Impressions of the AT Teardrop

[gjackson]

So Martyn and Mario were kind enough to loan Connie and I the prototype AT Teardrop for our recent Overland Training alumni trip to Baja. Since several people asked, I though I'd throw out some impressions of the trailer.

The Teardrop takes care of two essential aspects of overland conveyance; shelter and kitchen, and does it elegantly. One reason I have resisted using a trailer for overland travel up until this point was I had no need for extra cargo capacity, something that most trailers essentially are. Not so with the Teardrop which is a hollow shelter and replaced our Technitop RTT for the Baja trip. With the kitchen area at the back, the trailer is perfectly suited to ultra-fast camp set up, something that is very welcome at the end of the day. And being a hard shell living area it proved very comfortable in the high wind (which destroyed two tents) and the rain we experienced. As with any enclosed sleeping area we did get a lot of condensation inside on cold humid nights when we were unwilling to leave the window open. The inside area on the prototype is slightly too narrow and narrower than the Technitop we are used to, but the production model is six inches wider.

The kitchen area is nicely laid out and super easy to use. I love the stove and easy access to the fridge is welcome. One gripe with the position of the fridge; we didn't fully load it as we already had a fridge in the Defender and being at the back of the trailer everything in the fridge got severely pummeled on the corrugated roads. This could easily be solved by careful packing. Power for the trailer was never a problem and the led lights give plenty of light. The interior is very comfortable and even in high wind conditions, detached from the vehicle, the trailer was quite stable.

That all being said, we did have some problems. The air spring/shock on the drivers side failed 4 times on the trip. Turns out that the shock was unscrewing from the top mount and then the air spring would collapse. Mario had included a spare shock, but it was a bit of a bad sign when we had to use the spare at the initial meeting point before even entering Mexico. I think that either there was no or much too little locktite on the shock threads. The replacement lasted 3 days before folding in the same way after a long corrugated road. After the second failure I started rebuilding the shocks with locktite and once I started using red (thanks Nick) it solved the issue. We had one other problem with a locking hitch pin that failed, but that was easily replaced with a regular pin.

Getting used to driving on tight roads and in crowded towns with a trailer took some getting used to. On several occasions I found myself running out of turning arc and unable to back up as the trailer was already 90 degrees to the Defender. It never became a real issue and was just something I had to adjust my driving style to. Also backing up took a little practice, but was not difficult.

One thing that Baja always seems to do is push hardware to the max. While we did have some problems with the suspension, the overall build quality of the Teardrop was exceptional. After all the miles of corrugations there was no sign that the trailer structure was failing in any way, and even all the door seals were holding well.

Final thoughts: loved it in camp, not so much love on the road, but I can put that down to lack of experience on my part and only having taken possession on the day the trip started. We had no time to adjust our overland routine before we were on the trip.

The trip report thread is here:
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35481

Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/otbaja2009/

Some pics included below.

cheers

 

[Abel Villesca]

Thanks for sharing your impressions. I love the near instant set up of the Teardrop. It looks great behind the 110, too!

 

[Connie]

I thought it would be hard to back, as I am used to a 20ft box trailer, but it was MUCH better than any other small trailer I have driven with.

I have heard that the production version has a thicker mattress...?? That's crazy because there is no way that it could be any more comfy.

I agree that the extra width that the production model has would make all of the difference. The doors did not seal well enough, but I understand that they have fixed this on the production model.

Not being used to the trailer, I can't count the number of times that I walked around to get something out of the back of the truck to encounter a door in my way and I had to walk all the way around the trailer. I know that I would get used to this in time, and usually it was to get kitchen stuff, that if the trailer were ours I would have moved into the drawers by the stove.

Our routine is pretty set and working in a new element was interesting, parking with any kind of a trailer is always a pain in small towns. But wow, being instantly ready to start cooking or go straight to bed was amazing! Having somewhere to retreat to other than the front seats of the truck in bad weather was also great.

I love the trailer and it handled great on difficult terrain. I can't believe with the miles and miles of corrugation and with what the contents of the fridge did, that there was absolutely no sign of stress to the interior structure of the trailer. I really looked it over for stress fractures and the like, but there were none.

When I am used to something, I hate change, but I think I might be willing to adjust my thinking for one of these. If our truck wasn't set up full time as an overland vehicle I would go for this trailer in a heartbeat! Hmmm the Range Rover isn't set up full time.

 

[Abel Villesca]

Not being used to the trailer, I can't count the number of times that I walked around to get something out of the back of the truck to encounter a door in my way and I had to walk all the way around the trailer.

