Whale Tail

Tail lights and reflectors in place. Door with lock fitted and white edge trim detail. The lip of the hatch which weatherproofs the galley needs developing into a porsche-style whale tail.

The Quike

http://www.steppebysteppe.com.au/construction.html

How about one of these to tow a lightweight tear? It's a sociable tandem recumbent quad bike. It has a 500kg gross weight laden with two riders, camping kit, food and 150 litres of water. Transfer some of the kit to a tear and this would be ideal for a leisurely touring getaway.

Alternative Door Finish

Revised door finish with just the edges detailed in black vinyl. It is astonishing how much heat a black surface absorbs. My plans for a totally black tear have been scrapped, it's white and light colours only.

The edge of the roof is shown capped with a weatherproofing black trim piece.

Door

Experimental door with perspex tinted window. The door skin is covered with gloss black vinyl, looks good but absorbs solar heat and is hot to touch in contrast to the cool to touch body skin.

Open Hatch

Open hatch revealing rear storage or cooking area.

Hatch Cover

The cut-out is now fixed to the hatch skin. The skin material forms a weatherproof live-hinge along the top edge.

Hatch

The rear hatch is framed between the roof skins during the forming of the body shell. The cut out section which matches curve of the body, forms part of the hatch door.

Tear For Hire

http://www.clevercamper.co.uk/

A cute Tear available for short term hire. Beautifully customised and fully equipped, a great way to try out a Tear for a weekend before plunging in for your own.

Teardrop Club of Great Britain

http://tcgb.freeforums.org/index.php

A new forum for tear drop trailer users, enthusiasts and builders. It's an off shoot of a long established international forum with a growing number of friendly and knowledgeable members migrating to swap info, tips and banter with a British accent.

Body Shell

The completed basic body shell has integral strength independent of the chassis. Body and chassis are bolted together making body units interchangeable and simple to update or replace.

Body Strength

Even with just the inner roof skin, the shape can support the body weight on it's roof.

Body Shell Construction

The walls with profiled inner walls fixed to outer walls and rear storage shelf in position. Inner roof skins are fixed to the floor, ready to wrap to form the inner tear drop shape. The walls are a sandwich of fluted polyethelene sheet skins bonded to an EPS insulation core. The roof is the same but the sandwich is formed by wrapping the layers around the inner wall profile.

Inner Wall

The cut out profile of the inner wall. The notches are for the rear storage compartment and front shelf storage.

A Simple Chassis

Strong, simple and lightweight. A draw bar of 50mm box section welded to a beam axle with two 500kg suspension units. The jockey wheel is not strictly necessary, but worth it just for the fun of pushing and steering by finger tips.

Tear From The Rear

Kerb weight c 130kg with suspension rated to 500kg. Car size wheels to match the towing vehicle.

Lightweight Sleeper Tear

A tear drop shaped body, large enough to sleep two people in comfort on a mattress under a cosy duvet. Light enough to be towed behind the smallest of vehicles by any driver with a full driving licence.