Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I must not be using the search engine right.

Anyway, I was looking for comparisons and ratings of the various quality plan sources.

Any help finding the right place in the forums would be appreciated.

Ya know ...

... this just might be an excellent opportunity to create a poll/survey that would have some solid reference and meaning for newbies coming onto this Forum (and maybe not-so-newbies). The Admins. & Poll-meisters could get together and put together a subject and polls that list all the various reputable plans & vendors, give them a rating from say 1-5 or 1-10, give those who have used and/or thoroughly studied each plan an invitation to rate them, then post the results along with a few choice-but-telling comments.

What do ya think, Guys & Gals ... ... ...?

CHEERS!

Grant

Stephen M (Ethesis) wrote:I must not be using the search engine right.

Anyway, I was looking for comparisons and ratings of the various quality plan sources.

Any help finding the right place in the forums would be appreciated.

Firstly Stephen, welcome to the madness If you're looking for plans, the is a free set listed at the top of this page under " Generic Benroy" Plans.
As for a comparison between plans, I think that's a bit like asking people to compare car manufacturers.
The best idea is to read a heap, look a heap and then decide what you want to build. Somebody here has probably already done it and will be available for all to see.
Cheers
Paul

PaulC wrote:

Stephen M (Ethesis) wrote:I must not be using the search engine right.

Anyway, I was looking for comparisons and ratings of the various quality plan sources.

Any help finding the right place in the forums would be appreciated.

Firstly Stephen, welcome to the madness If you're looking for plans, the is a free set listed at the top of this page under " Generic Benroy" Plans.
As for a comparison between plans, I think that's a bit like asking people to compare car manufacturers.
The best idea is to read a heap, look a heap and then decide what you want to build. Somebody here has probably already done it and will be available for all to see.
Cheers
Paul

I don't mind paying for plans, especially when they include templates. Pricing for plans looks more than reasonable at the various sites I've seen.

But what I'm used to is comparisons. You know, like Consumer Reports does. I don't always agree with them, but when I've finished reading their evaluations and criteria, I know exactly why I do or do not agree and more about what I'm looking for.

But from these posts I know that it appears that is the one thing that isn't being done right now, which makes me think that most of the legitimate vendors are doing a good job with things like completeness and comprehensibility.

grant whipp wrote:Ya know ...

... this just might be an excellent opportunity to create a poll/survey that would have some solid reference and meaning for newbies coming onto this Forum (and maybe not-so-newbies). The Admins. & Poll-meisters could get together and put together a subject and polls that list all the various reputable plans & vendors, give them a rating from say 1-5 or 1-10, give those who have used and/or thoroughly studied each plan an invitation to rate them, then post the results along with a few choice-but-telling comments.

What do ya think, Guys & Gals ... ... ...?

CHEERS!

Grant

I'll start. Grants profile tracing service is excellent and I give it a rating of a 10. It can't be any simpler than his full sized tracings, Thanks Grant. Danny

Plans ?

We don't need no stinking plans !

But seriously !! although I winged my design completely I made a couple bone head mistakes. I re did a number of steps because I got ahead of myself and I still have some issues to address. While a guide would have been nice. I have a one of a kind tear that I am proud of for my 1st effort, and with only about $800.00 invested.

Just by studying other builds , combined with the info in the index , you have at your fingertips a good general design guide right here on the forum. We are all here as a safety net if you need input , ideas or just a nudge so don't give up your own creativity . Feel free to adlibe a bit , to make your build yours and yours alone. It's such a good feeling when it's done and you pull in for gas and the folks crowd around to get a look at the "wierd " little trailer! Ask me I just found out last week on our 1st 700 mile trip.

Thanks all, I continue to pay attention and learn.

halfdome, Danny wrote:

grant whipp wrote:Ya know ...

