We had to jump through some hoops , explain thoroughly , the situation to the State Police , even bringing along the builder and notarized statements ... Just takes time and patience , and Money ... the reason for all that anyway ...

KCStudly wrote:That looks like a converted boat trailer to me. Sounds like a good deal if it passes a thorough inspection. How are the tires on it?

Is it parked under the truck rack full of stuff or is all of that stuff sitting on top of it?

That's stuff sitting on it KC...I barely was able to get to the wood planks underneath. They looked in really good shape actually but I'm assuming I'd take them off for the flooring...

I've decided since I have limited time and it's my first build I want to keep it SUPER simple. Thanks so much to mikeschn for coming up with this drawing. I will take his advice and put a bit of a curved (more like bent I guess, lol) on it like you see in pic 2. I just need to find the info now for making it wider then 4' and how to do that when there are wheels in the way.

Wheel wells needed for a wider trailer , or mount the floor above the fender line ...