Because this is probably what you’re actually here for: PICTURES!

In summer/fall 2017 I embarked on a project. It was totally doable, I thought. Two months, hopefully. Three months, max. Five months later, it was almost completely done, and several months after that, in January 2018, I finished off a few lingering pieces preventing me from getting on the road and headed off toward the south and the warmer temperatures I hoped to find there.

Foamie the First is a teardrop camper trailer — specifically a variant called a “squardrop”. It’s 4’x8′ and features a bed in the main cabin and a galley in the fold-up back hatch. I have an electrical system with a deep cycle battery mostly situated on the tongue, and various other bits and bobs. It’s basically like a thousand other teardrops you’ll see all over the place online.

Except that it’s made out of foam and canvas, and was built by someone who is not only a complete amateur, but also pretty much the opposite of gifted in the craftsmanship skills department. It’s a lot stronger than you’d think, going by the materials, and people have been making these and taking them out on the road for the better part of a decade now.

If I can do it, anyone can. It’s lightweight, economical, and I purchased everything I needed from big box hardware stores, amazon, and just a couple other online retailers. I wanted to make sure that everything I did was easily replicable by anyone else with a similar (non-existent) skill level, and some basic tools. I welded nothing. The woodwork involved was extremely minimal and poorly executed. I got precisely zero measurements perfect. It turned out fine anyway.

Over the next few months, as I see how things do and don’t fare with on the road full-time teardrop living, I’ll be putting together a build guide. This will mostly be what I learned from building and living in the teardrop, as well as the research I did and advice I got from the people on the Foamies section at tnttt.com. I’ll also include both materials sourcing for what I used, and what I wished I’d used, and other options I considered, which should be super helpful for budgeting. And if you do decide to go for this project, feel free to float me any questions you have.