Gonna build me a teardrop trailer

 If you haven't seen it already, I'm building a teardrop trailer.  One of my friends asked me 'why'?  So here's a short narrative of the why question, and a little on how as well.  

This started from a desire to have a vehicle for camping and riding.  This desire predates COVID-19, and really involves a couple of things.  

- I can't comfortably sleep on the ground any more.  Between various injuries, ailments and conditions, one of which being age, I am in absolute agony by the time two nights have passed.  

- I want to be able to travel both during the ideal times of the year, and also during the less traveled (read not many tourists).  That might mean hitting the desert in the wintertime, or the mountains in the fall.  That also means having heat/AC for creature comfort. 

- And I'm nearing retirement, we want to be able to travel with the fur-kids, and they aren't really adapted to hotels.  (hint: warning us that someone is outside is ok in the house, but isn't really welcome in a Hampton Inn).  Also, most hotels impose a non-refundable pet fee, even for truly well mannered dogs who won't poop on the rug.

I've been researching the costs, pluses and minuses of doing a sprinter van conversion, and had really thought that 2022 would be a good year to buy one and outfit it.  And then COVID upset all our lives.  The price of a reasonable used sprinter went from 15-18K for an eight year old truck with 100K miles, to 24-30K for a 10 year old truck with 150K miles in the course of a year.  That pretty much put it out of reasonable range unless I wanted to sell the Volvo and drive the sprinter as a daily driver (*not* happening).  I also looked at other conversions and build projects, like U-hauls and Airporters.  The chassis for those is a lot less, but there are lots of negatives.  

The next avenue of investigation was a full-blown motorhome.  I'd love to say I had done all the research I should have, and waited for just the right one to come along, but I'll confess that I jumped in a little before I should've.  I bought the proverbial pig-in-a-poke.  And honestly, the price was such that if it had burned up on the side of the road driving home from Phoenix over the 4th of July weekend, I'd have been irritated, but not damaged.  Inside was remodeled, the engine and suspension were strong, but the outside... Lipstick on the pig wasn't going to make this a pageant contestant.

I took care of the odd bits - new radio, fixed the roof leak (*every* older motorhome has these), fixed up a few odds & ends, and we took it on a road trip a month later.  It was an interesting trip.  Aside from stranding us in the Walmart parking lot in southern Iowa with a starter issue, it ran fine.  But my wife did not like the noise, the speed (or lack thereof), the noise, the speed, the lack of mobility, and the speed.  Did I mention the speed?  At 55mph, most small Class A motorhomes get somewhere around 7-8mpg.  At 70, that drops to 5-6.  So you drive at 55-60 and get passed by everything - semis, big motorhomes, school buses, etc, etc.  Yeah - we agreed to flip it.  A couple of months later, it was out of the driveway for about what I paid for it.  Worth the cost of the lesson.  On the way home though, we played 20 questions about what was on her 'list' of requirements.

• 70mph
• SUV or Suburban (she really liked my old Suburbans)
• Small enough to not be in the driveway
• Does not chain us to an 'RV park' 

I have no problems with any of the above.  We talked about a teardrop, and I started to research those.  Like anything that enables independent vacations (bicycles, motorhomes, trailers, camping, etc), COVID has hit the price and availability of Teardrops.  And yet, one of the appeals of a teardrop has been the abilty to DIY your own.  More research.  Assess my abilities as a builder of toys.  Ummm - find a frame.  They don't readily exist, and a professionally built frame would cost nearly what I paid for the stupid motorhome!  So I spent 18.99 on a book - Tony Latham's most excellent ''Building a Teardrop Trailer", started sketching out ideas, and realized that I have access to a full panel CNC machine at TC Maker, plus access to a full welding shop, wood shop, and more.

  

The more I thought about a teardrop, the more I liked it - and the more I thought that our requirements were not met by most of the commercial packages.  Having a comfortable place to sleep, escape rain/heat, and the ability to camp in a civilized manner when off-grid (like BLM lands), plus being able to power up an Insta-pot or campstove and have a refrigerator were definite requirements. Oh, and access to a shower, porta-pottie, were definitely points in favor.  The size decision was pretty easy - a 4x8 is too small.  With two Labs, a queen-size is not 'optional'.  Having a kitchen out back, heat and batteries had to go someplace, so 10 foot was the requirement.   

Did I have all those skills?  Eh, in a word, no...  But I've been drawing in CAD for the past year or so for 3D printing, and CNC is just removing material instead of adding, so I figured the skills would transfer.  Welding?  How hard can it be?  I'll take a class and practice.  The folks on YouTube make it look pretty
easy.  Here's a clue - it's a *lot* harder than the YT pros make it look.  Stack of dimes?  Uhh, how about a jumble of pennies mixed in peanut butter.  Yeah, not smooth.  But with some practice, I actually did get to the point that I am reasonably certain that my welds - if not beautiful, are functional.  And with that, I'll direct you over to the other blog - https://Swampwerks-teardrop.blogspot.com.  

