Teardrop Camper Galley Rebuild

In November of 2022 I bought a 1961 Scad-A-Bout teardrop camper.

I had been planning to build a small camper from scratch for over 4 years, but this teardrop camper came up for sale in my area for a really good price and in fairly good condition. New tires, new rims, clean rust free fame and all of the electrical with plenty of fuses was done right. With my cleaning supplies in hand and a few items to be removed, I went to work.

The galley (small kitchen) in the back of the tear drop needed some TLC. Someone before me had tried to change things around and wasn't in the best organized condition, as it was put back together with a few issues and no sink for water.

So with a few purchased items and a few weekends to tinker in my garage, I finished the galley with running water, a map and penny counter, organized drawers, a cool jar lamp and two small foldable shelves in the camper.

I had pretty much everything on hand but needed the epoxy for the counter, the sink drain (found for 2 bucks at the habitat store) and a big dog bowl (found for 8 bucks at Tractor supply).

Pennies

two part epoxy

dog bowl

facet

paper map

Mod Podge

Wood glue

2 x 4 lumber

MDF 3/8 sheet

Jig saw

drill

black spray paint

Hand tools: screw driver, drill, razor blades, scissors

Door hinges

drill bits

Natural Pallet Wood Frame Round

wood stain

wood wax

After purchasing the largest dog bowl I could find, I made some measurements and cut the counter for the bowl. It will become the sink after I cut with a hole saw the bottom out and placed in the drain.

I drilled a hole for the facet.

Taped off the area around the slightly sunken counter and painted it black with some spray paint. I coated it three times to make sure I had a good black surface. The reason is I wanted the pennies to have a dark background source to pop out more once the pennies were covered in the epoxy.

I used duct tape to seal and make a fence around the bowl cut out. This will keep the epoxy from flowing over the cut out.

Mixing the epoxy as per the instructions, I filled in the area with pennies and then poured the epoxy to a thickness of about 1/4 inch over the pennies.

After the epoxy was cured (about 24 hours) I used a Mod Podge glue on the other counter surface, placing a paper map over the counter and then healthy coats of (three layers) Mod Podge over the map to harden the surface.

Hooking up the 12 Volt DC water pump to the facet and using a bucket filled with water i made sure the pump and sink worked with no issues. The seal on the bottom of the dog bowl worked and the water pump and hoses had no leaks!

Hooray!

Checking the fit of the bowl and adding the sink facet in the counter, my job here was done.

I wanted to use a jam jar as a light fixture in the galley and use LED lights to reduce power draw from the battery. The original bulbs were small and did not put out a lot of light.

I used a milk container to cut out a square section to make the glass more opaque and soften the LED to a glow.

Drilled some holes in the top of the jar lid and a few spacers, I wired the lamp into the top self over the counter.

After taking everything out of the lower area under the counter, I started to layout how I wanted to put back the drawers. I also knew I need to be able to access the fuses on the back wall of the galley.

I cleaned everything and started to build the framing for each section of the drawers. I used 2X4s to allow me some stronger framing and used the original drawers and slide rails.

Checking the fit of the drawers and measuring out the frames, I screwed in the frame. I used 3 inch screws and make sure I had a strong frame.

I used two hinges and a MDF sheet cut to size to make the water storage area door. I used a vintage door latch to keep the door secure while the camper was traveling.

With the new storage drawers done and a new solid frame, I can now place all my kitchen accessories and supply needs for my camping trip.

With a small round pallet, I decided I would make two small shelves for inside the sleep area in the camper.

Using a jig saw I cut the round wood sign in half, stained the wood and then after the stain had dried I used a wood wax to seal the wood. Taking three hinges and a small thin piece of wood, I made the folding shelf.

I screwed the shelf into the door, so that when i sit in the door opening in the morning i can set my tea cup on the shelf and enjoy the nature!

Adding little items into the teardrop camper was a great experience and allowed me to visualize how cooking in a small galley while camping will add more pleasurable hours to my adventures.

I will be writing more Instructables that will focus on the teardrop camper in the next few months, as I want to add a solar panel, curtains, and a small power center for check the battery charge and charging my cell phone. So stay tuned and happy making!