"Tiny Tears"

The Beginning Story

14 January 2007

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The Beginning

O ne might wonder how a person into a boat building binge winds up deep into a teardrop trailer building binge. This is a person that has spent his whole life on boats, messing about with them. He has done some camping, in fact owns a Classs C motor home. He lives in New England where there are few teardrdops. Just what possesses him to think he could be a teardrop trailer manufacturer?

Also, at about the same time I was discovering teardrop trailers, the money for the boat buidling project dried up. To generate income I could build a little boat to sell for a profit but I really needed to do something else. I tried baby bassinet kits, in the form of a boat of course. My heart wasn't really into it. So, in my little brain I heard a voice, "Build a teardrop trailer. Sell it. Start a web site. Start a company. Build fiberglass teardrops and sell them cheaper than those "others". Hence, the beginning of "Tiny Tears".

 
 The Plunge

Off to the drawing board. Now I needed to design a teardrop trailer. I generally don’t follow the norm so you can imagine that the norm wasn’t in my head when I designed "Tiny Tears." There is one other strong reason for the shape of my design. Laying around in my boat shed is the remains of the mold for my catamaran hulls. The sections from the mold are almost teardrop trailer in shape, except with a square back. If one section is flipped over and laid against another you have a 4’ x 8’ teardrop trailer shape. A few modifications were required to get the final shape, but, viola’,a teardrop is born.

In conjunction with this I started to learn HTML, the language behind a web site. I am very excited about the Internet and find its marketing power to be incredible. So, I wrote some web pages and found a free server.

Now I had a plan and I had told the world about it. This meant I had to make good with my boasts. Construction needed a start!

Construction of the Prototype

Now the fun begins. My original plan was to build and sell a few prototype type "Tiny Tears" until I made some money to build fiberglass molds. I found during the construction of the first one that I was completely crazy to even have this thought. The method I used is intense with its labor needs.

The vacuum bagging process is quite amazing. I started the whole project by making two 4’ x 8’ panels for the sides of the trailer. Everything is coated in epoxy, laid up panel, foam, panel, then placed in a sealed bag. Once everything is assembled and sealed a vacuum is drawn on the bag, a good ShopVac is needed here. When the vacuum is pulled atmospheric pressure presses everything together. That is 14.7 pounds per square inch, which equates to 67,737.6 pounds pressing on a 4’ x 8’ panel. Are you amazed? Of course there are leaks in the system and you don’t get a perfect vacuum but the numbers are still huge. The end result is a very light, stiff and thoroughly bonded panel.

Once the panels were made I cut them to shape with a router and the template made previously. This method results in identical sides. I also made panels for the cabinets and the kitchen bulkhead.

All of the above is the easy part. Now it was t ime to assemble a trailer. I laid one side down and placed the floor, kitchen bulkhead, and cabinets into grooves that were routed into the side panel. All this was bonded with epoxy. I next put the other side panel on top and bonded that with epoxy.

Next was the first layer of wood for the bottom, front and top of the trailer. The wood is flexible enough to bend around the curves of the trailer. This layer was epoxied to the side panels and held in place with sheet rock screws until the epoxy cured. Once cured the screws are removed. So, there are no screws in "Tiny Tears".

Everything is epoxy bonded. Ok, some screws don’t come out. The epoxy holds them in.

At this point you almost have a trailer, kind of. However, the most miserable part of the job was yet to be done. Now I had to mold the edge frames. These frames run the perimeter of the trailer on both sides. They support the 3/4" foam and the outside layer of wood. To make these I cut 1’ wide strips of 1/8" plywood, coated them with epoxy, and then laminated them to the edges of the trailer. Again sheet rock screws held everything until the epoxy cured. These too were removed.

