Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
Here's the story: Wife and I both like camping but we're old enough that sleeping on the ground doesn't hold much attraction for us. We tried camping in the back of my Tacoma when I had it, but while that works for one person camping, for two people and a dog it's just a little too cramped.
After discussing it for a few months, wife and I decided to get a teardrop trailer. We love the teardrop design with it's retro-30's look, and we don't need anything bigger. We started looking on Craigslist and we found a gorgeous home made teardrop in Glenwood Springs, and yesterday we drove up there and got it.
Here it is when we picked it up and hooked it to my 4runner:
They guy who built it is an amazing craftsman with wood (he also builds electric guitars - there were a few half-finished guitars hanging on the wall in his garage/workshop where he built the trailer.)
We hauled it home the 165 miles from Glenwood (including two high passes - Vail at 10,600' and the Eisenhower Tunnel at 11,000') without any problems. In fact, my average MPG for the round trip was 19.9!
Here we are at a rest area near Eagle:
The guy who built it pulled it with a 2nd gen Tacoma and I guess his trailer hitch was rather high. Good news for me, it means that if I put a lift on my 4runner I still won't be dragging the tail of the trailer.
The builder built it on a heavy duty utility trailer frame so it's pretty heavy. He estimated 1100lbs but I'll get it weighed so I know for sure. Although I did "feel" the weight of the trailer (especially climbing Vail pass from 8100' to the crest) the 4runner seemed able to handle it well.
This morning we started taking pictures. Here I am standing next to it. As you can see, it's not huge, but the floor area is bigger than a queen sized bed, so it should be perfectly comfortable for sleeping.
Both of the large round windows open and they both have screens for ventilation. We love the turquoise paint he put on the interior!
Interior is simple but spacious. Sleeping pads were included as was the iPad holder and a speaker system! There is even a working air conditioner.
The "galley" isn't as spacious as on some other teardrops, but that gives me more legroom. You can also see the back end of the air conditioner here.
Our cattle dog Shaila seems to think it'e her personal rolling doghouse!
The umbrella was included and you can see there are brackets to hold it to the trailer.
The builder used marine-grade plywood and put a "teardrop" shape on the roof with the stain. It's also heavily varnished, as I'm sure you can imagine.
So now all she needs is a name. Wife suggested "Woody" like the Toy Story character, but I said that with all those curves, it's definitely female so maybe "Jessie?" We still aren't sure. Maybe something "tropical."
ANyway, we're looking forward to a great series of trips starting once it warms up a bit!
After discussing it for a few months, wife and I decided to get a teardrop trailer. We love the teardrop design with it's retro-30's look, and we don't need anything bigger. We started looking on Craigslist and we found a gorgeous home made teardrop in Glenwood Springs, and yesterday we drove up there and got it.
Here it is when we picked it up and hooked it to my 4runner:
They guy who built it is an amazing craftsman with wood (he also builds electric guitars - there were a few half-finished guitars hanging on the wall in his garage/workshop where he built the trailer.)
We hauled it home the 165 miles from Glenwood (including two high passes - Vail at 10,600' and the Eisenhower Tunnel at 11,000') without any problems. In fact, my average MPG for the round trip was 19.9!
Here we are at a rest area near Eagle:
The guy who built it pulled it with a 2nd gen Tacoma and I guess his trailer hitch was rather high. Good news for me, it means that if I put a lift on my 4runner I still won't be dragging the tail of the trailer.
The builder built it on a heavy duty utility trailer frame so it's pretty heavy. He estimated 1100lbs but I'll get it weighed so I know for sure. Although I did "feel" the weight of the trailer (especially climbing Vail pass from 8100' to the crest) the 4runner seemed able to handle it well.
This morning we started taking pictures. Here I am standing next to it. As you can see, it's not huge, but the floor area is bigger than a queen sized bed, so it should be perfectly comfortable for sleeping.
Both of the large round windows open and they both have screens for ventilation. We love the turquoise paint he put on the interior!
Interior is simple but spacious. Sleeping pads were included as was the iPad holder and a speaker system! There is even a working air conditioner.
The "galley" isn't as spacious as on some other teardrops, but that gives me more legroom. You can also see the back end of the air conditioner here.
Our cattle dog Shaila seems to think it'e her personal rolling doghouse!
The umbrella was included and you can see there are brackets to hold it to the trailer.
The builder used marine-grade plywood and put a "teardrop" shape on the roof with the stain. It's also heavily varnished, as I'm sure you can imagine.
So now all she needs is a name. Wife suggested "Woody" like the Toy Story character, but I said that with all those curves, it's definitely female so maybe "Jessie?" We still aren't sure. Maybe something "tropical."
ANyway, we're looking forward to a great series of trips starting once it warms up a bit!
