If one of the following search terms brought you here, you will find information on that topic on this website. Sometimes it will be very detailed and sometimes it will be brief. Most of the topics will include pictures. I include commentary on my mistakes, as I update the site.
Updated
August 2009
As I made my teardrop trailer, I wanted to show
what I did and how I did it. I ordered some plans for a 10 foot trailer
from
Kuffel Creek Press (go here Kuffel
Creek Press.) The plans were very good, and I am very pleased
with the basic trailer design. Mr. Hauser, of Kuffel Creek has done the
hard part, working out the design details, making up material lists,
and even a specification on the axle, so I did not have to re-invent
the wheel, so to speak. It is a wonderful axle.
I am an incurable tinkerer, though, and so I
could not help but stray from the plans a bit. When I worked at a local
lumberyard, one of the main things I did there was building pickup
truck toppers. Our methods of framing the shell and putting on the skin
were very different from the methods in the Kuffel Creek plans. I have
a very strong preference for framing up the sides and roof as
separate whole panels, and then combining these three parts. The
assembly is much stronger and simpler. Further, it is far easier to
have the flooring material in place, this way, rather than trying to
fit the flooring into the inside of a cramped space. You can see this
process on this website. Another change is that I moved the axle
forwards a
bit, to make the hitch easier for me to lift.
My intention is to show you various stages of construction, with
some
commentary on methods, materials, and mistakes. This site is a work in
progress and will proceed on my own timetable. Please feel free to send
me
comments and inquiries as you see fit. I'll respond to you as my time
and abilities permit. Really. I will. For free.
Making a web site is another new thing in my life. I'm learning by trial and error, and have made lots of errors already. I have been a stage hand, a projectionist, hand-truck delivery boy, film inspector, Navy submarine reactor operator, lumberyard worker, and railroad track worker. I was a gandydancer (track worker) for 32 years, and during that time I've done just about every task a gandy can do, but mainly I was a track welder for 27 of those 32 years. I retired in October of 2007 and find that I am now more busy than at any time since my Navy days. There is so much I want to do, and only 24 hours in a day... and now I want to do a web site, too.. uffda
tom koehler
first page the frame the floor the sides the roof the flooring the shell wiring and insulation sheet metal molding the hatch lid doors fenders light fixtures cabin cabinets solar panel tanks other stuff