THE STORY OF THE TEARDROP TRAILER - PT. 19

IT'S FINALLY DONE!!!  Well, not quite, but they were done enough to start using the trailer.  They registered it the following day after these pics were taken and started pulling it around directly after.  It went with Chris home the very next night and all the final touches were done at his house.

 Installation of the gas lifts was the next step in the project.  Chris did it over the weekend and it fit perfectly on the first try.  The lifts were purchased from a company that had gone out of business and was in the process of liquidating inventory.  They worked great.  He lifted the lid about 12" and the lid slowly opens the rest of the way.  It is easy to put down without any effort at all.  They work better than then the boys ever imagined they would.  

 As you can tell, they had to replace the leather straps on the trunk.  The black genuine leather belt straps broke after the first weekend.  They discovered small print on the belt saying the genuine leather had some man made fibers.  What is really had was a microscopic leather veneer with cardboard interior.  They avoided buying imitation straps the second time.  They also installed some sash locks to pull the lid down tight and keep it secure.

 This is a side view showing how the trailer looks with the trunk complete and closed.  It looks super dusty.  But that's par for the course when it's sitting in the shop.

 The boys installed a lid stay so they could access the box without holding the lid up by hand.  They also put in the battery tie downs so the battery doesn't bounce all over the place.  This pic seems a little strange in it's color because the flash is bouncing.

This is the side view of the completed trailer.  Magnifico!  It looks amazing!  

This pic shows the fold down stabilizers.  There are four, one for each corner.  They will make it nice when the wind blows so you're not rocking all over the place.

This picture shows the undercarriage after it was all sealed with rubberized coating.  They used this coating so it would be easy to re-coat when necessary.

There are still a few minor things left to complete at this stage and they are:

01. Complete the plumbing hook up to the pump.

02. Add a light in the trunk lid.

03. Insulate the ice chest in the front trunk.

04. Complete the oven insulation and slide out.

05. Clean the over-spray off the roof vent.

06. Putty, seal and weatherstrip the door frames.

And that will wrap it up.  Chris commented at this point that all they needed was one free morning and everything would be finished.

For those of you who have read the story, maybe you've been lucky and seen the trailer in Utah or surrounding states.  The boys have taken it all over the place.  They've stopped and given a lot of people a closer view.  They wanted to post a blog about trips they've taken with the trailer.

My next entry will show pics from one of these trips.  You'll be able to see the trailer in action!  Goodwin Mill And Cabinet is where you'll find other amazing craftsman pieces similar to the teardrop trailer.  You can see more galleries of our work and check out more information about the guys who built the teardrop trailer by visiting:

http://www.goodwinmillandcabinet.com

THE STORY OF THE TEARDROP TRAILER - PT. 18

This is a picture I think we've used before, but this next post was actually kind of a vacation for the brothers.  A magazine called "Camping Earth" published an online article referring to our trailer.  It created quite a buzz and our website started getting a lot of hits.  Chris used this entry to answer some questions we'd received.  I feel inclined to reprint them just in case any of you have similar questions.

One reader wanted to know how we were cutting our plywood panels.  And Chris said, "We cut our plywood panels with a jig saw.  We cut the first side and then used it as the pattern for the second side.  We then lined them up and screwed them together so that we could use a belt sander to even them up.  We were very careful to cut slowly and stay on the outside of our line.  This allowed us to sand to the line making two perfectly matched sides.  It isn't rocket science though.  If you make a mistake just take a little more off the pattern, no one will ever know."

Another reader inquired about the completion date and Chris said, "Thanksgiving through Christmas is our busy time.  We don't really have time to work on our own stuff until the holidays are over.  We are going to get it licensed before the first of the year.  We have a short list of things we still want to do but none of them would keep us from using the trailer.  We will put pictures and commentary about future trips.  Again, thanks for your interest.

So we had some people following the progression of the trailer.  I was recently contacted by a magazine asking if we'd be interested in posting the story in their online publication.  That's pretty exciting.  

On a sour note, I was recently informed the trailer is currently out of commission based on a car accident.  However, the brothers have vowed to fix it up and get it back on the road.

Come back soon for another entry soon.

THE STORY OF THE TEARDROP TRAILER - PT. 17

 Back again with another installment of the teardrop trailer story.  The next bit of movement on the trailer was hinging the front trunk and strapping it down.  The first pic shows the trunk after it was attached.  At this point, it had been a couple weeks and the boys hadn't been able to do more work because they had other commitments.

This actually completes the outside of the box and really everything that goes on the outside of the trailer.  There were a few things underneath the trailer that needed to be completed, otherwise you're looking at the finished product aesthetically.  

This is a close up pic of the strap buckle.  The boys made these straps from belts.  It was a rather amazing process watching this trailer being built and seeing how they put in all these amazing touches.

As always, it's important to share a link with anyone who admires our workmanship.  Goodwin Mill & Cabinet is a company on the forefront of craftsmanship.  We're constantly trying to be innovative, fresh, exciting and new.  Through our specialty pieces and custom design work, we're always challenging the accepted methods of cabinet making and trying new things.  This teardrop trailer is just an example of the innovation happening in our shop.  

We want to offer our clients the options they want at a good price.  The best way we know how to do that is to continue to learn new ways to manufacture our product, stay open to new designs and create new products to accommodate our customers needs.  Don't hesitate to visit our site and submit your feedback.  We look forward to hearing from you.  Visit us on the web at Http://www.goodwinmillandcabinet.com

THE STORY OF THE TEARDROP TRAILER - PT. 16

 It's been awhile since we updated the story of the teardrop trailer and in all actuality, the trailer is finished and has seen a lot of use.  But there are still a lot of people looking at the blog posts of this trailer and so we decided to finish the story for you.  Of course we continued to chronicle the construction of this unique trailer and I'll describe what the pictures are showing us.

At this point, the boys covered the top of the trailer with Durabak Truck Liner.  It was messy and as you can see, it wasn't the most professional job but it looks nice.  One of the benefits of this material is that it was extremely forgiving.  They were able to cut off some bad spots and touch it up.  Over all, the boys were happy with the results.  The next step is hinging the front trunk and weather stripping it.  They also plan to attach buckles to keep it closed.  This will allow them to mount the battery permanently and hook it up.

This side view gives you a pretty good idea of how the trailer looks.  You'll have to forgive the look of the shop.  Around that time, we had a storm blow through and it blew all the sawdust out of the bins into the lot and the shop itself.  Then it rained so everything is a sopping mess.

The rear view shows the trunk all completed.  The boys let the Durabak dry over the previous weekend and then weather stripped the inside.  And not soon enough considering the storm that came directly afterward.  There's a short punch list of things to complete but it's close enough to being finished that it can pass inspection and get licensed.  The boys actually pulled it the other day and it tracks very nicely.  At this point, everyone wanted to take it on a trip.  But since winter was setting in, it wasn't exactly the best time to go camping.  

Tune in and we'll continue and finish the story of the teardrop trailer!

And remember to check us out at http://www.goodwinmillandcabinet.com for more information about the company and our products.