The final step in the body of the trailer was the foam and outer layer of wood. All the sheets were coated with epoxy. The foam was put in between the laminated frames and then the outside layer of wood was screwed to the frames. To assure that there was a complete bond the entire trailer was put into a bag, sealed, and vacuum bagged. There was a very strong force on the trailer and since the epoxy was not cured to give the panels their stiffness, the whole thing started to implode. I had to cut the bag to release some of the vacuum. Whew. This whole process was a big pain in the ass and much foul language was required to get through it. It was at this time that I decided never to build another trailer like this.

However, after that step it was a matter of doing the finishing touches and painting. I had trouble fitting the doors but finally worked all that out. I only have about 18" of space on each side of the trailer in the shed, and the light is bad, so painting was difficult. Also, on the day I wanted to paint the outside temperature dropped to 25 degrees. My boat shed is pvc tarp over a wood frame. The coal stove is hard pressed to get the place to the necessary 50 degrees needed for painting. Therefore, the paint job was so-so.

Finally, I had to build the frame. I used 3" x 3" steel box section for the tongue. It was run through the front of the trailer and was through bolted and epoxy bonded to the trailer floor. It survived the torture test I am about to tell you about. For the axle I used two 3" x 3" aluminum angles sandwiching a wood beam. My fault was that all this was not bonded correctly and resulted in the story about to come. The fix is a new Dexter torsion axle. As you can see, I’m not the norm and did the frame as the last thing. Still in my mind this is the way to do it.

The final trailer is completely enclosed. The only thing you see on the bottom is clean bottom and two torsion drop arms. Very nice. The space inside is used as a built in water tank and storage. All the wiring is bonded within the panels and is protected from corrosion. The inside storage space provides room for fuse blocks and buss bars. Trailer lights that work? Can you believe it? I’m finding it hard. My boat trailer lights work maybe three trips before they need rewiring.

The Schwep Tried to Kill Me

During all the construction stuff I came upon an old teardrop abandoned in a back yard. I had to have it. My friend is a cop so he ran the numbers on the plate to get the owner’s name. I gave him a call and convinced him to get rid of it. I was now a proud owner of a 1980 Schwep Teardrop Camping Trailer.

The Schwep was built by a Rhode Island boat builder. He needed a place to live. We won’t even ask about this one. However, being a boat builder he was apparently a good carpenter and built a very nice trailer. Everything is varnished!

He used it a few years and then sold it to the guy I got it from. He was/is a commercial fisherman, for slime eels. He used the teardrop with his son for outings when he was home off the boat and used the it for about 15 years. I guess he lost interest then and abandoned the trailer in his father’s back yard. That is where I found it.

Sitting is not good for anything, right couch potatoes? Leaks developed and some rot formed. However, not too bad. All easily fixed but I had the prototype to finish. 

I advertised the Schwep on my site and found a potential buyer. I was now obligated to come to the SCTT gathering with the Schwep. I also planned on bringing the prototype so one trailer needed to go in the back of the truck. I chose the Schwep since it had been sitting and I didn’t trust the bearings for such a long trip without any work on them. 

The loading process began. Here was the first hurdle. My lifting tree used to be a healthy oak. Then a few years back a hurricane blew through and killed the tree with sea salt. I still have faith in my tree though, foolish boy that I am. I ran a chain from the trunk to the end of a large branch. Then I hung a come-along from the end of the branch. I began lifting. I got the trailer up about 4" when the branch broke. Not being deterred by this I moved my lifting gear to the end of the now shorter branch and began lifting again.

Do you have a new picture in your head? Do you know what moving cable does to polypropylene rope? Yup, cuts it. Down came the Schwep. This time it fell about a foot onto the gate of my truck. I was up in the tree having all sorts of pictures of smashed trucks and trailers in my head. But, after a closer inspection I found that the only damage was to the cable holding the gate up and to my ego.

At this point you would think that I would have given up and taken up full time beer drinking as a hobby. No! Not me. I continued. This time I got the Schwep firmly planted in the bed of my truck. Life was good, at least in my head. I think the Schwep was beginning have doubts about the trip. 

