Tandem Axle Reverse Teardrop Camper (Harbor Freight)

NOTE: Each picture has notes at bottom right corner.

I built this tandem axle reverse teardrop in this design for a number of reasons:

I needed more room inside than what I could get in a standard 4x8 single trailer design. I am 6' 5" tall and wanted to put in a queen bed, but also wanted an area for electronics, 32" TV, DVD, radio, speakers. Also I wanted ample storage room, closet, cubby holes, electrical closet, and hidden storage.

I also had seen at least one example online of what a reverse design looked like and it appealed to me. I guess I never quite understood the original design of the standard teardrop having the blunt flat side forward and the slope design in the back. I planned on doing several thousand miles of highway driving and wanted it to be more aerodynamic and with less wind drag. The taller design (83" ground to roof) also gave me more galley room area for the fridge, microwave, cooler, and storage.

I started with two of the 4x8 Harbor Freight reds with the 5 lug wheels and largest weight capacity option. I bolted them together and started building up the base from there. It was critical that I reinforced the two trailers with the perimeter of PT wood using carriage bolts in through the frame.

It took me about 2 weeks short of 1 year to complete the construction working about 3-4 hours each day.

I took this camper on a 14 week trip through 17 states and put about 12,000 miles on it. This camper pulls like a dream, no swaying or drift. I was very lucky because I had no idea how it was going to pull. I lucked out on the placement of the axles, it was just a best guess location. The finished camper is heavy due to lots of wood product. I replaced the original tires with 8 ply tires that are heavy duty and hold up to 100 lbs each. This was a good choice.