Since starting Factory Five racing over 30 years ago, Mark Smith’s customer base has consisted of talented people who know a damn thing or two about the DIY lifestyle. As a kid, I watched him and my Uncle Dave race at open track events in a custom Cobra they built and eventually sold as a kit to thousands of people. I was 14 when Smyth Performance came along, and I’ve been here ever since. I handle production while the old man does the R&D. At any given day at our shop in Rhode Island you’ll see me flying around trying to get kits out the door while Mark thinks up the next Ute design with a tape measure in his hand as he talks to himself like a mad scientist. It’s a good system and we make a good team. Perhaps more importantly, we both understand the value of a culture built around people who build things themselves. Mark’s life work has been about enabling the DIY crowd to create an amazing machine that doesn’t break the bank with quality materials that can easily compete with the most expensive cars out there. 

 

Flash forward to a few months ago. Mark was playing around with a teardrop camper that he could use to haul his motorcycle and go camping with my mum. I saw the designs and I wanted to build one myself; my brothers and I had been talking about doing a Canadian surf trip for a while, and I saw this as the perfect pod to haul surfboards with and sleep in. 

 

As the design was becoming finalized and we started to assemble the all-aluminum shell onto our 4x8 Harbor Freight trailer, we both realized that we had a hit on our hands. Producing these trailers as IKEA- style kits would be significantly simpler than our normal kit car production process, and we figured that the final results would have just as much of an impact on the DIY teardrop market. I told Mark we should offer this trailer to a few DIYers within the Smyth kit car community as a way of testing the market, and here we are.

 

What started as 10 beta slots became 25, and now we’re planning all-out production. The beta customers will be building these trailers alongside us in May, and in June we will have an arsenal of build content to show the world. By the way, we quickly realized that the camper/RV market is not only huge, but filled with a ton of clever people who love personalizing their camping gear. Add some motorcycle hauling capability and the vision starts to expand dramatically. In the RV/trailer business it is not just the 20k pricing of teardrops(that's not a typo...20 grand!) it is the huge shipping fees dealers and builders have to pay to transport these little teardrop trailers. We flat pack the pre welded bolt together teardrop panels and parts just like Harbor Freight and tractor supply does and the shipping goes down from over a grand to a few hundred bucks. 

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Here is the magic formula:

 

1-Pick up a new or used 4x8 or 5x10 flat utility trailer. Harbor Freight, Tractor Supply or Lowes(usually no shipping fees) do a terrific job of keeping these in stock for 500 to 1300 bucks. Used like new trailers on FB marketplace are everywhere by the way...

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2-Assemble the trailer or fix it up after rolling it home and register it so you can use it to pick up your 300 lb. Smyth crate at a shipping terminal near you.

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3-Assemble your Smyth all aluminum forever teardrop on your new or used trailer and go nuts with all the possibilities.

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The beta program is open to any DIYer who wants to have some fun with this project. We’ll fill summer production and use all your input to refine all the little details and options that people want. Things like a storage box in the front of the pod, electrical systems, inverters, water tanks, you get the idea. 

 

A few guys plan on using their Smyth Teardrop to haul drag slicks for racing in the popular Drag n Drive events around the country. Some plan on using it just for camping. Others don’t even know what they’re going to use it for, they just loved the price and the idea of a cool project that can be done in a weekend. Add a custom wrap to the sides to match your tow vehicle and you're rolling with a bit of class that only aluminum can give you in the trailer world.

 

A little style and aluminum goes a long way. One of the biggest advantages of this trailer has nothing to do with traveling; an aerodynamic aluminum trailer will always look better in your yard than the current norm of big, ugly, plywood-based boxes. 

 

Whatever you decide to do with this Smyth Teardrop, have a bloody good time with it. We specialize in kit cars, one of the most complex consumer products in existence, and we’ve sold thousands of them to amazing customers. The Smyth brand made its name in the custom car market, and now it’s time to offer ultra high-quality teardrop camper kits under the same philosophy we’ve always had: create well-designed kits which enable customers to create something structural and beautiful without breaking the bank.

 

This ain’t no plywood box on wheels for $20,000. The two Smyth Teardrop models (4x8 and the larger 5x10) are all-aluminum beauties that are poised to change the game with their price and quality.

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The first 25 beta trailers are being sold around cost (figure $1800 base for the 4x8 version and $2200 for the 5x10 unit without the door and exit window) to those who want to be a part of the launch. We couldn't limit the beta program to Smyth Ute builders since many talented DIYers reached out after some good press in May. When we enter full production in July the price will go up by about $1000.

 

The only decision you have to make is what door and window openings you wish to have cut for your build. Mark's shown has all the cutouts for left and right doors, left and right small windows AND a front heavy duty crank out window.  You can specify any combo of these openings. Add 500 bucks for a teardrop 30x36 door and a 33x20 screened exit window for starters and for 2300 bucks you are rolling and camping in style. 

 

Check out the specs below and then book your June build.

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Cheers,

Coop Smith