Teardrop Camper

I became enamored of teardrop campers when I saw a beautiful Vistabule teardrop at the Minneapolis RV Show. I didn’t want to spend the money to buy one, so I built one. I discovered Big Woody Campers. They had plans you could buy that were quite detailed and helpful. I recently looked at their site, and they seem to have even better plans and kits now. I had a great time building and using this teardrop.

The process is basically:

Get a bare bones trailer (mine was a 4×8 Harbor Freight Tools trailer – big mistake, more later)
Waterproof a piece of 3/4″ plywood, screw and glue it to the trailer
Install a tongue jack and stabilizing jacks on the trailer
Cut the 3/4″ plywood sides to the appropriate shape (Big Woody Campers sent a full-size template, although it wouldn’t be hard to figure out the shape on your own
Build the doors with windows or buy and install pre-fab RV doors
Use 3/4″ plywood for the front and back bulkheads and 2×2’s for the roof supports
Skin the inside with thin, flexible plywood (I used jigs and a few staples to hold the plywood in place while the glue dried)
Do your wiring (mine was wired for standard 110 volts when plugged in, which would charge the battery and run the outlets, and used a converter to run a 12 volt system for lights and fan)
Insulate (I used foil-faced fiberglass in the roof)
Skin the roof with 1/4″ fiberboard
Build the hatch (cut 2×10’s with a curve to conform to the curve of the sides, 2×2 cross pieces, skin with 1/4″ plywood, skin with aluminum sheet)
Cover the roof with thin aluminum sheet
Trim inside and outside
Finish the outside (I used clear spar varnish because I liked the look of the plywood)
Finish the inside (I used clear polyurethane to show off the wood)
Build the galley (I did a simple box with simple drawers and some custom racks of wood and aluminum to hold our dishes and glasses)
Add hooks, curtains, and outdoor side tables and other details to make it your own

My biggest mistakes:

The 4×8 trailer is too narrow. I should have used a 5×8 trailer. Trust me, two adults are very tight in 48 inches. Five feet is the width of a queen sized mattress and is much more comfortable for two.
The shelf over the head of the sleeping area was too wide. You only need a narrow shelf for your phone and your blue tooth speaker. If it is too wide, you hit your head on it when you sit up.
I made the sleeping compartment too short. Make it at least 2-3 inches longer than you are tall.

Things I learned while using the camper

You most likely won’t actually be cooking in the galley. It works much better to cook at a picnic table or a folding camp table. The galley is mostly for storage and show.
Plan time to show off your camper all the time while you are traveling and camping. People are fascinated and will want a tour.
A teardrop trailer is cute and fun, but small. Teardrops are light and relatively cheap and easy to build. However, changing clothes while sitting or lying in one of these is a project. Staying dry and clean is difficult because you step directly from outside into your bed. It’s great on a beautiful day and is much less so on a rainy day. Before you invest your time and money in a teardrop, consider the teardrop’s limitations. You may want/need a bigger camper you can stand up in.

Here are a few photos of the process and the finished product. Enjoy!