Welcome to Emmitt's Teardrop Adventures. At the request of several friends, and in the interest of sharing learnings, I will use this blog to follow the process of building my own design teardrop. Upon its completion I will chronicle my travels with it and share some of the photos that will be taken.
I wish to acknowledge from the beginning the participation of my very good friend of long standing, Sean Fox. Sean is a sounding board, a (constructive) critic, and a partner in the construction process. The trailer is being constructed in his back yard under a temporary building. Without Sean's expertise and active participation in the construction process, this teardrop simply would not be possible.
There will be many other acknowledgements along the way, as well as links to sources and resources I have found useful.
What is a Teardrop Trailer?
There are plenty of resources on the web detailing the development of the teardrop trailer, so I will not attempt to recreate that information here. In short, a teardrop is a small travel trailer that became popular in the post-war years. One could buy a manufactured model, or, following plans and directions in a number of magazines, build one from scratch.The term Teardrop derives from the typical profile of these trailers - a rounded shape that often resembles a teardrop. Many other shapes have also been classified as a teardrop given their similarity.
The typical teardrop is very simple, consisting of a cabin for sleeping and a hatch in the rear that provides access to a galley. Often they are four feet wide, about four feet high and no more than eight feet long, a planform dictated by the standard sheet of plywood.
The teardrop's relatively small size and light weight make it easy to tow without requiring a huge, expensive-to-operate truck. That appeals to me!
You can get a sense of some of the historical designs here and here.
Why a Teardrop Trailer?
Well over a year ago my wife, who travels around the country to various botanical conferences and other gatherings, was musing about the potential of a teardrop as a place for her to sleep rather than paying motel/hotel rates. In the end, she decided against getting one as it would take some time to realize the payback.As I was considering retirement at the end of 2011 I needed to answer the question, "What will you do with your time?" I have an abiding interest in nature and scenic photography, and traveling around the country in that pursuit could be quite expensive. A teardrop will help keep expenses minimized during my adventures.
Besides, I just love a project like this one. It will employ design sensibilities, problem-solving and craftsmanship skills. And the end product will enable my Teardrop Adventures!
Next post I will introduce my thinking on a design that will work for me.
