Hi All,
My name's David, and I joined the tnttt site to plan and build a small teardrop. Last year I started going on a lot of weekend outdoor rock climbing trips. Camping in a tent works fine, but Kentucky humidity makes my sleeping bag wet and it is quite cold in fall and spring... I would like the convenience of not having to remember to pack everything I need to sleep and camp every single weekend. Having a nice bed, fixed lighting, a cooking area, and more cargo space all sound real nice, too. Specially considering I drive a two door jeep!
Anyway, the goal for my build is simple and affordable while not skimping on essentials. I have a loose budget of 2,000$ - 3,000$ and am keeping a spreadsheet with all my purchases. I am not very tall so a 4x8 size seems fine, and will allow me to avoid seams and extending the footprint over the trailer. I want a Benroy-esque shape, simple galley with pull out ice box, maybe some drawers, and a PMF exterior.
So far I have purchased a HF 1720lb trailer off craigslist. It was brand new, never even hooked up to a ball, but pre-assembled! I paid $370 for it. Without the 20% off coupons I figured that would be a good price. I have a fan-tastic vent, a window, two doors off ebay, fuse block, wiring, connectors, a ceiling light, led light strip, 110 hookup plug, usb outlets, cooler, stove... I'm about $1,600 in so far. Only need plywood, insulation, hardware, battery, canvas and glue and paint, and misc. items.
Right now I am cleaning and packing the bearings with good grease. I will post soon with progress on this step.
One issue I see coming up is when building the floor, some protruding bolt heads might get in the way. I could remove them and weld the spots, or try to drill recessed holes for the heads to sit in... But that might not work with the 1/8'' plywood I plan to skin the floor frame with, and the PMF I will use to protect it with...