17. Kittens

We worked hard over the weekend on all three trailers, and Ron helped me out a lot trying to get Charlie caught up with Bravo. I got my doors cut out, the sides affixed and the spars attached. Joe has built the rear end and is already boxing in his doors and interior.

That's me with the draw knife, shaping my nose piece which is the bottom of the front of the trailer. This piece is a 2x6 shaped to match the lower front curve of the teardrop.

Ron has built a really cool lower "tailgate" structure for his trailer that is unlike anything I've seen on teardrop trailers, and I hope to be able to copy it on mine. All three of us have abandoned the idea of the "wrap under" hatch assembly shown in previous sketches (post #6). We predicted problems with the size & shape of the curved hatch, both with the freedom of movement at the bottom, and with the weight and wind characteristics it would have when opened. We are all going with more of a "clamshell" hatch & tail piece. It will be stronger, too.

The trailers are beginning to look very sharp with the aluminum skins on the sides, but they are all in pretty tight in the shop so we don't have a good photo yet. We've got wheels & tires on all of them, so pretty soon we will wheel them outside for a better view.

In other news, the resident rodent control officer, a bluegray cat with no name, showed up with 6 kittens on Sunday. They don't seem to be bothered by the sound of power tools and hammering.

16. Axles are in.

We got the other two axles in this week. Got the final Dexter torsion axle installed on the Charlie model last night, and insulated the bottom of the trailer. Joe waits patiently while the other two trailers try to catch up with his progress.

15. Concept sketch w/'48 Ford

Here's another sketch. I made this to visualize size, colors and some details. None of us have a '48 Ford, but if we did it might look like this. I like the way the shape of the teardrop echoes the shape of the Ford.

14. The aluminum is here

We got the .032 aluminum for the sides this week. Ron & Joe have already glued it onto the side panels of Alpha and Bravo. Rodney is still working on the spars of Charlie, trying to catch up. But not catch up too much. It's good to be in 3rd place, after the first two guys have figured out the process, made the jig, worked out the kinks...etc.

13. Cutting out the first door

Ron cuts out the starboard door on the Bravo model.

Bravo is turned upside down for insulation and bottom finishing.

Rodney's trying to catch up with the other two, and installs the spar supports on the walls of the Charlie model. The spar supports are cut from 3/4" poplar. The spars or ribs separating the walls will be of 7/8" poplar. We liked the strength & stiffness of the hardwood compared to pine.

12. Door studies & profiles

Here are some profiles showing different door possibilities. There's also a blank profile so you can print it out and try your own ideas. I think I like the radiused corners all around, and I also favor the porthole.

We got one of the torsion axles in today, and Ron & Joe fitted it up & it looks like it's going to work, giving us about a 12" ground clearance. Now we'll order 2 more just like it.

11. Sketches

Here are a couple of sketches based on our template.

10. We got our fenders

Our fenders came in this week. When our axles come in, we can test fit them and size our doors.

9. Sides are fitted up

All six sides are fitted up. We are blocking them in and fitting the spars or braces. We are still waiting for axles.

Joe's progress is slightly ahead of Ron's, and Ron's is ahead of mine. So, from left to right, you see Joe's (Alpha), Ron's (Bravo), and Rodney's (Charlie). ABC.

8. Painted frames

Here are the frames all painted up. Notice that the trailer hitch is at the top of the picture. At the bottom of the picture is the back of the trailer. The "stinger" at the back is a small auxiliary hitch receiver which will be used to mount a bike rack or other device, or even possibly to attach a second trailer behind the first.