(And for those not aware, "Swampwerks" is my 'business' - I design and market bespoke watch holders for paddling, fenders for mountain bikes, and other odds and ends for industry.  I sell enough to pay for my printers, and that's about it.)

What am I listening to?

It's been approximately forever since I posted a playlist.  I got out of the blog habit, got lazy, and oh... there's been this COVID thing that pretty much shut down live music.  That didn't stop me from listening to music - thank you Hayes Carll, Corb Lund, Jamie Lin Wilson, Tom Snider, Emily Scott Robinson and others who had regular concerts from their living room, bedroom closet, office or studio.  I think many artists have struggled to make it during the pandemic, and here's hoping they are all able to get back on the road and in front of their audiences soon.  

Also, good music doesn't have an expiration date.  I go back and forth over the years and genres, and some of these are insanely obscure.  Sorry, can't help it.

So what have I been listening to?  In no particular order, here's a sample:

Rose Queen - William Clark Greene.  If you haven't found him, please give him a listen.  One of the best young red dirt songwriters.

Someday Soon - Suzy Bogguss.  To be clear, this is an Ian Tyson song that's been covered by virtually everyone in country music, but IMHO, she still does it the best.  (A young Ian Tyson isn't too bad either!)

Evangelina - Colter Wall.  This is a classic Hoyt Axton song, covered from the bunkhouse/tack room.  When I first heard Colter Wall, he was _dark_.  Gritty, edgy songs, a voice that came from somewhere deep, but he was *good*.  It's taken a while for him to catch on, and his later albums have lost some of the voice quality that got my attention to start with.  I've read in interviews that he forced that voice, and I find I like his newer stuff better.  Much more Marty Robbins, less Johnny Cash with a dose of Paul Robeson.  At any rate, I don't think he's released Evangelina yet other than on Youtube, and it's fantastic.  

Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits.  This is still one of the most moving anti-war songs ever crafted.  Mark Knopfler's voice, guitar work, and the band are so tight and the lyrics are simply spot on.  If you aren't moved, you aren't listening.

Long violent history - Tyler Childers.  Ignore the album.  He's still learning to fiddle, and the fiddle tunes are just so-so. Watch his intro to the song and then *listen* to the song - and read the lyrics.  We need more artists like Childers, Sturgil Simpson, Rosanne Cash and Jason Isbell that are willing to stand up.

Under Pressure - Queen w/David Bowie.  Two of the absolute best artists who ever graced rock.  One of the best duets ever, from any genre.

Fantasia - John Dowland.  The album is from the early 1970s, ¨Lute Music from the Royal Courts of Europe¨ by Julian Bream.  I had this album when I was in high school, and this particular song is absolutely beautiful.

Old Gods - Emily Scott Robinson.  Her new album is excellent, and now that she's signed with the late John Prine's Oh Boy Records, she's getting a lot more (well deserved) notice.  If you like what you hear, check out Traveling Mercies.  I love that album, but it addresses much, much darker stuff.  And she's absolutely a wonderful, genuine human being!

Jessica - Allman Brothers Band.  One of the most amazing instrumental pieces ever.  Who needs words?  Dickey Betts' guitar does all the talking.  

Pizza and beer, #3

It's 2022, and I'm back with another edition of "Five people I'd like to sit down with for pizza and a beer".  Again, the criteria are pretty straightforward:

• I like what they are doing/saying/singing or I want to learn more about them
• I think they would actually be interesting to talk to
• They have a KB # less than 3. (Kevin Bacon number - no more than 3 degrees from me)

So with no further ado:
1.  George W Bush - Politician.  President Bush's politics aren't my cup of tea, but he's always seemed like a reasonable guy, and _always_ struck me as someone I'd like to know. He rides a bike, drives a truck, and generally seems like a decent sort.  Question - Looking back at your career, what one decision would you change?
2.  Lena Headey - Actor.  I've absolutely no idea what Ms Headey would be like to talk to, but after hearing her on "Wait, wait", she seems to be exact opposite of the character she plays on Game of Thrones.  Question - How do you get yourself into character to play Cersei?
3.  Kikkan Randall - Athlete.  There is no doubt in my mind that a huge part of why the US Nordic team has been having success over the past 15 years is Kikkan.  Kikkan has retired, but she'll always be a star in my eyes. Question - how do we capture what you accomplished and apply it to other sports?
4. Ken Jennings - GOAT (at least on Jeopardy.  Why not?  He's obviously intelligent, has a biting wit, and seems to be a pretty neat guy.  Question - what's the toughest non-trivia competition for you?

5. Dan Price - CEO, Gravity Payments.  Not many CEOs making 6 figure incomes are willing to chuck it and work for 'salaryman' wages.  Fewer still would ever consider setting base pay for all workers at 50,000+.  His company not only survived the pandemic, but has thrived.  I want to meet this guy.  I want to buy him a beer, buy him a pizza, thank him for being insanely bold.  Question - WTF were you thinking?!?!?