Teardrop Pick Up Journal

The trip south to pick up the teardrop was a crazy blur of a couple of days.

I started heading south at 6:00 a.m. and met my good friend and wingman, Jim Tingey near Highland Park, IL.  As we made our way south, the weather slowly degraded.  Just outside of Chicago, the snow started.  It got progressively worse as we got closer to Indianapolis.

  At one point, we saw a State Trooper turned the opposite direction to oncoming traffic with his lights flashing. 

Moments later, we came over a hill and saw traffic stopped for as far as we could see.  We wisely pulled off and found a back route around Indianapolis.  We joined back up with Interstate 65 on the south side of Indianapolis and continued on our way.  We later found out that the whole interstate had been shut down on that small stretch due to a very bad crash.  We had successfully dodged a bullet!  The weather continued to get worse; at one point it was snowing so hard I could barely see the yellow line.

We traversed the entire state of Indiana, a small section of Kentucky and finally Tennessee.  I made a questionable call and took a 'back' route to Cookeville rather than taking the interstate.  We got to see some picturesque parts of Tennessee and arrived at Hans' at around 6:00 p.m.

After catching up with the Beans, we headed over to the garage and got our first official look at the teardrop.

Some things were pleasant surprises while others were more sobering.

The teardrop was smaller than I had imagined.  The skin of the trailer was in pretty good condition.  The tires were going to be a big problem.  They 'rubbed' on the aluminum skin when the trailer was moved.  We tested lots of theories:  the axle must be too big; the tires are too big for the frame and others.  We wouldn't know for sure until we took it to a tire place and they examined it.  The three of us enjoyed some Wild Turkey and had a terrific conversation about all manner of things.  We all turned in about 11:00 with plans to get started early in the morning.

The first thing we did was pull the trailer over to Wal Mart. 

We needed to pick up some items.  We purchased a safety chain and connectors, a temporary light kit, some cleaning pads, duck tape, and WD40.  While we were there, we took a look at the trailer tires.  They would be perfect; if they fit.  They were about 1/3 narrower than the automotive tires that were installed on the trailer.  With excitement, we purchased three of them (one for a spare) and asked the installers to put them on the trailer.  This would have been awesome because we would be almost ready to leave.  Turns out the bolt pattern didn't match.

We were going to have to try a tire specialist.

On to our second stop.  They thought that they could sell us a narrower profile tire that would fit the rim that was on the trailer.  They installed them and then it was pretty obvious, they were too thick.  They rubbed on the aluminum skin. 



The installer was awesome.  He tried all sorts of things to see if we could 'make' them work.  There was a lot of pounding with a sledge hammer and hammering.  In the end, we realized that this was not going to work.  







 So, I had an idea.  The 'spindle' or the 'hub' seemed to be the problem.  The hub we had on the axle was an automotive hub, not a trailer hub.  For this reason we would not find a tire that would fit the bolt pattern that would be the width we needed.  My idea was to remove the hub and replace it with a 'trailer' hub.

They directed us to a trailer specialty store.  We headed to New Era Trailer about 15 minutes away.  They were just the ticket.  They had the wheels, the hubs and even the lighting package we needed.  We purchased all of it and took it back to the tire specialists.  Their installer was tremendous.  He had the new hubs and tires installed in less than ten minutes.  We were nearly road ready. 

We pulled the trailer back to Hans' house and started working on the lights.  The snow had decided to come back and our hands were cold and we were slowly getting soaked by the snow/slush/rain that was falling pretty heavily.














Finally, we had the lights installed.  We were ready to hit the road.

We said our goodbyes, checked on directions and hit it!

Notice the snow!

We made it about two miles when I noticed the hatch.  It was acting like an air foil.  It was lifting up as we hit about 50 miles per hour.

We stopped.  Pulled out a bungee cord, that thankfully was left inside the cabin, and strapped the hatch down.  We knew it was missing the hatch handle and striker, I don't know why we didn't anticipate the problem.

