Tear Drop Trailer

[Rangered06]

so been really wanting to do some camping this year with my better half but dont have the money for a camper and really dont want to do the tent thing for a few reasons but wont go into detail. so i was thinking of building a custom tear drop trailer that way its easy on the pocket costs wise and gas wise. has anyone ever built or thought about building one.

was gonna start with http://www.harborfreight.com/1195-l...tility-trailer-with-12-inch-wheels-90154.html as the base for it. what do you all think?

 

[Will]

I know a couple of people that want to build one. They asked my opinion and I opinioned that they are too small. I designed one a little bigger, and built a scale model from paper that looks promising.

Here is what I've done so far. You can print out those pdf files and make your own model. We're planning to build it mostly without a frame to save weight--wire it together and fiberglass tape the seams.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I like the idea. I'm looking forward to see how it turns out.The guy in this link has a bunch of tutorials on fiberglass and carbon fiber that could help you out. This is the 7th out of seven;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMPkk6UHY-Y&feature=youtu.be
Good luck,

Richard

 

[Will]

Plywood is what we're planning to use. Probably 1/4".

I don't like those Harbor Freight trailers. I have one and it's not that good. Unless you have no fab skills, I would build your own frame.

 

[Snoranger]

I'm with Will on that, stay away from the HF trailer. They just arent built good enough to do what you want to do with it.

 

[Rangered06]

i was considering building up the frame myself and possibly get some rims and tires on a beefy axle to match my truck

 

[Rangered06]

anyone know of any good places to get nice steel to build a trailer frame around NW ohio

 

[Will]

You don't want too much beef in the axle because it will beat the shit out of a light weight trailer. Maybe you can go cheap and find a rear axle out of a front-drive car, like an old Honda Civic. You want lightweight axle and gentle springs.

Look in the yellow pages under steel. We have a really nice place here--I guess because there is still a good amount of industry in my area. It's a big warehouse where you tell the guy at the front what you want and pay him, then take your receipt out to the guys on the floor and they go find it. If they aren't sure if they have it, they let you go look.

 

[Dan B.]

I'd be searching CL or a traders guide in the area for a trailer. Not sure about where you are but in PA you are going to need a title for that thing. So if you build it yourself you will need to scab a title from something else or go through the DMV to obtain one.

 

[Will]

A title for a home built trailer is easy.

 

[Snoranger]

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/42-Expedition-Trailers

Check this forum out.

Most of the guys building camping trailers use a 3500lb axle and springs rated around 2000lbs.

The 3500lb axle will give you a 5x4.5 bolt pattern (sound familiar?) and the springs should be matched to whatever you figure your total load will be (+ some extra).

 

[Rangered06]

had kind of a brain storm today when i realized my grandfather is a bit of a hoarder and has a few boat trailers in his yard which would give me a nice platform to start with definitely stronger then the HF trailers.

what do you all think?

 

[Will]

I think you are focusing on the easiest part. The automotive part is a snap.

I build boats and a fabricate with steel. Steel is by far the easier material to work with. The difference is horseshoes and hand grenades. Whatever you end up doing, you will spend 200+ hours on the trailer body and an hour or two on the frame--and that will be all labor and no thinking. Trust me on this--decide what you want for the body and work on that. When you are ready for a frame, it will seem like the easiest part of it. matter of fact, I might be willing to help with that part. I like building stuff.

 

[Rangered06]

the frame is gonna denote the size of the teardrop its self kinda looking at going 5'x10' seeing how im 6'2" lol give me a little extra to move around but im also anal about building from the ground up and haveing everything at arms reach that i need lots of planning makes building a lot easier

 

[prerunnerwannabe]

I've got some old school tear drop plans that I could shoot your way if you want.