LOL! I still do that camping with my Chaser. I agree with you about the ease of backing AT's trailers compared to small trailers I've towed in the past. :sombrero:

 

[Martyn]

Graham & Connie thank you for your feedback on the AT Teardrop.

The production model has a few changes from the prototype.

The door seals are doubled which makes the seal very positive and keeps out any dust and moisture.

As you said the cabin is six inches wider, and the tongue is longer so we can accommodate four fuel cans.

There is also the option of a 19 gallon water tank with skid plate mounted under the body behind the axle.

We are working with the manufacturer of the Air Shocks to work out why they would unscrew themselves. There are various scenarios that can cause it, you mentioned two, either no locktite or not enough locktite. We are also looking into the brand of thread compound, and also if there was a film of chemical or grease left on the threads from the manufacturing process that played some part in all of this.

It's a shame that you had the failures, it's a testament to your skills that you worked out the problem, and came up with a viable long term solution.

Obviously we'll remedy the problem, after we have investigated it, and it will no longer be an issue. If air shocks are not your "cup of tea" coil overs are an other solution. The Fox coil overs are a bolt in replacement, so there are lots of alternatives out there.

 

[1leglance]

I was really impressed with the almost zero setup the teardrop needed when arriving in camp.
Most camp trailers have to be raised, unfolded or have something done before you can crawl in to sleep. If you aren't hungry then with the teardrop it seems like you can just open the door, get in, and close your eyes

These test with a pre-production model are always tough because you don't want to judge something like the shock or interior size to harsh when there might already be changes.

I am looking forward to the folding trailer now!

 

[p1michaud]

Trailer impressions

Having rented and used a Trackabout trailer for the first time here in Australia on a 5 day trip I was really interested in reading your comments regarding the trailer. Since our trip we've been raving about the kitchen set up in the trailer we used and discussing the down side of pulling an extra 680Kg. As with any set ups there are benefits and compromises. I know that AT trailers are just about half that weight, is that true for the Teardrop as well (including four fuel can holders and one water tank underneath)? I've been spending a bit of time looking at the four AT trailer models to decide what one would suit us better at some point in the distant future. As already mentioned the very alluring aspects of the Teardrop are the "open the door and go to sleep" part as well as the easy kitchen. Any thoughs on kitchen use during inclement weather?
Cheers,
P

 

[Borrego60]

A nice and honest write up on the tear drop. Looks like the Martyn and Mario did it again. But I still love my Horizon,it never complains and follows me everywhere I go like my dog Bingo.

 

[gjackson]

Any thoughs on kitchen use during inclement weather?

The rear door acts very well as a canopy over the kitchen. But that's all it is. No worse than what we have with the 110, but it is still a 'live-around' option meaning you will get exposed to the weather.

cheers

 

[Martyn]

Front Runner has a nice awning that would work well in conjunction with the rear hatch, providing lots of covered area around the kitchen. It's on the long list of things to do.

 

[Blackeye]

I am not in a position to provide additional review on the performance AT Teardrop during our Overland Training Baja Adventure, but I would like to contribute some pictures.

Awesome cucumber sandwiches Connie! Thanks again.

 

[kai38]

I'm digging these teardrop trailers, I'm thinking about selling or trading my M416 with RTT for a teardrop.

 

[Connie]

Any thoughs on kitchen use during inclement weather?

If the wind hadn't kept changing direction every 2 seconds on the beach, we could have parked it into the wind and been fairly protected.

The night that we had the worst wind (so bad that it flattened a tent, and Troy and Travis tied theirs to the Jeep) was after our u-joint went, so Mike was kindly towing the Teardrop since we were in 2 wheel drive, we parked the truck next to the trailer to give some extra protection and were able to cook dinner, even in the high wind. The hydraulics on the back hatch are strong enough that I was never worried that the wind was going to close it on me.

 

[James86004]

When I am used to something, I hate change, but I think I might be willing to adjust my thinking for one of these. If our truck wasn't set up full time as an overland vehicle I would go for this trailer in a heartbeat! Hmmm the Range Rover isn't set up full time.

You can't have too many options, Connie. We have the backpacking setup, the Dormobile setup, and a little tent trailer to tow behind the pickup truck. The Dormobile setup is preferable when trying to negotiate tight places. The pickup + tent trailer is way nicer when you have a central base camp that you do short day trips from, because you can leave camp set up. That teardrop would be even nicer because there is almost no setup involved, but there is also no place for our 8-year-old to sleep. So, it will have to wait another 10 or so years.

 

[mrchips]

bummer that the interior can not sleep a 6'7" person, otherwise I would be all over the Teardrop.