Teardrop American

[curtis c]

Have you considered Krylon Fusion for plastic?
http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion_for_...tallic_shimmer/

I've seen it on plastic lawn furniture and it looks great. No idea how it would last on at trailer.

one reason they may have told you not to paint it is some paints will actually melt plastic. another reason may be that the paint will not stick to it because its too smooth of a serface to take the paint. in that case you may want to etch it in order for the paint to stick. in both cases be sure to use a small spot to test the paint on the plastic in case it melts or destorts. for example if you were to use engine block paint the binder in the paint will most likely melt the plastic. these warnings are usually on the paint itself but many people dont read the fine print. hope you can get it painted. i would look for a shop that paints boats. just my 2 cents tho

[Donna D.]

If painting the entire body isn't feasible, perhaps the wheels and tongue could be painted to match the tug and some cool graphics too which could be decals?

[J.D. Slusser]

For Rachel, I have just aquired a 1989 OUTBACKER by american teardrop, I am pretty sure 89 is the "only year" they were made as the company was out of business in 1990. (info looked up on internet) I have original brochure on mine and in 89 they were introduced as NEW ! My friend & co-worker had bought this one new in 89 and had not used it in several years, so after some friendly bartering I finally purchased it for the whopping sum of $300... as far as painting it goes, it had a factory Creme colored paint already on the shell (polyethelene ?) plus a not so cool CAMO paint scheme on top of that, so I took a chance and tested two different types paint ( acryllic enamel & lacquer )on the painted and the "gray"non-painted surface in the back galley area with no damage to the plastic. The laquer I tested dried much faster and did not require a hardener mix. so it was used, if you have not yet painted your camper and are still thinking about it, I would recommend using a good automotive laquer primer first followed by laquer based paint, and test it the way I did just in case it does attack the plastic, if the test area does not bubble or put off heat the paint should be OK...

[Donna D.]

For Rachel, I have just aquired a 1989 OUTBACKER by american teardrop, I am pretty sure 89 is the "only year" they were made as the company was out of business in 1990.

Pictures? The only ones we've seen are stock.

[james kent]

I think that Paul has gone.
He hasn't responded to this thread in almost three years.

[J.D. Slusser]

Pictures? The only ones we've seen are stock.

Well Donna This one is pretty much stock too, Have made some modifications to it and more to come. Plans include a interior roof brace of 1" square stock bolted to existing metal door brace's (roll bar style) to support ABS from sagging. I have already fabricated center divider in galley to support galley hatch for same reason.. this 20 yr-old is still pretty strong, but has experienced some heat related sag on the large flat areas..easy to remedy...

[J.D. Slusser]

Pictures? The only ones we've seen are stock.

Oh ! forgot to add this,, Tear-jerking behind my wifes little jeep, were fixin to go "somewhere" Maybe Ghost Towning in Arizona or Utah..Who knows? ( I will take my fly rod though! )

[Douglas Knudson]

Oh ! forgot to add this,, Tear-jerking behind my wifes little jeep, were fixin to go "somewhere" Maybe Ghost Towning in Arizona or Utah..Who knows? ( I will take my fly rod though! )

I recently purchased a Teardrop American trailer and am in the process of remodeling it.




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Do you still have yours? Doug

[Gregg M.]

Doug, I am the guy in Oregon that was mentioned earlier. I will start at the top and end with pics if I can figure out how to post them...As far as paint: you can paint it with any common acrilic paint after priming. We used standard crylon sandable primer then top coated with zolatone with no reaction. The pod was painted at the factory with a base coat of white zolatone. The unit was built for 1 year 1989 , in 1990 they went bankruped.... I highly recomend you ditch the origanal chasis for a more substantial design . and loose the plastic and nylon straps that are holding the pod to the trailer or it may fly off the trailer at freeway speeds!!!!!!!!! In order to run a larger tire you will have to flip the axal under the liefe springs this will add about 4" of lift and allow a 185 80 13" tire and wheel combo to fit nicely. If I can manage to post them you will se ouer solution to the storage issue. We converted ouers to an off road trailer, While this may not suit everyones needs it sure garners allot of atention every where we go. We injected several gallons of cryogenic foam under a 3/4" marine plywood floor then used the floor for the foundation for the intearior (LOTSA WORK) but it came out real nice.

[Gregg M.]

I will now try to post some pics of the allmost compleated unit....

[Gregg M.]

Ok now that I have the hang of this I will continue. If you use your stove inside the back of the trailer as it looks like a previous poster is doing you will end up with a runny egg. The doors were a problem for Teardrop American from the start. Thay all leaked through the hinges and seals. We solved this problem with redesigned hinges and new softer gaskets. I don't have pics of this mod but I will take some tomarow. We replaced the stock door props with gass struts ( I highly recomend this mod if you value your fingers). Lots of thease had the same probem with the spring breakage and burn through the fender well issue. I patched mine with the same foam we injected under the floor . Basicly it squirted out of the fender damage (crack) when it hardened we sanded it smooth sealed it then painted it..... I have the better part of 500 hours into this thing to this point....."some projects are never done. We are going to the silver lake meet in April to dabut the "X POD" Hope to see some of you there..... If you need any more info or help gimmy a haller and i will se what I can do. Gregg PS: sory for the poor spelling .

[Joseph Domingos]

Hey All,
Just wanted to let you know these are the neatest looking little trailers, thanks for all your posting, pics & sharing & KEEP IT UP so all of us 'lurkers' can keep watching, K? hehe
Joe

[lauramoncur]

I just bought a Teardrop American Outbacker. It needs a lot of work, but we got it for only $1500, so we're happy. I posted all the pics for it on my blog:

Starling Travel: Teardrop American Outbacker - Our Dream Teardrop Trailer

We are towing it with our Prius, so the lightweight plastic is great for us.



I can't wait to get the peeling paint stripped and get this thing camp worthy!

[Donna D.]

Congratulations Laura and Welcome to FiberglassRV.

I think the Teardrop American is dang cute. If I was looking to buy a teardrop, it would definitely be at the top of my list. Make tons of camping memories!