Scott B.'s Little Guy Offroad Teardrop Build

Scott B.

Adventurist
:D Scott B.'s Little Guy Offroad Teardrop Build

The spring of 2014 brought with it the delivery of our special order one-of-a-kind Little Guy Silver Shadow Rough Rider teardrop. At the time, I was active in another forum, and kept a build thread there.

However, times change, and I am not very active over there any more. In a quest to increase my activity here, I am writing my build thread here. The first part of this thread will be a re-creation of the original thread - I think the backstory is important to understanding the philosophy behind build.

Or perhaps I am making a big to-do out of nothing. After all, it is only a build thread for a teardrop. :rolleyes:

Either way, here we go...
 
The Logic

I have been reading trailer build threads for some time, and always wondered if I really needed one. Sure, one would be nice to have, but I had a hard time justifying one. And, of course, there was always the trailer/RTT or teardrop dilemma. Both have advantages, and both have disadvantages.

Then, along comes the new GF - who thinks driving across the country to explore/4-wheel/camp for 2 weeks at a time is a fun thing to do. Our first trip together (DE II to Utah) was spent in a new Kodiak tent. A great tent, big, roomy - what else could one ask for? It is a great tent, but setting up and taking down every day becomes work as the week goes on. Oh, and it can be very difficult to pound tent stakes into solid rock.
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Fast forward to CFW and winter camping. The temperature went down to 22 degrees one night - frost on the outside of the tent, and no heater (yes, I didn't plan as well as I should have.) Enough said.

On our next trip together, DE III to Nevada, we talked a lot about camping/expo gear - chuck boxes, RTTs, teardrops, cots, etc. A preference of not sleeping on the ground is starting to show. And, a little more convenience. I'm a backpacker, so I understand and appreciate minimalism. Apparently, my appreciation is not always shared...

The trailer vs. teardrop conversations continued. While both are very good solutions, the teardrop had a few features that were better for us than the trailer/RTT solution. That, and seeing several teardrops owned and marketed (you know who you are - Martin) by several friends of ours, we decided to investigate the teardrop solution more closely.

Now, the conversation grows to buy or build. Sure, I could (and want to) build one. But, how long would it take? My project list is not short, and we want to camp now, not year(s) from now. Ouch. Guess what? There is a Little Guy dealer less than 20 miles away.

I went to the dealership with an open mind. As much as I want to build a custom, fits-me-like-a-glove teardrop, I want to camp too. We looked at several models of teardrops on the lot, and looked at pricing as well. The prices were reasonable, and we liked some features from each model, but there was not one that was "it" for us.

Time for more research on the net. There are more teardrop builders out there than I would have guessed. All have their unique features/ides - and some of them have prices to match. Most of them do not utilize the concept of minimalism.

We sat down and seriously determined our needs/wants/desires - our how-are-we-really-going-to-use-this list. For me, I feel very strongly that this teardrop is a hard-sided tent, not a camper. (Thanks, Martin!) It is going off-road, and needs to built and outfitted accordingly. In essence, it is a warm, dry place to sleep that is not on the ground, and has a fast to deploy kitchen.

After more discussion, we decided we really liked the Little Guy. One of our camping friends has one, and had it custom built (features not normally assembled in that fashion.) Let's see if LG will build a custom one for us.

Obviously, the answer was yes! During the course of production, I spoke with/emailed the VP of Sales, the CEO, and the implementation specialist at the factory. All were very helpful, and wanted to build this teardrop the way I wanted it. The customer service was/is top notch.
 
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The Specification

Or, "Do they think I'm nuts for asking for all this???"

Our (my) requirements (wants?) are geared toward off-road travel. As such, light weight and ground clearance are 2 important factors.

The 5 x 8 is a good body size. The 4 x 8 is too small for 2 people to be really comfortable, and the 6' wide too unnecessarily wide. The 10' long models are nice, but, again, outside of our requirements. Also, the track width of the 5' wide is close to that of my truck. We liked the Silver Shadow box over the 5 Wide. While the 5 Wide can be had with a birch interior, what really sold us was the kitchen configuration. But, the Silver Shadows have a short trailer (frame) tongue. The Rough Rider 5 Wide has a longer tongue and a storage platform.

I asked for a Silver Shadow on a Rough Rider frame, with an extended tongue and storage platform.

Next was the axle. I need height (ground clearance) and brakes. There was some discussion on this, and the factory guys spoke with Dexter (the axle manufacturer) for more info. The solution was a 3500 lb axle, 22.5 degree down angle, 10" brakes with parking feature. I had wanted a 45 degree down angle axle, but with the brakes there was a concern about clearances. So, a slightly taller mounting block was used (and the axle placement on the frame was adjusted slightly) with the 22.5 axle.

A stargazer window was an absolute necessity.

