Building a Teardrop Trailer: Plans and Methods for Crafting an Heirloom Camper PDF

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Profile
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Chassis Details
Other Books

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Building a Teardrop Trailer Plans and Methods for Crafting an Heirloom Camper By Tony H. Latham iii Copyright © January 2019 Tony H. Latham All rights reserved. This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material herein is prohibited without the expressed written permission of the author. Cover Design by Jay Griffith iv

“Oh, the places you’ll go.” -Dr. Seuss

v Table of Contents Introduction................................................................................10 About this Book...........................................................................12 Design Considerations................................................................13 Construction Strategy.................................................................26 Workbench..................................................................................30 Chassis.........................................................................................32 Cabin Materials...........................................................................44 Fiberglass and Epoxy..................................................................47 Template......................................................................................50 Building the Walls.......................................................................57 Building the Doors......................................................................83 Building the Floor.......................................................................90 Interior Components...................................................................94 Assembly.....................................................................................101 Electrical.....................................................................................114 About Solar.................................................................................117 Ceiling and Roof.........................................................................120 Hatch...........................................................................................131

Hatch Struts................................................................................147 Exterior Finish............................................................................151 Aluminum Sheathing..................................................................153 Galley Details...............................................................................161 Cabin Details................................................................................171 Mounting the Cabin.....................................................................175 Propex Heater..............................................................................177 Propane Plumbing.......................................................................180 Titling and Insuring.....................................................................182 Camping.......................................................................................184 Side Plan Detail............................................................................191 Profile Measurements..................................................................192 Chassis Plan Detail.......................................................................193 Other Books..................................................................................194 vi

Disclaimer I’m a not a professional woodworker. I don’t claim to be an expert in welding, woodworking, electricity or any aspect of building a teardrop trailer. In short, I’m a part-time writer who enjoys camping and monkeying in my shop. Woodworking can be dangerous. There’s been blood on the floor of my shop (but nothing that stitches couldn’t fix). I had one near miss during the construction of the teardrop I built for this book. It involved haste while running a trim router spinning a carbide bit at 30,000 RPM. Not funny. Be cognizant of your fingers, eyes, lungs, hearing, and any visitors during your build. And in fact, when visitors show up, put the power tools away and the coffee pot on.

If you see or read something in these pages that you feel is unsafe–by all means–find a different method and get a second opinion. Be careful! Sponsorships As you read through this book, I’ll mention name brands of materials and tools that I use. I have no business relationship with any retailer or manufacturer I have mention in these pages. I refer to these products because they work for me. 8 Introduction I remember when she spoke those words, “coming home isn’t a big deal like it used to be.” Her words rattled me. My wife, Stephanie, and I were on the last ten miles of a 1400-mile round trip to Zion National Park. The journey had been the shakedown of our newly finished teardrop camper. The weather had been reasonable and the scenery was incredible. I thought we had a great trip–at least until she spoke those words. Was something wrong between us? Why wasn’t she happy to be home after ten days on the road? What had I missed? After gathering my wits, I turned and asked her what she was talking about.

“I love our new teardrop. The mattress is just as good as our bed at home.” *** I’ve camped a lot. I was a serious backpacker for more than twenty years. I wish I’d kept a journal of those miles. I fought wildfire in the interior Alaska for a decade. For most of those fire seasons, I would spend forty to sixty days sleeping under what we called a “hooch.” We made these from a ten-foot square of black plastic that we hung over a spruce pole lashed between two trees. To keep the airborne bloodsuckers off, mosquito netting hung underneath it. The netting looked like a porous coffin that was often black with bugs in the morning. For three summers I guided back-to-back seven-day wilderness river trips in central Idaho. On most of those raft trips I slept under the stars without a tent. We’d throw a sleeping pad and bag on a tarp and call it camp. We were too tired to fiddle with anything else. For over two decades, I chased poachers in Idaho’s backcountry as a game warden. For those patrols–that would frequently butt into early winter–I slept in a tent that wasn’t much bigger than my sleeping bag. I’m sure the number of nights I have spent camped on the ground– both inside a tent and under the stars–is well beyond hundreds. 10 I remember camping in a snow cave in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley when it hit -25º.

On at least two summer trips, I recall cutting the floor of my tent with a knife to drain the puddles of rainwater. I remember waking at 4:00 AM in Alaska’s Kobuk Valley, lifting the edge of the plastic fly, and staring at a bear’s foot just inches from my hand. His head must have been within a foot of mine. I remember cold-camping in a pile of rocks along Idaho’s Salmon River and eating a granola bar while smelling the cooking dinner from a poacher’s last illegal meal. Those remarkable trips are engraved in my brain because of what I’ll call the suck factor. Misery and fear make for an indelible memory. I wouldn’t change any of those nights but there is a more comfortable way to enjoy the wilds and avoid the suck factor. I saw my first teardrop parked at a highway pullout in the spring of 2004. I introduced myself to the owners and they gave me what I would later call a tear-tour. The little camper was made by Hunter in north Idaho and was a representation of teardrops made by American craftsmen for at least ninety years. It had a well-lit cabin with a deep mattress. Its galley had a propane stove and a cooler full of iced beverages and food prepped for a Dutch oven. I was stunned. I thought about building my own, but my job, as a game warden didn’t ooze with days off. So that fall I purchased a commercially made teardrop. The cabin was 4’ wide and 10’ long and I thought it was the cat’s meow. I don’t know how many miles I pulled her. I wish I knew how many nights I spent snuggled inside but it was a lot. And for the life of me, I can’t recall any trips with it that had any suck factor. In the summer of 2013 my wife and I were returning home from an adventure in western Montana. We fell behind another teardrop. After a bit the driver pulled into a gas station and I followed him in.

We swapped tear-tours. The first feature that caught my eye was that it was a foot wider than ours. The second was that it had a ceiling fan. Our teardrop’s galley hatch was beginning to leak dust and water. It had a computer fan for ventilation that didn’t help much on hot summer evenings. My newly retired-brain started scheming. After a month of Googling and sketching on graph paper, I was measuring, cutting and joining. 11 About this Book Keep this in mind: I don’t think anyone has all the skills needed to build a teardrop until they’ve done it. Don’t be intimidated. There are two things you need to possess to undertake this project: persistence and a willingness to learn. The needed skills are the ones you learn as you build. Teardrops are built in steps. Just take each a step at a time and you’ll get it done. The majority of this book documents the construction of my fourth teardrop. I’ve tried hard to explain and detail it with photographs and graphics of each step so that anyone who is short on woodworking skills can build a fine teardrop. If there is a part that you don’t understand, ask a friend to look the section over. If you still don’t understand it, I suggest you ask for help on the teardrop builder’s forum at www.tnttt.com. So why four teardrops? I think I’ve answered the question about my first build. The second one was a favor for my sister and brother-inlaw. The third was a wedding gift. The fourth was done so I could write this book and help first-time builders create something that will last. The profile, chassis, and other details for this project are included in the back of this book. Construction specifics are detailed in each chapter. You can certainly design your own and still use these

construction techniques. I encourage you to do just that–but a fantasy of mine is seeing your teardrop that grew from these pages pass by me on the highway. That would make my day. 12

Design Considerations It’s not clear who built the first teardrop but in 1939 the magazine Popular Home Craft printed an article about a small camper built by Louis Rogers of Pasadena, California. It had a 4’ x 8’ footprint and had the classic teardrop profile. After Word War II, Americans wanted to leave history in the dust and the teardrop took off. In 1947 alone, Kit Manufacturing was making forty teardrop campers a day. That same year, Mechanic’s Illustrated published plans and backyard builders started rolling their own.

The teardrop concept has stood the test of time. For folks who aren’t interested in towing a behemoth trailer, who like to cook and eat outside, and stare into a campfire– followed by a dreamy sleep–teardrops are unrivaled. By definition, a teardrop is a compact, streamlined camper consisting of an interior cabin with an external galley in the rear. In this section, I’ll discuss my thoughts on cabins, galleys, and profiles. I’ll also bat around the functional elements of the teardrop I built for this book. 13 The Cabin Door placement is critical. Put this book down for a moment and go lay on your bed. Now sit up and swing your legs off as if you’re getting up–but sit there for a moment. Note that this is the same place that you sat on the edge of the bed before you laid down. Your pelvis will be about 30 - 33” from the headboard. This is where the doors need to be–right next to where your hips rest when laying down and where you normally sit on your bed. The location of the bottom of the doorframe is also critical. You want to sit on the mattress, not the doorframe. The bottom of the wall also needs to support a portion of the mattress. Thus the bottom of the door opening needs to be located about halfway up the mattress. The fact that the wall continues under the door opening also maintains the torsion-box effect of the cabin and prevents the structure from flexing at this point. Assuming your teardrop is for two people , you need two doors. Putting two people in a teardrop with one door is going to cause a

rugby match every time the “wall” person needs out. Changing the mattress cover in a single-door teardrop is also going to be a challenge. As I mentioned, my first teardrop was four-foot wide and it was a snuggle for the two of us. Part of what got me motivated for my first build was seeing that additional space inside that guy’s five-wide. An extra foot in a teardrop is a mile. It’s my belief that a four-wide can be just fine for a pair of marathon runners. They tow like a dream since they have less drag and weight. If you and your spouse are the shape of the average American, lean towards a five-wide. Keep in mind, when I use the terms four-wide or five-wide, I’m referencing the outside width. A five-wide with 1-1/8” thick walls will result in an interior of 57-1/4”. A 60” queen-sized foam mattress fits fine inside. So what about a six-wide? First of all, anything wider than 5’ will cause headaches during building because of material widths. If you choose to cover with aluminum you may not be able to find sheathing that wide. But secondly, the additional volume would be a waste of space and a beast to tow at higher speeds with smaller vehicles. So think twice about building a teardrop greater than 60” wide. But what length? Let’s slip inside my first build for this discussion. There’s a headboard where we keep, tissues, sunscreen, pill boxes, glasses and books on. We set our phones there at night while they charge. This headboard has a 3” lip that keeps things organized while traveling. 14

Storage below the headboard is easily accessed by two sliding doors. We keep a small privacy tent and extra bedding in it. At the rear of the cabin, there are two staggered shelves. We store extra cloths and towels there. Like the headboard, there is a lip to keep the contents in place. There’s no 15

rummaging around for buried stuff. It’s all right there. Some builders like cabinet doors. Tim Curry’s Tucson Tortoise is a fine example (and yes, that is a TV). My exterior cabin height is 48” and so are the majority of teardrops. Since the floor is 1-1/4” thick, and the roof is 2-1/4” thick, the interior

cabin height is 44-1/2” tall. While sitting on the mattress, this height allows 6” of space above my head. (I’m 5’ 9”.) That may not seem like a lot but my head has never touched the ceiling and I’ve never wished for anything taller. 16

I have seen a few teardrops with 5’ tall cabins. The owners seem to like the added height. But on chilly nights, that’s where the heat will sit. It’ll also add more drag while towing and may increase the building complexity. The Galley I’ve seen many builds where the galley appears to have been an afterthought. A kitchen–whether in your home or at camp–needs to be efficient. Design this around what you are planning to put in it. Be specific about which cooler, stove and water system that will live there.

Some folks install a sink. These need a drain system and probably a tank for gray water. Because of the small size of a teardrop counter top, sinks take up a lot of space. Since these sinks are small, I feel they have a limited amount usefulness. If you choose to add a sink, accept the fact that it will eat up precious space on both the counter and underneath it. If you are wondering how Steph and I camp without a sink, take a jump over to the chapter on camping. We used to carry a small plastic tub for a sink that we would set on our camp table but it now stays at home. We’ve evolved to heating water in a shallow pot for cleanup and it works fine. I’ll get into those kinds of details in the chapter on camping. You really need to have water available in your galley. We keep a seven-gallon water jug in the galley that slides back for easy access. It is simple and efficient. Our first teardrop that had been manufactured by Hunter had several well-thought-out ideas. For my first build, I stole a lot of those design elements. Here’s the galley of my first build: 17

As you can see, it was planned around a Coleman 54 quart cooler, a Reliance seven-gallon water jug and a two-burner Primus propane stove. I chose that model of Primus because the fuel line came out the bottom and allowed me to nest a one-pound bottle that sits in the drawer below it. That galley works. Slide the stove out, fill the pot from the water jug and the coffee is on. The problem with this galley is that the stove blocks access to a portion of the countertop. Here’s the galley of the little 4-wide I built for my sister and her husband. It was designed around a four-gallon Reliance water jug, a Rubbermaid 48 quart cooler on a slide-out, and a small Stansport two-burner stove. On the bottom left is the cubby for the battery.

I’m not throwing those brands out to promote them– my point is that the galley needs to be designed around specific appliances. If you design a house, the stoves, refrigerators, and dishwashers are manufactured to standard sizes. It’s not that way in the world of camp stoves, water jugs and coolers. They are all have different dimensions. For this new build, I wanted a stove that would allow access to more counter space. I also wanted to use the same water jug and cooler that have served us well. 18

I found a Partner two-burner camp stove that is 12” x 18”. That 18” length allows for installation on a sliding shelf built perpendicular to the countertop and leaves enough space behind it for the rubber fuel line to accordion in and out. When the stove is out the entire counter is accessible. Here’s what it looked like on the drawing board: And here it is, ready to head out: 19

The Profile This is the side view of the new teardrop. Note the squared front end and how the hatch protrudes out past the end of the floor while maintaining a pleasing curve. This rear profile also allows the user to stand within 5” of the edge of the countertop. Keep this factor in mind if you design your own profile. If the rear curve starts to sweep in too quickly, it forces the counter deeper into the galley. The reason I didn’t roll the front in was to maintain storage space below the headboard. This flat front also mates with a tongue box. A few builders shy away from curved profiles and build an angled silhouette that is called a squaredrop. I think this profile is often chosen because building something with curves is intimidating. If that’s the reason you lean that way, don’t. The joints can be harder to accurately cut, join, and seal than a continuous curve. If you want to sheath a squaredrop with aluminum, the angles are going to be a problem. Building the classic curve of a teardrop is easily done with a jigsaw and the right plywood and I’ll show you how.

Don’t design tight curves. Keep in mind that a tight radius may be beyond the bending capability of the plywood. The plywood that I used for the radiuses for this build like to bend. But if you want an angular profile, by all means, build it. If you want to use my profile there’s a page near the back of this book that gives the curve’s measurements. However, there’s a lot of satisfaction in creating your own. If you decide to take this path, draw it on graph paper–or better yet with a CAD program such 20 as Sketchup or Fushion 360. Both have free versions that work well. Start off by laying out your bed in a side view; add a headboard if desired, storage above your legs (no closer than about 22”), and then your galley. After that you can play with the profile. Ventilation Our first teardrop had solid plywood sidewalls and an insulated ceiling. For ventilation, it had two screened windows and a small computer fan that vented into the galley. The fan was noisy and didn’t move much air so we seldom ran it. There was no vent in the roof. On cool mornings we’d wake to a significant amount of condensation on the walls even after keeping the windows open. The air had no place to go. Before coffee, I’d wipe the walls down with a towel. The interior had been finished with lacquer and after three years it was starting to peel from the condensation. I sanded it down and gave it a coat of polyurethane varnish. It really needed a roof vent with a fan. Our lungs exhale about 150 cubic feet per night. A five-wide teardrop has about 100 cubic feet of air in the cabin. During sleep, you exhale about a halfcup of water and a large amount of carbon dioxide. If the cabin is

closed up, you could wake up with a headache from the carbon dioxide and lack of oxygen. At night we crack both windows and open up the roof vent a couple of inches, which causes convection to keep the air moving. For an afternoon nap on a hot day, I turn the fan on and it makes for a comfortable snooze with the breeze coming in from the windows. When the heat stretches into the evening, we will run the fan for a half-hour or longer while we read before nodding off. I insulate the walls with 3/4” foam board. The ceiling and front wall is filled with 2” of foam. There isn’t a good reason to go any thicker since you’ll be cracking the windows and lifting the vent to keep the air flowing. Two warm bodies will keep the interior temperature about fifteen degrees warmer than the outside air. The insulation and ventilation eliminates any condensation. You might recall that one of the things that pushed me over the edge to build our first five-wide was the ceiling fan. That’s how much they are needed. If you are on a tight budget, install a 14” ceiling vent that doesn’t have a fan. Just make sure you run the wiring in the ceiling so that you can add a fan later. Teardrops need to have good airflow for comfort and safety. 21

Heat Neither of our other teardrops had a heater in it. On cold nights, we’d warm up in front of a campfire while a 12v electric blanket was preheating the bed. On this new teardrop, I installed a Propex propane heater. We don’t use it much but when we do, it’s a sweet deal. The bad news about these heaters is that they are expensive. The good

news is that if you build a teardrop using this profile, you can install one in the future. Locking Things Down Anything meant to slide will do just that while towing. Drawers, stoves, and coolers mounted on slides need to be locked while traveling. Historically, I have used locking pins to secure drawers. I made these from 1/8” steel rod and attached a small knob. Quick and simple. For cooler and stove sliders I use a simple barrel bolt. With this build, I stepped up and stole a trick from boat builders and used marine push-button latches. Close the drawer, nudge the button, and the drawer is locked. I’ll detail them in another chapter. While on the road, paper towels like to unroll in a camper. In my early teardropping days, it was not unusual to pull into camp, pop the hatch, and find the entire roll had managed to pile onto the countertop. We got in the habit of attaching a piece of tape. Most of the time it worked. 22

With my first build, I figured I’d solve the problem and spent a halfday on a wood lathe and created a towel holder that would lock and it worked. In the meantime, Stephanie found a brand of towels that cling together and I think it is the perfect solution. Electrical System Teardrops have been built without electrical systems. But to me, it makes as much sense as living in a cave without a candle. Wiring a 12-volt battery system is easy and I’ll ease you through it. We have never felt the need for 120 volts in our teardrop. If you are planning on using an air conditioner, electric heater, or hair dryer, you will need to be hooked up to shore power. If you need to go this route, I suggest installing a Progressive Dynamics PD40445 (or WFCO) converter to provide both 12 and 120 volts.

Our 12-volt system provides LED lighting in the galley and cabin, USB charging ports and 12-volt outlets. It powers my CPAP sleep device at night and the vent fan when needed. It also runs the fan in the propane heater. We charge our phones, iPads and Kindles with it. Without the CPAP, we use about three amp hours per night. With it we use about 15 amps per night. Our new teardrop has a Group 24 AGM battery. It has about 40 useable amps when fully charged and provides us with power for two days if we’re camped in the shade. It gets its charge while we’re on the highway from our tow vehicle or from the solar panel 23 on the roof. If I didn’t need a CPAP at night, I’d consider downsizing to a 35-amp wheelchair battery. Choose your battery size based on your needs but remember– you can only use about half of the advertised amps before you damage it. No matter what battery you install, you must monitor its state of charge to prevent damaging it. You can do this by installing a simple voltage meter. To check the charge, take a look at the volts after the battery has been unused for at least thirty minutes. Don’t let this resting voltage dip below 12 volts. In our new teardrop, I installed an inexpensive power meter to keep track of voltage, current amp usage and total watt consumption. It’s handy to be able to see what’s consuming battery power. Exterior Teardrops need protection from two elements: Water and ultraviolet light. With this new build, I chose to fiberglass it and then cover with a urethane bed liner. I think it’s nearly bulletproof. Or at least BB gun proof.

Aluminum works great and is time tested. I don’t trust aluminum to totally exclude moisture even when the trim on the edges is properly sealed. Perhaps I’m paranoid. So if you go this route, I suggest you seal the wood before you install the aluminum. Epoxy is my first choice for this, but two or three coats of a thinned polyurethane oilbased varnish should also work. Aluminum can’t be beat for UV protection. The cabin walls in this new build are 122” long without the hatch, which is two inches longer than a ten-foot sheet of aluminum. If you are planning on sheathing with aluminum make sure you can get aluminum that will cover this length. There are classic “woody” teardrops that are gorgeous. If you have your heart set on this, I would suggest you seal the plywood with fiberglass to prevent checking and top it off with three coats of a high-quality spar (UV) varnish. You’ll need to cover the cabin during the winter or park it inside and give it a fresh coat of varnish at least every other year. Just be ready to gloat all summer. Weight The majority of private aircraft are over forty years old and have decades of life left. The primary manufacturers –Cessna and Piper– built them strong and light. That’s how teardrops need to be built. A heavy trailer dropping into a deep pothole isn’t going to want to come out in one piece. 24 The new teardrop highlighted in this book weighs 1325 pounds. Don’t be tempted to add thickness here and there. Weight adds up fast in a teardrop build. Cost

A nagging question for anyone undertaking a teardrop has to be, "how much?" I tried to hold down expenses on this build without eating into her worksmanship. Without the heater, stove, mattress, battery, and chip guard, I shelled out $3,910. Keep in mind my that I live in a small town with one lumberyard and one hardware store–and it's a three hour drive to the nearest big-box store. You can probably do it for less if you live in a place with better access. The other reality of that four-figure number is that you don't need that much cash hidden under the floorboards to start your teardrop. You can spend as you go. Other Build Philosophies These are my thoughts developed from many grand adventures with three teardrop campers. There are probably thousands of homecrafted teardrops in North America and each builder has their own beliefs that will diverge from mine. Each of their teardrops will have a different profile, interior and galley. The next time you spot one stopped along the road, ask the owner for a tear-tour. Ask them what they like about their build and what they would change. They’ll disagree with me here and there and they’ll be right. Teardrops should be unique and reflect the builder’s taste. 25

Construction Strategy Teardrops have been made using numerous methods. Many teardrops have been built using two sheets of plywood for the walls, and one for the floor. The headliner is installed after the roof spars. In these pages I’ll show you a different method of teardrop construction that results in a camper that you should include in your will. It’ll last that long. Steve Fredrick’s Building a Wooden Teardrop Trailer guided my first build. In it, he shows how to build a wall with a shelf to enable the builder to attach the roof system from the outside. I think it’s a remarkable improvement over traditional teardrop construction methods. Steve also developed a system of sealing the hatch that I have modified for weight reduction but still advocate. His downloadable manual is still a good resource. With my first build, I went with the traditional method of building the cabin directly on the trailer chassis. It sounds logical. But the fenders and tongue are always in the way. When I installed the aluminum

sheathing on the sidewalls, it was a grizzly bear to attach the bottom trim behind the fenders and tires. During that process I created cuss words that would’ve scared a junkyard dog. Somehow my sister talked me into building a teardrop for her and her husband. (She might claim over a campfire that I volunteered up front.) I agreed to the endeavor as long as her husband, Jay welded the trailer chassis. I worked on the cabin while Jay fabricated the trailer 500 miles away. I built the cabin on a framework of 2’ x 4’s set on lockable casters. This is a much easier method than building on the chassis. After Jay had the trailer done, they hauled it up and we mounted the finished cabin. And then we camped! 26

When my wife and I decided to build a teardrop for her son’s wedding gift, I didn’t dither about it. We built the cabin and chassis separately and mounted the cabin when it was nearly done. If you search for commercial teardrops such as Vistabule or CampInn on YouTube and get a peek inside their factories, you’ll find that they too don’t build on the chassis. There are different ways to build teardrop walls. The method I detail in this book is called sandwiched construction. It’s not complex and it doesn’t take cabinet grade woodworking skills. There are several advantages to this method. First of all, the walls are easily “stretched” beyond the normal plywood length of 8’. The walls are insulated.

