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I love my trailer and enjoyed the process of making it. However, I have had multiple friends get in and immediately comment that it felt claustrophobic. I suspect that it might not be a good choice for your wife. Is clc coming to a show in your area anytime soon so that you could see one in person?
Thanks, rovineye. I have to do some repair on a hinge, but I’m glad I don’t have to do a whole camper refinish yet.
I agree with Popeye about false economies. None of the cheapo Harbor Freight and North Tools trailers were rated for highway speeds when I was looking a year ago. While plenty of people online said that the companies were only covering their keisters against lawsuits, I was unwilling to take that gamble. For me, one of the main goals for building the teardrop was having something easy and safe to tow long distances.
I am lucky enough to live near boating communities, so I went with a boat trailer rebuild, but even that was not cheap. I thought $200 for an aluminum 30-year-old Trailex trailer off of Criagslist was a steal, but then I had to replace all of the bolts, the axle (admittedly I went overboard with a fancy axle-less system), the lights, fabricate mounting brackets, and so on. In the end, I was happy with the results (check out my pics on the completed trailer thread), but it was not cheap. If I had to do it again, I would do a bit more research on the other teardrop forums (this one has a limited scope) and I would look for someone skilled in metalwork to fabricate the frame for me.
On a side note, our stories have some overlap. I got engaged last summer during a particularly rainy and cold camping trip. We both ended up terribly sick for most of the rest of the summer. There was no way we were giving up camping, but we were done with wet tent and sleeping bags, so I bought the kit. I did not have a garage, and I could not find one to rent like you so I bought Harbor Freight’s 10 by 12 portable garage tent and told my neighbors that it would only be up for four months or so. Unfortunately, that was a gross underestimation of time and it took me nine months to complete the job. Your plan of completing it in secret is nice, but it will be many many hours of work and I don’t think that I could keep it a secret for that long.
However, I finished it and drove it up to Maine this summer to get married at the spot of our engagement.
At the beginning of July, I wrapped up most of the work on my camper, The Scotch Egg. Last week, my fiancé and I drove it from our home in Connecticut to Lily Bay State Part in Maine and got married when we arrived. It kept us comfortable despite some rainy days. Here are some action pics:
Great advice. Thanks to both of you. I am doing the two step process and just got the top done yesterday. It looks pretty good! It was a cool day and my gf was helping me, so we were able to work with with slightly larger batches without it gelling up. Although I started with her mixing while I spread, I quickly learned that she had a more deft hand with the squeege. Teamwork ftw.