The next step in preparing for the trip west was to hitch up the prototype "Tiny Tears." Well, it didn’t fit. I had to load the Schwep into the truck backwards so the tongue was pointing aft. It hit the roof of the prototype when it was hitched. To solve the problem I put a floor jack into the bed of the truck and started jacking up the tongue of the Schwep. Being that I am an engineer that is very careful in everything I do, see the previous paragraphs for proof, I had my head under the Schwep tongue as I was jacking. You would think that since I had already dropped it twice there was no way it would fall again. Wrong!

It fell, right on my head. It took me down flat on my butt. When I put my hand on my head it didn’t feel normal. 

Yea, yea, yea, by now you know it is not normal. I firmly planted my hand and walked into the house to tell my daughter to drive me to the hospital. I grabbed a towel for the head and off we went. 

The doctor said that it looked like someone wanted to scalp me. He also said he is closer to my brain than anyone has ever been. When I asked if I was fractured he assured me I wasn’t because he was looking at my skull. I took 10 interior stitches and 24 exterior. The hospital charged me by the inch. Imagine that!

Ok, time to cancel the trip? Nope. When I got home from the hospital I decided that the jack wasn’t working. I went back to the tree and lifted the tongue with a come-along. It worked much better. I hitched the prototype, loaded it with stuff for the trip and was ready to head out.

The Trip

Yes, I actually left. I was determined to be in Oceanside by Friday. The doctor told me I could get the stitches removed anywhere and that travel was ok. I was ready and hot to go.

My route took me over the George Washington Bridge in New York City. That was a rough ride but we survived. By the time I was most of the way through Pennsylvania I was getting real comfortable with the rig and was thinking I was right on schedule.

Then it happened! Just east of Pittsburgh. I heard a noise, a very sickening noise. I looked in the mirror to see the wheels and axle of the prototype up against the Jersey barrier in the middle of the highway. I saw the prototype flying around still attached. It reminded me of that joke with guy towing the teardrop without any wheels. "If I go fast enough I don’t need wheels." 

Ha! Wrong! The prototype was dragging on its belly. The Schwep was laughing. I went about 100 yards and pulled off the to the side of the road. I walked back and found the wheels on the shoulder. I guess I am blessed that I didn’t kill anybody. All I could imagine was seeing a car with the driver eating "Tiny Tears" wheels. What a relief. Now all I had to deal with was a wheeless trailer. There was an emergency pull-off 1500 feet up the road. I dragged to there.

The police came, the tow truck came. When winching the teardrop onto the flat bed the driver wanted to put boards under the bottom to protect. it. I assured him he wasn’t going to make things worse. He took me to the nearest hotel and left me to sort things out.

At this point I was ready to throw in the towel. In fact, I felt like crying. I went for dinner and then went to bed.

The next morning I tried to get a U-Haul trailer to get home. They wanted $350. At this point I felt completely broke. I lost the sale of the Schwep, I had a box full of T-shirts, and I had a broken trailer. My solution was to spend $1200 on a snowmobile trailer to bring the prototype home. What a nice trailer. Does anyone want to buy  it?

The Conclusion

While winching the prototype onto my new snowmobile trailer I was able to see the damage for the first time. I expected to see nothing on the bottom. But, only the outer layer of wood was removed, oh, and the axle. I could see all the foam was still there. Amazing! This trailer is tough. It should be in a thousand pieces. Nope. All I have to do is put in a real axle and put an outer layer of wood on the bottom. Then repaint.

Anyway, with everything loaded I headed east. I took two days, there was no rush. There were also no problems. My stitches started itching a bit but that is the worst. 

Now I have to get rid of the T-shirts, sell the Schwep, and rebuild the prototype. It will be much better when I am done. I learned many things about teardrops and the lessons will be incorporated. I may also rebuild the Schwep.

Aftermath, or, Post-Conclusion

That story was written in 1998. since then the Schwep ws rebuilt, towed to California for the "Last Dam Gathering in the Century"' and sold to a woman in Santa Barbara. No adventure on that trip, just a nice cross country trip.

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