TECHNICAL BULLETIN #2
OVERHANG OF CAMPER SHELL AT BULKHEAD:
On Page 162 of your hymnals, you are shown unambivalently that the roof overhangs the bulkhead, and you are instructed to apply an epoxy fillet there.
Problem is, no one seems to have this overhang in their Teardrop Campers. We tore our hair and uttered oaths and imprecation, and eventually discovered that NO Teardrop Camper was supposed to have this overhang, including ours. But there it is in Teardrop Camper #1, and the feature was dutifully documented on Page 162. As near as we can tell, we must have pushed our bulkhead forward slightly during construction, creating that little bit of overhang.
If you already have a kit as of this writing, it’s going to go together as in the detail on the upper left. The manual shows it as in the upper right detail.
So which is correct? Apparently, both are correct. We checked in with several Teardrop Campers that are already on the road and lack the overhang. Zero issues, nada, no leaks, no problems. You just don’t need to do a fillet there.
Teardrop Campers shipped after November 15th, 2016, will have the overhang as shown in the manual. We adjusted the cutting files.
GALLEY HATCH HASP TROUBLES:
On Pages 310-311 of the Teardrop Camper assembly manual, builders are instructed to bend the supplied hasp to reach the hasp catch on the transom.
Straightforward enough, right? Apparently if it’s a gentle bend, there are no problems:
Except that we started getting calls about the hasps cracking or breaking when bent.
Not good. We grabbed a bunch of the hasps from inventory and started bending them. Guess what happened?
Yes, we broke a bunch of them.
The obvious solution was to change to a different make of hasp with better ductility. We collected handfuls of hasps from different foundries, but they were either no better, or cost $100 each.
Next we looked at changing to a different style of latch, but our options either didn’t fit the CLC Teardrop Camper well, or the hardware was ugly.
Now what? Choose from the options below:
- If the hasp supplied with your kit bends as needed without trouble, as did the one in the instruction manual, there’s nothing more to worry about. We’ve put 15,000 road miles on Teardrop Camper #1 with the original bent hasp.
- If the supplied hasp cracked or broke, we need to hear from you. We’ll send you a replacement along with an updated mounting scheme. (See details and instructions below.) Please shoot an email to dillon@clcboats.com, subject line “Galley Hasp,” and we’ll get the replacement parts out at once.
- All kits going forward will have a revised galley hatch hasp system. We’ve created an attractively proportioned wooden block to take the hasp catch. It will be supplied with all kits.
We retrofitted our display model with the new style of galley hatch hasp. Step-by-step instructions follow:
The mounting block for the hasp catch is milled from mahogany. This is what comes with kits starting in mid-November 2016. Give it a light sanding and relieve the edges.
Several coats of epoxy will ensure that it doesn’t start weathering on you.
We masked off the location carefully on our display model. (Notice the vestigial fastener holes from the original hasp catch installation.
Since we were retrofitting, we had to sand off the varnish, down to epoxy. This we did cautiously, staying inside the masked area.
Paste-consistency epoxy is brushed onto the back of the mounting block.
It takes very little clamping pressure to hold the mounting block in place.
Once the epoxy cured, we applied fresh masking tape and built up three coats of marine-grade varnish.
Here’s the finished latch. It looks nice.
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