The Process: Building a Vintage-Inspired Teardrop Camping Trailer from Scratch

For Werner, it all began with a trip to the lake. He recalls, “We were lured by a friend who had a sailboat with the promise of a nice lake with sandy beaches, crystal clear water, and a nice camping site. Everything was true but the wind, the frogs, the huge biting flies, and a massive category-five thunderstorm that soaked us inside the tent. My wife said that she had had it with the tent and unless I found something else to camp in, she was out.”

So, Werner hit the internet to see if he could devise a solution to protect from the creatures and the natural elements while still enjoying the experience of outdoor recreation.   His research led him the classic, 1930s style teardrop camper, and he set out to build one, more-or-less from scratch, big enough to house three people but still light enough to pull by a mid-sized car. The results?

Boom. It’s pretty cool to see that this can be built from a modest set of tools and easy-to-find materials. The real trick was simply ingenuity, creative problem-solving, and some hard work. 

See the entire build process, plus a materials and tool list, at Make:Projects – Teardrop Camper Trailer