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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: 2”x2”x.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 ¾” 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 ¾” 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 1”x 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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