There is a ledge on the top that allows for the pre-varnished and fully joined headliner to be set in place before the spars are added. The bulkheads are joined to the walls in deep dados (or slots) that add considerable strength and makes for easy assembly. This system also enables a water and dust-proof hatch. Sandwiched walls are constructed from hogged-out 3/4” plywood for the internal structure (note the next photo to understand what I mean). Slots (or dados) are cut for the bulkheads to fit into. The voids are filled with rigid foam board to help support the exterior/interior plywood skins and provide insulation. Where something will be attached to the walls, blocking is added to the internal skeleton. The top of the skeleton forms the ledge for the headliner that the spars sit on. 27

A sheet of thin plywood is glued on the inside,

and a second sheet is glued to the outside. For this build, I used 1/4” plywood for the exterior and 1/8” in the interior. The exterior skin goes above the skeleton to cover the sides of the roof system. The bottom of this skin covers the sides of the floor. The skeleton and interior skin sits on the floor. I have watched builders attach the skeleton to the floor before adding the skins and insulation. Don’t do this. Have the walls finished–including the varnish–before attaching to the floor. With my first build, I made the skeleton from 1”x 4” pine boards as per Fredrick’s manual. For each wall there were 26 biscuit and/or pocket-hole joints. I think it took two full days before they were finished and a third morning of sanding to make the joints perfectly flush. There’s an easier way and that’s to use a skeleton made from plywood. For plywood skeletons, you can stack your sheets and cut them out in a half day. I’ve used commercial doors in the past. (Available from Vintage Technologies and Challenger Door.) When the cabin is done, you screw them on and you’re done. They are quick but expensive. For this build, I chose to make my own. They take several days to fabricate, require higher woodworking skills, but cost about a third of what a commercial door will cost. Read the chapter on making doors before you make this decision. My sister’s teardrop is a 4’ x 8’. It was an easy task to make the floor from one sheet 28

of 1/2” plywood. Since I can’t buy 5’ x 10’ sheets of plywood, the floors on my five-wide teardrops are made in a similar fashion as the walls. The floor I detail on these pages has an internal framework and is sheathed top and bottom with 1/4” plywood. Like the walls, the voids are filled with foam board. Wood is added inside the framework where the bolts attach to the chassis, where the cabin bulkheads are, and where extra support is needed in the galley. Light, strong, and warm. It makes no difference if you build the cabin or the trailer chassis first. With this build, I chose to build the chassis first so I could roll it out of the shop and make room for the cabin. If you choose to have a commercial welder make the chassis, get him going while you’re making sawdust. Planning for Tools and Hardware Building a teardrop trailer is a little like shooting clay pigeons. You need to get the gun swinging out in front of the bird. It’s called lead. Gather the needed tools, bits, and blades and make a list of hardware and other items you’ll need. You don’t want to start a building phase only to find out the hardware store doesn’t have the right router bit or something critical is on backorder. Think ahead and order the stuff you’ll need before you’re at that point. 29

The Workbench This may sound like an odd chapter, but building teardrop walls, floors and ceilings that are eight to ten-feet long require a flat surface at a proper working height. I’ve seen pictures of folks constructing walls on shop floors and it makes my knees quiver. In Steve Fredrick’s, Building a Wooden Teardrop Trailer, he details building a two-piece bench from two sheets of plywood and five 2” x 4”s. The two pieces are supported and clamped to folding sawhorses. Although I was hot to start building my new teardrop, I gritted my teeth and cranked one out. I have sawed, drilled and welded on that bench to the point I’ve had to repair several accidental cuts, drill holes, and burns. It needs a third coat of paint. 30

I don’t recall what that bench weighs but it is on the heavy side. It’s not too bad to move and store since it is composed of two 2’ x 8’ pieces. Working on a 10’ long teardrop wall on the bench works fine. A year ago, I downloaded a set of Ron Paulk’s torsion-box workbench plans and built an out-feed surface for my table saw. I also use it as an assembly platform for smaller parts. Building Paulk’s bench is

more work than Fredrick’s but it is lighter and stiffer. If I had to build a new workbench for teardrop construction, I’d follow Paulk’s lead and build another twopiece 4’ x 8’ bench. Most of my teardrop construction has been on that original bench in front of a single-garage workshop that was too small. Whatever your work area is, you need a 4’ x 8’ workbench. 31

The Trailer Chassis There are three ways to tackle this

part of the project. Many builders have had success by purchasing a bolttogether trailer from one of the online sellers. Part of the problem with this option is that it constrains the builder to either a 4’ x 8’ or 5’ x 9’ frame. Another possible issue is that these manufacturers have set a maximum speed limit below 45 MPH. I suspect the limit is based on their perceived liability and tire quality so perhaps that problem can be fixed with upgraded tires. A much better option is to weld it yourself or take my trailer plan to a welder and have it fabricated. In welding shops, an unpainted and unwired trailer custom trailer is called a skeleton. You’ll save money by painting and wiring it yourself. I constructed my frame from 2”

square tubing with 1/8” (.120”) thick walls. If you think that size of steel isn’t enough, keep in mind that teardrop cabins form a torsion box, and when bolted to the chassis, both parts gain strength. In fact, thinner stock could be used. I chose 1/8” tubing because it’s more forgiving to weld than the thinner stuff. If you’re a long-time welder, you might consider a thinner gauge of rectangular stock. Above is the plan that I used with this build. The first crossmember is made of 2” tubing since the tongue is tied to it. The torsion axle acts as another crossmember. I added the crossmember under the 32 galley and used 2” angle to support the sixty gallons of water and the battery. Note that the frame width is 1/2” narrower than the 60” wide cabin. I did this on my previous builds to make sure the cabin didn’t sit on the aluminum trim. With this build, I think it de-emphasizes the chassis. Axle placement is important. Too far to the rear and it’ll add weight to the tongue.

Too far forward and it could lead to dangerous swaying while being towed. The rule of thumb is 60/40 for trailers. That 40% number is the length from the axle to the rear and the 60% is the length to the hitch. The problem with a teardrop is that the doors need to clear the fenders. Where I’ve placed this axle, the doors clear, the trailer tracks without swaying, and when unhitched it’s stable. Some builders put stabilizing jacks at the back corners and swear by them. My first teardrop came with these and I used them twice. After fifteen years of teardropping, I don’t miss them. It may be that teardrops with traditional axle springs have more bounce and need these. (If you hear pots clanging in a teardrop as it pulls into camp, two-bits says it has springs undle the axle.) The cabin attachment tabs are fabricated from 2” angle, 3” long. I predrilled them with 3/16” holes to act as guides so that I was able to drill up from the bottom to guide the final hole that was drilled from inside. I’ve made sure these tabs are located where I can access them inside the finished cabin and galley. The tongue is fabricated out of three pieces of 2” tubing with 1/8” walls. It’s welded underneath the frame and first crossmember. In the diagram, I added four pieces of angle to support and attach the tongue box. These were not needed for the tongue box I used and I left them off. Here’s the materials list: 2” square tubing • 2 each, 120” •

3 each, 55-1/2” • 3 each, 80” (tongue) 2” angle • 1 each, 55-1/2” • 6 each, 3” Axle Order Details • #9 Dexter Torflex axle, downrated to 1600 pounds • Start Angle: 22.5” down 33

• Trailer width: 59.5” • Hub face: 74” • Hub diameter: 6.5” •

Bolt Pattern: 5 on 4-1/2” with standard studs • Lubrication: EZ Lube • Electric Brakes: Yes • 1 pair, Side Mount Brackets Miscellaneous • 1 pair Rims, Dexstar Steel Mini Mod Trailer Wheel - 15" x 5" Rim - 5 on 4-1/2 hole pattern • 1 pair 6-ply Radial Tires, LT215/75R15 • 1 each tongue jack, Pro Series swivel sidewind, 10” lift, 11” retracted, weld-on. • 1 pair fenders, Single Axle Trailer Fender - 16 Gauge Steel for 14" to 15" Wheels. •

1 each coupler, Channel Tongue with Trigger Latch - 2" Ball - Bolt On - 3,500 lbs • 1 pair safety chains, 27" Long with 7/16" Hook, 5,000 lbs. • 1 each cable, Mighty Cord 7-Way RV-Style Trailer Connector w/ Molded Cable Trailer End - 10' Long • 1 each, trailer junction box, Trailer Wiring - 7 Color Coded Terminals - ABS Welding with today’s wire-feed MIG welders is easy. I picked the craft up at a community welding class. I don’t enter my welds in the county fair. About half of them need grinding, but they don’t fail. Although I rented a CO2 tank for this project, I find that using fluxcore wire instead seems to be more forgiving especially while welding outdoors with a breeze. The first welding my wife did was on the chassis of her son’s teardrop. I showed her how to draw a bead and she was quite capable after about an hour of practicing on scrap and

produced a fine chassis. There are numerous instructional videos on YouTube. If you haven’t welded, watch a few videos, grab some scrap steel and give it a go. It’s not rocket science. MIG welders have a chart that show the proper wire speed 34

and heat settings for steel thicknesses. With my tires, rims and axle, the frame is 18” off the ground and the galley counter will be at 44”. With that height the hatch when open is 74” above the ground.

I use six-ply LT radial truck tires since we often tow on rough backcountry roads. Radial tires ride much better than bias tires. Bias trailer tires with their stiffer sidewalls are only needed for double-axle trailers. On my first build, I installed a stationary A-frame jack. It worked great until I upgraded my tow vehicle and the tailgate wouldn’t clear the jack. My solution was to use an extended trailer hitch so that the tailgate cleared the jack. On this chassis I installed a swivel jack to solve this problem. It works great. Several states require brakes for trailers that weigh greater than 1500 pounds. I’ve added trailer brakes to the axle for this build. Take a look at your state’s laws on brakes and lights but don’t hesitate to build to a higher safety bar than required. Laying out the Frame I began by tack welding 8” square sheets of steel to four jack stands. I placed the four frame members on the stands and made sure they were level. It took me thirty minutes of shimming to get it plumb. I squared the frame up initially with a carpenter’s square but trued it up by measuring the diagonals (which with this rectangle is 134”). 35

At first I struggled with running a tape measure at that distance. The end kept falling off. I finally put a neodymium magnet on the end of the tape and got the job done. Once I was satisfied the frame was perfectly square, I spot-welded the

corners at four points. I rechecked everything for plumb and spotted on the two cross members and attachment tabs. After one more square check with the tape, I finished the welds. Chassis Refinements I chose to add a removable coupler for security reasons. When we leave our teardrop in a remote camp, I can pull the cross pin and take the coupler with us which makes the trailer nearly theft proof. I did this by welding on a 12” receiver tube over the shortened centerpiece. The coupler

is attached to a piece of 2” tubing with a cross hole drilled for the hitch pin. 36

I also added a bumper made from a 60” piece of steel that is 2-1/2” by 1-1/2”. This was done to help protect the hatch if I ever back the trailer into an embankment. To allow the hatch to clear, the bottom of the bumper is at the same level as the bottom of the frame. It’s attached to the chassis with two pieces of 1” square tubing.

You’re probably looking at those open tubes and wondering how I covered the openings. I plugged them with plastic tubing caps I purchased on eBay. I also added a receiver, welded vertically to the tongue for a future bike rack that will hang above the tongue box. I’ll detail the modified rack on the teardrop forum at www.tnttt.com when it’s finished. 37

Last Minute Details With my previous builds, I was able to run the electrical pigtail through one of the tongue pieces since I didn’t have a removable coupler. With this build, I welded a 36” piece of 3/4” pipe to the bottom of the tongue to house the pigtail. As this next photo shows, I added three-inch quick links to attach the tow chains. 38

Attaching the Axle

It is critical that the axle be square to the centerline of the frame. It’s easy so don’t sweat this. Flip the chassis up-side down and mark 44” from the rear of the frame (not the bumper) on both rails. This is where the axle spindle needs to sit, not the axle cross member. Center the axle laterally on the side rails. I did this by centering the inside of the axle hangers on the tubing. A gentle tapping with a dead-blow hammer worked well to get them perfectly centered. Clamp one side of the axle to the frame with the spindle at the 44” mark. Hang two plumb bobs from ends of the axle and a third one from the center of the tongue. I took off the axle grease caps to make sure the strings over the axles were lined up through their centers. In order to allow the tape measure to lay flat on the floor, I used the 12” mark as the zero under the tongue bob. Measure from the tongue to the bob on the clamped side. Move over to the other side of the axle. Measure and tap with the hammer until it’s the same distance from the tongue. Recheck the clamped side. True up the unclamped side until it’s perfect. Check to make sure the hangers are still centered laterally on the frame. 39 When it’s on the money, spot weld both hangers in place. Dexter says to weld the ends of the hangers and add three 2-1/2” welds on both sides of each hangar. I welded the ends of the hangers, pulled the axle off, and finished the welds. Weld no more than an inch at a time and then let it cool. If you weld the hangers on without allowing each weld to fully cool, the chassis will warp. I can’t over-emphasize the need to wait between each weld.

Fenders I bolted angle iron to the frame to support the fenders and bolted the fenders to these pieces. They were still a bit shaky so I ended up welding the brackets to the trailer frame. If you are using the same Dexter torsion axle, make sure you have 4-1/2” of fender clearance above the tire. Painting I cleaned the steel with acetone and nearly a half-roll of paper towels. I gave the steel some “tooth” with a random orbital sander and 80-grit sandpaper. I used three rattle cans of self-etching primer and just short of one quart of black enamel. The finish paint was applied with a 2” roller and it looks good. After painting the fenders, I rolled on two coats of Herculiner bed liner to protect them from rock chips. Wiring I have two commercially built utility trailers. The wiring looks like it was done by someone who hated their job. From time to time I find myself fixing their lack of workmanship. Take some time with this and be proud of your craftsmanship. When trailer lights fail, it’s usually a ground or bulb failure. All of the lights I used were LED so I shouldn’t have a bulb burn out. Each light is grounded to the frame with a self-tapping screw. In the event that all the lights go out, I’ve got one place to look–the primary ground. If an individual light fails, there is one ground to check. In the six years I had my first garage-built teardrop, I had no problems and don’t expect the new owner 40

to have any. The key to trailer wiring is to install a trailer junction box at the end of the pigtail. This simplifies the wiring. The lugs are color-coded and it’s straightforward to get the rest of the wiring done correctly as long as you use color-coded wires. But here’s a caveat: The Mictuning brand pigtail I bought with the attached junction box had the colors wrong. Or at least that was my first reaction. There are two types of 7-way plugs. 7-Way Utility and 7-Way RV. After I had the junction box on the chassis, I realized that the wire colors were wrong or at least not what I was expecting with

my four-colored trailer wire that I was using. I had to plug the pigtail into my truck and figure out what wire was what with a continuity tester. All wires were grouped inside plastic 1/2” split-wire loom. This stuff organizes and protects the wiring. I attached the loom with zip-tie adhesive-backed mounting plates. All of the grounds for the individual lights were done by setting selftapping screws into the frame. These screws were dipped into dielectric grease before final installation. (Get a tube at an automotive parts store.) This ensures that the contact between the chassis and the screw will not become corroded and fail to conduct. Speaking of the ground, that first wire coming out of the left side of the box is a ground wire connected 41

to the chassis frame. There are two methods of attaching electrical connectors. Some folks swear by using solder and shrink tubing and others advocate crimp connectors. I’m in the latter camp. The next time you hop on an airline, you’re betting your life on wires that have crimped-on connectors.

Connectors need to be the correct size for the wire diameter you are using. They are color coded for the proper wire size: red (22-16 AWG), blue (16-14 AWG) and yellow (12-10 AWG). Don’t expect a good crimp with a $4 tool and cheap connectors. Spend $20 on a ratchet crimper and buy quality connectors. When crimping, I first dip the exposed wire in dielectric grease as an added step to stop corrosion. Once crimped, test the connection with a tug. I’ve given up on Scotchlok connectors for tapping into a wire run. I’ll use solder for that type of connection and insulate with heat-shrink tubing if I can figure out how to get the tubing over the connection. If you do use solder, make sure it’s rosin-core and not acid core or it will eventually corrode and fail. Here’s a shot of the taillights I chose. They were simple to attach to the bumper: They are TecNiq 15” clear LED red lights and I’m pleased with them. Slim enough for the 1-1/2” bumper and they are bright. For the side marker lights, I used small round LEDs. They were easy to install by drilling a 3/16” hole through the tubing followed by a 1/2” hole through the outside wall. They come with rubber grommets that hold them in place. Tongue Box The last tongue box I built worked great but it took three weeks of evenings to finish it. And it was a bit heavy. For this build, I chose a Buyers Product polyethylene tongue box. I chose to add a 42

plywood floor to it, which had to be cut into two pieces to fit it. Make sure you allow room between it and the cabin for the lid to open. Leveling Bubbles I added two RV leveling bubbles for leveling at camp. One was attached on the center tongue piece for fore/aft leveling and another on the tongue box for checking the right/left level. 43 Cabin Materials Plywood You’re going to find out that building a teardrop is a lot of work and unless you want to avoid a fight over your will, there is no reason to cut corners with sheet goods to save a pittance. Factories that crank out campers by the thousands add to their profit line by using oriented strand board (OSB) for flooring. Those trailers are built for a life span to reach their three-year guarantee. Any water intrusion will turn OSB into a soggy mess that swells and never recovers. OSB has no business in your teardrop. Another material to stay away from is medium density fiberboard or MDF. It’s heavy, splits easily when screwed, and acts like a bath towel when wet. It too never recovers. And while I’m whining about cheap sheet goods, don’t use particleboard like the RV industry uses for their fine cabinetry. The box stores sell a thin generic plywood called luan (or lauan) that is produced in several Asian countries. The term typically refers to plywood that is 1/4”, or less commonly, 1/8” thick. Historically it was made for interior door sheathing. It’s a mystery from one bunk to the

next what the wood is, what glue was used, and how many internal voids it has. I can’t recommend such an unknown. Choose plywoods made with waterproof glues. Cabinet plywood is commonly made with interior glue. The X in ACX and CDX construction plywoods means that it was manufactured for exterior use with waterproof glue. All underlayment plywoods are rated for moist environments and have very few internal voids. If you have a question about a plywood, cut a piece off and let it soak in a bucket of water for a few days. Good plywood doesn’t come apart and any swelling will disappear when dry. I use Baltic birch plywood for the countertop, shelves, vertical galley separators, drawers, interior cabin skins, headliner and roof. The quality is considerably greater than construction grade plywood such as ACX. The finished faces are much better. Baltic comes in 5’ x 5’ sheets and has many more laminations and thick face veneers. The stuff is nearly void-free and is still useable after a week in the water bucket. 1/8” Baltic is the 44

go-to material for the roof and headliner. It will take a bend down to a 20” radius (with the grain) and is amazingly strong. You won’t find it at the box stores. Most lumberyards can order it for you. I live in the middle of nowhere and the only lumberyard within a two-hour drive can have a stack of fifteen sheets for me in a week. If you can’t find a yard that is willing to order it, try a custom cabinet shop. Most lumberyards–not box stores–stock 1/2” and 3/4” Baltic birch plywood. Take a look at the next photograph. It's what 3/4” Baltic birch looks like (on the left) compared to 3/4” CDX fir. Just like a finished board, construction grade plywood isn’t as thick

as what it’s labeled. 1/2” ACX is usually .468” (15/32”) thick. The 1/4” underlayment I use is .218” (7/32”). 3/4” CDX plywood usually measures .718” (23/32”). Keep this in mind during planning and building, especially while setting up dados in the walls for your bulkheads. (Don’t panic, that’s easy.) Foam Board Foam board is used in the walls, ceiling, hatch, and floor. There are three types of foam board; extruded polystyrene (XPS usually blue or pink), polyisocyanurate (poly - generally a yellow color), and expanded polystyrene (EPS -it’s white and sometimes called bead-board). Any of these foams will work, but I prefer the XPS when I can get it in the right thickness. The only 3/4” foam I found for the cabin walls and floor was foil backed poly and it worked fine. I used three sheets for this build. 3/4” Foam board can be hard to find so start looking around. 45 Adhesives For most of my wood joints, I use Titebond II polyvinyl acetate (PVA) glue that is nearly waterproof. With a proper joint, the wood will fail

before the glue fails. One drawback is that it has a five-minute open time. (Open time is how long you have before the two pieces need to be clamped together.) I don’t use Titebond III often since it will not adhere to itself after it’s cured. It has a ten-minute "open time" so if I need more time to get the parts in the right position and clamped, this is what I use. For joinery that needs a longer working time or joints with an imperfect fit, I use Locktite PL Premium polyurethane adhesive. Although unwieldy, the large 29 ounce tubes are considerably cheaper by volume than the 10 ounce tubes. There are other adhesives sold as “construction adhesives” that have a dubious track record, so shy away from them. 46

Fiberglass and Epoxy If you’ve never done any fiberglassing, this thought may cause you to consider sniffing glue–but it’s no-big-deal. Besides, I don’t think trying to huff wood glue will help ease your stress anyway. There are two types of fiberglass resins; polyester and epoxy. I quit using polyester resin decades ago. Epoxy is much easier to get the ratio right, less hazardous to use and a much better adhesive. For this build, I used Raka’s medium 900 resin and their non-

blush hardener. (Their six-quart kit got me through this build.) The key to mixing the stuff is to purchase the pumps when you order the resin. All epoxy resins have a Material Safety Data Sheet that can be found online. I suggest you find it and read it. Raka’s sheet specifically states that you don’t need to wear a respirator. It is, however, a good idea to make sure your work area is ventilated since I know of one person who used epoxy as part of his work for years and it caused him respiratory issues. You do need to wear a respirator while sanding cured fiberglass/epoxy to avoid inhaling the particles. What you must wear during fiberglassing is eye and skin protection. I wear nitrile gloves, Tyvek sleeves and safety glasses. Repeated skin exposure with epoxy will lead to an allergic reaction that will preclude you from ever using epoxy again.

