This is probably the closest I’ve seen to a clone of the Wyoming Woody. He made a few minor changes such as using pocket screws instead of a tongue-and-groove when assembling the cabinets.From the builder in Richmond:I completed my home-build in May of 2019. It’s modeled after the Wyoming Woody from teardropbuilder.com, and other than a few minor modifications, it’s a near perfect t replica of the original. It took over 2 years and $7,000 to build (including the cost of tools). The trailer is in great condition. I’ve put about 8,000 miles on it in 2+ years; otherwise it…
Author: Ryan
A teardrop from Australia this time! I changed a few things, like the hatch hinge (couldn’t get a long enough hurricane hinge in .au), added the sunroof, and built my own doors and tongue-box. I also embedded some hidden magnets in the cupboard doors (in the cab) so I could hang a small projection screen. We have a 12v projector for watching a movie.
Here is another fine looking Teardrop from Jenna in Texas. They similarly used 3 coats epoxy and 3 coats spar varnish to get that shine. Jenna has graciously provided a set of CNC files which I have posted to help other builders.
I ran across a familliar teardrop today. It has a very similar design to the Wyoming woody but was finished with aluminum instead of the Okoume wood. You can check it out more info at their blog
With the trailer nearing completion it was time to permanently instal the lights and accessories and reattach the fenders. First of all the stabilizer jacks were installed in the rear. I mounted them to existing holes in the trailer frame. The fantastic vent was installed with butyl tape to seal it form the elements. I then filed the screw holes with white 3M 4000 and tightened it down a bit but not all the way so the butyl tape would get seated correctly. After an hour I came back and fully tightened the screws. The fan after the trim ring was…
For the tongue box I used a Contico Jr Pro Tuff Bin. I have room for the battery, charger, tools, 12v circuit breaker, cutoff switch, and there is also room for some tools and my wheel chalks. The box has two padlock brackets so I can secure it while we are on the road. I attached the tongue box with 3/8″ bolts mounted to 1″ square steel tubing mounted across the tongue for support. I purchased a group 27 marine battery, which should be good for around 100Amp hours and tested the fit in the tongue box. I cut the tubing…
In preparation to finish the cabinets I removed all the doors and hinges and took some time to make sure all the glue was fully removed from the corners. I finished the inside and galley with 3 coats of Minwax Spar Urethane. .For the cabinets and the cabin I used a satin finish, and in the galley I used semi-gloss for everything except the counter top which was gloss. I applied the polyurethane to the cabinet door separately. I chose not to stain the wood because I wanted to keep it light, as well as birch is notorious for coming out blotchy and uneven…
Like the epoxy, marine spar varnish provides protection from the elements and adds to the finish. Unlike epoxy it goes on thinner but provides a great amount of UV protection which will prevent the dye from fading and the epoxy from becoming cloudy, hiding the beautiful grain from the wood. I used a high end Pettit Z-Spar 2015 Flagship marine spar varnish. Before I was ready to varnish I had to sand down the epoxy, knocking down and bumps and providing a good surface for the varnish to adhere to. After sanding I wiped the surface with a rag and some…
Epoxy provides a plastic layer to seal and protect the trailer from the elements. It also increases the depth and shine of the finish. The only problem is that epoxy takes a beating from UV damage so applying further protection from something like Marine Spar varnish afterward is required. I used West system epoxy with the 207 clear hardener which has a very slight protection from UV, but not enough to go without the spar varnish. Other essentials include epoxy rollers and disposable pots for mixing the batches. I made a logo on rice paper to show the build date…