... this just might be an excellent opportunity to create a poll/survey that would have some solid reference and meaning for newbies coming onto this Forum (and maybe not-so-newbies). The Admins. & Poll-meisters could get together and put together a subject and polls that list all the various reputable plans & vendors, give them a rating from say 1-5 or 1-10, give those who have used and/or thoroughly studied each plan an invitation to rate them, then post the results along with a few choice-but-telling comments.

What do ya think, Guys & Gals ... ... ...?

CHEERS!

Grant

I'll start. Grants profile tracing service is excellent and I give it a rating of a 10. It can't be any simpler than his full sized tracings, Thanks Grant. Danny

http://www.lilbear.teardrops.net/plans.html

and

http://www.kuffelcreek.com/teardrops.htm

would be the plans you are talking about?

Are there many plans for 5' wide trailers?

The Generic Benroy plans at the topof the pagewere extremely helpful.

I also bought a set of Kuffel Creek Comet plans, which were also helpful in different ways.

The Design Library at the top of the page has PDF and DXF versions of many designs, including profiles. I used one as a basis and drew in the doors I liked. I am fortunate to have a cad station at the office and could plot the drawings at full scale.

i didn't know about Grant's profile service until about a week ago. That was a week after the Rose's maiden voyage.

...this is just personal opinion...Grant Whipp's profile service can't be beat(along with all the parts you need)...Kevin's plans at KuffelCreek got many folks started on the TD hiway...they do contain a couple of easily worked over inconsistencies but do rate highly and Steve Frederick's build CD's just can't be beat by anyone and should be owned by any serious builder, for reference if nothing else...of course Dale's Squidget, is an excellent plan for a "standy"...I know of NO OTHER plans that are worth the money...finally, the "Generic Benroy" plans available for FREE, right here, they were put together by the builders here and can be used to build any profile and any size ya want...but the best advice I can give you is to be very paitient, and read, read, read...when you are ready to build, we will be here for ya......
madjack

p.s Let me add...Andrews "Design Library" at the top of the page is an excellent resource for the doityourself"er and he is considered our resident engineer......MJ

Stephen,

I built a Cubby from the Kuffle Creek plans and belive that those plans are very good. With that said, if you are looking for a set of "step-by-step" plans then you are not likely to find many good ones. I would recommend getting Steve Frederick's Manual and use it to learn the techniques of building a Teardrop. With that information, you should be able to take almost any plans or profile drawings and build a tear!

This is just my opinion and I do NOT get any thing from either Kuffle Creek or Steve Frederick for saying this!!

toypusher wrote:Stephen,

I built a Cubby from the Kuffle Creek plans and belive that those plans are very good. With that said, if you are looking for a set of "step-by-step" plans then you are not likely to find many good ones. I would recommend getting Steve Frederick's Manual and use it to learn the techniques of building a Teardrop. With that information, you should be able to take almost any plans or profile drawings and build a tear!

This is just my opinion and I do NOT get any thing from either Kuffle Creek or Steve Frederick for saying this!!

I'm Steve Frederick, and I approved this message.

toypusher wrote:Stephen,

I built a Cubby from the Kuffle Creek plans and belive that those plans are very good. With that said, if you are looking for a set of "step-by-step" plans then you are not likely to find many good ones. I would recommend getting Steve Frederick's Manual and use it to learn the techniques of building a Teardrop. With that information, you should be able to take almost any plans or profile drawings and build a tear!

This is just my opinion and I do NOT get any thing from either Kuffle Creek or Steve Frederick for saying this!!

I've been looking at the manual, I was just hoping to find something on paper instead of CD

Thanks for the endorsement though, I've wondered. So much on-line is all promise and no results.

Stephen M (Ethesis) wrote:I've been looking at the manual, I was just hoping to find something on paper instead of CD

Just go to the tool bar and click the little printer picture. Whalah...plans on paper.

planovet wrote:

Stephen M (Ethesis) wrote:I've been looking at the manual, I was just hoping to find something on paper instead of CD

Just go to the tool bar and click the little printer picture. Whalah...plans on paper.

If you have an inkjet, you might want to take it to Staples or some place like that to get it printed.