One of our readers, Jean-René Rodrigue, wanted to share his homemade micro camper with you.
It’s a custom built teardrop trailer designed to be 8′ in length, 5′ in width, and 5′ in height on the interior.
Outside it’s length is actually 11′ 8″ and it’s overall height is 6′ 6″.
It weighs an estimated 750 lbs and has a 2,000 lbs axle on it for support.
The flooring was built using fir plywood. The walls are a composite material made out of epoxy-fiberglass and polystyrene foam.
When he added the roof Jean-René went with ultra high molecular weight polyethylene plastic. Interesting!
The trailer framing is all welded steel and as you’ll see, he painted it a really cool lime green color. It’s got a nice shine to it.
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Zach Engle built his own teardrop trailer a year and a half ago. He calls it a convertible because you can open and close the roof.
So here’s a quick introduction to Teardrop Trailers for you in case you’re not familiar with them! Teardrops are great because they’re inexpensive, easy to store and great on gas. They keep things simple and it’s a big upgrade from tent camping because you won’t have to worry about leaks and such. They can be as light as 600lb and some are even small enough to be towed by motorcycles. This means the car you already drive is strong enough to pull one of these little recreational vehicles.
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Details on this Homemade Teardrop Camper
Photos Courtesy of Zach Engle
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I want to thank Pat Hennebery for sharing his story and photos with us which I think you’ll enjoy. Here’s he is…
~ Alex
After traveling to Mexico in the spring of 2003, my soon to be wife, Kit and I decided to teach a cob workshop in the Baja [www.cobworks.com]. With a family on the way, [twin boys] I decided we needed something more than tent camping. I had always been against motor homes and big trailers but figured if I was to build a trailer; hey it would be cool.
Armed with a budget of $1500, I did some research, and fell in love with style, grace and philosophy of teardrop trailers. Never much one for plans, I began by cutting out a design on cardboard until a shape emerged that was oh so sweet. The first step was assembling a small trailer frame that came in a box and them bolting on a floor. The sides were plywood with tongue and groove spruce to form the curve of the top. This was then covered in aluminum and a recycled skylight installed.
The new “Baja Bullet” featured a door on each side, queen size bed, small shelf/bunk for the boys and an exterior fold up counter/kitchen. The sides were finished to match my 1970’s “woody” station wagon that was to pull it. It weighed 850 pounds and towed like a dream. There is nothing like camping when you have your own mattress, bedding and are not sleeping on the ground. On our road trips south, we would pull into a rest stop, climb in the Bullet and be comfortable,cozy and safe.
Everyone would give us a thumb’s up on the road and crowds would gather for a peek if we were parked. Cruising on the I-5 through L.A. with 10 lanes of traffic, I realized I needed to be over 5 lanes…….now! Kit glanced up at me and began chanting, “cute trailer coming through, cute trailer coming through” as I began my drift through traffic. Not once, in all our road trips, has anybody ever honked at us in anger. After 4 trips to Baja, we decided a bigger Bullet was in order.
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