After life got in the way of finishing my last teardrop and the wind forcefully opening the back hatch further than it should, we're starting over. Would probably be close to done if I wasn't also building the tow rig.
It was:
(Sold the fenders to a friend who's building a similar teardrop.)
Which was functional, but you can see my lack of finishing it lead to it deteriorating. Pretty expensive mistake. I suppose I could have made this work but the vision turned to something far more capable on trails. This design was based on a 1940's Kenskill, literally using some parts from one, but the original had itself been high centered at some point. It was also too narrow at 4'. Just not wide enough for married people. Maybe would have been ok during the dating years.
I thought the original galley worked well, if too small. At the time, I thought it was genius to put the water tank with spigot above a small tote as a sink. I would absolutely do that again for a budget camper, if I needed to. This time I'm likely to put water elsewhere and use an electric faucet instead, with a gray water tank below the sink, and keep the space above for storage.
Tore the old camper down to its frame:
Cut it up to make it 1' wider. Purposefully did not align the cuts, so it wouldn't have a hinge point, and cut out an unnecessary cross-member to use for the additional width material.
(Yes, the back hitch receiver is off-centered...dangit. It's fixed now.)
Didn't take any pictures of them but I replaced the 2K lb half-torsion axles with 3,500 lb Timbren braked half-axles. They carry the stock wheels and tires from the 4Runner. Put in a couple of steel hoops to carry the roof rack and the back hatch. Also reshaped/reinforced the front end. It will have built-in storage up front, with doors on both sides, not the same black box. I hated digging through that thing.
Cut the pieces for the floor and sides:
And then the front pieces. With the spare tire up front, the wife says it looks like the gerbil she had as a kid. The camper is now called "Squeaky." (That front tongue looks weak...gotta do something about that.)
That's a large Setpower fridge. Will also have a power station in the front compartment. That entire back opening will be covered by a single side-swing door. Strong enough to hold shelves as counter space. Thought about doing double-swings but don't know if I can get the center seam waterproofed well enough. I know trucks do it, but...
I think I will miss the "roof" you get with a up-swing hatch, but I want the counterspace. I plan on French cleats to carry the counters and possibly even the camp stove. We'll have a 270 degree awning on this anyway.
It is currently tongue heavy, but with the large door and a dirt bike carried on the back, I think it will be ok. The axle attachment will be somewhat configurable after I lower it. Just in case...
Next up:
- Fenders should be here soon. I chose to go with pre-made diamond plate fenders, rather than make my own.
- Build out the fender supports and integrated side-steps.
- Pull all the wood off.
- Attached the fenders.
- Raise the entire frame 3" off the axles to get it to align better with the towing receiver.
- Paint the frame.
- Move on to the rest of the wood parts...
It was:
(Sold the fenders to a friend who's building a similar teardrop.)
Which was functional, but you can see my lack of finishing it lead to it deteriorating. Pretty expensive mistake. I suppose I could have made this work but the vision turned to something far more capable on trails. This design was based on a 1940's Kenskill, literally using some parts from one, but the original had itself been high centered at some point. It was also too narrow at 4'. Just not wide enough for married people. Maybe would have been ok during the dating years.
I thought the original galley worked well, if too small. At the time, I thought it was genius to put the water tank with spigot above a small tote as a sink. I would absolutely do that again for a budget camper, if I needed to. This time I'm likely to put water elsewhere and use an electric faucet instead, with a gray water tank below the sink, and keep the space above for storage.
Tore the old camper down to its frame:
Cut it up to make it 1' wider. Purposefully did not align the cuts, so it wouldn't have a hinge point, and cut out an unnecessary cross-member to use for the additional width material.
(Yes, the back hitch receiver is off-centered...dangit. It's fixed now.)
Didn't take any pictures of them but I replaced the 2K lb half-torsion axles with 3,500 lb Timbren braked half-axles. They carry the stock wheels and tires from the 4Runner. Put in a couple of steel hoops to carry the roof rack and the back hatch. Also reshaped/reinforced the front end. It will have built-in storage up front, with doors on both sides, not the same black box. I hated digging through that thing.
Cut the pieces for the floor and sides:
And then the front pieces. With the spare tire up front, the wife says it looks like the gerbil she had as a kid. The camper is now called "Squeaky." (That front tongue looks weak...gotta do something about that.)
That's a large Setpower fridge. Will also have a power station in the front compartment. That entire back opening will be covered by a single side-swing door. Strong enough to hold shelves as counter space. Thought about doing double-swings but don't know if I can get the center seam waterproofed well enough. I know trucks do it, but...
I think I will miss the "roof" you get with a up-swing hatch, but I want the counterspace. I plan on French cleats to carry the counters and possibly even the camp stove. We'll have a 270 degree awning on this anyway.
It is currently tongue heavy, but with the large door and a dirt bike carried on the back, I think it will be ok. The axle attachment will be somewhat configurable after I lower it. Just in case...
Next up:
- Fenders should be here soon. I chose to go with pre-made diamond plate fenders, rather than make my own.
- Build out the fender supports and integrated side-steps.
- Pull all the wood off.
- Attached the fenders.
- Raise the entire frame 3" off the axles to get it to align better with the towing receiver.
- Paint the frame.
- Move on to the rest of the wood parts...