We were on our way, again.  We made it less than a mile when we realized that it was still lifting up.  We stopped in the snow/sleet/rain and decided we needed to purchase some straps to hold the hatch down.  Jim and I went to an Auto Zone and bought some straps.  We asked for a cardboard box or two to use to keep our bodies somewhat dry as we crawled under the trailer to attach the straps.  After twenty minutes or so of fumbling with the straps, we figured out a system that seemed to work pretty well.  We started off again, it was about three o'clock in the afternoon.  The snow and rain was still coming down.  Jim followed behind me and gave me regular updates on how things were looking from behind.  We parted ways in Nashville and I was on my way north, without my wingman.

The snow did not let up until I reached Illinois.  I stopped once just north of Indianapolis.  I always love seeing the windmills in the giant wind farm there.  The night was clear and I could see hundreds of little red blinking lights that are found on the top of the windmill.  After a restroom break and another large soda, I was ready to make it the rest of the way home. Unfortunately I did not get to stop in Ohio to meet my friend Larry.  Things just did not work out for that visit, but I'm planning to meet with him this summer at some point.

I pulled into our driveway at about 1:15 in the morning.  In the past 48 hours, I had spent 22 of them on the road.  I took a shower and crashed.

My first "good look" at my Teardrop

Hans and I had been trading texts for the past few days; he was finally able to get to his garage where the Teardrop is being stored and send me some detailed images of the Teardrop.  These images served to excite, puzzle, frustrate and amused me.

Hans and I are approaching the Teardrop from slightly different angles.  He is all about building onto what is existing.  I am more of the mindset of ripping it out and customizing the whole thing to meet my needs.  Those needs, are always evolving.  Hopefully, with my new, slower approach to the project, I will be able to be wise enough to know when to stop 'thinking' through problems and planning and when to begin implementing.

Here are the most recent images I have of both the interior and exterior of the Teardrop.  I will add my thoughts and notes about them as they are posted.

 Ok, I am going to need to do some wire brush work on the tongue of the trailer; I would anticipate a good amount of the underside of the Teardrop will also need to be scraped and painted over with Rustoleum.  It's interesting to see how it meets the frame of the trailer; that hole there in the center must be where the electrical enters the cabin. 

 Yucky looking tail lights.  I'm hoping that I can add new tail lights to the tear.  I'm wondering how the skin will look when I remove those old tail lights.  It's fun seeing the old license plate.  I can't make it out, but that might be able to give me some clues on the ownership chain of the Teardrop.  I'll also be adding a license plate holder to the Teardrop.  I would prefer to have one in the center of the hatch and will have it lit with an LED too.

 Okay, a bit more of a view of the tongue.  I'm not sure what the metal angle iron is there at the right of the image.  I researched a little and found out that the triangular piece that is connected the the frame is original.  It pivots up and is stored on the small metal 'arm' that is just below the hole in the cabin.  I'm not sure how this will impact the addition of a crank down arm.  I would like to add one, I think.  Additionally, I would like to add stabilizers to the rear of the Teardrop.  I've seen where they can be bolted on, but I am not sure if I will have access to the frame in the way they are required to be added properly.  May end up having them welded along with additional 'hitch' receivers to the back and side so I can add additional elements, tables, bike rack and so on, to the Teardrop.

You can see, above, the stabilizers and the additional 'receivers' that are welded to the frame.  These receivers allow you to add all kinds of elements from tables to flag poles, awnings, etc.  You are only limited by your imagination.  It would be smart to have these designs in place when inquiring about how the cost of welding to the frame.  Mental note: plan all possible welding ideas for initial consult with the welding shop.

 Looks like those seals are going to need to be replaced ASAP.  Larry, my Tourette friend, told me that the seals of the 1947 Ford truck fit the doors to the Teardrop perfectly.  Now, where does one find a 1947 Ford truck seal?  This was also the first time I could see the plywood floor.  It looks solid.  Larry told me that I may not need to replace the floor; that impacts my decisions about how to 'finish' the interior.  If I don't remove the cabin from the chassis, I will only be able to bring sheet goods into the cabin that will fit through the door.  I also noticed the smooth radius of the wheel well for the first time.  This would be hard to 'cover' with wood, another consideration of how to 'cover' the interior. 

