The following introduction to the Free Teardrop Trailer Plans was originally published on June 12, 2008. It explains how the original trailer was born into our family. – Mark
“This project started in late 2007. I sold one of our Subarus and purchased a Jeep.”
The Need For Camping
I have enjoyed the off-road possibilities of the Jeep and have told my wife (a.k.a. Senior Management of this project) about all of the modifications to the Jeep I would like to make (lift kit, cool air intake, bumper dumper, etc). Senior management seemed to frown upon these ideas. She made comments about how ridiculous some of my ideas could be (which some of them are!) and something about how our bank account is empty…bla bla bla.
The DIY Teardrop Camping Trailer
I presented my best idea to Senior Management: A rooftop tent for the jeep (which would first require a new roof rack!). A friend found a design that was inexpensive and could be easy for our camping needs (It can be found here). Senior Management nixed the idea citing the difficulty of climbing on to the roof of a Jeep in the dark just to go to bed -especially with children. Since this is a marriage, I kept searching for the solution to my desires for convenient and inexpensive camping.
Back to the internet of 2006, I stumbled upon several websites for teardrop trailers (What is a teardrop trailer?). Senior Management was interested in this proposition. I researched teardrop trailers for about nine months and finally decided to build an off-road 5’X10′ teardrop trailer. A custom DIY teardrop trailer will fit our needs better at this point than anything else we could find commercially. Plus, this is a great opportunity for us to work together on the same DIY project.
The Homemade Teardrop Trailer Build
This tutorial presents the process of building this DIY teardrop trailer. Senior Management dubbed it the “jPod” because it is quite small and being pulled by a Jeep. I liked it so it stuck.
The Free DIY Teardrop Trailer Plans
I’m really surprised by the number of people who’ve made their own version of the jPod since 2007. There are copies of this trailer in South America, Russia, North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle-east. It is an honor to help builders, like myself get outdoors in a great teardrop trailer.
If you decide to make a homemade teardrop trailer based on my free teardrop trailer plans…good for you -and me. However, I do not take any responsibility for design failures or injuries you may inflict upon yourself or others. I am simply presenting my project. Be smart kids! Wear a helmet, earplugs, underwear, goggles, and other forms of safety protection. Keep it safe and legal.”
Overland Trailer & Braxos Film, LLC assumes no liability or responsibility for these plans. Use at your own risk.