7. Work continues

Work continues on the trailers. We have ordered an axle and 3 sets of fenders. We want to test fit one axle before we commit to all three of them.

6. Baby Moons

Here are some sketches showing how the hatches should open. Also, Ron bought some wheels, tires and baby moons.

5. 3/4" Sides

We are cutting the sides from 3/4" plywood.
Some people use 1/2" or even lighter for the sides, but here in the TX panhandle, we are under constant threat of cold, hail, and indian attack.

That's me in the light shirt, Ron in the blue shirt, and Joe in the overalls.

4. Joe's Shop II

Joe has built and flown two experimental aircraft, an RV-4 and a Piper Cub. He built the planes here in this shop. He's also got a wagon and a carriage that he built. I think he can build anything. Besides the shops behind his house, there is a horse barn and a corral with 3 horses. I think he built at least one of the horses.

3. Coroplast Template

Ron came up with a 5'x10' sheet of 6 mil Coroplast which we cut to shape and are using as a template and plan for all 6 sides of the 3 trailers. Coroplast is a corrogated plastic material used for signs and packaging. It's durable and flexible and is working out real well for us.

2. Joe's Shop

We are real lucky that Joe shares our enthusiasm for these trailers. Besides being a wealth of knowledge and mechanical skills, Joe has a great facility for our small manufacturing concern. Joe has a lot of experience building all kinds of stuff. See the wagon in the background? It deserves its own webpage. He is also generous to a fault. And his wife Joan is a great cook.

We have fabricated the frames from 1-1/2" square steel tubing. Joe and Ron have put heavy duty class 3 Bulldog hitches on their frames. Mine will get a lighter (cheaper) class 2.

1. Work begins on teardrop trailers

Hi, welcome to our site. My name is Rodney and I live in the Texas Panhandle.

Over the past two weeks, a couple of friends and I have begun the construction of three "tear drop" camping trailers. All three trailers are being built simultaneously, one for each of us. I know little of welding or of trailer building, but my friend Ron has built a couple of boat trailers and a custom motorcycle before, so along with Ron's pop Joe, we have immersed ourselves into the project(s). These trailers are to be 10' long x 5' wide and each will contain a queen-size bed and an outdoor kitchenette. And not much more.

We are working from plans which exist mostly in Ron's head. These trailers are pretty much his design, but we are also finding useful info from the internet and plugging it in wherever it fits.

I'm mostly here because Ron and Joe are very generous with their knowledge and resources and also I think they are a little embarrassed about my lack of shop skills, and so have adopted me as a project as well.