Use acetone for any needed cleanup (there shouldn’t be much). I leave my squeegees 47 on wax paper and let the epoxy cure. After a couple of days you can clean them off by flexing. You may have caught the word “blush” up above and wondered about it. Blush can develop on epoxy resin as it cures if the air is humid. It presents itself as a waxy, oily or hazy film. Where I live, a typical summer day seldom sees humidity greater than 20% and I have not had a problem with it. If it develops, it needs to be scrubbed off with a Scotch-Brite pad and water. If you fail to clean this off, whatever you apply as a topcoat will not stick. Keep your eyes out for it even if you use a non-blush hardener. The key to managing a batch of epoxy is to mix small volumes. If you mix up a sixteen ounce batch, the heat from the chemical reaction will cause it to solidify within minutes. Don’t mix more than about 11/2 cups and you will have plenty of time to apply it to the cloth, especially if you pour it on the fiberglass and get it out of the container. As I said, buy the pumps. The epoxy I used required two squirts of resin and one squirt of hardener. Focus when you are pumping. If you lose track and are not sure how many pumps you’ve got in a batch, mix it up and throw it away. Mix for two minutes and make sure you keep scraping the sides and bottom of the container as you stir. For small batches, I kept two plastic containers on a shelf. One with resin in it and the other with hardener. Each one had its own syringe. I use these containers for small batches. Keep the hardener container in a baggie or even the non-blush stuff will start to blush after a week or two.

Whenever you are using epoxy as an adhesive it should be thickened. I bought a bag of fumed silica for this from Raka when I bought the cloth and resin. It’s cheap. You can also use wood flour– not sawdust–from a sander. Mix the epoxy and then stir in the filler until it’s the consistency of peanut butter. If you are applying this to a wood surface, paint on a bit of un-thickened epoxy first and then the thick goo. Otherwise the wood can suck the epoxy out of the filler. About Fiberglass There are two types of cloth. Chopped mat and woven. Chopped mat soaks resin like a sponge and the finish that holds the fibers together may not be compatible with epoxy resin. It’s used to make cheap boat hulls and I don’t see a use for it in a teardrop. There are different weave styles of fiberglass cloth. Unless you are working on the next generation of space shuttles, plain weave works fine. I won’t go into the other weaves. Glass cloth is rated by its weight per yard. The heavier the weight, the more resin it 48

needs to wet it out. The thinnest fiberglass I’ve seen is .75 ounce and I think its primary use is in model airplanes. The reason I fiberglassed the exterior wall and roof surface was to waterproof the wood and make sure the wood fibers were sealed together. My goal was not to add strength to these surfaces but I’m happy to have the extra spunk on the roof and hatch. For this build, I used 2 oz cloth for the walls and 4 oz for the roof and hatch. The only reason I jumped up 2 ounces with the latter surfaces was because I couldn’t find 2 oz cloth that was 60” wide. Epoxy can be applied to fiberglass with paint rollers, brushes or squeegees. I much prefer squeegees and will explain the process in greater detail in the chapter on walls. Epoxy can be added over epoxy in one of two ways. If it’s cured you need to give the dry layer some tooth by taking the gloss off with a

sander. If it’s not quite cured, the second layer will chemically bond to the first. You can add epoxy (and fiberglass) over uncured epoxy at anytime. If it has a tacky feeling, have at it. If for some reason you need to add more than one layer of fiberglass for reasons of strength–and I didn’t with this build–you should add the subsequent layers of cloth as soon as you’ve wetted out the first layer. I'll get deeper into fiberglassing when it's time to glass the walls. 49

Making a Template

In wooden boat building, craftsmen make a full-sized drawing or lofting of the hull before cutting wood. And that’s the first thing we’ll do here. You’ll use this template throughout the build. It will be used to draw the profile on the skeleton and the wall skins. You’ll use it for a router pattern. It’s how you’ll transfer bulkhead and door locations. If you sheath with aluminum, you’ll use it to lay the sheets out. You’ll use this so often you might even give it a name. I build my templates from two sheets of 1/4” underlayment plywood. You’ll need a 30” piece and a full sheet for this profile. Butt the short sheet to the full sheet with a strip of wax paper under the seam. Apply glue to the two edges and clamp both pieces in place to the bench. Screw both sides of this joint to the bench about every 8”. I used a dead blow hammer to make sure the two pieces were vertically flush. Lay a strip of mesh fiberglass drywall tape the length of the seam and paint a liberal amount of Titebond II glue over it. The goal is to saturate the mesh and cover the areas in between the fibers. After the glue is cured, flip it over.

Put a second strip of mesh on the backside with more glue and allow it to dry. The only downside to this method is that the glue takes hours to dry because it’s so thick. But it makes for a remarkably strong and simple joint. 50

Drawing the Profile Orient the template so that the joint you created is the left.

Starting from the bottom left corner, place a mark every three inches along the bottom edge. Do the same at the top and connect these marks by penciling in vertical lines. You really only need these lines where the profile will be drawn. There is no need to mark these lines the full height or they will just gum up your template. The profile measurements are in the back of the book. Starting from the bottom, mark these profile points on the vertical lines. When you get to the line that is 123” from the left side, you’ll need to draw in a grid system to the right of this line with six 3” horizontal lines. These last six profile points are measured horizontally from the 123” line. 51

To connect all these points, I ripped a piece of 1/4” plywood 1” wide and 66” long. (An eight foot long piece would be better.) Let’s steal a term from the boatbuilding world and call this piece a batten. I placed 1-1/4” brads at each of the measurement points. I did this by drilling a tiny hole and then pushing the brad in. I set a second brad 1/4” above the first and then inserted the batten. After eyeing the curve, I ran a pencil along the inside of the batten. Once the profile is established, cut

it out using a jigsaw. When you’re done you’ll probably notice a few high and low spots if the batten isn’t perfect. I used a Sureform plane and a sanding block with 80 grit paper to true up the profile. Pay particular attention to the front where the curve meets the flat front. Do the same where the flat part of the roof meets the front and rear curves. Fair these curves a bit into the flat. Any high or low points not trued out will be transferred to your teardrop. It doesn’t need to be aircraft-wing perfect. But close. 52

Adding in the Cabin Details If you are using commercial doors and know the opening size, mark it in. I designed the doors for this build around a specific window and door seal. The seal slips over a 1/4” lip that forms the doorstop. It requires a minimum inside diameter for proper sealing. A 90º corner with this seal will be a problem. So tread lightly if you change the door shape. If you are building the same doors that I did, they are 28-1/4” x 361/4” with 3”

corner radiuses. Whether you are building your own or buying, mark the door opening 5” from the bottom of the template. The rear of the door is 58” from the front edge of the cabin. Don’t set the door opening any farther back or the fenders will be in the way. Draw the floor on the template with a line 1-1/4” deep along the bottom. This line stops at 120" from the front. Come 3/8” back to the right and draw the seal gap in. It should look like this: The rear bulkheads are in the same vertical plane but are separated by 1/2”. The gap is for the countertop that fits between the two bulkheads. The front of these bulkheads are 91” from the front of the cabin and are 3/4” thick. The lower bulkhead ends 22” from the top of the floor. Mark the upper bulkhead from the top of the 1/2” counter to the top of the profile. 53

The square opening or slot behind the upper bulkhead is for the hatch spar. (This is what the hatch hinge attaches to.) Draw this slot starting at 2 -7/8” from the rear edge of the bulkhead. Make sure the lines for this are set 90º to the teardrop profile–not parallel to the bulkhead. In the photo, I’ve marked it in as 2” wide by 2-1/8” deep. This is wrong. Mark it 2” x 2”. On my sister’s teardrop, I oriented this slot parallel to the bulkhead and glued the spar in. When I went to fit the hinge, I realized it wasn’t going to work. After a couple of restless nights, I figured out the solution and using some creative cuss words and a jig for my circular saw, it came out fine.

Using a wheel-marking gauge, mark the roofline 2-1/4” below the edge of the profile. Start this line at the top of the floor–in the front and run this mark around to the upper bulkhead. (You can see where it ends in the upper photograph.) The hatch will be 2-1/4” deep but for now, mark it in 2” thick (unlike the marking on my template above). Draw it in leaving a 3/8” gap between it and the spar slot for the hurricane hinge. 54

The headboard bulkheads are 12-1/4” from the front. Both are 3/4” x 5”. The lower one sits on the floor and the upper one is 13” above it. Marking the Strut Attachment Points This is just a bit of simple geometry. Begin by setting a brad 5/16” above the profile where the center of the hinge will be installed. For the upper attachment point, mark an arc 8-3/16” from the brad with a pair of dividers. Measure 1-1/8” from the interior of the hatch line (at 90º). The lower attachment point is located by drawing an arc 20-15/16” from the

brad that marks the hinge center and 203/8”from where the bottom edge of the bulkhead that sits on the countertop. 55

Here’s where we’re going with this: After these two locations are marked, drill them out with a 1/8” bit. Finishing Out

Cut out the door opening with a jigsaw. If you are building your own doors, this opening will be used for a router jig to cut the doors, so go slowly and accurately. If you are using commercial doors, you can cut the door opening out but it would be a good idea to confirm the opening size with the manufacturer if you don’t have the doors yet. Drill 1/8” holes through the template to mark the locations of the bulkheads, the counter top, the two shelves, the hatch/floor seal gap, and the strut attachment points. These holes will be used to transfer the layout to the skeletons. 56

Building the Walls The walls are constructed from three layers of plywood. The inner core is made from heavily skeletonized 3/4” plywood. It is sheathed on the exterior with 1/4” ply and on the interior with 1/8” ply. Since the walls are longer than 8’, we need to stretch the plywood beyond its 8’

length for the skeletons. The process is straightforward and doesn’t require boatbuilding skills. The bulkheads and headboards are joined to the walls in dados to create strong joints. (Dados are just slots.) These dados also ease the assembly of the cabin. The internal voids in the skeleton are filled with 3/4” foam board for both insulation and skin support. 3/4” foam can be hard to find. For this build, I thought I was going to have to drive three hours to the nearest box store but was surprised to find it at our local lumberyard. For those builders that can’t find 3/4”, they default to 1” foam and use a shop-built hot-wire foam cutter. There are plenty of online discussions that will get you through the process if needed. The walls are completed while on the bench before mounting to the floor. When I say completed, I’m talking about everything including the varnish on the interior surfaces. The interior skin and skeleton rest on the floor. The exterior skin covers the side of the floor and the side of the roof. Here’s what the floor/wall joint looks like. The black spike in the graphic is a pocket-hole screw. 57

Joining the Skeleton Sheets

I use 3/4” CDX construction grade plywood for this part. Like the template, each skeleton consists of a full sheet and a 30” piece. The two pieces are connected with a spline joint at the same location as the template splice (just forward of the door opening). Use a 1/4” slot-cutting router bit (Yonico 14184q or equivalent) with a guide bearing to cut the grooves. Cut the splines from 1/4” plywood. They should be just slightly narrower than the width of the two slots. If they’re too tight, sand them down a bit. I tried using splines cut from the 1/4” underlayment plywood I used for the template and the joint was too sloppy. I ended up using two glued layers of 1/8” Baltic but the best course would be to use strips of 1/4” AC plywood. Adjust the router so the slot is cut in the middle of the plywood. It doesn’t have to be dead centered as long as you keep track of which side is up on each piece. Cut the slot in both pieces of plywood and test how the spline fits.

Make four clamping cauls out of scrap wood. I used 2’ x 4’s. (Cauls are temporary clamping points.) Screw the cauls to the two pieces of plywood so you can get good inline clamp pressure. In the photo on the right the cauls are screwed in place and the spline is in the plywood on the left. Add Titebond II to the joint and clamp. I used a chip brush on both edges of the plywood, the spline, and a syringe to add glue to the grooves. The goal here is limited squeeze-out, not a glue-starved joint. After the joint is clamped together, screw the short piece of plywood down to ensure it is flat on the bench and not flexing up. 58

Before removing the clamps and cauls, let the joint sit for at least an hour. I laid down another strip of wax paper over this plywood and joined the second skeleton on top of the first. Cutting the Skeleton Profile Ensure that both pieces are stacked evenly and screw them

together. You’ll need to place boards under them so you don’t penetrate into your bench for this cut. Place the template on the skeleton stack and screw it in place. Transfer the interior layout (dado slots, shelves, counter top and headboard parts) by marking with a pencil through the 1/8” reference holes that you drilled through it. Cut the profile edge with a jigsaw 59

no closer to the template than about 3/16”. Use a stiff quality up-cut blade such as a Starrett BU36T or Bosch T144DP. Check to make

sure the blade is square to the base of the saw. As you can see in the previous photo, I’ve got the template on the stack and I’m using a scrap of plywood to keep the jigsaw level. To prevent blade bend, make sure you are not putting lateral pressure on the saw. To finish off the edge, install a flush-cut router bit with a top-bearing bit (Amana 45460 or equivalent) in your router. Use the edge of the template as a guide for the bit’s bearing. Since your bit probably isn’t deep enough to flush-cut the entire stack, you’ll have to make several deeper cuts using the trimmed portion of the stack as the guide. Drawing in the Skeleton Margins Remove the template and draw in the shelves, bulkheads, spar slot, and countertop using the pencil dots. Draw the line along the bottom of the stack where the skeleton will sit on the floor. This needs to be 1-1/4” above the edge until you get to the rear of the profile at 120”. Draw in the 3/8” gap for the hatch seal at the end of the floor. (Check the graphic in the previous chapter if needed.) Scribe the ceiling with the marker gauge set at 2-1/4”. This line starts at the front of the upper bulkhead (note the next photo) and runs forward along the profile and down to the floor. If your eyes are like mine, mark this scribed line with a pencil. 60

Marking the Skeleton Support Areas Here’s what the finished skeletons should look like: For headboard support, draw a line 1” around the upper and lower parts. Add a horizontal piece for shelf support where it meets the wall.

In front of the door, I drew in 4”. This supports the door opening, the hinges, and gives the skeleton spline joint extra glue surface for the skins. To the rear of the door, I added 3”. As you can see, I left the areas above and below the door solid. I added 2” in front of the bulkhead dados and 3" behind them. The added material here is to support both the interior and exterior skin butt joints. For the cabin shelves, I drew an inch around each. In the galley, I added eight inches below the counter (to support the 61

drawer and stove slides) and an inch above it. Scribe a line 4” along the rear curve. 2” of this will be for the hatch ends that you’ll cut off later and the other 2” supports the rest of the galley wall. Leave at least 4” of material around the lower strut attachment point. Having coat hooks just behind the door inside the cabin is a big deal, so make sure you leave material there. I added in a 1” glue surface at 45º above the headboard area to support the skins and another one below the lower shelf. Large areas of unglued interior/exterior sheathing will create weakness in the walls. If that gives you a headache, keep looking at the skeleton graphic and I think it'll sink in. Cutting the Voids

If you are going to use commercial doors, you can cut them out now with a jigsaw but hold off if you are making your own doors. Cut the floor section off. I used a circular saw with a straight edge for this. Stop short of the gap seal and finish the cut with a jigsaw. The rest of the voids can be removed with a jigsaw after drilling blade access holes. Cutting Off the Ceiling/Roof Shelf This is the part of the wall that needs to be removed to support the roof system. I used a 1/4” spiral up-cut bit and a router guide mounted to a plunge base for this cut. In the past I have removed these pieces using a jigsaw. Either works but the router makes for a more accurate cut. Set the router guide so it removes a 2-1/4” deep shelf. (The off-cut piece will be 2” because of bit width.) Carbide bits are fragile and require cuts no deeper than their diameter so you’ll need to make at least three passes.

Start at the top of the rear bulkhead and go all the way around to the floor. 62

Set these cut-offs aside. They’ll be needed for blocking between the spars (roof joists) to support the edges of the top layer of plywood. At

some point during my first build, these disappeared and it took most of a day to make replacements. Cutting the Bulkhead Dados I used 3/4” Baltic birch for the rear bulkheads and the two vertical headboard pieces. Use a 1/2” top bearing router bit and a simple jig for these cuts. Don’t be tempted to use a 3/4” bit since your plywood probably isn’t a true 3/4”. Remember, the upper and lower bulkhead dados are separated by 1/2” at the countertop. The lower dado stops 1” above the floor level. The upper dado is open at the top so you can slide the bulkhead down after both walls are attached to the floor. Here’s what the jig looks like: To build the jig, use two pieces of 3/4” plywood 48” long and about 5” wide. Place two pieces of scrap bulkhead plywood between these pieces to get the perfect width. (In the photo, you can see a block of plywood between the clamps.) Add a piece of a playing card to both sides of these scraps to avoid a dado that is too tight.

Clamp the jig parts together and join with two cross-members. Screw the jig in place to the stacked skeletons. Make sure you add screws at the midpoint of the jig to keep it from splaying. Do this with the scraps and playing card shims inserted in the jig. Test the jig’s tolerance by sliding a piece of plywood from one end to the other. Add cross-bars to the jig where the router needs to stop so to leave the 1/2” between the lower and upper dados. After you’ve routed the dado down about 3/8” you can 63

remove the jig and use the cut as a guide for the bit’s bearing. The dados need to be cut through the depth of the

skeletons. Be mindful of your bench. Cut the upper dado in a similar fashion. Cutting the Headboard Dados Move the jig to the front of the stack and cut the headboard dados. The top dado is 51/2”. The bottom dado is 5”. The two dados should be 13” apart and 10” from the edge of the skeleton. Both of these dados are cut completely through the skeletons. The outer skin will form the “bottom” of the dado. 64

Hatch Spar Slot Make a router pattern out of scrap plywood to finish the spar slot. This is just a simple piece of 1/4” ply with a 2” x 2 ” cutout. Use the template to draw in the profile edge in front and behind the slot. Screw it to the skeleton stack and finish cutting out the spar slot using the router in the same fashion as you did with the dado cuts. 65

Measure Twice and Cut Once After I had my skeletons finished, the headboard looked low. A quick review of my side-view diagrams confirmed this issue–I had incorrectly drawn the headboard on the template. I used a biscuit joiner to add material back to each skeleton and reinforced the joints with a piece of drywall fiberglass. This wasn’t my only mistake with this build. I’ll fill you in with the rest at the appropriate moment. Just like me, you’ll make mistakes but they’re fixable. Admittedly, I’ve messed up on previous builds where it took me a night of staring at the ceiling to figure out the fix. Cutting the Door Cores This information only applies if you are building your own doors. I cut these one at a time using the template as a guide. To make sure the template was perfectly on the skeleton, I cut a couple of pieces of 3/4” plywood 1-1/4” to mimic the floor thickness and attached them to the bottom of the template with screws.

When the template floor blocks were flush with the bottom of the skeleton and aligned with the rear, I screwed it in place. I used a router with a plunge base, a 1/4” guide bushing and a 1/4” spiral up-cut bit (Freud 75-102 or equivalent) for this cut. Don’t try this without a plunge base. (Remember all that money you’re saving by building your own doors?) Do not try to make the cuts any deeper than 1/4” to prevent the bit from breaking. You’ll note in the photo that I’m using a scrap piece of plywood to keep the router level. I had two router bushings fail during this endeavor. The first was a Bosch that came apart at the weld. 66

The second was a brass bushing that was eaten up by the bit. I think this second failure was my fault for not ensuring the base plate was centered with a centering cone made for the purpose. Both of these failures damaged the template, the door core and the edge of the skeleton. After innumerable curse words, I fixed the

damage with sawdust and super glue. In order to get a straight edge with these repairs, I used a piece of plywood covered with wax paper and set it vertically along the damaged edge. The bushing that finally worked for me was made by Porter Cable. As you cut out each door core–even though they are identical–label them right, left, inside, and outside and do the same with the skeletons. Keep in mind that you are building a right and a left wall that are mirror images. In an effort to keep my door cores from warping, I screwed them together and hung them vertically off the floor. Here’s what my finished skeletons looked like. This would be a good time to set the skeleton on the template and trace the voids out for future reference. I didn’t do this and regretted it. 67

Interior Skins I used 5’ x 5’ x 1/8” Baltic birch for the interior skins. Because the walls are a bit over 123” long, you’ll need one full sheet and two smaller pieces and thus you’ll end up with two butt joints. I attached the full 5’ piece first. I placed this so that most of joint in the cabin would be covered by the doorstop. The rear of this sheet ends 1” behind the bulkhead dados inside the galley. It gets covered and will never be seen. (This is the sheet in the photo below.) Take a hard look at your plywood and figure out which ones you want inside your cabin. You’ll note that even Baltic birch has a few flaws on one side. Mark the flawless sides with a piece of masking tape. You’ll want all of the interior grain to be horizontal. To lay out the skin, use a skeleton as a pattern to pencil out the upper outline on the skin. Cut this line about an 1/8” proud

(oversized) so you can flush cut it with a router after it’s attached Lay the sheet on the skeleton and draw a line where the front and rear of the plywood will sit so you’ll know where to run the glue to. It’s a good idea to lightly mark this interior skin where the solid portion of the skeleton is so you’ll know where to place your “clamp” weights. I used Titebond III to attach the interior skins to the skeleton. Don’t try to do this by squeezing the glue from a bottle–it’s too big of a job. Fill a disposable plastic cup and use a 2 1/2” (disposable) chip brush. You’ll want to use a liberal amount of glue. Squeeze-out isn’t a problem along the edges of skeleton voids.

