Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Lamar , if you need any help , just ask !!!

L ‘ ... We went through that commercial trailer business, Jayco 20’ (POS) .... Poorly constructed with the Worst materials possible (cheap) , an Expensive and High maintenance proposition , needing too much “care” by this old guy ... and the RV dealer ( Liar , greedy sod) was out to get as much Money from me as possible ... Just Ridiculous !!! A “Money Pit" on wheels , likely by design ...
Foamstream solved All my problems , and the wife even likes it (amazing) ...
We needed something to spend an undetermined amount of time away from home for Hurricane EVAC... something that seems to happen more frequently lately ...
Less than a thousand pounds, it’s easy to move around... and tows easily ... And remarkably , it lives OUTSIDE just fine ... Something the Rv trailer had extreme trouble with ...
As you can see , it’s easy to construct (did it all by myself basically) , just foam over frame ... easy to replicate ... I can even get you some of the CNC ribs made if you need them ... That made everything line up perfectly ...

Thank you Bonnie. I found out about group gatherings with my Hammock Forum family. There always seems to be new things to learn and new people to meet. Our Annual Florida hang last year had over 110 head and most sleeping in hammocks. I'll have to check out what the campers are up to here in the southeast.

GPW, I'm sure there will plenty of questions. Found the Big Thrifty thread and know that will take me awhile to get thru and assimilate. Our RV was a little better quality than most but still it's ridiculous at the maintenance cost. This problem with the AC was partly gov't regulations. The old AC was low on Freon and what cost $120.00 a canister the last time it was recharged now cost $700.00. I spent 14 months after retirement working the parts dept. of an RV dealership and found out quickly just haw much planned obsolescence is built into RV's. Fortunately I made friends with an Honest RV tech who knows that I know how dealerships work and treats me fairly plus he comes to the RV and I don't have to drag it in to service and leave it sitting at a dealership for weeks on end.
I'll keep the CNC ribs in mind but once I get the word out to all of my friends and contacts I may find a source here. My B-I-L retired from he and his brothers construction business and the last time I was in the warehouse there was stacks of lumber and plywood. Serious hoarders there! Don't recall any foam laying around but with their contacts in the building trade I might find some at the right price.

Lamar

We used common OSB floor underlayment (3/4” ) and that worked better than plywood ... common 1” X 2” for the stringers , and #1 Pine for the door/rear framing ... Only 1.5 sheets of 3/4" plywood (birch) to make the ribs... so the wood was all pretty Thrifty ... I’d suggest using the GOOD plywood for ribs ... You need so little , it’s no place to skimp ... and it looks good inside too ...

For foam , check real lumberyards, roofing or foundation contractors , or likely they’ll be someone near you that stocks Dock flotation foam ... Whether you use the beaded foam , like I did, or the Blu sheet foam (extruded) , both work Fine ... the beaded is usually cheaper and available in Large blocks .. which we hot wired into 3.5” thick sheets .. Both types will require Kerf cuts for bending over the top and around the front .
The “Game” is to pay as little out of pocket as possible ... Scavenge everything ahead of time ... Once you get all the parts assembled , it goes together pretty quick ...

Today is the day !!! Got a friend (my mechanic) who is going to take the 40 mile drive to the State Police Troop B and back ... The shakedown cruise , and the trailer stamping all in one ... Not going to rain , so we have fingers crossed all goes well... Got my paperwork ready , notarized and all ... Hope that’s enough for the bureaucrats ...

Good for you! Legal at last!

Bonnie, now that it’s “hurricane season “ here, the wife has been on me constantly to get this legal .... just in case we Need it ... We get about a weeks notice to get ready and track oncoming storms ... about 3 days before is time to decide whether to hunker down or get outta’ town ... Gotta’ be ready ... don’t want to be stopped on the highway for an “unlicensed vehicle” ...
Ps. I was praying you’d get home with no trouble , no license plate and all ..

Left this morning at 10:00AM , drove to the wrong place ... they didn’t bother to post the new place on the website .... Fortunately the new place was the SP office and DMV , so not only did the trailer get stamped, but got the permanent license plate .... all done , just got home .... The FS was a champ on the highway , got it up to 60 Mph , didn’t even feel it back there... Big giant trucks passed , no problem ...took bumps OK .. all went very well ... Even made it down my street OK...which was the bumpiest part of the whole trip ... Very Happy !!!

ps. Now the wife will have one less thing to nag me about ... just the one ... Feels Good to be legal, Finally ....

Whoot, whoot!

About time eh KC ? .... nothing like waiting till the last minute ...

Plenty of time.

Legal on the day the first storm is named. nothing like a pointy stick to get a person moving.

Sounds like its a roller.

Randy

Thankfully it all worked out ... had no idea how it was going to tow ... and surprising it didn’t seem to use much gas ...and I even was accelerating (coasting) going down the big bridge ... Checked the tires/hubs there and back again ... It was 93F here today (likely hotter on the concrete highway) so the hubs were warm -ish , but not Hot .. Was Lucky too, going out there without a spare tire I gave mine to Bonnie ... have to get a new one one right away ... The little Wal Mart tires seemed OK ... No problems and had them @ 60 Psi ... Trailer didn’t bounce , except on my street (the Off road test course) ...
Feelin’ Good ... It’s "Miller Time” !!!

The wife has already called back saying we should load the trailer up this weekend ... “we” meaning your humble narrator ... She’s already been packed since June 1 ... This time of year is always “uncertain” Worst of it yet to come ... late August early September is when the Big ones come ... Hopefully winds will be favorable and NOBODY will get hit this year ... Hopefully !!!

Some body will get hit some place.

Randy

Funny, the inspecting State Police Officer , went outside and gave it a good look over,inside and out, came back and wrote on the registration form ... type of trailer ... “BOX”... Oh the indignity !!!

Randy .... Hope Not !!!