 Another yucky tail light.  One side note, the edge trim of the hatch looks sound here.

 Door handle hardware.  Interestingly, the door handle hardware looks completely sound.  I may be able to simply clean it up, spray it and use it over again!  I am getting my first look at the window assembly.  I still don't completely understand how it operates  I think there is to be a screen there, but that makes me wonder, how to you open the window with the screen in place?  Does it crank out?  Not sure, but that will be fun to explore. 

 Aha.  Another, more full view of the tongue.  I am glad to see that the length of the tongue is substantial.  I have plans to add a tongue box which will be part of my electrical system.  I would like to store the battery and possibly the battery 'tender' inside the tongue box.  I've seen some nice ones in the stores and online, but am considering making my own.  One additional note about this area of the tear; I am thinking of adding 'diamond plate' to this section.  It would reach from the frame up about four feet.  This would serve many purposes. One would be to 'repair' the damaged finish you can see in the image.  The other would be to solidify the skin and provide a bit more rigidity to the frame and cabin. 

 48" hypotenuse provides a substantial 'base' for the tongue box and storage 'gates.'  In addition to the tongue box, I would love to add a 'shelf' where many things, like chairs, etc, can be stored.  I have some excellent images in my idea binder of how this is accomplished.  Here is one of them.

In order to make this work, I would need to have some welding done to the chassis frame.  I'm finding that this is not that terribly expensive.  It would just make sense to have all of my 'welding' done at one time.  I'm not sure what the 12 volt receptacle is for there, but I'm curious.

 The galley.  Despite the 'historical' nature of the Teardrop, I plan to remove these cabinets.  One interesting note is that I thought this would be 'impossible.' Well, it turns out that with a $20 tool called a pop riveter, I can easily repair holes made when the cabinets are removed.  And, to remove them, one simply needs to punch the rivet carefully and then drill through the rivet with the same size drill bit. 

Another view of the interior.  Again, the floor looks solid.  The doors are interesting to me.  It looks like the 'window' is open.  I again am curious, is there some sort of 'limiter' on the window?  How does it open and close?  I'm also noticing how the door frame is stiffened by wood.  I will be interested to see how that will impact the insulating and coverage when I get to that point.

 A close up of the 'ice box' that was standard on the 1947 model.  Ice would be put in the bottom, I think, and the 'box' would have kept things chilled.  It doesn't look very insulated.  Interesting that they used steel, which rusts, for the interior.  I imagine steel has better properties for absorbing and holding the ice's cold temperatures.

A view of the area where the three burner gasoline stove would have sat.  In other images I wonder how the lower cabinet was utilized.  It seems like that is a very deep distance.  The upper cabinets are missing most of their doors and are riveted to the outside of the skin.  I plan to add a plywood 'side' to both edges when I have successfully removed the cabinets.

 

 My first interior shot of the front of the bulkhead.  I can take away a lot from this image.  First, the interior is a mess and needs to be scrubbed and cleaned carefully.  Second, the wires are shot.  I don't even know what those wires in the top right of the frame go to.  Hans did tell me that the trailer lights currently do not work.  I will need to have that fixed before I can begin the voyage north with the trailer.  I can see that there were sliding cabinet doors; one of them is missing.  I would really like to add a 'headboard' to the cabin when that time comes.  I love the way my design model turned out as you can see from the image below:

I'm not sure if we'll end up adding the 'moon' roof, but the more I work on my designs and this remodel, I do think that I will go with a light hull liner over insulation and plywood inside.  Finally, like my design, I will create a 'headboard' that has storage in it.  The headboard will be taller than the model to most likely maximize this space.

 Whoever the owner of this Teardrop was, they clearly didn't bother to do any cleaning.  I chuckle a little at the color choice of the cabin.  That turquoise blue reminds me of the 60's and my trips as a young boy to visit my Great-Grandparents in Florida.  I'm going to clean, sand and paint the entire interior super high gloss white.