Make sure you don’t glue the wall to your bench. If you’ve got a plastic drop cloth, this is a good time to put it on the bench. Paint the glue on, set the skin in place and place your weights. I used all sorts of stuff 68

for weights, including three buckets half-filled with water. (Half-full to avoid spillage.) Do a dry run to make sure you have enough weight. Along the bottom edge, I used an 18-gauge pin nailer in lieu of weights. These nail marks will be hidden by the mattress. On the top edge, I used spring clamps. Don’t place weight over the voids. Once the other two skin pieces are glued to the skeleton, cut the skin flush with a trim bit using the skeleton as a guide. Include the dado cuts, the hatch spar slot, and the door openings. Installing the Foam Board There are two ways to mark the foam pieces for cutting. You can use the skeleton cut-offs or an unskinned skeleton. I chose to use the cut-offs. A sharp utility knife works fine for these cuts. The foam is simply pushed in place and held by friction.

The 3/4” foam I used had foil on both sides. After I had it fitted in place, it was about 1/16” too thick. I pulled off the foil on the exposed side and hit it with a random orbital sander and 80 grit sandpaper. It took about five minutes to fix the problem. Two 4’ x 8’ foam sheet should cover the voids in both walls. Save the scraps if you are building doors. 69

Additional Blocking

On the left wall I needed support for a shelf above the headboard for my CPAP machine. I fitted a piece of scrap 3/4” plywood and glued it in place. I marked the measurements and photographed it so that when I installed the shelf, I knew exactly where the support was. Marking and photographing the internal structure is a good idea when it comes to installing coat hooks or any other hardware. I also meant to add another piece of plywood above the headboard shelf on the left wall. This was for blocking to screw the fuse block too. When you get to the electrical section, note where I attached my fuse block and plan for it by adding blocking to your left wall. (To remediate my mistake, I glued a piece of 1/4” ply the shape of the fuse block to the wall.)

Cutting the Exterior Skins I used 1/4” underlayment plywood for the exterior skins. Since the support for the butt joint for this skin is on the skeleton just behind the rear bulkheads, I had to cut 3” off the end of these two large sheets to ensure I had support for the butt joint in the galley. To cut these sheets, I stacked both of the large sheets together and set the template on top and connected the stack with screws. I made the cut using the router and top-bearing trim bit. I did not cut out the doors at this point. 70 Attaching the Exterior Skins Before gluing down, lay the skeleton on top of the skin and marked where the internal voids will be. The challenge with this glue-up is that these skins don’t sit flush with the skeleton– they protrude 1-1/4” below the skeleton where the floor will be and 21/4” above and forward where the roof will be. And thus it’s impossible to get them set perfectly without reference blocks. To make this procedure semi-fool-proof, screw two foot-long reference blocks to the bottom of the skin that are 1-1/4” wide (to mimic the floor) and a second block on the front that is 18” long and 2-1/4”wide (to mimic the roof thickness). Since this glue-up was so large, I decided to use PL Premium adhesive with its extended working time on the first wall. I used a notched 1/8” adhesive spreader to move the glue around. I ended up using most of a large 29 oz tube of glue. Since this glue is so thick, I struggled to get the skin flush with the skeleton.

On the second wall, I used Titebond III and was up against the tenminute working time. I poured two cups of glue in a container and went to work with a 3” disposable brush. I probably looked like a meth fiend out of the Breaking Bad TV series but got the glue on in four minutes. If you go this route, grab a friend and work like dogs chasing a cat. From the time I started applying glue until the skin was down, weighted, and crown stapled, it took me ten minutes and forty seconds. When you set the skin in place, double check that the reference blocks are set tight to the skeleton and when it’s perfectly in place, tack it with crown staples or screws so it doesn’t move. I used the same conglomeration of weights plus a liberal amount of 1/4” crown staples fired from a pneumatic gun during the process. Check around the edges to make sure the reference blocks are flush with the skeleton. If needed, add screws. Make sure to remove the reference blocks after the skin is tacked to the skeleton so they don’t end up being a permanent part of the wall. Glue the short skin in the galley in the same fashion. Trimming the Outer Skin Cut out the door openings with a flush trim bit. Add another piece of 1/4” skin to finish the wall out in the galley area. Don’t cut the bulkhead or headboard dados. Don’t cut the hatch slots. The exterior 71

skin needs to cover these openings. Before you start on the second wall, as I’ve mentioned, remember that you are building a left and right wall that are mirror images. Fiberglassing the Exterior Walls If you’ve never fiberglassed, this could keep you awake the night before, but don’t let it monkey with you. It’s simple. Just get organized with mixers, containers, gloves, and maybe a helper. Make sure you have a plastic sheet between the wall and the bench. Prep the wall by filling any staple or screw holes with a sand-able wood filler. Once dry, sand flush. Sand the butt joints so they are

perfectly level. Clean the sawdust off and run your palm across the entire surface to ensure it’s clean and doesn’t have an errant drop of dried glue or other imperfection. I used 2 ounce fiberglass cloth and Raka’s medium thickness epoxy and their non-blush hardener and applied it at about 70º. If your weather is in the ninety’s, stand down and plan on an early-morning layup. Roll the fiberglass out on the skin and get it as flat as reasonably possible. Don’t worry too much about the bumps because the epoxy will tack it to the skin when it’s wetted out. Trim the edges with scissors but make sure you’ve got at least an inch of overlap on all sides. I supported the cloth in the door opening by placing scraps of plywood under it. Here’s what it looked like before I started wetting it out: For measuring epoxy and hardener, I used pumps purchased from the manufacturer. Raka calls for a by-volume mixture of 2 parts resin to 1 part hardener. To keep from getting confused, I mark the resin jug with a 2 and the hardener bottle with a 1. I do the same on the tops of the pumps. This would be a good time to

recruit some help from a focused individual. Your helper can mix while you spread. There is no room for a mixing mistake so stay focused and don’t let this turn into a bull session. 72

I did this by myself and the system I used was simple. For each batch, I got in a rhythm of two pumps of resin, one pump of hardener and then two more resin pumps and one more hardener for a total of six squirts per batch. To keep the mess down, change your gloves after every two batches and never use a mixing cup twice. Have at least two squeegees, and switch to a clean one halfway through the job.

The key to this process is mixing small batches. Epoxy is strange stuff. As soon as it is mixed, it starts producing heat, which grossly speeds up the reaction. After mixing a batch, you’ve got about ten minutes if it remains in the container. But once it’s poured onto the cloth, you’ve got a long time. I would suggest keeping the batches to no more than about a cup. My six squirts per batch worked out to be about 5 ounces. Make sure you or your assistant aggressively stirs each batch for two minutes. During stirring, you are really only mixing the center of the liquid so make sure you scrape the resin off the sides of the container as you mix. Pour the epoxy onto the cloth in thick lines and use a plastic squeegee to disperse it. Just work slow, and methodically. Once the resin is out of the container, there is no need to rush. As you wet out the cloth, keep in mind that some of the epoxy will absorb into the wood, which can lead to resin-starved fiberglass. The squeegee is your stethoscope. It will vibrate over starved cloth and glide over

areas of excess epoxy. Keep looking at the layup from a low angle for dull or shiny spots. If a spot looks whitish, it needs more resin. Properly saturated cloth is transparent. Adding resin to saturated cloth doesn’t increase the strength. Pay attention to the edges of the wall and ensure you have good saturation. If you have a raised spot in the fiberglass, work it flat with the squeegee. When you think you’re done, take a twenty-minute break and then check to make sure that some of the cloth hasn’t lifted. You can push those spots down with the squeegee. Additional epoxy can be added as long as it’s still tacky. 73

Trim the excess fiberglass with a razor blade before the epoxy is fully cured. The trick is to do this when your efforts won’t pull the cloth off the wood but before the epoxy is rock hard. At 68º–and Raka’s no-blush hardener–I was able to trim the edges after about six hours. The resin will feel fully cured the next day, but it’s not. Give the epoxy at least two

days to cure and then sand the shine off the surface with 120 grit sandpaper on a random orbital sander. Wear a respirator while doing this. Removing the Hatch Side Pieces The sides of the hatch are cutoffs from the walls. On the inside of the wall, scribe a line 2” along the galley edge using a marking gauge and end this line with a 2-3/8” curve. This curve needs to end 3/8” from the spar to leave room for the hinge. 74

Ignore the 2-1/4” in the photo. It should be 2”. I made this cut with a jigsaw. I would not want to attempt this with a $20 tool. The jigsaw has to have a blade guide and the blade must be at 90º to the tool’s base. Make sure you have a good blade, not a $2 special. I’m cheap but this isn’t the place that cheap works. This cut isn’t hard. I think the secret is making a precise mark and ensuring you are pushing forward without any side pressure. Put your bifocals on, go slow and keep the blade on the line. When I was done, the cut had a couple of slight wobbles that I trued up with a belt sander. I think these were from a poorly scribed line. I paid better attention on the second wall and

didn’t have this problem. After these pieces are removed, set them away in your safe and hide the key. They will be needed to form the ends of the hatch. Interior Galley Spacer There are two more pieces of plywood that need to be added to the inside of the galley wall. Take a look at the graphic on the next page. Ignore the hatch portion and focus on the wall below it. 75

This first piece is an 1/8” plywood spacer on the interior wall surface. In the front, it lines up on the bulkhead dado. To help with this glue-up, insert a couple of pieces of scrap 3/4” plywood into the dado slots for reference. The only part of this that will be exposed is the router-trimmed edge, so don’t hesitate to use screws or crown staples while the glue sets. This piece doesn’t need to be made from a single piece of plywood since it is just a spacer. Because this is a fairly large area to cover with glue, I found it easier to spread with a plastic 1/8” notched spreader instead of a brush. I used Titebond III for a little more working time. Remove the scrap wood in the dados before the glue cures. When dry, trim these edges and spar slots with the router and bottombearing bit.

When I examined this piece after it was set, I had a high spot towards the bottom that must have been caused from a piece of debris. I removed the high spot with a block plane. The Interior Galley Lip This is the part that forms the edge that engages the rubber seal in the hatch and is the finished galley wall. I used 1/4” underlayment plywood cut to 34” x 48”. Use the wall as a pattern to rough this piece out but mark the outer line along the galley curve at least 76

1” above the wall profile. After the glue is set, you’ll trim this to form the 1/2” lip that contacts the rubber seal, so make sure you leave plenty of extra material on

the curve. Glue this interior piece over the 1/8” spacer using 3/4” scrap wood set in the dados for reference. Double check that you have at least 1/2” overhang for the lip. Once the glue is dry, trim the bottom along the floor edge with a flush trim bit. For the lip, install a 1-1/4” guide bushing (Porter Cable 42021) in the router base plate and a 1/4” spiral up-cut bit. Make sure that this setup will leave a lip 1/2” above the rest of the wall. This would be a good time to make up a test piece to ensure you have the proper setup. When you are sure you have things right, place the router on the exterior edge of the wall and trim. Marking the Strut Attach Point At this point, put the template back on and mark the strut attach point. I did this by drilling an 1/8” hole through the template into the wall.

Shelf Supports As you’ve probably figured out, the galley countertop and the lowercabin shelf are one and the same. This piece sits on the lower bulkhead. Supports are added inside the cabin and the galley. We’ll add the cabin supports now and the ones in the galley after the walls are up and the counter is down. I used 3/4” quarter-round molding for these supports. The bottom support is 15” 77

long and the upper is 18”. I cut the forward faces at 45º for a finished appearance.

The bottom of the lower shelf sits 21-1/2” from the floor–mark a 15” line here that is parallel to the floor. That line will be the bottom of the lower shelf and the molding will sit just below it. Mark a second line 10” above this line. I screwed two reference blocks just above these lines to ensure these supports were set in the right positions. The screws in these blocks were placed so the shelves cover their holes. I temporarily set the supports in place and taped below them to keep the glue squeeze-out off the wall. I applied glue to the supports and used an 18-gauge brad nailer to stake them in place. If you don’t have one, just pre-drill the supports and use finish nails. Once the supports are set in place, remove the tape and reference blocks. This would be a good time to pencil in a line where the bottom of the counter top extends into the galley. We’ll add supports there later. 78

Truing Up the Rear Dados Unless you’re a better craftsman than I am, you’ll need to tune these slots up. Chisel out the rounded portions of the dados and check the fit using a piece of 3/4” plywood and a piece of 1/2” plywood to represent the countertop. Enough wood needs to be removed so the countertop

will rest on the lower bulkhead and the upper bulkhead sits on the countertop. Adding Pocket Holes Drill a line of pocket holes along the inside of the wall about every 8”. Most pocket hole jigs will work for this. I used a Kreg R3 and their face clamp. Keep them far enough from the dado so you’ll be able to set the screws with the drill. 79

Building the Doorstops You’d think this step would be covered in the chapter on doors, but this needs to be done with the walls on the bench since the door openings are used as a router guide for a portion of the stops. The stops consist of two parts. There is an inner spacer that is 3/8” thick and an (outer) piece–the stop–that has a lip that protrudes into the doorway. The stop keeps the door from swinging inside and holds the rubber seal. The spacer provides a gap for the seal. Both the spacer and the stop are 32-1/4” x 42” on the outside. Here’s a shot of where we’re going: I built mine so they are two inches outside the door opening on the sides and top. As you can see, mine go all the way to the floor.

The stop protrudes 5/8” into the opening–thus they are 2-5/8” wide at the sides and 80

top. The rubber seal I purchased on Amazon for this is Trim-Lok’s Trim Seal with Side Bulb 1/4” edge with a 7/16” bulb (4100B3X1/4A25). I made my stops from 1/4” plywood. I made one and then used it for a pattern for the second stop. When you cut these out, use a fine-

toothed jigsaw blade to limit tear out since these pieces will be exposed along the outside edges. The seal will cover the inside edges. The outside of the spacer is the same dimension as the stops. For the inside, center the spacer over the door opening, temporarily screw it in place, and cut it flush using a bottom-bearing trim bit in the router. I made my spacers from 1/4” plywood, which was a mistake. TrimLok suggests a bulb compression of 30-50% and says that a fully compressed bulb will take a set and not rebound. After I mated the spacer and stop, I attached a piece of Trim-Lok and mocked up the door. The bulb was flattened and I realized I needed more gap. I added scrap 1/8” plywood to the spacer and trimmed with the router– so as I noted above, make the spacers from 3/8” plywood and save a step. Once you are satisfied with the two parts, you can glue them together and flush up the exterior sides. I attached these to the walls with bronze 1-1/4” #8 trim-head finish screws. But for now, set these pieces aside. Finishing the Interior Wall Surfaces

Baltic birch doesn’t need much sanding. I gave it a light sanding with 220 grit paper on a random-orbital sander. After the initial sanding, I wiped it down with a damp cloth to raise the grain and then gave it a quick haircut with 220 grit after it was dry. That step will save you a coat of finish. Wood varnishes have come a long way in my lifetime. I really like today’s polyurethanes. I used Minwax fast-drying oil-based polyurethane finish. I prefer the oil-81 based polyurethanes over the water-born finishes because the stuff brings the grain out and adds a rich golden tone. The first trick with polyurethane is to use a high quality brush and not act like you’re painting the neighbor’s shed. Saturate the brush and draw it along until it starts to skip. Don’t run the brush back and forth since that can introduce bubbles. Dip the brush and lay another strip beside it. I sanded with 320 grit in between each coat. I was satisfied after three coats of finish. My shop–like most–is dusty. For the final coat, I do a light sanding followed by a coat of Minwax Wipe-On polyurethane. The stuff dries so fast that dust doesn’t have much time to find it. 82

Building the Doors If you are taking on this endeavor, the doors need to be nearly finished and fitted to the wall while it is still on the bench. I set both door cores on the bench and placed the windows, hinges and latches to get a feel for their exact positioning. And again, make

sure they are mirror images of each other. The big decision was how high to set the window. I chose to set the bottom of this window 11” from the floor. Steph and I are pleased with that elevation. You can mock up the window with a piece of cardboard. Decide its positioning by placing it next to a wall and sitting down. Just keep in mind that you’re on several inches of foam inside your teardrop. I had the luxury of doing this inside our 2013 teardrop. I made a pattern for the window opening out of cardboard using the trim ring. It took me two cracks to get it right. I chose to locate the hinges 7”

from the bottom and the top. Once you have these positioned, mark the plywood voids and the window opening. I bumped the windows 1” off-center to allow room for handle access. The windows I used were Vintage Technologies 15” x 24”. I found my hinges on eBay but you can source them at McMasterCarr or eTrailer. On eBay they were listed as “Trailer or Truck Stainless Steel Flush Mount Fridge Door Hinge.” McMaster-Carr calls them “Freezer Door Strap Hinges” and they are proud of them. eTrailer calls them “Polar Flush Hinges.” 83

Whatever hinge you select, make sure it doesn’t have any play or slop. No matter how much wood you cut out from the cores, these doors with the windows installed are heavy and need to be well supported as you bounce down the road. Attaching the Hinges

I started this process after attaching the outside skin to the door but before the inside skin was attached. I did this in order to hide the Tnuts under the interior skin. To ensure the hinges were mounted square, I built a jig from a piece of 3/4” plywood six inches wide and 31-1/2” long. I drew two perpendicular lines 21-1/2” apart and centered the hinges over the pencil lines using the screw holes. After the hinges were screwed down, I marked a 1/4” slot in the plywood to mimic the door gap. This was then cut with two passes on the table saw. Here’s the finished jig with the hinges attached to it: Mark two lines 7” from each end of the door and set the jig in place without the mocked-up door. Place 1/4” shims between the door and the jig. Temporarily attach the hinges with screws to the door and remove the jig. 84

Place the wall on the bench and set the hinged door in the opening. You’ll have to lay scraps of 1/8” plywood under the door. Square up the door in the opening using 1/4” shims. Screw the hinge to the wall. Remove the hinges and drill 1/8” holes through the door and the wall where the screws were. To ensure these holes were at 90º, I drilled a hole through a block of wood in a drill press and used it as a guide. For final installation, the doors are attached using #10 machine screws and T-nuts. The T-nuts are set on the inside of the door and the backside of the wall. The T-nuts need to be countersunk with a Forstner bit on both the doors and the walls. The T-nuts on the interior walls will be hidden under the doorstops. The T-nuts in the door are hidden by the interior door skins. I cut the countersinks in the door, drilled the 1/4” holes for the screws but did not install the T-nuts until I had fiberglassed the exterior of

the doors. I did this for fear I would clog the threads in the nuts with epoxy. Once I had the doors fiberglassed, I installed the T-nuts and attached the interior skins. Finishing out the Doors After you attached the skin on the interior of the doors, the edges of both the inside and outside of them need to be relieved (or rounded). I used an 1/8” round-over router bit for this. I sealed the exterior edges of the door with epoxy. The interior received the standard three coats of polyurethane. If you haven’t already done it, make sure the windows and trim rings fit. Just “dry-fit” them for now. 85

The windows I purchased from Vintage didn’t have trim rings that would fit flush on a 1-1/8” wall. To compensate for this, I built window shims out of 5/16” alder. Here’s a photo of one attached to the door. They really look nice on the finished door and compliment the other alder pieces inside the cabin. Once I had this material down to 5/16”, I ripped it to 2” and cut the ends at 45º.

Gluing mitered ends–as you may know–is a weak joint. It helps to paint on a 50/50 mixture of Titebond II. After it’s tacky, add un-thinned glue, put the pieces together and tighten the corners with a band-clamp. I had previously built a splining jig for miter joints and went ahead and cut a 1/8” kerf (slot) with a table saw in the corners, which were reinforced with splines. This is overkill if you glue this piece to the door. But this is what the procedure looked like. Once these frames are centered on the door opening, you can attach them. After they 86

are attached the interior needs to be flush cut to the opening in the door. In order for the trim ring to fit, a rabbet (or rebate) needs to be cut on an inner edge that is inset 1/4” and to a depth of 3/8”. I used a CMT #835.501.11 variable depth rabbeting bit for this since I had one on hand. They’re expensive so shop around. Installing the Door Latches I bought my latches from Vintage Technologies. These need to be fitted after the

walls are attached to the floor and the doorstops installed. The interior of the latch needs to be set 5/8” proud of the door surface so that it will clear the stop and seal. I accomplished this by cutting a block of 1/2” plywood the same size as the latch frame and a piece of 1/8” ply and installing it between the door and the latch. You can see it protruding slightly above the latch in the photo. Hang the door on the cabin and slip a piece of door seal over the stop where you want the latch. Screw the latch to the block of plywood and figure out where it needs to 87

go by closing the door and sticking your head inside the window opening. I set mine 17” from the top of the door, but what needs to be figured is the distance from the doorstop’s body and the seal. The previous photo shows what it looks like from the inside. Note the clearance between the seal and the latch body. Mine was a bit skinny. I’d recommend a gap of about 3/16” between the seal and the latch body. Once you have this location marked, pull the door and screw the block to the door.

