Our Teardrop Story:

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Since starting Factory Five racing over 30 years ago, Mark Smith’s customer base has consisted of talented people who know quite a bit about the DIY racing/custom vehicle building lifestyle. As a kid, I watched him and my Uncle Dave race at open track events in those amazing Factory Five Cobras that they built and sold to thousands of builders around the world. I was 14 when Smyth Performance came along, and I’ve been here in ever increasing roles ever since. I handle production while the old man does the R&D and new products. Any given day at our shop in Rhode Island you’ll see me and Will flying around 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 all 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, the key being quality materials and great engineering 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. Open track guys love camping at tracks. I saw the designs come to life 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 and sleep in.  Some bigger tires and this thing would go off grid anywhere.

 

As the design was becoming finalized and we started to assemble the all-aluminum shell onto our 4x8 Harbor Freight trailer, we all realized that we had a hit on our hands. EVERYONE who came by the shop wanted one. 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 the results are dramatic. Both the larger 5x10 version as well as the smaller 4x8 teardrop you see here were instant no questions asked hits with those folks that love a beautiful design and the all aluminum race car based structure without plywood.

 

What started as 10 beta slots became 25, and now we’re looking at a nice shift into full production in July. The beta customers are building these trailers alongside us in June so we will have an arsenal of build content to show the world this summer. 

 

By the way, we quickly realized that the camper/RV teardrop market is not only huge, but filled with a ton of clever people who love personalizing these wonderful small campers. Add some motorcycle and Quad hauling capability and this little pair of teardrops starts REALLY making sense. In the RV/trailer business it is not just the 20k+ pricing of teardrops(that's not a typo...OVER 20 grand!) it is the huge shipping fees dealers and builders have to pay to transport these little teardrop trailers to the end customer.

 

Not only can you pick up a boxed flat packed 4x8 or 5x10 trailer at Harbor freight or Tractor supply, we also flat pack this kit into a large but compact crate that you pick up at a shipping terminal...with the trailer base that you just bought! The roof and sides and large rear access hatch are pre welded and bonded, they simply bolt together onto your frame. This easy shipping and build convenience is a huge part of why this project is so fast and instantly rewarding. Since you get free shipping for your 4x8 platform as you pick up at Harbor Freight, the total shipping goes down from over a grand for the other trailer manufacturers to only a few hundred bucks in the Smyth system. 

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The heavy gauge structural aluminum skin with the beefy aluminum welded tubing re-inforcement gives you a super high quality "forever" shell with endless custom possibilities.

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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 1500 bucks. Used like new trailers on FB marketplace are everywhere by the way...but we are partial to the well made and packaged Harbor freight bargains.

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2-Assemble the trailer or fix it up after driving 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 teardrop on your new or used trailer and go nuts with all the possibilities.

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The beta program feedback has already led to add-ons like a front storage box and custom heavy duty shelf fenders. We will fill summer production and expand slowly in the fall. Things like electrical systems, inverters, water tanks, hot water...all of it is coming together fast with the clever bunch of betas adding things weekly to the community. 

 

A few guys plan on using their Smyth Teardrop to haul drag slicks and tools 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 beauty of a trailer that can be done in a weekend. Adding a custom matte wrap to the sides and you're rolling with a bit of tw-tone class that only aluminum can give you.

 

A little style in aluminum goes a long way. One of the biggest advantages of this trailer has nothing to do with traveling; let's face it, an aerodynamic aluminum trailer simply looks 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 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 over the last 30 years. The Smyth brand made its name in the custom car market, and now it’s time to offer ultra high-quality aluminum teardrop camper kits under the same philosophy we’ve always had: create well-designed and engineered kits which enable customers to create something strong, lasting and beautiful.

 

​The first batch of post-beta production trailers are priced at $2300 for the base 4x8 unit and $2900 for the base 5x10 unit. The only decision you have to make is what door and window options you wish to add to your build. Mark's teardrop shown above has 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.  

 

Check out the specs below and then book your build.

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Cheers,

Cooper Smith