Well after a ton of research, and even testing out a friends Ruger Trailer and RTT we decided to move on with our own off road "teardrop" camper. I had actually drawn up some of the plans for this thing a few years ago and put them aside.
So my plan is a simple 5x8. Utilitarian on the outside and fancy enough on the inside to make the Boss Lady happy. I decided against the the radiused ends because of space and because I really want to make this something that almost anyone can build. The sleeping cabin will have 6'6"of legroom to give us just under 18" of galley depth. That will make room for two of the standard plastic storage totes in the galley bottom.
The base trailer is going to be a Carson 5x8 utility trailer with a #3500 axle. We will use a bolt pattern to match the FJ. I am going to use the same sized tires as my rig as well.
So this is the basic outline:
I started the floor tonight. 3/4 oak with a 2x4 frame. The first hiccup was finding out Lowes mis-cut my plywood by 3" on one sheet. At least it was cut too long so that I can trim it off tomorrow. Assembly is going to be Titebond II and treated deck screws. The bottom will be sealed with a roof sealant before getting bolted to the trailer.
Hopefully we'll be done in time for our Mojave Rd trip in April.
I like it! I just bought another trailer and have been thinking about making a teardrop, so I'll be interested to see how this comes about. Are you posting this on Expo?
I really like where your going with this and you have me interested. Now I want to build a trailer along these lines for my dirt bike (enclosed type trailer). I'll be following your progress. Keep the pictures coming for us!
We have a Carson dealer here in town. Roughly $950 and that is the biggest single expense. Scouring Craigslist may provide some used ones for half that cost. I just wanted new so I can start fresh.
I mounted the sidewalls tonight. I am still a few weeks ago from being able to buy the doors and get them cutout, so I decided to get the walls on and work on the galley bulkhead.
I haven't picked it up yet because they guy keeps four or five on the lot all the time. I just wanted to get the box close to done before I go pick the trailer up. Then I only have to have one beer and pizza party for the VFJC crew to come over and help set it in place.
This week isn't seeing much progress. I am down with the crud again for the second time this winter! 6 months of chemo and didn't so much as catch a cold for a year! This year has just been nasty!
So, before getting sick, I had started on the galley bulkhead:
That leaves the sleeping area at 6'3" x 4' 9" wide. The corner pieces up front were just temp installed to stabilize the walls while I was screwing them down. I've been doing all this with no help so far.
I have the cabinet face installed and started filling the screw holes today. Still waiting on the tax refund and bonus check to show so that I can order some doors and such.
Ha! I thought about it! The wife has forbidden all electronics short of a USB to charge the Kindle.:lol:
Todd at TC Teardrops supplied them. He was one of the guys I talked to when I was doing the buy/vs build comparison. He also rolled out the fenders for me. Hopefully I'll be mounting those up this weekend.
Right now, I am estimating around $3500. Some of the bigger expenses are:
Doors: $500 for two.
Wheels/tires: $400 (I went with BFG All Terrains in 33")
Trailer frame custom build with a Lock and Roll coupler: $900
3/4 Maple plywood is $50 a sheet. So far I think I have like 8 sheets into it. :lol:
I could have cut some corners by using an off the shelf trailer, smaller tires, thinner walls, etc but I wanted this thing to be tough and functional.
When I go camp... I head into the hills! Just 30 minutes from my house I can be at around 7,000ft on top of a mountain. Adding AC just for that August ghost town run!
We own a teardrop trailer that we tow with our 2008 FJ. There are a number of teardrop owners towing with an FJ. For those of you who are building your own you might check out this website. It is loaded with building information, parts information and other useful hints. For those who are looking at or considering purchasing a used teardrop or new there is also quite a bit of information to consider before you part with cash.
Absolutely an awesome point and awesome website! :rocker:
When we set out to do this, I read hundreds of posts on that forum and talked to lots of people including several manufacturers. The first thing that I will say is that after embarking on this build journey, it is very easy to see why some of these trailers go in to the $15K range in pricing. Building a quality teardrop that will hold up to off road use is labor intensive. I was just telling somebody that my numbers quoted here are material alone. If I were to calculate the hours put into this build at say an average of $20 an hour, I could easily say that I have a $9K camper. :lol:
In the end, our choice was more driven about building something together and building exactly what we want as opposed to spending four times as much on something else.
She became an actual rolling camper this weekend! We started closing up the front tonight.
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