Attach the latch and trace in the axle location. Pull the latch and drill the center of this out with an 1/8” bit through the block and the door. Flip the door over and drill a 1” hole to the depth of 1/2” with a Forstner bit to allow the outside of the latch to nest inside the door. You can now bore out for the latch axle. Start by drilling a pilot hole with a 1/4” bit and finish it off with a 7/16” bit. These holes need to be at 90º from the door’s surface. I used a guide block that I had bored in a drill press. Install the exterior of the latch first and then the inside and see how it fits with the door hinged onto the cabin. I mis-located one of mine and had to fill the holes with thickened epoxy and refit. No big problem. 88

Installing the Windows Do a final dry fit of the windows before you apply the final finish to the cabin and the doors. You don’t need to screw the trim ring to the window; just make sure everything fits. Obviously this needs to be done after the exterior finish is applied, but for the final installation apply (3/4” x 1/8”) butyl rubber tape around the exterior edges of the opening. I prefer the black butyl over the gray. Longtime teardrop builder Grant Whipp told me that he believed it did a better job than the gray stuff at staying flexible. I’ve never had any that seemed to deteriorate. A 40’ roll is enough for the door windows, fan, and the hurricane hinge.

Butyl tape can be obnoxious if you try to apply it when it’s warm, so put it in your freezer for an hour or two before you apply it. You can clean up any squeeze-out with a butter knife and a small ball of butyl–the stuff wants to cling to itself. The last thing I did with the doors was the addition of rubber bumpers on exterior of the cabin to protect the walls from the door latches. Tailgate bumpers for 1997-2001 Jeeps work great for this. You can find them on eBay or at Vintage Technologies. These stops need to be dry fitted for now. The final installation needs to wait until the paint is applied to the exterior. . 89

Building The Floor The floor’s framework is made from 1” x 4” pine, 1” x 6” pine and 3/4” CDX plywood. The foam inside the floor adds support for the two 1/4” plywood layers that are glued to the top and bottom. On my previous floors for 5’wide cabins, I used 1/2” plywood for the upper surfaces. This is too much–I’m quite pleased with the strength of this floor system. Here’s what the frame looked like on the drawing board: The odd width of 59-9/16” is because the exterior wall skins that I use are 7/32” thick. When the walls are attached to the floor, the cabin is 60” wide. Make sure your floor width is based on the thickness of your outside skin. If your exterior skin is 1/4” AC fir plywood, it’s probably going to actually be a true 1/4” so make your floor 59-1/2”

wide. The long side boards are nominal 1” x 6” (3/4” x 5-1/2”) pine. Their function is to support the walls and provide blocking where the bolts hold the cabin on the chassis. 90

The two cross-members on the front are 1” x 4” pine. The second one is for blocking underneath the headboard. The next three cross members are two layers of 3/4” plywood set on edge. I used vertical plywood instead of pine to make this area as stiff as possible. The fourth crossmember is set at 48” and is located to support the first butt joint of the plywood sheathing. The other two plywood supports (cross members #3 and #5 from the left) are set halfway between the next supports.

All of the cross members are cut 48-9/16”. I filled the area under the galley with 3/4” plywood. This strength is for the following: • Support for the last plywood butt joint • Blocking below the lower bulkhead • Blocking below the vertical separators in the galley • Support for the weight of water jug and battery • Blocking for the propane heater I laid out the framing on the floor and squared it up with diagonal measurements –which should be close to 1337/8”. I held it in place with temporary

plywood gussets on one side. I attached the 1/4” plywood on the nongusseted side with crown staples and Titebond II, flipped it back over, removed the gussets and added the foam board in the voids. To finish it off, removed the gussets and added another layer of 1/4” plywood. And about that meme–measure twice and cut once stuff? On the first go-around for the floor, I stacked four sheets of plywood for the skins, screwed them together and gang-cut them 48-9/16” wide. That number was in my head and I was in a hurry. The haste cost me $100. After a second run to the lumberyard, I cut another stack at the proper 59-9/16”. I made that cut after measuring three times and thinking about what I was doing. That pile of too-short plywood is still in my garage. 91

The Support Platform This structure is so that you can build at a comfortable height and not need a crane to mount the cabin on the chassis. It’s important to make this smaller than the cabin’s floor so that when it’s time to load the cabin on the chassis you can get a jack underneath it. On past builds, I installed locking casters under the frame since I had to roll the project in and out of a single garage. For this teardrop, I had room in my new shop and thus chose not to use casters. I made mine 52” x 117” and 19”

high from 2” x 4”s. If you look closely, the side rails are not supported in the middle. When I went to assemble the walls– unknown to me–the floor was sagging without support along the edges and it caused me to have to scramble when I attached the walls. Add two support pieces vertically to each of the side rails and make sure the rails are not sagging. The 19” height was based on the height of my trailer. Floor Sealing In the early days, builders sealed the underside of teardrops with roofing tar. They used that stuff because it’s about all they had. Some builders still use an asphalt-based tar called Henry’s Asphalt Emulsion. If you decide to use it, be prepared to wait a few days before it dries. I’ll pass on that stuff since this is the 21st century. Besides, my wife knows what kind of mess I would make with that goop. I use epoxy resin to seal the underside. The epoxy soaks into the wood fibers and 92

plasticizes it. Prior to applying epoxy, mask off the sides of the floor where the walls will mate to keep it bare so that the glue will stick to it. The top of the floor inside the cabin area is sealed with two or more coats of polyurethane varnish. I find that the quickest way to cover this size of surface is to roll it on with a foam roller and then drag a brush across it to remove any bubbles. Make sure to mask off 1-1/8” strips where the walls will sit and everything aft of the bulkhead in the galley. From time to time our water jug drips a bit so I seal the galley floor with epoxy. So hold off on sealing this area until after the vertical countertop supports are installed. 93 Interior Components

Before we install the walls, we need to build the galley bulkheads, the headboard bulkheads, headboard slider rails and the countertop. And we need to deal with some other stuff. All of the cross members–the bulkheads, the upper and lower headboards and the hatch spar need to be the same width as the floor–in my case, this was 59-9/16”. The countertop takes some fitting because of the differing widths of the cabin and galley. Before you start cutting these parts, measure how they need fit into your walls and make sure the dimensions work. Since using a tape measure to get an interior width can be a challenge, I suggest you cut a stick from scrap the length you think you need in the cabin. Bulkheads I used 3/4” Baltic birch for the upper and lower bulkheads. In the past, I’ve made these somewhat like the floor with an internal frame and sheathed them with 1/8” plywood to save weight. The problem with this method is making sure there is internal blocking for such items as paper towel holders and any other things that need to be attached with screws. Cut the upper bulkhead 17-1/2” tall for now. We’ll give it an angled haircut to properly mate with the ceiling after dry fitting. The lower bulkhead is 22-1/2” high and has notches cut out at the bottom so it will mate flush to the floor. My notches were 1” tall x 7/8” wide. There are two shallow dados that need to be cut on the galley side of the lower bulkhead to lock in the vertical members. These dados are 3/4” wide and 1/4” deep. The first is 14-1/8” from the left edge and the second is 26-1/2” from the right edge. The next graphic shows what it looks like. 94

The dado on the right is set so a Coleman 54 quart Steel Belted cooler will fit. The left one is cut so that the slider for the Partner cook can fit. If you are going to deviate from these appliances, modify the location of these dados to suit your needs.

Cut the dados using the dado jig in the same fashion that you cut the dados in the walls. In the photo below, I had to add 3/4” plywood strips on top of the jig since my bit was too long for a shallow cut. And yes, I was having a bad hair day. Although I show the heater vent holes in the diagram, I suggest you hold off on that until you are ready to install the heater. Drill pocket holes every 10” along the bottom edge of the lower bulkhead. I set the pocket holes so that they were on the cabin side of this piece but it doesn’t matter which side. For the upper bulkhead, I placed the pocket holes on the galley side. Mask off 7/8” on both ends of the both bulkheads where they will fit into the walls and finish with polyurethane varnish. 95

Headboard Supports I made both pieces from 3/4” Baltic birch. The exposed edges were capped with a strip of 1/4” alder. Since the dados were cut with a round bit, you’ll need to round the edges of these two components so that they'll fit. I did this with a wood rasp. Drill pocket holes ever 8” along the bottom of the lower support. Countertop/Lower Shelf I used 1/2” Baltic birch plywood for this piece. The problem with this is that it has to fit between the different wall thicknesses of the cabin and the galley. Since my combined wall thicknesses in the galley are 2-3/16”, I cut the countertop portion of this to 57-1/8”. The shelf portion of this piece in the cabin is 57-13/16” wide.

The depth of this combination piece is 40-1/4”. It’s best to cut two scrap pieces of wood with these measurements to check the width between the walls to make sure the dimensions are correct. On the shelf edge, I glued a 3-1/2” x 3/4” piece of birch hardwood to form the lip. I 96

cut a rabbet along the lower edge of the lip to ensure a good glue joint. Here’s the detail.

Drill a pocket screw hole on both ends of this lip –on the backside– to help tie it to the wall. Upper Shelf The upper shelf is a miniature version of the countertop/shelf. It’s 5713/16” wide by 19” deep and capped by a 3” piece of alder for the lip. Again, set a couple of pilot holes on the backside of the lip. Hatch Spar Because of the weight of the hatch and the need for good screw-holding capabilities, I used oak. It is 2” x 2” and 59-9/16” long. I used three layers of 3/4” to glue this piece up. Once the glue was set, I milled it down on the table saw and cut it to length. 97

Headboard Slider Rails Cut two slider rails 1” x 1-1/4” x 57-13/16” from a hardwood such as oak. Cut the lower rail with two 1/4” grooves 1/4” deep with a 1/4” gap between the two. Cut the upper rail in a similar fashion but the grooves need to be 1/2” deep. Sliding Doors I made my sliding doors from 1/4” underlayment plywood with finger holes cut on the ends. Since underlayment is about 7/32” thick, they slide nicely in 1/4” grooves. If you substitute 1/4” AC plywood for these, the grooves need to be about 5/16” wide. These two parts need to be fitted, so hold off on making these until the walls are up and the slider rails are installed. Mine are 29-1/2” wide by about 13-1/4” tall.

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Headboard Shelf I used 1/2” Baltic birch plywood for this. It’s 57-13/16” long and 10” deep. I cut a 3/8” notch at its midpoint to allow for the heater thermostat cable to fit between it and the front wall. Electrical Access Ports This is a good time to think about where you’ll run wires through the bulkheads and countertop. I failed to think this through and didn’t cut these until I had assembled most of the galley. Since I have an oscillating saw, it wasn’t a big deal but it would be easier done on the bench. On the left side of my bulkhead, I needed to run wires from the battery up through the countertop and into the ceiling. On the right side of the countertop, I needed a slot to run wires from the chassis up to the third taillight on the roof.

I cut two slots through the countertop for these wires. One on the left side, and one on the right, just behind the bulkhead. (They are offset an inch from the side walls since I installed 1” aluminum angle underneath it.) If you don’t have an oscillating saw you can cut these on the bench by drilling several holes and cleaning them out with a chisel. I also needed a slot to run wires from the ceiling down into the galley. For this, I cut another slot through the upper bulkhead about 2” from its top (just above the headliner) on the left side. I would suggest you do this during dry fitting to get it right so hold off with this for now. When you get to it, this slot needs a lot of space for several pieces of cable, so cut it 2” x 3/8”. 99

Night Shelf That’s the only thing I can think to call it. We’ve always had a small shelf that protrudes from one of the cabin shelves to put miscellaneous junk on. For this new teardrop, I wanted one that would slide out of the way when not in use and lock in both the nested position and also when it’s out. Here’s what it looks like before I installed it. The hardware is a set of keyboard sliders I found on Amazon that lock in and out. They work well and are called, 14-in. Keyboard Slide, 3/4” Extension, Steel, Black. Again, they are unbranded. 100

Assembling the Parts If you haven’t already, put the floor on the platform. Set something heavy at the midpoint along the sides. Look down and make sure the floor isn’t sagging and is flat. If need be, shim between the platform and the floor. I had planned to screw the floor to the platform, but in the end, it didn’t need it. Deadman Braces Use the two cutoffs from the front of the exterior wall skins and four 2” x 4”s to form two temporary wall supports. Here’s what they look like: 101

Make sure they are a true 90º and screw them to a floor crossmember. As you can see in the photo, the upper legs need to be tall enough to enable clamping the walls in place. Prepping the Walls The dados must be cleaned of glue and varnish drips. I used a wood chisel followed by a sanding block made from 1/2” plywood with 80 grit sandpaper glued to it to clean these up. Use a piece 3/4” plywood to check for tight spots. It needs to slide freely in the slot. Clean the bottom edge of the wall of any glue drips where it will mate with the floor. Attaching the First Wall

Set a wall on the floor. Clamp the top edge of it to the deadman. The front edge of the exterior sheathing needs to be flush with the front of the floor. Take a hard look at how the wall sits on the floor. If there is a low spot in the middle, pull the wall and shim underneath the floor or add additional support to the platform. Don’t expect the screws to raise the floor up to the wall. When I installed the first wall during this build, I had a 1/4” gap caused by a sagging floor that was cured by a scramble with pipe clamps. The moral of this story: during the dry fitting, make sure the bottom of the wall is flush to the floor. While the wall is in place, set one of the hatch cut-offs on the wall and measure the gap between it and the end of the floor. You should have 3/8” to allow for a proper space for the rubber seal. Mine had too much gap and I added an 1/8” strip of plywood to the edge of the floor. If every thing fits, pull the

102 wall off. Glove-up and run a bead of PL Premium adhesive along the top edge and the side of the floor. I used a putty knife to smooth the glue. Use enough to make sure the joints are covered and there is enough for a bit of squeeze-out. Re-set the wall and make sure it’s exactly in position. Start screwing along the outside lip that covers the floor with 1-1/4” screws. I placed mine about every 8”. For the pocket holes, I found that 1-1/2” pockethole screws were about the right length. PL Premium is a bugger to clean up after its cured so make sure to clean the squeeze-out with a paper towel and paint thinner. Attaching the Lower Bulkhead The bulkheads are held in place with glue and screws set from the outside of the wall. In order to hit the center of the bulkheads, drill 1/8” holes from the centerline of the dados out through the exterior plywood about every six inches. Dry fit the bulkhead. If it seems too tight, run a sander along its edges to make sure there is room for glue. Ensure that the notches on the bottom of the bulkhead have enough relief so that it sits on the floor, not on the internal wall skeleton. During this dry fitting, make sure the bulkhead fits all the way into the dado and butts to the exterior skin. This is critical. It may help to mark this depth at the top and bottom on the bulkhead prior to fitting. Make sure the lower bulkhead is placed at 90º. To pull this off, screw down a 50”

long guide block just inside the galley so that when you screw the bulkhead to the floor, it doesn’t go for a walk. Make extra sure this piece is square by measuring from the end of the floor. Apply PL Premium to the back and sides of the dado, I used an acid brush to distribute it. Insert the bulkhead, and screw from the exterior. I used 1-1/2” pocket screws because of their large flat heads. (They were removed after the glue was set and replaced with flat-head wood screws.) Make sure the bulkhead is flush with the reference block and lock it in place with pocket screws along the bottom. Remove the block. Attaching the Headboards As you did with the galley bulkheads, drill three 1/8” holes in the middle of the 103

headboard dados on the wall to mark the screw locations. Dry fit the lower headboard support. I attached another reference block to the floor to ensure this part was squarely installed. Remove, glue and screw in the same fashion as you did with the bulkhead. Ensure that it is parallel with the front of the floor and lock it in place with pocket screws. Here’s a shot of mine ready to go. The purpose of the tape is to keep the glue off the wall. Measure the distance between the two headboard dados. (The bottom photo

shows where we're going with this.) It should be close to 13”. Cut two pieces of wood to that length and add overlapping pieces of 1/4” plywood. Set these temporary supports on the lower headboard and clamp. Dry fit the upper headboard. When you are confident that it’s right, remove, glue and screw it to the wall. 104

Attaching the Second Wall This is a two-person job. To make it easier, I screwed two blocks under the floor so I had a ledge to set the wall on before we placed it on the floor. When you and your partner are ready for the dry fit set it on the floor. While you hold it, have your helper line up the bulkhead and headboard supports. They should be damn close. The wall needs to slip onto these cross members without using force. While it’s clamped to the

deadman, measure the distance between the top of the walls to ensure the bulkheads and headboards supports are fully seated. After my first dry fit, I spent twenty minutes cleaning things up. Once you feel that the wall can be set on the floor and the three crossmembers will slip all the way into the dados–run glue beads on top of the floor, its edge and

in the dados. Set it back in place, clamp and run the screws. Just make sure the front of the exterior skin mates with the front of the floor. 105

Attaching the Hatch Spar Dry fit the oak spar and then glue in place with PL Premium. This needs to sit so its top is at the same level as the top of the walls. Place a pocket screw from the outside to make sure it’s pulled tight to the exterior sheathing. Once the glue is set, drill a 1/4” hole through the skeleton into the spar. Glue a dowel into the hole to mechanically lock the spar in place. You can see the dowel in this next picture if you look at the plywood laminations.

Setting the Countertop/Front Shelf It’s important to tie the countertop to the walls in the galley to give them lateral support between the floor and the hatch spar. In the past, I’ve used wooden blocks glued and screwed to the walls to attach the countertop. The downside to this method is that the blocks get in the way of drawers and stove sliders. With this build, I used aluminum angle. Fabricate two brackets 20-1/2" long to support the counter in the galley from 1/8” x 1” aluminum angle. I attached them to the wall with countersunk 1” #12 flat-head wood 106

screws. I drilled the top surface of the brackets with 5 holes large enough to accept #10 machine screws. Dry fit the counter and make any needed adjustments. I glue this in place along the cabin shelf supports with PL Premium and

“clamp” it in place with weights. Screw it to the lower bulkhead with a line of screws about every ten inches. When it is in place, drill up through the holes in the aluminum angle. Countersink these holes and bolt the plywood to the bracket with #10 flat-head machine screws. I used nyloc nuts and made sure the screws didn’t protrude beyond the base of the nuts. Setting the Upper Bulkhead Dry fit the bulkhead. Mark the top of it so that it will be flush with the exterior wall skins. Trim the top of it off at the needed angle, which is about 20º. Dry fit it a second time and set the upper shelf in place. Draw a pencil line along the bottom of the shelf. Pull the bulkhead and attach a 4” piece of 3/4” quarter-round below the line to support the shelf on the bulkhead. If you haven’t already done this, drill four 1/8” holes in each of the wall's dados through the exterior skins to act as screw guides. Apply glue in the dados and slip the bulkhead in place. Screw from the outside walls and along the line

of pocket screws in the bottom. 107 Installing the Upper Shelf Hold your horses here. Don’t install the upper shelf until the headliner is in place and attached to the spars. Use your imagination on how I figured this out. You’ll need the extra space to attach the headliner to the spars. After the headliner and spars are installed, put your headlamp on and lay a bead of PL Premium on the side and back shelf supports. Set the shelf in place and add some weight while the glue dries. Installing Vertical Countertop Supports in the Galley I used 3/4” plywood for these two pieces and didn’t cut them until I was ready to install them. Mine are 22-1/2” tall by 23” deep. Cut yours to fit. On the upper inside corner of both uprights, I cut off a 1/2” triangle for a place to electrical cables. Along the bottom edges of these two pieces, I cut five pocket-screw holes to attach the uprights to the floor. I set these screw holes on the sides that face each other. Don’t rely on pencil lines to ensure these two pieces are installed plumb and square. Life will be a lot easier when you set drawers if these are parallel to the walls. For clarity’s sake, let’s call the surfaces of these two supports, the inside and outside. The outside surfaces face the walls. The inside surfaces have pocket holes and face each other. Cut two pieces of scrap wood the distance between the walls and the shallow dados on the bulkhead where the vertical members will be fitted. I think these should be 25”

and 13” but measure twice. Use these blocks to mark where the supports should be attached to the floor. Now draw lines from the dado edges to these marks. Screw reference blocks along these lines. (You can see one of these blocks next to the drill in the next photo.) And clamp the two pieces you used to make these marks under the counter to act as upper references. Here’s what it should look like: 108

Before installing the uprights, drill four 1/8” holes through the bulkhead dados, 109

similar to what you did to the dados in the walls. After dry fitting, run a bead of PL Premium glue in both dados and a thin layer on the top of these supports. Once these pieces are fully set in the bulkhead dados, run the pocket-hole screws into the floor. Run five screws from the countertop vertically into the supports. Drive screws from inside the cabin, through the bulkhead, into the uprights. And of course, remove your reference boards before the glue sets. To lock the uprights in place I glued four lengths of 3/4” quarterround along the bottom and tops of these pieces with thickened epoxy. This was only done to the uprights on the internal faces in the middle bay. (Not in the stove or cooller bays.) Before gluing, I prepped the varnish surfaces by scuffing with course sandpaper and used thickened epoxy for the adhesive. Make sure to brush on unthickened epoxy over the bare wood of the floor. I used painter’s tape to hold these in place. After these are cured, pull the tape and seal the floor with epoxy.

