

If you are
looking for a different way to travel, check out
http://www.trikesaustralia.com
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Chris
& Sue Coles - Triking Teardroppers
The thought of getting a new camper trailer to replace the
very old but well cared for trailer came about 12 months after taking delivery
of our shiny new Panther Wildcat Trike. We looked around for possible
replacements but never really found anything that we liked, most were too big
and needed a lot of setting up which if you have to put up and take down every
day or so could become a bit of a hassle.
Then we saw a fellow triker with a teardrop and thought, "How
easy is that?" A bed and kitchen on wheels and everything in the one small unit
that can be towed by the trike. After some Internet surfing I came across
Aussie Teardrop Campers, so I rang Reiner and arranged a visit. Well Reiner
agreed to build the chassis and supply various bits and pieces for us.
At first I told Reiner that there wasn’t any rush but as I got
into the building of it, the more I seemed to be on at him for more parts to
keep the build moving. During the build Laurie, a friend of mine, would come
around after work and on weekends to lend a hand and check up on progress, in
fact he was round at our place so much we thought he was going to move in.
Our teardrop was finished and registered in early January 2009
after being completed in only about 3 working weeks with plenty of long days and
many cups of tea. << Reiner's Comment: Even for a carpenter, that's
seriously fast for a first teardrop... and it is beautifully finished too.
That must be great tea!>>
We did our first trip to Toowoomba and the Teardrop and trike
performed very well. The teardrop towed very well and set up was a breeze.
We hope this was the first of many more trips to come in our
Teardrop and I urge anyone who is thinking of building a teardrop to have a go
and don’t be frightened to ask questions or ask for help because it’s worth it
in the end.
Teardrop Camper Specs
- Size 1200mm x 2400mm
- Weight approx 360kg
- Outside clad with aluminium sheets
- Double skinned and insulated to help beat the heat
- 15mm Exterior Ply for side walls
- 12mm Exterior Ply for floor
- 15" x 8" mag wheels
- 2 x Euro security doors
- 400mm x 400mm roof hatch
- 12v and 240v power
- Microwave oven
- Radio/DVD/CD with drop down screen and 4 speakers
Building Our Teadrop Camper Trailer
Let's start at the very
beginning... |
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then we added some
walls... |
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and the fiddley bits. |
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Then we dress it... |
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ok, so that was the
fiddley bit... |
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...and we are pretty proud
of the finished product. |
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Chris had so much fun
building the first teardrop, and did such a good job he is now helping
Reiner build Aussie Teardrop Campers. So what does he do in his
spare time? Build another teardrop, of course. This one is
built for sale (check out our 2nd hand teardrops
page.) |
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Chris & Sue's teardrop, built in Brisbane, QLD 2008 Email
Chris
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