Peg's Custom Teardrop         Construction begins!!

The final design of Peg's Teardrop will be a 4' by 8'. It will have wood sides in an art-deco motif. There will be a 6-foot bed, as well as a small galley and cabinets in the cabin.
The camper will sit on a lightweight frame constructed of 3/16" channel and a 1/4" by 2" tube tongue.
Peg opted for a retro-styled fender and chrome wheels.

Every project that I do starts out in a full-size template. Every process will reference back to the profile template.

The exterior panels will be constructed using a method that I developed for the Lil'Diner projects. I have documented the method in the 'Diner section of this site. For a more detailed discussion of the method, I have produced a Shop Manual on CD.

The panel build-up starts with a full-size tracing of the profile onto a piece of plywood. I transferred the details of Peg's design onto the ply. I'll cut the plywood into sections for use in routing the parts from three species of wood. Cherry, Sapele Mahagony, and Hickory will be used.

Here's the pattern in closer detail..

Here is a pattern being set up to make a panel cut..The panels are stacked, face to face, for cutting.

Here are the panel parts, ready to be assembled. The exterior will be covered in fiberglass and several coats of epoxy and spar varnish. This finish is durable very waterproof.

Peg's idea in color... Here I have the wood sealed in epoxy and the fiberglass layer freshly applied.

Once I have the 'glass covered in a couple of fill coats of epoxy, I'll flip the panel over to reinforce the joints with 'glass. This will ensure that my work so-far will survive handling until I get the walls assembled. After the wall is assembled, the panel will be 'bullet-proof"

Contents and images, Copyright, 2002-2006, Steve Frederick
No image or text may be reproduced for any commercial use without permission. Updated Sept 17,2006
This design is Copyright, 2006, Steve Frederick

Back

Home

Next