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Attaching the Slider Rails Here’s the slider detail again. After the bottom rail is installed, ensure the top rail is parallel. To ensure this, I cut three pieces of scrap wood 12-3/4” long to support the upper rail during the gluing. The sliders should be about 13-1/4 high and 29-1/2” long. My finger holes are 1”. If you bore these with a spade bit, you’ll probably get tear-out. Use a Forstner bit. 111

Here’s what they should look like: Fitting the Headboard Shelf

The shelf needs to be supported on both ends. Cut two 3/4” x 1” x 8” pieces of wood from whatever you have laying in your scrap pile. Screw these to the side walls level with the top slider rail. Attach the shelf by screwing down into the two side supports. I laid a bead of glue on the upper slider rail instead of screwing it so I wouldn’t end up with a screw in the slots. 112

This would be a good time to cut your sliders or at least a test piece to get their height right since you've glot lots of room to work from the outside. The height of these has to be about 1/4" shy of the distance from the bottom of the grooves to the top of the grooves in the top rail. If you use 12-3/4” blocking during the glue-up, this should be just a smidgen short of 12-1/2”. To install the sliders, push them up into the top track, and swing the bottom edge in and set it in its lower track. (And thus the top of the slider has about 1/4" of free space above it when it's in the two tracks.) Installing the Fuse Block Attach the block and wiring harness to the left wall just above the headboard shelf. If you recall, I forgot to add blocking in the wall

skeleton for this but fixed my mistake by gluing a piece of 1/4” plywood to this spot to give me enough wood to grab the screws. 113 Electrical Installing a 12 volt electrical system is easy as long as you use a fuse block with a negative ground bus (such as those made by Blue Seas) and use two-wire cables that are color coded red and black. I used 14 American Wire Gage (AWG) multi-stranded copper wire between the fuse block and appliances. When I use the term appliance, I’m talking about the fan, heater, USB outlets, 12V outlets, lights and anything else that needs electricity. Be cautious when shopping for cable. Cheap wire is copper clad aluminum and there is a good chance it will become brittle and fail because of road vibration. Also, some manufacturers sell wire that isn’t a true AWG size so read the fine print. Don’t use solid wire even if you are wiring a 120 volt AC system. Unlike a house, teardrops vibrate and bounce while en route to that special camp spot. The electrical system starts with the battery. I purchased a Group 24 AGM battery and ran 12 AWG stranded marine cable from the battery to the fuse block. That’s the shrouded stuff in next photo that looks like house wiring. To protect this feeder cable, I installed an inline breaker near the battery that is rated for fifteen amps. All of the fuses in the fuse block are rated at 7.5 amps. Remember, fuses protect the wiring, not the device they power, so choose fuse size based on wire size. If you deviate from 12 or 14 AWG wire sizes, there are many charts available online to help for fuse selection. Here’s what I had for power requirements for this new teardrop. The numbers in parenthesis are the length of each cable run:

• A double USB outlet for the center of the headboard (4’) • A single 12V outlet on the left side of the headboard for my CPAP (8”) • Cabin reading light (7’) • Vent fan (9’) • 12V outlet and double USB port in the galley (10’) • A double 12v outlet –under the lower shelf in the rear of the cabin (14’) • Galley light (14’) Cut the cables to the above lengths but measure your needs first. This will vary depending on where you install your lights and fan. Crimp a ring-eye connector to each 114

set of cables. Because of the layout of the fuse block, you’ll have to shorten each black wire for a clean installation. Mark the other end of each cable to show where it will terminate. Don’t try to get by with a $4 crimping tool. Use a good ratcheting crimper such as a Titan 11477 for this task. As you get each cable finished, install it on the block, mark it, and coil it up. Red for positive and black for negative. Here’s what mine looked like. You’ll note that for the sake of keeping things organized, I only used the bottom circuits on this 12-fuse block. The cable covered by 1/4” loom on the left side feeds to the double USB outlet in the middle of the headboard. The 12V outlet to the right of the fuse block is for my CPAP. All of the other cables 115

are contained in a short piece of 3/4” loom that feeds through the headliner and into the ceiling. The cables are fed through the ceiling and I’ll detail that in another chapter. Electrical Panel You don’t need anything this fancy. I didn’t put this in my other teardrops. You do need a simple voltage meter to keep track of your battery’s condition. But here’s what is in my cluster. The big black box is the solar charge controller. It’s the computer that decides how much juice to send to the battery from

the solar panel. It also shows what the panel is producing. The little black box to its left is an inexpensive multimeter. It shows battery voltage, real-time amperage draw, and total watt usage. The switch on the top left turns the Propex heater’s power off and eliminates a small but constant parasitic draw. To its right are a covered 12V outlet and a double USB outlet. I don’t know what we’ll use the 12V outlet for but it’s there if we need it. The big switch to the left of multimeter shuts off the tow vehicle charging line to the battery. I added this so I could pamper the deep cycle AGM (absorbent glass mat) battery. These batteries aren’t cheap and need a charging protocol that is different than the starting battery in my truck. The only time I will turn that switch on is when we’re ready to move camp and the battery is down and it isn’t looking good for solar charging. The rest of the time the sun and computerized charge controller will make sure the battery is getting the proper voltage. Ask me in ten years if I over-thought this. 116

About Solar Systems The simplest teardrop electrical system doesn’t need solar. The installed cabin battery is a simple RV/marine flooded lead acid battery that is charged by the tow vehicle’s electrical system. A Group 24 battery should have enough capacity to hold a charge for a weekend outing. If you are going to camp in one location for many days at a time, you should consider a solar charging system. A solar system is uncomplicated and not too expensive. The system I added for this build enables us to camp for as long as our water jug keeps us wet. Solar systems consists of three parts; the panel(s), a battery, and a charge controller. The controller monitors the battery voltage and determines the proper voltage and required amp flow. It has to be rated to handle the amperage the solar panels produce. A 100-watt system can produce as high as 6 amps at peak. With this build, I installed a 100-

watt panel on the roof and a 30-watt panel on the tongue box. I chose a controller rated up to 20 amps. Our previous teardrop had an 80-watt system. It consisted of a 20watt panel on the tongue box and a homemade 60-watt folding panel that nested in the tongue box when not in use. I installed a Morningstar controller in the tongue box. Here’s our dog Jack, watching solar panels produce electricity: If you are planning to add a solar panel to the roof it should be fitted while setting the spars to ensure that it has the needed support. I fastened mine with screws through the six side grommets and added a seventh grommet at the front. 117

There are two types of charge controllers, PWM and MPPT. I won’t bore you with what those initials stand for. MPPT controllers are more efficient, cost more, and are quite a bit bigger. You can find small cheap controllers on eBay that claim to be

MPPT but they are not–so be leery. I chose a PWM controller for this build because of size and cost. A quality MPPT controller adds about as much cost to a solar system as a second 100 watt glass panel. For a small system, I think a PWM controller is fine. The controller needs to be compatible with the type of battery it is connected to. The cheaper PWM controllers are not designed for anything other that flooded lead acid (marine/RV) batteries. If you choose an AGM or lithium battery, make sure the controller can be set for your battery type. The flexible panel I installed is lightweight and takes to the shape of the roof. Most flexible panels are made from a plastic that is abbreviated as PET. They are notorious for lasting only a year two. The 100-watt panel I installed on the roof is made with ETFE. The stuff is far and above PET plastic. The manufacturer, Renogy, backs it with the same warranty as their glass panels. I have seen glass panels cleanly installed laterally between the hatch and fan, so don’t think your teardrop has to have a flexible panel. If I lived in a southern state that has brutal summer temperatures, I’d probably

install a glass panel with a gap between it and the roof since those panels can take brutal heat. The 30-watt panel I installed on the tongue box is glass. I ran the feed for this panel through the ceiling to the controller. Running solar cables through the roof is a problem. Hardware called cable glands are made just for this issue. They seal around the cable and ensure water doesn’t get through the penetration. 118

As you read through this book, you’ll see that I designed a 3” space between the hatch spar and the bulkhead to hide these cables after they’ve penetrated the roof. Charge controllers should be installed as close to the panel as practical. I installed my controller in the galley so that I can monitor electrical production during the day. 119

Ceiling and Roof The headliner is made from three pieces of 1/8” Baltic birch. Two full pieces and a short piece to bring it to its full 125” length. The joints are butted and covered with a 6”

gusset that will be buried inside the roof. After it is glued-up, finish with polyurethane varnish before installing. Baltic birch, like most plywood, wants to bend with the grain of the two exterior laminations. Configure your sheets so the grain runs 90º between the walls so they will easily bend on the curved portion of the roof. Since the headliner sits on the wall ledge, cut the pieces a bit loose so it will fit easily between the wall’s exterior skins. I cut mine about 59-3/8” wide. Take a hard look at the grain of the plywood sheets and try to match them up. You’ll be looking at this these patterns on many camping trips. Once you’ve got that figured out, run painter’s tape along the edges that will be joined to keep any glue off of the interior surfaces. The shorter piece for my ceiling was 5” and that joint is hidden below the headboard. I suggest you start with this joint for a practice run.

Brush glue along either side of this joint and lay the 6" x 1/8” gusset over the top. Set bricks or paint buckets or other heavy items on this strip. I used lead ingots. 120

These joints need to sit overnight before you monkey with the headliner. Once it’s dry, grab a helper and carefully flip it over. Before varnishing the interior side of the headliner, mask off the side edges that will sit on the wall ledges–we want to keep this bare for a good glue joint. I used 11/16” for the masking line on the edges. That distance ensures that some of the varnish protrudes onto the wall ledge. A marking gauge is a good tool to set out this line. I applied three coats of polyurethane. Since this is such a large surface, simply brushing on the poly is a bit much. You can use a foam roller to spread the poly out and then drag a brush over it to tip off the air bubbles.

Run a couple of roller widths and then do the tip-off. Installation Grab your assistant and dry fit the headliner. If need be, screw it to the ledges in a few places. Look inside at this joint. When you are convinced it fits, remove it and lay a bead of PL Premium on both wall ledges. Set the headliner on. I used a 1/4” crown stapler to secure it but you can use a lot of little flat-head screws. Work from the rear to the front. 121

Once it’s attached, make sure you clean any squeeze-out inside the cabin with paint thinner. Spars I used 1” thick poplar for the roof spars. This wood is stable, strong and has good screw-holding ability. I cut sixteen spars pieces 599/16” x 2”. You’ll also need four 14-1/4” short pieces to frame out the fan opening. A dado needs to be cut on one end of each spar 3/8” deep and 2” wide. Set this dado off 3/4” from the end of the spar.

The dado allows for cabling to be installed in the ceiling. In the next photo, I’m cutting three spars at a time. It may appear that I’m free-handing this cut but if you look behind my right thumb, there’s a miter gauge that supports the wood at 90º. Spar Spacing The rule of thumb for spar spacing is 12” on the flat portions of the roof and 8” in the front curve. But that’s not written in stone. On this build, I installed a solar panel on the left side of the roof. It was attached with screws through the panel’s grommets, so that’s what drove the setting of the first several spars. The other issue is the fan opening. It needs to be 14-1/4” square. Because of this larger gap, use doubled spars on either side of the fan. 122

Spar Installation

Once you’ve marked the spar spacing on each wall, lay a bead of PL Premium on top of the headliner and where the spar mates with the wall skin. Set the spar in position with the dado on the left side. Drive one screw horizontally through the wall exterior into the butt of each spar. To attach them to the headliner, place a trouble light next to the spar. This will allow you to see where the spar is from inside the cabin. (And make sure this doesn't catch your cabin on fire.) Drive 1/4” crown staples into the spar about 10” apart. You need to push the headliner up into the spar before pulling the trigger. Try to set these fasteners at an equal distance and oriented in the same direction. Make sure you don’t drive a staple into the dados where the wires will be. If you are going to add a rock-chip plate on the front, add a spar to the location for attachment purposes. I set one strategically so that it would support a 30” tall plate.

Spar Blocking Remember those skeleton cutoffs I told you to hang onto? Clamp them on the outside of each wall, mark where the spars are behind them and cut the blocks out. Glue and clamp these to the wall lip and headliner. I added two screws from the wall into the blocking. It may look like I ran the wires and then installed the blocking but it didn’t happen that way. This photo is a bit staged since I failed to snag this shot when it was actually happening. 123

Framing the Fan Opening

Add two 14-1/4” short-spar pieces to form this opening. I double these pieces to make sure I had plenty of meat for the fan screws. Don’t forget to drive crown staples into these pieces from below. Once the fan opening is roughed in, you can finish cutting it out with a top-bearing trim bit from below. Obviously you’ll need to drill four holes in the corners to get the router bit through. And of course this is a bit of a mess with wood chips flying in your face. On the left side of the fan opening, drill a 3/8” hole through this framing to run the electrical cable for the fan. Cabin Light Blocking The interior light needs a block attached to the headliner in the ceiling to hold its screws. I cut a piece of wood 5” x 8” for this with a 1/2” deep dado for the wires to sit in. In its center, I bored a 3/4” hole. This is a good time to install the cabin light and connect the wires. (Remember, RV wiring is colored black and white. The black is positive and the white is negative.) I added a second support block in the ceiling just above the

headboard to support the heater thermostat. 124

Running the Electrical Cables Drill a 3/4” hole through the headliner immediately forward of the fuse block and feed the cables outside. When the spars are installed, run the cables in an organized fashion through the dado reliefs. From left to right in the next photograph, the first cable should be the one that will feed the cabin light since

that’s the first appliance this group or wires need to feed. The second should be for the fan. For the fan and the light runs, lateral them out along a spar. Hold these in place with a few pieces of duct tape and dabs of PL Premium. The rest of the cables feed through the upper bulkhead an into the galley. If you are going to install a solar panel on the tongue box, make sure you run an extra cable from the galley through the ceiling all the way to the storage area below the headboard. (That’s assuming you’ll be installing the solar controller in the galley.) At this point, make sure you’ve installed all of the wiring that will be behind the hatch spar. In the photo, the cable coming in from the left is for the galley light. The wires coming from the right are for the third brake light

and license plate light. All three cables will be finished off with twowire connectors after the hatch is installed. 125

Adding the Roof Insulation I cut my foam 2” short so that it didn't interfere with the electrical cables. For the gap this created, I used 1/2” thick foam that was 2” wide. Adding foam board is easy until you get to the curves. The stuff is stiff and doesn’t bend. This is cured by cutting kerfs about every 3/8” into the foam. I think this could be dangerous. Pushing foam board into a saw blade that you can’t see–over

and over–is mundane and it is easy to become complacent. Keep focused and keep your fingers. They’ll be needed for camping. The foam board isn’t attached in the ceiling. It’s simply held in place between the spars with friction. Installing the Roof Plywood I use 1/8” Baltic birch plywood for this. You might think this isn’t enough but this plywood is remarkably strong and when it is bonded to the spars, supported by the foam board, it becomes a stiff torsion box. And of course it gets fiberglassed. Begin by laying a sheet on top of

the cabin. Make sure you set it with the grain running perpendicular so that it will bend. Start at the galley and don’t reference this piece on the hatch 126

spar—bring it back 3/8” to where the edge of the wall drops off. (It’ll be trimmed flush with the hatch spar later.) On the other front edge of the plywood, you’ll have to cut it so it ends in the middle of a spar. Since I needed support between the hatch spar and the bulkhead for a third brake light and the solar cable glands, I added a 2-3/4”piece of 1/2” plywood that was 37” long under the first roof sheet. During the final dry fitting of each piece of plywood, mark the sheet with a pencil line over the spars so you know where to drive the crown staples. Before attaching these sheets, check the blocking between the spars to make sure they aren’t taller than the spars. If they are too high, plane them down with a block or Surform plane. Lay a bead of PL Premium on the spars and blocking and then staple the sheet down working from the hatch forward. Once this piece is attached, go inside and mark the corners of the fan opening by drilling four 1/8” holes up through the roof. These are guides to show you where the fan framing is. When you’ve got this first piece on, use a bottom bearing router bit to fit the rear of it to the hatch spar.

You’ll have to clean up the corners with a file. For the next sheet, it’ll help if you use straps to hold the plywood as it’s fastened down. 127

After the roof is on, trim any overhang below the floor with a bottombearing bit on the router. (This is also a good time to trim the lower edges of the exterior sheathing of the walls to ensure they too are flush with the bottom of the floor). Unless you’re a better builder than I am, there will some gaps between the roof plywood and the side wall. I closed these up with thickened epoxy. Thicken it until it’s like peanut butter and trowel it in with a putty knife. The last step before glassing the roof is to relieve the roof/wall edge with a 3/8” round-over router bit. Third Brake Light We enjoy exploring southern Utah in the spring. To get there, we have to battle Interstate traffic in the Salt Lake basin that drives me nuts. I think a third brake light for this kind of congestion

is a must. It’s mounted just forward of the hatch hinge. Here’s the side profile for the light It’s made from a block of wood 16” x 5” x 1-3/4” with a half-inch hole cut for the wiring. Don’t worry about the 20º angle, just make a diagonal cut across the corners after the wiring chase is cut. 128

Here’s the light upside down on the bench with the LED attached: You’ll need to bore a hole through the roof where the wires will feed. Once this is done, dry fit it before you glass the roof by screwing it down and ensuring you can run the wires behind the hatch spar. After you have glassed the roof, and preferably before the epoxy is fully cured, glue and screw the light to the roof using thickened epoxy. Seal the wood with epoxy. Once the thickened epoxy is nearly cured, remove the screws and fill the holes. At the same time I faired the edges with thickened epoxy and put a layer of glass cloth over the top of the block. The light I used for this was a “Partsam 15 inch red 11 LED Clear Lens Third Brake Light” that I found on Amazon. Quite the mouthful. Whatever light you choose, make sure it has four wires so it also acts as a turn signal.

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Fiberglassing This is done just like the glassing of the walls. Mix small batches and use a squeegee. For the vertical portion on the front, I resorted to a brush with a little help from the squeegee. To hold the cloth in place, I used a few spring clamps at the hatch spar until I had a portion of it saturated. 130

Building the Hatch When I was thinking about building my first hatch, it just about made me nuts. The thought of making a curved-wooden monolith that needs to seal out dust and water should get anyone’s attention. With that first build, I spent a lot of time late at night worrying about this part of the project. I think this uncertainty is why a lot of teardrop builders end up with a flat-backed camper with a barn door for a hatch. But this part is easy, especially since you already have the end pieces cut from the walls. So stand down and sleep well. The hatch framing is built on the cabin to ensure a perfect fit. It’s then pulled off and skinned on the bench. 131

The hatch framing consists of the end pieces joined by six spars. It’s covered with 1/8” Baltic birch plywood inside and out. Internally, I add foam to support the plywood sheathing and keep the galley cool on hot days. The goal is to build a hatch that doesn’t weigh a ton. The foam inside my hatch added 3-1/2 pounds to the 50 pound hatch.

I’ve noticed some builders leave the inside skin off. Don’t be tempted. The inside skin gives the hatch great strength by turning it into a torsion box. The sides of the hatch are constructed of three pieces. The outside is the wall cut-off you’ve had locked in your safe. The middle part is a spacer made from 1/2” plywood that supports the rubber seal. The inside piece is the gusset that is made from 1/2” plywood that starts 2” wide at the top and flares to 4” at its bottom. The primary purpose of the gusset is to prevent the stressed plywood skins from distorting the hatch. This

distortion is called spring-back in the teardrop world and is a reoccurring problem with a lot of hatches. But don’t worry about it –if you follow this methodology, it won’t happen. The gussets also support the gas strut brackets at a spot we’ll call the bump-out. We’ll talk about that in a bit. 132

Building the Gussets I used 1/4” plywood as a template for these parts. Since I only used it as a pattern, 1/8” plywood would have worked fine, so your choice. Lay one of the wall cut-offs on the plywood and trace the outside curve. The upper end of the gusset is marked at 90º to this edge, unlike the rounded end of the wall cutoff. The gusset is the same length as the cut-off. Here’s the detail of the bump-out for the gas strut bracket marked (on the template). The crosshairs are where the ball on the bracket is centered.

Below (or to the right of) the bump out, the gusset backs off to 3-1/4” and stays that way until it clears the countertop. Beyond that, gently flare the piece so it is 4” wide through the tight portion of the curve. This gives extra stiffness where it’s most needed. Drill an 1/8” hole through the template so that you can accurately mark the position of the strut bracket. In the next photograph the template is ready to cut. Note where it clears the countertop by about 3/4” near where the pen is sitting. 133

Also note the shape of the bottom end. You can

form this bottom interior curve any way that suits you but this part needs to also have the 3/8” gap for the lower seal. I made my gussets out of 1/2” Baltic birch. 1/2” AC plywood may work but a void in the wrong place could cause a problem. These need to be strong. The concern here is the 180 pounds of pressure that the gas struts places on the hatch. The extra laminations–and no voids– of the Baltic give this part its needed strength. 134

The upper strut brackets are bolted to the gussets with three #10-24 flathead screws. T-nuts are counter-sunk on the backside of the gussets so they sit flush. Here’s how they look, front and back: Before you set these parts aside, give them a good sanding and relieve the edges that face the galley with a 1/4” round-over router bit. Building the Spacers You’ll note in the diagram on page 132 that the spacer is 1-3/16” deep. I chose to make my spacers 1-3/8” wide and that was a bit of a mistake. The 1/2” D-shaped seal was too thick and I had to order a 3/8” D-shaped seal. If you make your spacer 1-3/16” deep, a 1/2” seal should work fine.

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I made another template for these parts. To lay this out, set the wall cut-off on your template material and trace it out. Score the bottom edge of this template with a marking gauge set at 1-3/16” and referenced from the outside edge. I cut my spacers from 1/2” Baltic birch but any 1/2” plywood will be fine for these pieces. Blocking Template We have to make one more template before gluing up the hatch ends so we can cut blocking that goes between the spars. This template is a clone of the wall cut-offs and needs to be 2” wide. Joining the End Pieces It’s fairly straightforward. Start by gluing the spacers to the cut-offs.

