New project: teardrop trailer
Last year at Burning Man, we slept in a small tent. Our camp had too many people for the amount of space we had. We pulled much of what we needed from the car, and parked the car on the outskirts of Black Rock City. Still, just about every day, we’d head back to the car for more supplies.Being able to pack everything we need into a trailer is a really enticing idea. No sooner had we come home then we checked out the Craigslist RV section for used camper-vans (aka class B motorhomes). These are smaller and less obnoxious than 40′ RVs. Drive out, park, sleep in the back. Nice. Problem was that the vans we liked were either 25 years old or much more than we wanted to spend.
A little more research and we saw our first teardrops. They were popularized in the 30s by magazines that printed DIY building plans.
There’s a lot to like: they’re small, they’re cute, they have living quarters in the front and a kitchen (galley) in the back, accessed by a hatchback door. You can find new ones for sale around the $5000 mark. Me, I’d like to build one. In fact, there’s a whole community of people who are repopularizing these great trailers.
Teardrop builds – in the broadest sense – are a two-stage process:
- Build or buy steel trailer frame
- Build wooden superstructure
Last week, I ordered a tow receiver for my car. It terminates in a 2″ square opening. Once that’s mounted, I’ll pick up the drawbar and ballhitch from Harbor Freight. They have a $20 kit that also comes with keyed locks. Towing will be a go at that point.
It’s also necessary to light up the trailer; to make the brake lights, side indicator lights, and direction signals work. http://etrailer.com is sending me both the receiver hitch and the electrical system. Of particular note, they have videos that demonstrate how to install different types of hitches on different types of cars. And the same goes for the electrical installation. Big thumbs up.
Next we need to talk trailer frames. Build or buy? Well, I’d like this project ready and done by August 1 so that we can roadtest it prior to BM, which is three weeks later. Roughly, that gives us a three month build time.
Back to the trailer. The [free] Benroy Trailer Plans call for a 5 x 8′. I have a choice of ordering one from RedTrailers.com for $635 (incl S/H) or driving out to a trailer retrailer in the area. More when I find out how much it costs to buy local.