Teardrop Camper Construction Comments
My general approach was to study teardrop
campers as presented on various Internet sites then create my interpretation -
the most significant variant - while many TDs seem to be about 4 feet wide, I
went 5 feet. This provides a larger cabin with room for a queen-size
sleeping surface to more comfortably accommodate two persons.
The materials I used were in large part as a
result of what I could source locally at big box home improvement stores and
the local RV parts shop. The aluminum skin was sourced from a local
automotive speed shop. The rear hatch hinge was sourced from http://www.teardrops.net/LilBear/parts.html.
Materials cost: ~$2700.00 (US)
Time: ~250 hours
Overall dimensions (close approximations):
Overall length:
about 13 feet long from hitch to bumper
Overall width:
about 7 feet from outside wheel to wheel
Overall height:
about 65 inches from ground to top of roof vent
Weight: estimated
to be less than 1200 pounds
Body length: 9.5
feet
Body width: 5
feet
Body height: 4
feet
Ground clearance
about 12 inches
Sleeping cabin
inside: 80 inches long, 57 inches wide, 45 inches high
Frame steel: 2x2x.120 steel tube
Outside frame dimensions (excluding hitch
length): 58.5" wide x 114" long
Axle: 2200lb Dexter Torsion Axle
Hitch angle: 50 degrees
Hitch length: about 42 from front edge of
coupler to front wall of trailer.
Frame comments- the frame member spacing was to
accommodate the foot well (a feature I would leave out if doing it again), and
provide a base for the floor.
Door windows: 24 square sliding with screens-
salvaged at a local RV repair shop
Side panels: 4x8x3/4 CDX plywood
Roof panels: 4x8x1/4 Laun plywood
Floor panels 4x8x3/4 CDX plywood
Interior panel: 1/8 residential grade embossed
pine panel
Side comments- the sides are spliced at the
front edge of the door. The splice gets its strength from attachment to
the frame at the bottom and with an interior furring strip across the top
edge.
Roof comments- the roof panels are cut 4 x 5
feet with the 5 foot length being the width of the trailer. The roof is
slightly curved from the center between the front and rear radiuses with a 1
drop. The front radius is 24 the rear radius is 36.
The doors were hand fabricated with a 10 radius
at the top rear edge. The wide trim around the door edge is .040 aluminum
material left over from the material used to skin the sides. The paint
was removed and the trim was polished.
The door openings were finished with aluminum trim from www.teardropparts.com.
Floor comments- the floor was cut with the panel
length being the width of the trailer and the width to line up with the frame
cross members.
Exterior side skin: 4X10 .040 pre-painted
aluminum
Exterior roof skin: 5x12 .040 pre-painted aluminum
Exterior trim: RV style L corner molding
Exterior trim fasteners: Stainless steel screws
Roof insulation: pink 1.5 extruded polystyrene
Wall insulation: pink 1 extruded polystyrene
Roof bows: laminated 1.5 x 1.5 clear fir (two
Ύ boards glued together and then ripped to width) they are placed every 24
The roof bow at the top of the hatch is
laminated white oak. The top and bottom rails of the hatch are also laminated
while oak.
The hatch ribs are cut out of the Ύ CDX plywood
used on the walls.
The hatch dimensions are 60 wide and 48 high
(around the radius).
Wall furring members: 2x4 construction grade
studs ripped and to 1x 1.5 placed as necessary, around the door and in the
corners.
All wood panels were glued using Liquid Nails
construction adhesive and pneumatic stapled or screwed as appropriate.
The plywood sides were fastened to the sides of
the frame using self tapping screws and a pre-drilled pilot hole through the
plywood and frame.
The roof skin was not glued so it can
"float". Instead it is held in place by the corner trim, the roof
vent and the hatch hinge. The side skin was glued to the plywood
substrate using contact cement. It is held in place by the door and
corner trim.
The trailer was pre-wired for 12v DC RV lights with redundant paths in the event of a future wiring failure. All of the wiring is routed in the roof and the bulkhead. It was also wired with three 110v AC receptacles. All of the wiring terminates under the rear counter.
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