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Once these are cured, glue on the gussets. Ensure the outside curve of all three parts mate. The top of the gusset is attached at the same termination point as the wall cut-off piece. The next photo shows what it looks like sitting on the wall. From

left to right: gusset, spacer, and cutoff: That scrap of wood taped to the spar is 5/16” thick and maintains room for the hinge during the hatch building process. 137

Attaching Temporary Wall Shims If you set the hatch end pieces

on the walls, they’re sloppy. Fix this issue by taping 1/8” plywood scraps on both sides of the wall protrusion at three points. Top, bottom and middle. When you put the end pieces back in place, they should be quite snug. These shims are quite important and ensure that the hatch is built so the wall protrusion centers into the hatch spacer area and is flush with the wall. Lower Strut Bracket Blocks With the hatch end pieces in place, make a template for the lower strut blocks. You’ll recall that I marked the spot where this bracket needs to be by drilling an 1/8” hole into the wall. That hole represents the center of the bracket’s ball. I made a pencil mark below this hole on the countertop and another mark level with it on the wall to transfer this point to the template.

Slip a triangle of 1/8” plywood behind the gusset for this and mark it out. The bottom of this triangular piece is about 4-1/2” long. The angled side sits just clear of the gusset. 138

The strut brackets need to be inline–straight up and down–and not angled. Thus, these lower blocks need to be 5/8” thick. The next photograph shows what these blocks look like temporarily attached to the wall.

After these blocks are finished with polyurethane, they’ll be screwed to the wall with nine 1-1/2” #10 wood screws. 139

Attaching the Hatch Spars I used poplar for the six

spars. The upper four spars need to have a 3/8” hole drilled through the center for electrical cables. Drill these holes near the bottom of the spar. The first spar needs to be set with its face parallel to the oak spar and precisely 5/16” from it. Tape three pieces of scrap wood 5/16” x 2” to the oak spar for this. Put one scrap at each end and one in the middle. (If you’re confused, flip back and look at the photo showing a hatch end fitted to the wall.) The other spars need to be set at 90º to the outside curve

of the hatch. My first spar needed to be 56-1/16” but yours will probably be a smidgen different. These need to be cut so they fit nicely between the gussets. They can’t be too tight or too loose or things could get a bit distorted when they are attached to the end pieces. Once you have the first one cut to the proper length, drill two pocket holes on each end. Smear Titebond glue on these ends and let it soak into the grain for a minute before setting it in place. Pocket-hole screws greater than 1” will protrude into the gap for the seal–so don’t be tempted to use anything longer. I set the next two spars at 11” centers. The fourth spar was set at 10” and the last two 9” apart since they were in the thick of the curve. 140

Adding the Blocking These are similar to the blocking you put between the spars on the roof. The primary function of these is to support the 1/8” plywood skin on the inside of the hatch but they also help

lock the spars in place. Use the template you made to cut these. I used 1/2” plywood for these but 3/4” pine will work fine. Here’s what they look like glued and clamped: Support Blocking Blocking needs to be added for the galley light, the license plate, the license-plate light and the hatch handle. The easiest time to do this is while the unsheathed hatch is on the galley. Make sure the blocking for the galley light and plate light are bored out with holes large enough to access the cables and also to re-bury them after the wires are connected to the lights. Make sure you locate the galley-light blocking so the light will clear the countertop when the hatch is closed. My placement gave me 1/2” between the light and the countertop so be careful 141

here. That photograph above is the blocking that supports for the license plate light. Here’s the installed support blocking: The galley light support is on the left, followed by the plate light, license plate block and handle support attached to the spar on the right. The big mystery is how to find these blocks after the hatch is skinned. Since the interior skin is installed first, the galley light is easy. A 3/4” access hole can be drilled from the inside through the skin.

For the location of the license plate light support, I made two diagonal measurements from the bottom corners of the hatch. (And somehow I still missed it by 1/2”.) This measurement also allowed me to locate my license plate block. For the handle block, I had pre-drilled 1/8” holes for the handle. But how to find these holes after it was skinned? After thinking about it, once the inner skin was on, I drilled 1/8” holes through this skin. After the outside skin was on, I drilled the holes all the way through and plugged the holes on the inner skin with wood filler. However you 142

do this, just make sure you’ve got it figured out before you go any farther.

Attaching the Inner Skin I cut the 1/8” Baltic for this about an inch long and then dry fitted it. When I was satisfied with the fit, I laid down beads of PL Premium on the blocking and spars. I attached it to the bottom spar first with three temporary wood screws. Plan A was to tack it to the next spar with the 1/4” crown staple but the plywood wasn’t willing to submit without a struggle. I finally tamed it with three 1” pocket-hole screws. I wasn’t happy with the creation of these holes but they were fixed later with wood filler before I varnished it. Installing the Electrical Wiring If you flip back a few pages, you’ll see a photo of the hatch I built in 2013. There’s a rectangular piece of 1/4” plywood glued to the inside of the interior sheathing. This is where these wires penetrate the hatch. That piece of plywood is glued in place to reinforce the penetration. Glue a similar reinforcement and drill a 1/2” hole. (In the photograph on the left, I’m holding it in place with duct tape while the glue dries.) Run one cable to the light block and a second one to the license plate block. Note that I’ve attached the cables at the blocks so they will be there when I start fishing for them. At the top inside of the hatch, where the wires penetrate through the interior sheathing, I covered them with 1/2” wire loom and left about 12” outside the hatch. Make sure to mark which cable goes to which light.

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Adding the Foam Board

This is done just like the ceiling, each piece of foam is kerfed to allow them to bend. Exterior Sheathing This piece goes on easier than the interior. Once it is on, drill the access hole for the license plate light wires. Drill the grab handle holes from the interior to the exterior surface with an extended length 1/8” bit. 144

Fiberglassing As with the roof, the edges are relieved with a 3/8” round-over bit before fiberglassing with 4-oz cloth. By now, this shouldn’t be anymore complicated for you than varnishing.

Once this is cured, make sure you drill out the wire hole for the license plate light and the handle holes. Otherwise, when you prime over the fiberglass, these holes will disappear. If you run into me at camp, ask me how I know about this. Fitting the Hurricane Hinge The hinge I used for this project was Vintage Technologies "Flat Hurricane Hinge" (HT06). Although it's described as being 5' long, it's actually about 61", which is the proper length for a 60" wide teardrop. In order for the hinge to fit in place, the inside legs of both hinge pieces need to be trimmed where they sit over the walls. Here’s what the hinge looks like turned upside down and ready for installation.

The ends of the hinge have to protrude about 3/8” beyond the exterior of the wall. Resist the urge to trim the ends flush or it will leak. 145 Drill holes spaced 3” apart on the both top surfaces of the hinge. On the hatch side of the hinge, drill an additional line of holes along the inside of the hinge. These holes need to be staggered so they don’t hit the screws coming in from the top. Once the hinge has been fitted, screw it to the hatch with 3/4” #8 pan head screws. Grab a friend and dry fit the hatch to the cabin with additional screws. These screw holes should be pilot drilled first. Step back and look at your teardrop. It’s a good feeling. 146

Hatch Struts

Struts serve two purposes, the first is obvious–they hold the hatch open. But they also prevent a gust of wind from catastrophically blowing your hatch onto the roof and fatally damaging the hinge. With my first build, I installed two mechanical struts that stopped on star-like cogs. Frequently one of the cogs would fail to lock, so to make sure both were doing their job, we would perform a protocol where we felt with our fingers to make sure the cogs were locked. After four years, I realized it was time to step up to the plate and install gas springs. Opening the fifty-six pound hatch went from a two-handed lift that resembled something done in a gym to almost nothing. Steph always gets up before me. Now when I hear her open

the hatch to start the coffee, I don’t feel quite so guilty. The problem with gas springs is that figuring out the length, strength, and attachment points can give you a headache. If you are using my profile this phase should be painless. 147

If you are deviating with a plan of your own, I’ll try to guide you along to keep the headache at bay. During the planning phase of this design, I used an Excel based calculator that Dan Lott had specifically created for this task– calculating gas struts lengths and weights for teardrop hatches. You weigh the hatch and put that and its length into the calculator. It suggests the ideal attachment points, length and weight rating for the springs.

If you do a search on the Teardrops and Tiny Travel Trailers forum (www.tntt.com) for “Hatch Gas Spring/Strut Calculator” you’ll find the calculator. For this build, the spreadsheet suggested 27” gas spring. Using Sketchup CAD software, that length put the lower attachment point below the counter and in the way of the stove. The next shorter springs I found have an extended length of 20.12”. Using Sketchup, I could see that they would work by attaching them above the countertop. If you are not using my profile and galley layout–and if you don’t do CAD– you can use your template along with a hatch-end profile made from scrap to see what will work. Lay the two templates on the floor and use two sticks to mimic the open and closed strut lengths. Here’s what the struts look like on this build with both the hatch open and closed: You’ll note that I have room for my 5’ 9” height under the hatch to access the galley. This is dependant on the trailer frame height. Also note that the hatch is approaching the hinge’s maximum opening of about 95º. 148

To figure out what spring weight you need, weigh and measure your hatch using Dan Lott’s diagram. My upper attachment point (on the hatch) is 8-3/16” from the center of the hinge. With previous builds, I’ve used blocking built into the hatch frame. For this build, I made a bump-out on the hatch gusset to bolt the strut bracket to and I'm sure it's stronger. To find where to place the lower bracket, I drew two circles. The first was a 20.12” (12-1/8”) radius–that’s the extended length of the struts– from the upper attachment point of the open hatch.

The second radius 12.85” (12-7/8”) is drawn with the hatch closed. The compressed strut is 11.85”. To get that 12.85”number, I added an inch to the compressed strut to keep it from bottoming out during closing. Where these two arcs meet is the lower attachment point. Here’s what it looks like: 149

If that gives you a headache, just use my profile and the attach points I’ve shown in the previous chapters. I obtained my 20” 90 pound gas springs from McMaster Carr (#4138T58). 150

Exterior Finish Priming and Fairing The gloss on the epoxy needs to be sanded off in order for the primer to have something to grab to. After you’ve done this, there may be low spots such as over screws that need filling. I did this with thickened epoxy. Once I thought I had these taken care of, I rolled on a white paint primer made by Rust-Oleum that’s specifically marketed for fiberglass. It took two quarts.

This is where the rest of the low spots jumped out–I don’t think they would have been as easy to see if I had used a gray primer. I fixed these places with an automotive spot filler. It’s fast drying and sands easily. Most auto parts stores should have a tube. Final Finish Obviously, everything you don’t want painted needs to be masked off. I chose to let the final coat roll into the door entries and hatch/galley sides about 1/4”. I used Magnet Paint’s urethane bed liner sold as Monstaliner. If you use this stuff, make sure you read the instructions because it isn’t your granddad's barn paint. I ordered two gallons and used about half of the second gallon. You can’t get by with a one-gallon kit. Their special rollers produce the texture. Buy two or three extra rollers when you place your order. After twenty minutes or so, the rollers start to come apart. I used a pair of forceps to pull these chunks out. Once this begins, put a fresh roller on. When you’ve mixed the base with the color and catalyst, it has a sixhour lifespan. Because of this, you need to get the cabin, hatch and the doors painted at the same time. 151

The second coat needs to be done before it is fully cured which is about four hours, thus this is a one-day job. The product rolls on much like latex paint. It has a bad outgassing so make sure you have the windows and doors open. It takes two coats that need to be applied within a specific time frame. The white primer really helped make sure I got good coverage. As soon as the second coat is on, pull the masking tape for a clean paint line. 152

Aluminum Sheathing There is something about a traditionally clad teardrop that turns the eye. And that’s why I named my first build Flash. Aluminum sheeting that is .040’ thick is about right for this task. Thinner stuff is easily damaged. Anything thicker is a challenge to bend and adds unnecessary weight. Aluminum sheet comes in either mill finish, anodized or painted. Since I live in the sticks, the only sheeting I can get comes with a mill finish. It’s bare aluminum and gains a patina as it ages. An anodized finish gives the metal a hint of gold and doesn’t change much with age. I have done two trips with Tim Curry and his Benroy style teardrop. He covered his walls with .040 sign-panel aluminum that came

painted a deep forest green. His roof has the mill finish. Every time we stopped, folks wanted a tour of his ‘drop. I would just 153

stand next to Flash and watch the tour. Teardrops sheathed in painted aluminum are hard to compete with. If you have made the decision to sheath with aluminum, you won’t need to fiberglass the exterior. However, you still need to seal the wood with either epoxy or at least two coats of thinned oil-based polyurethane varnish. Installation There are two ways to attach aluminum. The first is to use contact cement to glue it to the plywood and the second method is to allow it to float. Both require trim along the edges. I’ve had good success without glue. If you choose to use contact cement, spend some time on Youtube learning how to apply laminates to countertops.

Prior to sheathing, raise the cabin off of the support base and support it with two 1” x 2”s that protrude outside the walls at least an inch. This provides a shelf to support the aluminum on the wall while it’s being attached. The underside of the hatch and the exterior of the galley wall need a rabbet cut to allow the trim to nest. The trim I have used for this was 7/8” wide by 1/8” deep. It is sold online by Vintage Technologies and So-Cal Teardrops and as is called nosing trim. This rabbet is a tenminute job with the correct bit and is easily done after the walls are up 154

and the hatch is resting on the bench.

Cut these rabbets with a CMT #835.501.11 variable depth rabbeting router bit or equivalent (and yes, Amazon has these.) And of course these cuts need to be sealed. Look at the next photo and note the trim between the wall and the hatch. This is where you’re going with these two cuts. 155

I have always installed the aluminum on the roof first but I don’t think it matters. I fit it and strap it down with stickers and cargo straps to ensure a tight fit. The front is set flush along the bottom. Drill and countersink three holes along that bottom edge. Set 3/4” #6 flathead stainless screws into these holes. 156

The rear edge of the roof piece is marked for final cutting during the dry fitting. Remove and cut along this edge leaving it about 1/8” proud to ensure you have plenty of material. Reinstall it and when it’s perfectly in place, dab some sealant into the screw holes at the front and screw them in. This edge will be covered with trim or diamond plate later, so it’ll have several other screws when finished. Before you strap and sticker again, get inside and lift the aluminum up from the fan framing. Run a bead of sealant where the aluminum fits around the fan hole. Strap it down with the wood stickers and straps and confirm the aluminum is where it needs to be by checking along the edges. When you’re satisfied, mark three or four screws holes along the

rear spar. Use your hurricane hinge to ensure that these screws won’t be in the way of the hinge screws. Countersink, seal, and set the screws. You can pull back the protective film along the edges but keep most of it on until the trim is applied. Using a router with a carbide flush trim bit, cut the rear edge of the sheet along the hatch spar to ensure the metal is flush. Make sure you don’t touch the walls at the ends with the bit. You’ll probably have to use a file to fit the last half inch or so. Trimming aluminum with a router and a sharp bit is easy. You may have to stop and clean the bit from time to time. Apply painter’s tape over the bare aluminum to ensure the cuttings under the router base don't leave scratches. You have to protect your hearing, skin, and eyes during this process. Otherwise it’ll be painful. If you don’t have a facemask, go buy one. Drill a hole through the aluminum where the fan will fit and flush trim it with the router. Make sure you don’t cut the fan wiring that should be hanging inside the cabin. If you tape a garbage bag under the hole, it’ll save you a major cleanup. If there is any aluminum

that has shifted outside the roof edges, use the router to trim these back. A 1/8” gap of exposed wood isn’t a problem since it will be covered with trim and a bead of sealant. For the walls, use your template and mark the profile and your door outline. Use a jig saw with a fine-toothed blade to cut this. Make the cut along the roof edge and galley 157

about 1/8” proud. Set this piece on the boards that are between the cabin and the support base and clamp in place.

When you’re satisfied with its position, tape the upper edge in place. Run the router with the bottom-bearing trim bit along the roof and galley edge for final fitting. I follow the same process for the hatch including a few screws at the top and bottom to hold until the trim is installed. For the sides of the hatch, attach the aluminum with contact cement and trim to fit (as in the previous photo with me cutting with the router). On my last two aluminum-clad teardrops, I added diamond plate on the front because they take a beating on gravel roads. If you are going to do this, make sure you have a spar in place where the top of the plate will be screwed. Attach with evenly spaced pan-head screws. The bottom of the plate is attached with the screws of your choice. For a 5’ x 10’ teardrop, this is the aluminum I have ordered in the past: 2 ea .040 48” x 1o” 1 ea .040 60” x 144” 1 ea .040 60” x 120” 1 ea .063 24” x 60” diamond plate Keep in mind, if you use the profile I have provided here, the walls are 122” long, so 158

check your suppliers and make sure this isn’t a problem–or shorten the profile to 120”.

The edges of the aluminum need to be held down with trim and sealed. The exceptions are the door openings–if you are installing factory doors–and where the hurricane hinge is. Use a quality polyurethane sealant. I don’t recommend silicone since if you ever have to pull the trim and reseal, nothing will adhere well to where silicone was previously applied. Standard silicone caulk is also highly corrosive to aluminum so if you choose this stuff make sure you get the type that is compatible with aluminum. Dry fit each piece of trim and attach with 5/8” #6 stainless steel panhead screws. Bend the trim by tapping gently with a dead blow hammer–it’s easy to dent, so be careful. Once it fits, pull it off and squeeze a dab of sealant into the screw holes. Lay a healthy bead of sealant on the backside of the trim and reinstall. To fit the trim over the diamond plate, grind down the diamond bars with a disk grinder. 159

To fit the trim to the galley hinge, you’ll have to cut the upper trim surfaces off similar to how you modified the hinge to get it to fit over the walls. Take a look at the

trim on the upper-right side of the hatch and note how I failed to properly fit this piece. If you are building your own doors, the edges, the door opening, and the door itself need to be covered with trim. The shape of the door should be thought out with the trim in mind to ensure it is capable of being bent to your desired radius. Teardrop doors are often built with a large curve opposite of the hinge to deal with this. 160

Galley Details I don’t like watching glue dry and I don’t enjoy repetitive varnishing. But I do like finishing out a teardrop galley. If you’ve never done cabinetwork, don’t fret. If you’ve got your teardrop to this point, this will be a rewarding and straightforward part of your build. Drawers If you were thinking I was going to give you a treatise on handcutting dovetails here, you’ve misjudged me. There have been accusations of Neanderthal blood juicing through my veins. Maybe it's true in camp but not in the shop. I like power tools. I used 1/2” Baltic birch plywood for the drawer boxes and joined them with pocket screws. I’m more than pleased with them. 161

They are strong and easy to make. Cut the sides of the boxes the length of the drawer slides. The front and backs are cut 2” narrower than the opening. An inch of that is to make room for the slides that are 1/2” thick and the other inch is because these parts fit in between the side pieces. (In the above photo the drawer front is attached to the drawer box.) For a detailed video explanation of how I built these drawer boxes, go to Jay Bates’ YouTube channel and search using “Strong Quick Drawer Construction.” For assembly, I used an inexpensive set of Rockler Clamp-It Clips to hold the sides together while I set the clamps. A set of these clips are well worth ten bucks. I built my two center drawers 20” deep and used 20” slides. The drawer under the stove is 18” deep with 18” slides. For the shallow drawer above the cooler, it is 14” deep since the heater hoses are nestled behind it. 162

The drawer faces are made from 3/4” Baltic. 1/2 Baltic would have been fine but the catches I used needed a full 3/4” depth. One of the problems with teardrop drawers is that they need to be locked shut while on the road. The latches I installed work like a charm. To lock the drawer in place, push the button in. I wish I could give you a brand name but I can’t. They seem to be generic. I purchased mine on Amazon and they were listed as

“RV Cabinet Push Button Latches” and sold by Link Solar. You can find them a bit cheaper on eBay but they come without the instructions. Cooler Slider As you may recall, one of the items I designed this galley for was the 54-quart Coleman Steel cooler. The inside of the slider is 221/8” x 14-1/4”. The exterior is 24” X 14-7/8”. The sides of this box are 1 1/2” high. The bottom is made from 1/4” plywood along with the rear wall. I used 18” drawer slides for this so that I could get the cooler to fully clear below the countertop. If you are installing a Propex heater, remember that there needs to be 1” between the slider and the heater, which is about 8-3/4” from the bulkhead.

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Covering the Plywood Edges I was going to leave the plywood edges exposed but in the end I covered them with 1/4” alder hardwood. I’m glad I did. I ripped the alder on the table saw and left it about 1/16” wider than the plywood. They were glued and pin nailed in place with a 18-gauge pneumatic nailer. Small finish nails will work fine. After the glue set, I sanded them flush with the plywood.

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Stove Installation I chose this stove for several reasons. First of all, I needed to install it at 90º so it had to be compact. And since I was hard-plumbing it with a rubber feeder hose, it needed to have the inlet on the right side. (You need to specify right or left when ordering from this manufacturer.) It was the only stove I found that would work for what I was trying to do. It’s made by Partner Steel of Pocatello, Idaho and is their 18” model. The quality is superb–it’s the go-to cookstove for river outfitters across the west. The first thing I did with this stove was to remove the carry handle from the front and move it to the side.

