Stage 2: Building the Floor

What a journey this has been! Looking at zillions of pictures of other people's teardrop builds, dreaming about how we'd like our trailer to look...that's how we've spent the last two weeks. (Did we mention haunting every building supply store for thirty miles??)

One thing we know for sure about the teardrop camping community, they're open and willing to share what they know. We've watched YouTube videos, looked through lots of "build galleries" and read hundreds of comments from people who've been where we're going. It's been wonderful having the benefit of all that knowledge steering us around big mistakes as we start our build.

So--a status update! The floor, complete with underbed stowage, is built and ready to attach to the trailer frame. Kate hopes to paint the trailer in the next couple of days using Rustoleum spray paint. Also on the agenda is undercoating the entire bottom surface of the floor with spray-on truck bed liner.

Here are the pictures from this stage of the build.

Asserting Our Camping Independence, Day One

On Independence Day, 2010, it was time to stop talking about building a teardrop travel trailer and start doing it. My wife and I have been intrigued with the thought of owning one of these tiny travel trailers for years, but the price of pre-builts kept us away.

If you're not familiar with teardrops, you're missing a fascinating world of vintage, new and homebuilt travel trailers. For decades, campers who like to live large in small spaces have turned to teardrops as a compact, easy to pull, and economical camping solution.

Most teardrops have sleeping quarters in a compact interior with some pretty amazing storage configurations built in. Outside, you'll find a rear galley hatch that swings up on most models to reveal a clever, compact kitchen for easy campsite cooking.

Here are some great websites with images of manufactured and homebuilt teardrop travel trailers:

• Little Guy Teardrops
• Bubba's Vintage Trailer Park
• HappiTrails Teardrops
• Desert Teardrops

Thanks to forums like Teardrops & Tiny Travel Trailers, we found abundant information and inspiration to build our own. This blog will be a record of our tears, trials and triumphs as we build our first teardrop camper.

Day One:
With an assist from CraigsList.com and a friendly young Wichita pastor, we secured the perfect trailer for our teardrop. Weighing in at a lean 145 lbs. on a muscular 4 x 8 frame (complete with leaf spring suspension), this beauty will form the foundation of our teardrop.

It will take awhile to create our dream travel trailer (since we're buying plywood one sheet at a time) but we're revved up and ready to build. Hope to post more progress soon!

SmallSpaces