The Swiss
Expedition Leader
I would not have expected anything differently from you. Are you taking orders?
:elkgrin:
Little Guy
- Thread starter Hilldweller
- Start date
:elkgrin:
mrlocksmith
Adventurer
Heck.. what's up with people dumping their RTT's.. oh wait I did that last year myself ...only I have been sleeping in my rig.
Check out the latest post from the Adventureduo.com web site. They are doing the same thing and have a good review of krawler from So. Cal Teardrops.
I have heard both good and bad about the little guy's. I have read a few blogs that narrated some poor craftsmanship issues. You can find them on a google search.
I looked closely at a rough rider on the web and I must say it has my attention.
Mark
Check out the latest post from the Adventureduo.com web site. They are doing the same thing and have a good review of krawler from So. Cal Teardrops.
I have heard both good and bad about the little guy's. I have read a few blogs that narrated some poor craftsmanship issues. You can find them on a google search.
I looked closely at a rough rider on the web and I must say it has my attention.
Mark
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
I contacted several other teardrop builders as well; they build great products but two things got me thinking of Little Guy primarily.
1) The others prefer a narrower build and anything wider than 5' for the bed was unusual for them; they would do it and weren't afraid of it, but it wasn't something they did often or completely sympathized with. Little Guy builds lots of 6-wides and Chris brainstormed with me like we were twins separated at birth.
2) Huge price difference. Likely due to the fiberglass skin rather than aluminum, but I'm not intending to hit the Rubicon Trail with it. FS roads and a few minor trails; as few campgrounds as possible.
Another pic of the custom build they're doing now:
4x4x4doors
Explorer
Im going to little guy head quarters this weekend, its only a couple hours from me. Looking at a rough rider (duh). I have been researching teardrops for a while, unfortunately, I dont have time or resources to build one, and AT's are out of my price range)).
I havent been able to find many long term customer reviews. 4x4x4 - how has your held up?
Mine has held up great and I couldn't be more pleased.
Like you, the custom ATs were out of my price range and building myself wasn't an option. (I was in the doghouse already for a long-term truck project that had occupied the garage and gone way over schedule although I stayed in budget.)
I bought mine from a dealer about 250 miles from me at the end of the 2005 season. Mine is a 2005. They had used it as a demo/rental and let it go for a bargain price.
Mine has been stored outside and uncovered since then. Last year, I did have to replace the roof vent because the plastic had oxidized and deteriorated. It never leaked, just didn't seal airtight any more. Not bad for 5 years. I replaced it with a fantastic fan vent. Turns out the LG was prewired! so that was an easy chore. It also was a money-well spent upgrade. Last summer, I woke up cold had to turn the darn thing off.
I replaced the included double AA powered lights with 12 vdc and run them and the vent fan off a battery now. The battery comes home with me and gets put on a charger in the garage. This year I hope to get it mounted permanently and wire it to charge off the truck.
The 2005 model had two doors into the storage cabinet that faced the sleeping area. I bought two more and will have them face the galley. LG already made this change in production models.
In 2005, they had a tongue problem. As it finally turned out, I believe the final count was 3 that needed replacement due to a supplier screwup. They notified me of the issue and offered to pay for me to have it inspected locally rather than take it back to the selling dealer. As it turned out, mine was not one of the 3 affected but they would have allowed me to have it repaired locally as well with them picking up the charge. No hassles at all and very responsive service.
Mine doesn't typically go much further into the wilds than a FS road. Nothing hard core yet. It still has the 26-27 inch tires although those will need replaced this year due to age cracking.
I'm the guy no one wants to go camping with as I will bring the rain and wind with me. I had to get out of a tent. This is great for me.
I can be set up in 10 minutes. I can also be packed in similar time.
In the morning when I wake up, I open the door and put my feet down just like in my BR at home. As noted, the wife doesn't rough it any worse than Days Inn and she will let it be known that it was lacking so I don't have feedback on the 2 or more persons aspects.
It looks as good and seals out the weather as well today as when I bought it.
Design-wise: As noted the additional storage doors.
I would make the fenders flat top to better use as shoe storage.
The screens on the doors are inside and low. If the load inside comes in contact, it can wear a hole through them from movement while towing. Better packing on my part would also solve that.
My first time using it was colder than **** and on a mountain top. Condensation was my only issue. After the first night, I learned to crack the vent just a wee bit.
I have stayed in a campground when it was cold and threw one of those 1000 watt ceramic heaters in. First time was turned too high and you could have baked pizza on your sleeping bag.
I sleep on a 4-5 foam just slightly wider than my sleeping bag. This gives me half the floor space to spread out or store if I want. With two people, you'd need to be more inventive/careful.
If you spend a lot of time in populated campgrounds, I would consider adding a shower curtain type enclosure to make it possible to stand up outside and get dressed.
I have only stayed "off the grid" for a max of 4 nights at a time. It gets used about 15-20 nights per year although last year was less because of scheduling.
Teardrop trailers
Hell everyone
I am building my own tear. I am aproximately $1,200 into the intire build. I used a Harbor freight or Northern tool 4x8 trailer frame. All the studies/research i have done is that the weakest link is the tounge of the trailer. Since i do not plan on taking it over rock crawling rock trails. I will use it only for the light off road F.S. roads. So i am not to worried about the small tires or axel. Should you like to see some more info for your buy's or builds check out TEARDROPS & TINY TRAILERS. COM. They have an extensive wealth of info on these teardrop trailers. I should have my completed by June if everything works out properly. I am about half or three quarters done with mine. Aslo check out tear Jerkers .com
There are so many different types of trailers, ideas, customs. All the info you could possibly want.
Hell everyone
I am building my own tear. I am aproximately $1,200 into the intire build. I used a Harbor freight or Northern tool 4x8 trailer frame. All the studies/research i have done is that the weakest link is the tounge of the trailer. Since i do not plan on taking it over rock crawling rock trails. I will use it only for the light off road F.S. roads. So i am not to worried about the small tires or axel. Should you like to see some more info for your buy's or builds check out TEARDROPS & TINY TRAILERS. COM. They have an extensive wealth of info on these teardrop trailers. I should have my completed by June if everything works out properly. I am about half or three quarters done with mine. Aslo check out tear Jerkers .com
There are so many different types of trailers, ideas, customs. All the info you could possibly want.
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
ummmm, tearjerkers.net. Big difference...
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
Yours will be great; the headroom will be awesome.
I just wanted the bigger bed ---- I didn't want/need a second bed...
JJBiggs
Supporting Sponsor | SEES
At 80" long, I challenge you to find a bigger bed. And, we could certainly make that two person happen.
C.
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
The Little Guy is 72" wide though.
You're sticking with 60", aren't you?
The Swiss
Expedition Leader
Well, this has pros and cons: I fully understand your need for space. On the other hand, there is a huge advantage if the width of the trailer axle matches the track of the vehicle, specially on soft grounds, sand and snow. If you have a 6 foot wide trailer sitting between the trailer wheels, the width from fender to fender will be huge, which will be an issue in the woods. Would be nice if the living space would extend over the fenders.
You truly are a trendsetter, Jim
I still think yours is one of the best looking ones. And with your new trailer, you might be leading the way again, my friend.Great sum-up of your experience with the Little Guy; thanks!
Can't wait :wings: really looking forward to seeing your prototype.
BTW, there is an additional trailer manufacturer that I'm in contact with that is working on something interesting; I will post when the time is right.
