DIY Feature - Adam Berger
After 3 months of keeping his teardrop build a secret to surprise his fiancé, Adam and his family are ready to take their new teardrop camper on some epic adventures!
Adam completed his build in Greenville, NC. He used our DIY Hopper plans.
What made you want to build a tiny camper?
I’ve always liked the idea of the tiny home and tiny camper stuff. Just the thought of essentially keeping it simple has always intrigued me. My fiancé and I started a tiny camper build a couple years ago but we abandoned the project. Now we have a little boy and I wanted something where we can just go and have somewhere whenever.
What was your experience level with the skills required to build a camper (wood working, electrical, metal work, etc.) when you started?
Most of my skills are self taught. I did some woodworking in school but besides that, nothing professional. I’ve built some stuff out of work through the years but nothing like this. Electrical and metal work, I’ve done my share of that through my day job. I’m a master automotive technician, so wiring this thing up was fun, I know 12v very well.
What was the first step in your build?
My first step was committing. I had the 4x8 harbor freight trailer that I bought the year before. Just if I wanted to do this project, I had to stick to it and get it done.
What was your favorite part of the build?
All of it was my favorite part, it was a complete blast to build. But I really enjoyed building the structure. I precut everything, to make it go as if I had to kit to build. I was building this 45 minutes a day on my lunch break, so I could only do so much. So each day just visually getting to see these piece of wood become this awesome looking shell, it was just so much fun.
What was the most difficult part of the build?
Hands down the most difficult part was not telling my fiancé. I was building this as a surprise, and only being able to do about 45 minutes a day, sometimes a bit more. I would be exhausted because I didn’t actually take a lunch break for a few months, so that was tough. Oh yeah, poor man’s fiberglass, I hated doing it. It’s not the worst thing, but the amount of room I have during that step, just made it all around unpleasant.
How long did it take you?
I got the plans in August 2022, started building October. I bought all the doors and wood and everything beforehand, so the build would constantly flow. So it took around 3 months.
If you're comfortable sharing, what was the total cost of the build?
Honestly, I don’t even have that number. I have all my receipts in a folder, I haven’t tallied it up yet. I told myself I’d do that next year.
Would you do anything differently?
If I wasn’t trying to keep this as a kind of budget build, I would have don’t actual fiberglass or aluminum siding instead of the poor man’s fiberglass.
What has been the best part of owning a tiny camper?
The best part is saying I built that for my family to enjoy. We are looking forward to so many trips, and seeing who we meet along the way.
Any tips for someone that wants to build a tiny camper but doesn’t know where to start?
Plans like this help a lot. Wander tears did a great job with all the information provided, both in the plans, and also on their socials like instagram and YouTube. Also, price out your total lumber beforehand, so you know what to expect. And take your time, don’t rush anything.
How did using Wander Tears DIY plans and having the resources provided affect your build process and time?
The DIY plans made this possible. I had made my own trailer design in SketchUp and this blow my design out of the water. Full parts list, how to cut the 4x8 plywoods. They have great suggestions for accessories, which I bought most of, or I found similar in the colors I wanted. If I would have done this from scratch without the plans and resources, it probably would have taken twice as long, or I wouldn’t have started at all.
“Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.”
Looking to build a DIY Teardrop Trailer of your own? Check out our detailed DIY plans to get started now and adventuring sooner!