Category: Sabbatical

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The Inaugural Trip

After leaving my dad’s around 2pm CT, I drove from Monroe, LA to Jackson, MS via I-20 and I was surprised to not really feel the trailer. (It was there, I checked every 20 seconds.) Very light-weight and slightly less noisy than the trip south-bound. From Jackson, I took the Natchez Trace Parkway north. (I wanted to…




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Driving Away

I guess it’s time I posted this last major build post. I’ll probably end up renaming and/or relocating the blog and continue with updates as the trailer build progresses. (Done.) And there will be trips to document too … For now, here’s what happened. When we last left off, we had primed and sealed the exterior…




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The Semi-Finale

Wow. Time flies when you’re busting your butt day and night to get a teardrop done. I’ve actually been home in Ohio for 3 days, back at work and back to reality, but I know I neglected posting for the past bit and wanted to update this to get everyone (that hasn’t already seen it)…




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New Kitten, Steak and Headliner

It’s been a few days since my last update – we’ve been so busy with the trailer and honestly I’ve been so exhausted every night, I haven’t had the energy to post. But, I’ve found some tonight. First, as you may have heard from other social media, I’ve adopted a new kitten from my dad’s…




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Wall Insulation and Cabinet Install

We’ve gotten a lot more done since the last update. First, I framed the insides of the walls with 1×2 “studs” and 3/4″ R-Max 3 insulation. Lots of measuring and cutting with the miter saw. Insulation in place and attached with Gorilla Glue. (There will be 1/8″ luan over the interior of the side panels…




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Shopping, Cabinets and Stain

Friday was a bit of a shopping day – getting a longer trailer hitch for the Jeep so I can actually open the back gate, looking at electrical components like fuse blocks and bus bars, ordering the interior electrical components (lights, sockets and a 12v electric blanket) and lunch at Waffle House where I gorged…




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Visible Progress

After two days of mostly structural work, Rolbak is finally starting to look like a Teardrop. You’ll have to wade through the structural stuff like we did before you can see the good stuff. (Or scroll down, if you’re lazy.) Wiring of the rear running lights (red) completed, grounded and clipped up well. Then we…




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Teardrop Taking Shape

It’s been a productive few days with the teardrop build. We’ve done some construction including weatherproofing the subfloor, cutting the teardrop sides and re-wiring the trailer for new running and brake lights. Rather than roofing tar, we went with Henry Asphalt Emulsion Sealer & Damproofer to coat the underside of the floor and subfloor. I…




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Trailer Building Begins

I have a bit of a backlog on posts about the first portion of my trip (PA wedding and the trip from Ohio to Louisiana) but I’ve made placeholder posts for those and will finish them up as I get to them. In the meantime, work on the teardrop has officially begun and I wanted…




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Trailer Plans

One of my two main goals for my time off is to build a Teardrop Trailer with my dad. (The other main goal is to relax.) Here’s a little background on the concept, reasons and plans. First, for those of you that don’t know, this is a typical Teardrop Trailer: (image courtesy of Ed’s Teardrop…