For the slider, I built an inverted “U” with two sides and mounted 22” full-extension drawer slides to it. The stove is attached to the slider with four screws. The sides of this contraption also support another drawer that fills the gap below the stove. 165

Part of the challenge with this installation was the stove’s placement on the platform. If I mounted it flush with the counter, the windscreen wouldn’t clear the galley wall. If I mounted it too far out, the hatch gusset would hit

it. The distance I settled on was 1-1/4” from the edge of the countertop. I used the propane line that came with the stove. It exits through the floor next to the battery box. You can see the line on the right side of the battery photo on page 168. I’ll get into the propane plumbing in a separate chapter. 166

Countertop and Galley Organizer I covered the countertop with galvanized sheet metal. To glue it down, I used PL Premium spread with a trowel that had 1/8” square notches. It was pressed in place with lots of heavy weights until the adhesive cured. As with all the other exposed hardwood surfaces, I used a piece of 3-1/2” alder for the organizer lip. It’s formed as a somewhat U-shape piece with two sides on the ends that are used to secure it to the walls. It’s set in a bed of OSI (brand) clear polyurethane sealant to avoid having a water spill run behind it. 167

The organizer is designed around a stainless coffee mug, two French-press mugs, and several spice containers. It’s made from 1/2” and 3/4” Baltic birch. Don’t build yours until you have collected what it will hold. Battery Installation

I mounted a Group 24 battery at the back of the water-jug bay. I used a so-called “weld-in” battery tray for this that I modified with a hacksaw. I screwed it to the floor and the bulkhead. It makes for a nice secure mount that won’t be a nightmare when it comes time to replace the battery. Note that I have secured the battery to the left wall to provide adequate clearance for the propane line (over to the right) for the stove and the charging cable coming from the tow vehicle. Since the Jbolt on the left side of the tray stuck out a bit, I had to cut it down and bore a hole about 1/2” into the wall to allow the tray to fit flush. 168

Other Details I attached a ratcheting

paper towel holder to the hatch. Make sure to mount it where it won’t contact something in the galley when the hatch is closed. The water jug is held in its bay by friction. To keep the jug from slipping around, I added a pocket in the bay to help hold the jug in place. The pocket makes for a handy storage spot for plastic grocery bags. Since that bay is where the battery is nestled, I attached this pocket piece with machine screws and T-nuts so that it is easily removable for full battery

access. 169

The last galley detail is a hook for garbage bags. It’s made from 3/4” plywood and has two neodymium magnets epoxied to the legs. 170 Cabin Details Installing the Hatch I attach the hurricane hinge to the hatch first. Lay a bead of polyurethane sealant on the hatch surface that mates with the hinge. I used clear OSI Polymer Gutter Sealant. I stopped using silicone a few years ago when I realized that even silicone won’t stick to a surface that has had been previously siliconed. Prior to attaching, inject a bit of polyurethane varnish into each screw hole with a syringe. Mount the hinge with #8 pan-head screws. I seal the cabin side of the hinge with butyl rubber tape. As I mentioned in the chapter on door building, keep this in the freezer until you are ready to use it. I don’t use a liquid sealant because it would be messy while scooting the hatch onto the cabin. Tape 1/8” scraps of Baltic Birch to act as shims on both sides of the galley lip just like you did when you built the hatch. Get some help for this task. When it’s perfect, screw the cabin side of the hinge down with more #8 pan-head screws. And of course, push a drop of poly varnish into these holes first. You can now lift the hatch and install the gas struts. Once these are on, lifting the hatch should give you a great feeling of maker’s satisfaction. I place a 3” piece of 1/2” rubber D-shaped seal on the bottom of the hatch and closed it. I checked underneath with a flashlight and found I had about 1/16” gap. I fixed this with a strip of 1/8” plywood added to the bottom of the hatch.

This stuff is “Trim-Lok D-shaped Rubber Seal (Thick Wall) - EPDM foam seal .50” high by .50” wide.” For the hatch seals, I used Trim-Lok D-shaped seal sized to .437” high by .375” wide. Amazon retails these seals. Installing the Vent Fan Pull the butyl tape back out of the freezer and lay it along the edges of the fan opening. Set the fan in place. Check the fitment from inside the cabin. If you’re satisfied, screw it down. For a bit of insurance, I laid a bead of polyurethane sealant along the edge of the fan. I don’t care for the plastic trim rings that come with the RV fans. To me, they look junky next to that varnished birch. I added a piece of mitered alder around the fan opening to match the other details inside the cabin and added the trim ring over it. 171

When you wire the fan, remember that the black wire is positive and the white wire is the ground. Don’t forget to disconnect the battery before you do this.

Flashlight Holders I can’t imagine camping without laying in bed and expecting to hear an odd noise eminating from the darkness. Grizzly? Bigfoot? Chupacabra? For this hoped-for event, I added his and hers flashlight holders in each corner of the headboard. 172

Mounting the Diamond Plate On gravel roads, the front of a teardrop will take a good beating, especially if you are running tires on your tow vehicle with deep treads. If you are going to stick to the asphalt, this may not be needed. If you are constrained by a budget, it can always be installed later. I ordered mine 30-1/2” x 60”. With the cabin’s beveled edges I ended up cutting it down to 59-3/4”. I attached it with 5/8” #8 pan-head

screws set 4” apart. Set the first screw in the middle on the top edge, followed by a second screw in the middle on the bottom and then work out. Again, seal these screw holes with a sealer. I found it easy to pre-drill the holes and then squeeze in a spot of polyurethane sealant from a caulking gun. 173

Hatch Draw Latches I’m not sure these are needed since the gas springs pull the hatch in–but they do ensure the lid is locked down. They are 5-3/4” stainless adjustable draw latches purchased from McMaster-Carr. 174

Mounting the Cabin This takes a little muscle, so you might want to get some help. It doesn’t involve lifting so don’t panic. I loaded mine by myself. Use a car jack to place four pieces of 3/4” PVC pipe between the cabin and the assembly base it is sitting on. I needed to move the base and put pipe rollers under it by prying it up with a shovel. The chassis has to be hitched to your vehicle. If you fail to do this, things will get western real fast when the cabin is on the rear of the

chassis. I figured this out when Stephanie and I were loading the teardrop we built for her son on an unhitched chassis. Back the chassis to the edge of the base and place a 1/2” PVC pipe that is 59” long on the trailer’s frame. Roll the cabin onto it. As the cabin moves forward, make sure you don’t hit a fender. I taped two pieces of cardboard to each fender as insurance from scuffing the cabin. Add a second 59” pipe roller as needed. Keep these rollers away from the exterior edge of the cabin walls to make sure they don’t ding the paint. I kept pushing the cabin too far forward. I finally clamped two blocks to the front of the chassis to keep this from happening. 175

Bolting Down When the cabin is in place and you’ve quit marveling at your masterpiece, crawl underneath and use an extra-long 1/8” bit to drill through the chassis mounting tabs and up through the floor. These are guide holes for the 3/8” bit that you’ll drill from the top.

I used 3/8” carriage bolts 2” long for the forward and middle attachments. I placed prong washers under these bolts for added strength. These washers are made specifically for carriage bolts and you should be able to find them in a hardware store. In the galley, I needed the bolt heads to be flush since the water jug would be sliding over one and the cooler slide needed to clear the other one. I used 3/8” elevator bolts that I found at Home Depot. As you can see in the photo, I countersunk the head using a Forstner bit and then drilled the 3/8” hole. Before I set all six of these bolts, I coated the bare wood with epoxy and let it cure overnight. Once the elevator bolts were set, they were about an 1/8” too deep so I covered them with thickened epoxy for a flush finish. If there is a slight gap between the floor and mounting tabs, slip in a washer or two to make a better fit. We don’t want to put stress on

the cabin with this bolting-down process. 176

Propex Heater Installation Let me reiterate a point here. I would guess that somewhere north of 95% of the teardrops do not have heaters, so don’t think you have to have one. Two people in a teardrop put out a lot of heat and we have camped in our heater-less teardrops for fifteen years. On chilly evenings we used a 12v heated blanket to take the edge off the bed. But geez, these heaters are nice!

Westy Ventures of Fort Rock, Oregon sell these British-made furnaces. If you are using my template and are on a tight budget, this would be a good time to scratch this off the list and start saving your quarters. Installing a Propex furnace in a completed teardrop would not be a big challenge as long as you have the room for one. For the model I installed (HS 2000) I designed an area that is 9” deep by 28” wide behind the cooler. For the layout on the floor, I used the paper template that came with the heater to locate the exhaust/intake holes along with the mounting screw locations. Make sure you locate the heater far enough from the right wall so that when you screw on an elbow underneath the floor it will clear the chassis. The template indicates two holes with diameters of 1-3/4” for the exhaust and air intake floor penetrations. To make sure the

hose clamps fit inside these holes, I would suggest cutting these 2”. The heater comes with two 75 mm air vents that I installed just below the countertop/bottom shelf. Keep these as high as possible since the heat exits at about 180ºF and bedding cannot block these vents. The black piping on the left is for hot air and is acoustic ducting sold by Westy Ventures. It significantly reduces the noise from the heater to a nice purr. The lighter colored ducting is the cold air return and it came with the heater. I found two 90º 177

elbows on eBay that were titled “75 mm Webasto pipe elbow” that I attached to the bulkhead vents. They made for a cleaner duct run. These were a little sloppy so I shimmed them up with aluminum duct tape made for heating systems. Since the heater is made in England, it comes with British pipe threads. I ordered a brass straight adapter, 1/4” NPT, 1/4” female x 1/4 BPST fitting from McMaster-Carr (#1786N128) to deal with this issue. I attached a 1/4” street elbow and 4” nipple to the fitting. After the stove was

installed I threaded on an elbow at the bottom of the nipple that faces to the front. The mounting brackets create a 1/2” gap above the floor. That leaves two big holes underneath that expose the galley to the elements. I solved this issue by flashing underneath the floor with two pieces of .040 aluminum sheathing. Here’s the inverted stove sitting on the bench with the two flashing pieces set in place to check for fitment. 178

Here’s the diagram for the flashing. Both pieces are identical: After I had the flashing screwed under the floor, I sealed the pipes with high-temperature silicone.

I secured the exhaust hose to the 2” angle-iron crossmember on the chassis with stainless steel wire. The intake hose is secured to the rear of the chassis frame. I added an aftermarket muffler to the exhaust pipe and a 1” (25mm) air cleaner to the end of the intake pipe. I found both of these on eBay. The muffler is marketed for “air diesel parking heaters.” I mounted the thermostat above the headboard in the cabin for easy access. 179

Propane Plumbing I mounted an 11-pound propane bottle on the tongue box using a bracket from Overland Express. It is their 10-pound bracket and yes, you can mount an 11 pounder in it. A 5-pound bottle would be just fine if you are not instaling a heater. This propane system was complicated because my two appliances had different pressure needs. The Propex heater requires a twostage regulator that provides 11” of water column (or about .4 PSI), which is the same pressure that feeds your barbecue. The Partner stove regulator is rated at 27 PSI. Thus I needed two regulators and two lines. I had planned on running black steel pipe for this but after a fair amount of midnight reflection, I recruited a friend who has installed

propane systems for nearly thirty years. Jim suggested using rubber propane line for the heater but was flummoxed by the high pressure needed by the stove. I explained that propane wasn’t any different than bottled water. He disagreed. We ended up selecting steel-reinforced rubber line designed for propane-powered vehicles. In his world, it’s called “braided liquid motor fuel line.” The line lengths were measured and my friend cut the lines and attached the fittings which are 1/4” male NPT. They were simple to fish under the chassis and up to the regulators. And they were easily secured with rubber-covered clamps screwed to the 180

floor. The stove line went down the left side and the heater line followed the right side. Any propane distributorship should be able to make these supply hoses for you. I used yellow Teflon tape made for natural gas and propane lines to seal the fittings. Make sure to check each for leakage with a spray bottle filled soapy water after the lines are pressurized. 181

Titling and Insuring Obtaining a Title There are fifty sets of laws for titling a homemade camp trailer in the U.S. I know that in some states, builders walk into their motor vehicle department, write a check and walk out the door. But that’s not common. In Idaho, the process is done with a visit from (or to) a Motor Vehicle Investigator. These inspections are a little out of their norm, which is usually chasing down stolen chop-shop parts and ensuring that auto dealers are in compliance with state laws. With a new teardrop inspection, they want to know which items you purchased without paying sales tax. I produce three things during these inspections. The teardrop is the first and the second is a folder with all the receipts. The third is a

spreadsheet that shows what I purchased and breaks down the items in two columns: those that I have paid sales tax on and those that I have not. After I wrote the check for sales tax and a small inspection fee, the investigator stamped the VIN into the tongue and riveted a plate on it. I wish I could explain the process for getting your brand-new teardrop titled in your state or province. What I suggest is that you research the procedure in the early stages of your build and keep your receipts. If your state or province requires a safety inspection, 182

make sure you understand the rules on lights, brakes and chains. Insurance

Since insurance companies need the VIN number, this needs to wait until you’ve jumped through the titling hoops. I insure my teardrops with Hartford. The first time this happened the online agent had to discuss it with her supervisor. I wasn’t optimistic with what her answer was going to be but it went fine. My wife insured the teardrop we built for her son’s wedding gift through State Farm. This was done through local agent with the camper parked in front of his office for him to examin. Some builders have had problems getting insurance. What I suggest is that before you make the call, think about how you are going to present this to them. Avoid something like, “I’ve got this home-made camper I built in my garage…” Try something such as, “I have a custom-made camper I need to insure.” That’ll get the ball rolling and he or she will begin filling out the forms. When they ask who the manufacturer is, respond with something like, “I’m the primary manufacturer but it was a collaborative effort over the last year in our facility.” Which as you well know, is the truth. 183

Camping Bedding

My first teardrop–purchased from the factory–had just enough foam in the mattress so that your hips could feel the floor. I think it was 3” thick. Don’t try to save money here. If you’re going to tow a bed-onwheels, tow a really fine bed. We have outfitted our teardrops with foam mattresses purchased online from the Foam Factory. I’m sure there are other sources, but we’ve been happy with these. The one we selected for this teardrop is a hybrid mattress consisting of 5” of medium density foam with 3” of 4-pound memory foam bonded on top. It’s unbelievably dreamy. And if you are wondering, a 60” wide (queen) foam mattress fits just fine inside a teardrop cabin that is 573/4” wide. If you go this route, make sure you order the mattress no more than two weeks before the day you want to install it since these mattresses come compressed and need to be unrolled within a few days to avoid damage. And order it with a mattress cover. Don’t plan on unrolling one of these in your spare bedroom to allow it to air out. They are a challenge to

get through a teardrop door once they have expanded. Open it inside the cabin. For bedding, we put a fleece fitted sheet over the mattress followed by a light fleece blanket for a top sheet. We use a down comforter on top of that and keep an extra comforter under the headboard for cooler weather. 184 Hitching Up I know this is a simple thing, but failure to get this right could be disastrous. Try to do this without a distraction. Avoid this task in the middle of a conversation with a curious camper. Make sure the coupler is truly on the ball and the latch is locked down. Insert a 3/16” safety pin or a coupler lock through the latch hole. Attach the safety chains by crossing them before they are hooked to the tow vehicle. And of course plug in the pigtail. Now step back and make sure it looks right. Confirm that the coupler is fully on the ball. Confirm the safety chains are crossed and the jack is stowed. Encourage your partner to do a second pre-departure hitch inspection. I always check to make sure the lights are working after hitching. I start my tow vehicle and turn the headlights and the emergency flashers on. I can then walk around the trailer and confirm everything

is working. If the taillights and third brake light are blinking, the brake lights are working. If they glow between flashes, the running lights are working. And as I walk back past the hitch, I give it a second look. Galley/Cabin Check Ensure that the drawers are latched. Make sure the stove and cooler sliders are locked. Before you close the hatch make sure the countertop is clear so nothing contacts the hatch light or paper towel dispenser. If you fail to do this, you can damage the light or the interior sheathing of the hatch. Check that the fan vent cover is down in the cabin and the windows are closed. Make sure the doors are latched. Water For planning purposes, the rule of thumb for wildland firefighting is that each firefighter needs a minimum of one-gallon per day. We can get along just fine for three nights with our two dogs with the sevengallon jug. That’s assuming we are camping next to a creek for the dogs and it’s not 95º in the shade. For anything longer we’ll load one or two three-gallon jugs in the back of the truck. The Reliance brand jugs work great, but they can leak a few drops from the spout. Since the galley floor is sealed with epoxy, it’s no disaster. But we still put a sandwich 185

bag with a paper towel over the spout while the hatch is closed. Make sure the vent cap is

closed. At a minimum, we need a shower at least ever other day while camping. If it’s warm and Stephanie and I are in hiking mode, it’s a daily need. Our camp shower system has evolved. We started with a Zodi shower that was heated on the cook stove. The pump was powered by four D-cell batteries. We’d fire it up, circulate the water into a bucket until the temperature hit 108º and wash up. At some point we purchased a device marketed as a twelve-volt dog shower. We would heat water in a bucket on the stove until it was warm, and plug the shower in a 12V outlet and away we would go. We’re now on version #3. It’s a three-gallon steel weed sprayer painted black and re-plumbed with a longer hose and a garden nozzle. And no, it’s never had chemicals in it. It works great. If the weather is cooler, we heat a pot of water on the stove and add it back to the tank. We usually don’t do a full shower. We wash our hair and do a spit-bath with a washcloth. When we need privacy, we have a small tent-like shelter. The added advantage with this system is that it gives us an extra source of potable water if needed plus we can wash off muddy dogs. Camp Set-Up

The goal here is simplicity. Camping shouldn’t be work. At least camping with a teardrop. When we backup, Stephanie goes to the rear and directs me to our chosen spot. The secret here is that the flagger needs to be able to see the driver in the mirror and the windows need to be down. A quick check of the leveling bubbles on the tongue tells us whether we need blocking under a tire. 186

The blocks are made

from two pieces of 2” x 6” lumber and are keyed together with dowels so that they can be stacked or used alone. The front-to-back leveling is done with the tongue jack. If we are on a bit of a slope, we chock the wheels with chocks that live in the tongue box. We carry doormats cut to fit in the tongue box. These are the plastic grass-looking mats. They make a world of difference. 187

After unhitching, we pull a roll table out, two camp chairs and we’re camping. It’s that simple. Dish Washing When I was in the Boy Scouts we used copious amounts of soap for this clandestine operation. The dishes went from the soapy bucket to the rinse bucket. By the time things were done, both buckets looked the same. Diarrhea was not unusual. I still wonder if it was the dirty rinse water that gave us the grief or the soap. We use paper plates while camping so the problem of dirty dishes doesn’t exist. For the silverware, pots and pans, we boil a small amount of water and use it to clean everything up.

There’s a method called the three-spray-bottle system. Start off by scraping the food remnants into the garbage and then spray off with plain water. Follow this by spraying with a weak soapy solution. Clean with a scrubby. Rinse with a squirt or two of plain water. Finish off with a restaurant-grade sanitizer such as Star-San that can be purchased at a home-brew store. The stuff is made from food-grade phosphoric acid and bacteria doesn’t like it. Three spray bottles, one that is slightly soapy, one with plain water, and one with sanitizer. It's a minimalist approach that uses very little water. And now you know why I think sinks in teardrops are a waste of space. 188

Shoes The first time you sit in the doorway of a teardrop, the question arises as to where to put your shoes. If it's a clear summer night, I'll flip my shoes over and set them on the fender. If I'm concerned about rain or African puff adders, I put them in a plastic grocery sack and set them inside on a shelf. Toilet

The elephant in the room. Obviously, when we camp at a campground, we use the facilities. Most of these are vault toilets but there are still a few remote low-use campgrounds on National Forest and BLM ground that have the traditional outhouse that sits over a hole in the ground. But what to do while camping on public ground doing what the USFS and BLM folks call dispersed camping? Pee isn't the problem. It's the poop. The accepted practice is to dig an 8" to 10" hole in organic soil at least 200' from running water, campsites and trails. One poo, one hole. Backpackers call this a cat-hole. They use a plastic garden trowel. Some people may recoil from this but it's a system that has been used since time immemorial. It's hygienic and within a few months, the poo has decomposed and turned into a safe organic material similar to the way a farmhouse septic drain field works. If the soil is too tough or rocky to dig, we use a five-gallon bucket lined with Reliance Toilet Bags. The bucket we use has a plastic toilet ring with a 189

lid. This may sound like a more reasonable method until it's time to dispose of the poo-filled plastic bags. I have yet to find a legitimate way to get rid of these. There are several portable chemical RV/Marine toilets available. They are somewhat bulky and heavy since they need about five gallons of water to function. They do have an odor from the chemicals so they may not be a good fit for an SUV but they are an option. Whatever your toilet system, the bar that must be adhered to while camping in any remote no-toilet location is to practice absolute leave-no-trace camping. If Bigfoot and his family can live in the woods without leaving a trace, so can we. Seriously. And one final word –as we used to say in those remote Alaska fire camps– "Everyday a picnic, every night a campout!" Happy teardropping! – Tony 190

191 Profile Measurements

0 24-3/4” 45 47-15/16” 90 40-3/4” 3 36-15/16” 48 47-7/8” 93 39-23/32” 6 40-5/8” 51 47-23/32” 96 38-19/32” 9 43-3/8” 54 47-15/32” 99 37-13/32” 12 46-1/16” 57 47-7/32” 102 36” 15 46-9/16” 60 46-7/8” 105 34-11/32” 18 47-3/16” 63 46-15/32”

108 32-17/32” 21 47-1/2” 66 46” 111 30-11/16” 24 47-31/32” 69 45-17/32” 114 28-15/32” 27 48” 72 45” 117 25-31/32” 30 48” 75 44-13/32” 120 22-3/4” 33 48” 78 43-3/4” 123 17-15/16” 36 48” 81 43-1/16” 39 48” 84 42-1/16”

42 47-31/32” 87 41-21/32” The first measurement is the distance in inches from the front of the teardrop. The second is the height of the profile at that point. (The front curve starts at 24 3/4”” up from the bottom.) For clarification, see the chapter on building the template. Rear Curve Measurements 0 -5/8” 1 11/16” 2 1 5/16” 3 2-1/16” 4 2” 5 1-5/16” 192

193 Other Books by Tony H. Latham

Non-Fiction Trafficking, A Memoir of an Undercover Game Warden Behind A Thin Green Line, The Memoir of an Undercover Game Warden Analyzing Ballistic Evidence, On-Scene-by the Investigator Mystery-Thriller Fictional Camp Reads Five Fingers Seven Dead Fish 194

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