Teardrop

I am planning to document the building of my Big Woody Teardrop trailer.   Please consider buying your plans from Big Woody.  Even if you plan to modify them some, they provide a good starting point with lots of useful information.  Full photographic documentation can be seen on my Smugmug website.

I have upgraded the plans slightly, to also include a Timbren 1200 pound rubber axle with off-road tires for a better ride, more clearance, and less noise!  I also added 0.040″ aluminum skin to the sides as a personal preference.  I think it makes the camper look more off-roady, and also makes it much  more maintenance free.

One of the big things I changed from the plans was an extensive use of Kreg pocket screws, and 1/4″ crown staples.  The Kreg screws provide (in my opinion) much stronger attachment for spars and bulkheads than end-grain screws and cleats do.  I did use glue at every wood-on-wood joint.

I also used an HT05 offset hurricane hinge for the galley to provide space for the hatch gasket to properly compress.  I am still working on the details of the hatch but plan to provide a lot of detail for this.  Most home-built teardrop projects online seem to leave out details of trimming the hatch and the rest of the camper.  I suspect that is because it is the toughest part to get right, and that most peoples teardrops don’t look great in these areas.  My goal is to make this robust, waterproof, and pretty.