Family Camping With a Teardrop or Similar?

[kbahus]

Looks like the wife is fairly excited about camping and exploring this spring which is great but I am having a hard time choosing an adequate trailer. We sold our FJ80 and Fleetwood Neon before moving to Michigan this fall as we were not sure what we were getting into. I have replaced the truck but now need to start looking for a trailer. The budget is around 3k-4k which does not seem like much but I will hold out for a good deal.

The family consists of a growing 2 year old and a 85lb lab so a queen size or similar bed is a must. The Neon was adequate and towed very well but the setup time and teardown time was a negative. I do think the furnace was the most important feature that we will need in our next trailer.

I am really liking some of the larger expo teardrops I have seen on this site. I like the simplicity and towability. I am concerned about space, the need for an extra awning or tent for changing, and where to hide and cook if the weather tanks for a couple days.

Thoughts?

 

[Pax2525]

i looked into teardrops while pondering very similar questions. I moved away from them due to those reasons you discussed. If I am going to tow something I want it to be big enough to sleep all of us and get us out of the weather. If I still need to pack an extra tent or something, then I figure we just tent camp.

This being said I haven't landed on what I want fully either. We've had a small tent trailer, large tent trailer, and now a VW van.

 

[TXLX]

Prob not what you want to hear, but you could do pretty well with $3-4k with a pop-up, awning, furnace, water storage, big beds, storage, etc. Setup, tear-down, stocking it, durability, and wind are the downside of a popup.

 

[SoCal Tom]

In general a tear drop is meant for two people. With a little one like yours, you could probably be ok for a little while, but before long it will be too small. The real advantages of a TD are that its ready to go, toss in food and clothes hook it up and go. When you arrive the bed is down and ready. Depending on your space for storing it, I would recommend either a tent trailer (fits in a garage like a TD) or a small camp trailer. Both are heavier, and have their own trade offs , but will probably work better for you.
Tom

 

[NC_IslandRunner]

TearDrop campers are awesome, mine has a queen size bed. But I wouldn't be comfortable with a large dog and a small child inside with me and the wife, one of them I could do. You can get a TD with a king size bed but even then you might grow out of it. With your budget you might need to look at pop-ups, a A-Liner would be great but unlikely you will find one that cheap.

 

[kbahus]

Thanks for the replies. We went to an rv show that had some Little Guy teardrops as well as an A-liner. After getting in the teardrop there is no way it would work for us. My wife loved the Aliner though so that is going on the list. I think we will be tent camping this season due to funding issues, but that is ok since we can still get out and have fun.

 

[fike]

You could try putting a rooftop tent on top of a teardrop. Kids would love it.

 

[JMacs]

For a budget build, you could consider a cargo trailer conversion. Make it as big as what works for you tow vehicle. There are a lot of these on tnttt.com forum.

The kid, and maybe the dog, could sleep in a suspended cot above your feet, kind of like the cot / storage over the truck bed in a Flippac.

 

[Toyo4Runner]

Hi! just stumbled upon this post. im a newbie here by the way. I own a Toyota 4Runner. I plan to go on an camp out with my kids next month and we'll just go on a light trail. reading on this thread made me learn different things I have to keep in mind. I am still a newbie when it comes to off-roading. i found this very informative

 

[dustboy]

We are 4-up in a 6x12 cargo conversion, me, wife, 4 y.o. and 1 y.o., and our 50-lb pointer. We have a full-size bed, older kid sleeps above our feet in a bunk, youngest sleeps in a pack-n-play on the floor. Not much room to move around but once the youngest is ready to share the bunk, it will open up a lot of floor space.

The kids sleep better in a warm and quieter space, sometimes the late night campfire gets rowdy. We can load food, water, clothes and hitch up and go and virtually no setup time.

The biggest drawbacks so far have been the weight of the trailer, our V6 tow vehicle simply can't get us up some of the hills when we're in the backcountry. Several destinations have been missed due to this. MPGs suffer a lot too, my truck normally gets 20 on the highway but it's down to 12-14 with the trailer.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I've seen a few cargo trailer conversions and they were nicely done. As has been pointed out, though, the killer is weight. Cargo trailers are designed to be durable, not light. I wouldn't even think about pulling one with my V6.
.
If you shop around you can find decent small travel trailers in the 15 - 17' range in your budget. They might need a little work but you can find them. They're not terribly heavy but they're not light, either, figure at least 2,000 - 3,000lbs loaded up for travel. They also aren't really "off road" capable but they can make a very nice "base camp" and you can go and set up, explore for the day and then come back to the trailer.
.
For very light weight options, consider an all fiberglass trailer like a Casita, Scamp or Burro. These have about the same "footprint" as a small travel trailer but they are much lighter, typically 1500lb or so depending on length and equipment.
.
We currently have a T@B but I can't recommend that for a family, it's really a "couples" trailer.