There are several standard items on the Silver Shadow that were outside of our requirements. The standard tongue jack is placed right behind the coupler. I have a swingout on my truck, so that had to move. The stabilizer jacks in the rear hang down rather low - I think they could be a hindrance off road. Having been camping for 40 years (not continuously) I have an idea how I like my kitchen setup. The standard cabinet arrangement on the SS did not really fit with my idea. Continuing with the hard-sided tent idea, I have a 2nd battery in my truck. I really don't need a third battery in the teardrop. I don't have to have an inverter and 110v outlets (no TV, DVD, A/C, etc.) and the refrigerator lives in the back of the truck (powered by the second battery.) Lastly, the fenders are too small to cover my tires.

So, I asked to delete the tongue jack, stabilizer jacks, kitchen cabinets, 1/2 of the power package (the 110v half,) the fenders and the wheels/tires.

No problem. We were quoted a price, and wrote a check.

While the axle discussions were going on, I asked for one more thing - a receiver for a coupler instead of the standard lunette ring. They had done it once before (on Hilldweller's LG.) Not only did they remember that, they had no problem building this one with a receiver.

No, it turns out they didn't think I was nuts. I did explain some of my reasoning, to which they agreed/understood. And, as the CEO said, "We want you be a happy camper."

EDIT: Since I took delivery, several other people have ordered the "Scott B" version from Little Guy.
 
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Pictures

At the Little Guy dealer...

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I brought my tires to the dealer, to install before taking it home. Also, I wanted to measure the height of the frame/tongue, since I had to go get a receiver drop to go with the MaxCoupler. The tires are BFG 32x11.50-15 KM2s on 15 x 7 American Racing Outlaw II wheels - same size as on my truck.

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Current Stats

April 2017

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States Visited

Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Wyoming


Annual Nights and Mileage

TBD
 
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Let the modifications begin!

Less than an hour after arriving home, we started modifying the teardrop - with power tools!

Here you can see marking and measuring for the AT fenders:

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Holes drilled

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Silicon applied for bedding and water seal.

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Done!

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From the inside, you can see the result of through-bolting. The acorn nuts give a nice, finished look, but the will be covered by the mattress.

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Inaugural Outing

We went up to the local mountains yesterday (March 2014), and met up with 2 other LGs. Great weather, clear night sky (and a really bright moon.) Good time to try out the teardrop!

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We got back from camping around lunchtime. After washing the teardrop, I decided to do a little more work on it.

I sprayed undercoating on the sides under the fenders. I may come back later and line the wheel well with a thin piece of steel (as suggested by skersfan) - it depends where I end up taking this trailer.

Before:

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Masked:

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Sprayed:

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Done!

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Tongue Jack

I added a BullDog jack to the tongue.

I had to move it back from the coupler to allow the swing-out on the truck to open.

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Here is before paint (I ground the weld down some - I didn't go overboard.)

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And after paint. Looks almost factory!

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I have some plans for the tongue area, and will repaint the entire section once all the mods are complete.
 
Backup Lights

I added some back-up lights to the teardrop. These should make backing up at night (either into a campsite or down my driveway) a little easier.

The plan if for these to be wired to the reverse circuit of the 7-pin connector, only coming on when in reverse. (I don't think I need them any other time.)

Before:

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During:

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After:

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I still have the trim rings to install.

Next, it's time to move the license plate up and out of the way.
 
Lengthen Safety Chains

Between the MaxCoupler and Ekhart receiver hitch (SoCal folks will know what I mean) the safety chains were a couple of inches too short.

I cut the hooks off, welded some figure "8" links to the hooks and some spare chain, and used a couple of screw chain links to put everything back together.

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April, 2014

We took a 1500 mile, 6-state trip. We slept in the TD 6 nights in a row! It never got too small - was very warm and comfortable. I need to build out the kitchen - we stayed in NP and state campgrounds, so we had picnic tables to use. But, in more primitive conditions, the kitchen will be nice to have.

Outside of Sevierville, TN

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Lunch, right off the interstate

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Kentucky

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And one at camp in Cumberland Gap NP.

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Electrical Additions on the way

I have mapped out some electrical changes/additions. I am going to add some lights and USB charging ports, and replace the existing 12V sockets.

Here are the parts, minus the lights (still looking for those.)

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Thank you. We really enjoy it.

We (me?) try very hard to stick with the "hard-sided tent" idea, to keep the weight down for off-road travels.
 
Getting ready the Kitchen Build

I have started to gather items for the kitchen.

First, a new stove.

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This one is the wide 2-burner. We opted for the wide model (wider burner spacing) to make it easier to cook with 2 real pots/pans (as opposed to camping ones.) We like cooking with cast iron, so this heavy-duty stove should work just fine.

The propane adapter is there because I am planning on using 1 lb propane cylinders rather than a 5/10/20 pounder. I have had good success refilling the 1 lb-ers, so this negates the extra cost.

Next, fancy on-board water.

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In keeping with idea of building this TD to be as light as possible, (and, there is no on-board power) I didn't want to use an electric pump for water. I opted for a manually operated marine pump. This thing is slick and smooth - no effort required to pump water. As I have seen on another thread, I will mount the pump into the water can lid. I am using a 10L can because a 20L can will not fit in the kitchen space.

Lastly - well, it speaks for itself.

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We went to Lynchburg over Memorial Day weekend. :wine
 
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