Custom Teardrop Camper

Made a templet of the overall shape that I wanted.

And test fit it to a small trailer frame.

After cutting each side out of 1/2" plywood, I connected them with aluminum crossmembers.

Aluminum cross members fastened to the side wall.

I then put a 5' wide aluminum skin over the top, fastening it to the aluminum struts with chrome self tapping screws and rubber washers to prevent leaking.

I put adhesive rubber (grace vycor) between the two piece of aluminum to minimize the noise.

Form of the teardrop camper mocked up.

I cut open the rear hatch and connected it to the main body using a special hinge that shed water

and filled between the struts with styrofoam insulation.

I then built the back wall of the camper that would serve as the galley kitchen

and could fold down into the camper when on the road.

When upright, the wall locks into the rear hatch.

I cut out the door and trimmed it out with a lighter wood.

For the ceiling I used a black canvas, fastened by sandwiching it between the wood slats and the aluminum structure.

I used layers of plywood, glued and clamped them together to form the curvature above the door to she the water.

Put in the steel wheel wells and curved the trim over them

The trim was put together as one piece and screwed to the side wall from the back side to hide any fasteners.

The trim was made from multiple pieces and attached using a kreg jig.

an aluminum corner bead was nailed to the edge to stop the leaking underneath the aluminum.

Kitchen mock up with plug in cooler and propane stove.

Hatch fastened to rear bumper with custom handle.

Floating hardwood floor to finish off underneath the queen sized mattress.

Had some portholes milled out of aluminum and put them on either side of the camper.

Made a platform at the front that would hold the trunk for storage and the electrical.

Plugs were added to the kitchen to run the electric cooler among other things.

Canvas sides were made to cover the openings on either side.

Trunk to house the electrical box, converter, and some storage.

Built a front shelf in the curve with downlighting for more storage.

Finished product to haul behind my 1942 ford hot rod!

first outing!