35.The Alpha Trailer is Nearly Finished

Joe has led the way on the Texas Teardrop Project.

Joe has completed the final fitting of the fenders on the Alpha trailer. I must say that this has not been an easy project. This Blog makes it look simple but we have had to over come some obstacles from time to time. I’m very proud of Joe being the guinea pig on this project. He has set the pace from the beginning. I must admit that I have taken advantage of Joe’s leadership on the project. He has advised us of all the problems that we were going to have and we adjusted to avoid the pitfalls that the Alpha trailer encountered. I know that he did not mind this because he is my Pop. I’m very lucky to have a Dad like him.

Since the holidays are behind me now I plan on trying to complete the Bravo trailer soon. Rodney lives about 30 miles away from the shop and it has been difficult for him to find time to work on the Charlie trailer. We plan to help him on the Charlie trailer and have it ready before spring.

34.Tuning a Teardrop Top

You can tune a Teardrop but you can not tune a fish.

Ron devised a tensioning system for skinning the top of the Bravo teardrop trailer. He can adjust the tension on the roof skin in just a few minutes with a 1/2 inch wrench. If the teardrop top is damaged at anytime or by Texas hail storms it will be easy to replace. If the summer heat expands the aluminum skin the roof tension system can be adjusted in a few seconds. The tensioning device is attached to a piece of stainless steel that is folded over the front edge of the aluminum skin. The tensioning bolt is passed through a hole in a bracket that is welded to the bottom of the trailer.

33. Shih Tzus

Ron is a wrangler for a sizeable Shih Tzu operation nearby. Today he let them run amuck in my trailer.

32. Hinges and hull liner

Today I sprayed the contact adhesive and attached my hull liner material to the interior of the cabin, while Joe replaced the hinges on his doors.

We've had second thoughts about the piano type hinges on these doors. Joe has tried two different types of piano hinges and although they look good, they just seem flimsy. The three of us have decided to go with the heavier exterior "torpedo" hinges. We were afraid they might look clunky, but now that they are on Joe's trailer, we like the look. They feel a lot more solid too.

31.Alpha Trailer Fitted With Doors

Joe is moving way ahead with the Alpha teardrop trailer. He has installed the doors and windows on his trailer. He has starting to install the final trim pieces to the outer edge of the teardrop.

30. Shop safety tip no. 2

Yeah, it's just like your high school shop teacher told you: alcohol, power tools, and photo editing software just don't mix.

Actually, the real butchery with the jigsaw happened yesterday on my interior wall panels. I'm afraid they were measured badly and cut worse. Looks like I'm going to have to get new plywood panels and try again.

29. Rodney Builds a Tailgate

After studying the hatch designs the Bravo and Charlie teardrop trailers will be fitted with tailgates. The first step was to make a pattern for the ribs to be used in the construction of the tailgate. Rodney then cut out five ribs out of ¾” poplar hardwood. The ribs were attached to a ½” piece of plywood that is the width of the tailgate. The ribs were then covered with three layers of 1/8” plywood. The first and second layers were secured to the ribs with screws and the last layer was glued on and held in place with every clamp we could find.

The Bravo trailer has had the tailgate attached with a 3”wide continuous hinge. The tailgate will swing under the rear of the trailer and allow easier access to the kitchenette area.