Dreaming of My Teardrop

I love the way my mind works.  Even though I'm super busy this week and won't have much time, if any, to work on the Carpe Diem, my mind has been hard at work solving some of my design 'problems.'

Problem One:  How to make the 'seams' where the wall and 'floor,' which are covered in insulation and headliner, come together in a way that looks finished.  I found a soft rubber that has a slight bend to it.  It is originally designed for the bottom of a garage door, but I think, with the right glue, it will fit perfectly along the seams.  This will also be a great way to cover the machine screw/bolts that hold the plywood floor to the walls of the teardrop.  Here is what the material looks like.

This also 'solves' another problem I had; my mattress is not going to 'perfectly' fit the width of the teardrop.  I would have had a problem with the heads of the screw/bolts.  I could imagine them scratching fingers or hands and being cold in colder months.  This will cover them and provide a tiny amount of cushion as well.

Problem Two:  How to insulate the doors and still maintain the integrity of the hinge mechanisms. The way my teardrop is designed, the hinges, which are brass, are mounted directly on the inside of the teardrop and to the door.  Because they are bolted in both positions, they are firm and very sturdy.  I wanted to add insulation for two reasons.  One: it would make the 'wall' when the doors were shut, the same 'thickness.'  Two: it would allow me to cover the whole door with the headliner to give the edges a finished look.  I'm working to make the inside of the teardrop look like it was made that way intentionally, not just thrown together in a make-shift fashion.

My solution; cut pieces of plywood to mount to the door and the wall which will bring the thickness of both the door and wall to the same thickness as the 1" insulation panels.  Then, I can simply cover the plywood at the same time I finish the foam core.  I'll then bolt through both the wood and the covering of headliner.  The hinge will then be visible, but will be solid.  The gray that I've painted the interior skin will compliment the subtle charcoal gray of the headliner.

Now, back to my regularly scheduled, busy work week!  My mind will be running in the background.  Next problem to mentally work on:  how best to construct the galley cabinets to allow for a power center with my fuse box and how to create a pull out drawer for the cooking stove...

Dreaming and Planning

So this weekend, I worked very hard on our basement.  It, thankfully, is going to require much of my physical and mental energy through the winter.  When I finally get the Carpe Diem, I should be able to spend my time working on her.  One thing I've learned from the basement project is that no matter what you 'think' you can do, it will take twice as long to do it 'right.'   You might as well embrace that and find joy in the process. 

I didn't have a lot of time to dream about her, but I did find a few things that I thought were pretty exciting.  I found a couple of images of a completely restored 1947 Tourette.   Whoever owned this must have stripped it down to the bare bones and re-skinned the whole thing.  It was a random post on Pintrest that mentioned a hot rod 'hotel' they saw at a car show.

As you can see, the aluminum is perfect, as is the galley.  I wonder if that fridge is still an ice box or if they up-cycled it and made it a real fridge?  It is gorgeous nonetheless.  I also like how they have put a solar panel on top.  I want to add a solar panel to my rig eventually so that it can charge up the battery when we are off the grid.  I like that this system seems to be able to be put up on demand and is not permanently anchored to the roof. I don't know anything about solar power, so I am looking forward to researching it.  Harbor Freight has a 45 watt solar panel for less than $200 that includes a converter for 12 v and other voltages.  It seems like a decent deal.  Again, something to research.

While I don't like the specific 'pin up' found on the side of the Teardrop, the side of the trailer does provide a nice canvas to express yourself.  I'm not sure exactly what I might put on there, but it's fun to imagine.  For sure, as I said in the last post, I'll put the name CARPE DIEM, on her somewhere.  Right now I'm leaning toward the hatch.

Reality Check...

It's time for a good old fashioned reality check.

Above, the most perfect teardrop.  The mythical $17,000 rarely seen Vacations in a Can species.  Often coveted, rarely bagged. :)

In my excitement and giddiness, I seem to have lost track of reality a bit.  Not an uncommon event in my world.  Larry, my fellow 1947 Tourette owner friend and classic car restorer, warned me to make a plan and go slowly.  "Don't rush," were his exact words.  Of course, like a little kid on Christmas morning, I want to plow ahead. 

The reality of the costs associated with the full restore have started to settle in and have forced me to be a bit more realistic, both financially and chronologically.

So, I've decided to channel my excitement into making a detailed and elaborate plan.  First I'll lay out the steps in order and then I'll go back into each step and break down the steps that have to be completed, what materials need to be purchased and what problems I anticipate.  Then, I will slowly begin working through those steps.

Here are the broad strokes; the general steps that need to happen in order to complete, if that is ever possible, the Teardrop Project.

1. Install hitch
2. Take ownership of the Teardrop/bring it home
3. Clean and perform 'basic' structural and cosmetic repairs to Teardrop and trailer
4. Add 'temporary'  lighting elements to cabin and galley
5. Electrical plan
6. Cabin and galley design
7. Install electrical system
8. Insulation of cabin and hatch
9. Interior skin/hull liner installation
10. Installation of cabin cabinets
11. Installation of galley cabinets
12. Repair aluminum skin
13. Lubricate axles and bearings
14. Add trailer elements
15. Polish aluminum skin

Wow.  When you spell it out so logically, it seems like a huge list; one that while able to be accomplished, feels like a slow process.  In the words of Larry, "Go Slow."  In my next post, I'll begin breaking down each of these steps.
 

The Dream Binder

Above:  I love the color of the fender and the rims with the half moon hub cap.  This is one of my favorite images from my Dream Binder.

So what do you do when you can't actually work on your Teardrop? Well, if you're me, you start by dreaming about all the fun you will get to have. I have been collecting images for months of Teardrops through Pintrest and the Teardrop forum, so I printed them out, hole punched them and put them into a huge binder in their various categories.

Then, I started going through them making notes of things I like and dislike. Things I want to add to our Teardrop and things that I might want to add in the future.

Working through the images it becomes pretty clear; I want reading lights, porch lights, ventilation fans and a variety of power outlets. Some designs include both 12v and 120v power. Initially, I'm not so sure I want to add this, but the more I read and learn it seems to make sense on many levels. By having both, you can run an inverter which will allow you to run traditional appliances, chargers, etc either in the cabin or in the galley. Initially I thought I'd go with the simplest system, only 12v but now I see the value of a diverse system. Another piece of the system is the ability to plug in to 'shore power.' You can plug in to a power source while camping in 'powered' sites, or when you get to you destination and you can find a power source. I'm thinking that I will eventually add a solar panel to the system which will allow us to charge up while traveling and when in camp too.

Right now, I'm mostly thinking about how I'll Insulate and add the wood to the interior. As I said earlier, that should be much simpler when I remove the cabin from the chassis.

I asked Hans to send me some more photographs of the Teardrop, especially inside the cabin, galley and the hatch.

Those images will help placate me a bit longer. For now, it's. back to my dream binder.