 The galley.  Note the one bulb.  The original add for this model says, "Wired for electric lights."  After seeing so many beautiful designs and build logs, you can't go any more basic than this.  I would like to use flexible conduit, insulation and a plywood 'skin' to 'beef' up the galley and make it look much more modern.  I will likely use a galley light that is an LED and can be switched from white light to red for night vision protection.  The same will be true of the interior dome light.  I think its neat that the 'struts' that hold the galley up appear to be in very good shape.  I am not sure if those will need to be replaced.  It looks like a good cleaning and possibly a coat or two of Rustoleum and then WD40 will put them back into pristine condition.

 Cabinets; they look pretty simply connected.  Drilling out those rivets will be a slow process.  Key word, 'slow.'  I'm listening Larry. 

Somewhat 'big picture' image.  The galley hatch looks solid.  The sides look square and true.  It's got good bones. 

"I'm Looking at a 1947 Tourette Teardrop Trailer..."

Christmas Day.

On the way to Ohio, we passed a Teardrop Trailer and the whole family gave a big thumbs up to the owners.

Powell, Ohio.  We are off to take the kids sledding around the corner from my brother-in-law's house.  As we sat in the car warming up, conversation drifted to Teardrops as it is want to do when I have a captive audience.  I shared a few images I had on my phone of a Teardrop and told Hans about my dream to build one and use it as the backbone of my future road trips with my kids and later with my wife.  Little did I know what would come of this innocent enough sounding exchange.

A day later, Hans is back in Tennessee and he called me, something I don't think he's ever done before.

"I'm looking at a 1947 Tourette Teardrop Trailer...just like the one you showed me in the picture."

After I processed what he was saying, I allowed myself to be politely excited. "Send me a few pictures if you would."

I took a look at the pictures on my phone, but didn't give it too much thought.

 I knew we had some projects that we wanted to pursue that were higher up in the cue than buying a 65 year old Teardrop Trailer.

My wife asked to see the pictures.  She seemed very interested.  She asked Hans to send more pictures and to go and open the doors, check the hatch and so on.

A few more photos came as well as a few phone calls that assured me it was a steel framed trailer and the Teardrop is all aluminum.  It has an aluminum frame and aluminum skin. 

"You can't go wrong here."  The next text said.

I started to get excited, but was guarded and cautious.  Erica brought it up with me a few more times.  I decided to give the owner a call and ask about it.  He knew very little.  He had picked it up at a swap meet in Georgia and has had some interest in it.  He said he would be raising the price in the spring.  The price was not negotiable.  In truth, I had a very hard time understanding the man because of his thick southern drawl.  I asked Hans to call and 'translate.'

A few more days passed and we got more information about it.  We had a few conversations about whether we could do it.  Whether we should do it.  I researched the trailer and found the original 1947 advertisement that was in Popular Mechanix.

We found out that this trailer was in fairly pristine shape.  It still had the original Ice Box and all of the interior was bare aluminum as it had been when it was created, over 65 years before.

Erica helped me see that if we bought this, it could help my 'dream' happen much more quickly than if we started from scratch.  I started to allow myself to get excited.  A couple more phone calls to Tennessee; I needed to make sure that Hans could store it for me until I could drive down there to pick it up.  I needed to make sure the funds would be in place to close the deal

Monday morning, we confirmed.  It was all going to happen!  Hans was going to pick it up and let me know when he had the Teardrop in his possession.

About 5:30 p.m. that evening, I was on my way to Tae Kwon Do with my son when a text appeared on my phone, which was in the cradle near the dash.

"Sorry, he sold it."

I let loose a slew of obscenities  unlike any I had spoken in as long as I can remember.  I was heartbroken.

"What's wrong Dad?"  Jack asked, worried by my string of obscenities.

"Uncle Hans just told me that the guy sold the Teardrop!" I was crushed.  I was heartbroken.  I was angry.

"Oh no!"

About that time, the phone buzzed again and the little green bubble from Hans showed another text.  I didn't have the heart to read it, thinking it was just more bad news.

"Sike!  Ha ha!"

"Grrrrrrrrr!" I growled.  Hans, always the trickster sure did get me.  I was through with texts.  I wanted to speak with him.

Thankfully, all was well.  He had it at home.  There were no problems and he had it safely in storage.

Now, the planning can begin!