SoCal Tear Drop Owners! Post up!

[MikeH]

Found some pics with the awning side walls on. We use those a lot in cold or windy conditions. These are from our trip to the Expo.

 

[Chris Cordes]

Not sure if anybody is in Arizona or passing through, but I'd be happy so let you check out our trailer. It's a pretty well equipped 510, with water tanks, water heater, outside LEDs, the upgraded kitchen and side rails for the front area. I added a self made roof rack and mounted a Foxwing awning to it. We carry 2 solar panels modified into a book with a piano hinge and a latch for storage. I added 2 Optimas, that seem to keep up with the fridge and radio even at warmer campsites. We've done several weekend trips and a few weeklong trips with it so far. The trailer is constantly evolving after each big trip.

Okay we need to have a TD run! Im in prescott and constantly doing trips here on weekends.

@Yulli - I am a slow learner and just now realizing that it was you who I spoke with before my trip. You had a screenname change right? Sorry I'm slow. My trip was really hectic, ended up having to spend an extra night in BC before crossing the border, and then heading immediately down to Torfab to replace two broken exhaust mounts, so my time near Seattle was limited. If it's any consolation, instead of hanging out checking out your TD I did get to do some pretty amazing hikes in the Ho Rainforest and most of the Olympic Loop.

@Chris - you recommend the smaller trailer....mainly for width or for length or for both? There aren't many (any?!) switchbacks here in the east, just tight trails through the woods and a decent amount of trees. The 100-series is ~72"W tire footprint, so I imagine I would want the trailer to be as close to that as possible. SoCal lists total trailer width of 80" and 84" for the 459 and 510 respectively. Is that correct? 4.5'W cabin = 54". Add a 12"W tire on each side plus a few inches of clearance b/w tire and cabin so that sounds about right.

Honestly I would go with whatever makes you comfortable. We find the 510 to be perfect for our needs but ill be honest, ill take a good wide dirt road or open two track over a narrow slow trail every time. If you have issues with width in your area then the mid size may be the one to do. I've taken it through some narrow stuff before as you can see from where my tire tracks are in the photo below but never had an issue. (Maybe an inch to two inches from the sides) Like it was said earlier though it swings wider than some trailers and the extra width may be an issue in tight corners with trees. I have NO east coast experience haha im going off of things ive seen for drummond island for example.

 

[MikeH]

Okay we need to have a TD run! Im in prescott and constantly doing trips here on weekends.


Honestly I would go with whatever makes you comfortable.

A TD run sounds like fun. We've got a trip to Cali coming up in the first part of June. After that we don't really have anything planned. Just plan for higher elevations so we can escape the heat. Lol

Love the plate you have on that trailer.

 

[Yulli]

@Yulli - I am a slow learner and just now realizing that it was you who I spoke with before my trip. You had a screenname change right? Sorry I'm slow. My trip was really hectic, ended up having to spend an extra night in BC before crossing the border, and then heading immediately down to Torfab to replace two broken exhaust mounts, so my time near Seattle was limited. If it's any consolation, instead of hanging out checking out your TD I did get to do some pretty amazing hikes in the Ho Rainforest and most of the Olympic Loop.

That's alright. Hectic trips can't be fun sometimes. Was this your first time to WA? What was the Olympic Loop like? Was it hard? Do you have any pics? I don't know a lot about the Olympic Loop and have always wondered.

 

[Yulli]

I don't have any solar power or a generator, but I'm going to be camping for 3 nights, 4 days. Will I be ok on power? I have the Sears Diehard Marine battery. Only power I'm running is the fridge and maybe the LED lights at night. Maybe the stereo here and there.

If I hook the truck back up to it and run the truck for awhile will that charge the battery some, too?

 

[dusty122]

if thats all you are running you should be fine. i went nuts on upgrading the power on mine but thats because i have to run an inverter all night which really kills the battery life. if you have a good 12v fridge and just led lights and probably even the fan you should be ok for awhile.

 

[Yulli]

I have an ARB fridge.

 

[fireball]

FWIW I have a grp34 secondary battery in my Land cruiser, it will run my ARB63qt fridge for 2-3 days tops in the hot summer months before reaching the mid-level shutoff point on the ARB. I forget what the exact voltage is. Somewhere on here are some calculations you can do with fridge draw and battery amp hours to see how long it will last.

You can hook the truck back to trailer to charge for a bit, but depending on what size your wiring is it will almost certainly be quicker to just "jump" the main car battery to the trailer battery and let it charge that way.

I just drove the tarmac around Olympic National Park. A few gravel roads here and there, but no real trails. Fun portion of the trip though!

Thanks to the others for all the photos, very helpful and informative thread!

 

[Rick Rockey]

There has been some talk about the hinge on the Moby1 galley door leaking when it rains and the corrections that were made. But now I want to ask, has anyone had any water leak issues with their SoCal TD?

 

[mvbeggs]

So Cal Leak?

There has been some talk about the hinge on the Moby1 galley door leaking when it rains and the corrections that were made. But now I want to ask, has anyone had any water leak issues with their SoCal TD?

I did have a leak around the driver's side, cabin door when I first got my TD. I had driven through a torrential downpour for over 30 minutes. I was traveling 55-60mph, with the rain going sideways onto the trailer. (It was a really bad storm!)

Called AT when I got home, sent some pics over to Mario. Mario sent me a couple stiffeners for doors. After installation, haven't had any more issues.
I think the issue was a small amount of warpage (is that a word?) of the doors. The stiffeners flatten the door providing consistent contact with the door seal. Before install, a dollar bill would slide between the door and the seal. After install, nice and tight.

 

[Yulli]

I had one small spot and it was fixed. Nothing major and no issues now. Discolored a tiny spot of wood but didn't hurt it.

I've taken the hose to it and it's sat in the rain with no issues now.

 

[Keith Starr]

Yulli, would you be able to post some pics of the brackets you made for your awning?

 

[Chris Cordes]

Yup the new doors have double deals and stiffeners which solve the issue.

 

[Yulli]

Yulli, would you be able to post some pics of the brackets you made for your awning?

Yeah I can. I will when I get a chance. I'll try not to leave you hanging. I just used 4"x4" angle steel. I cleaned them up rounding the corners and stuff and coating them with black paint.

 

[trout4rnr]

Hi this is Mike with Voyager Adventure Teardrops we are a. R.M.F. for So-Cal. The flipper doodles are a great design for keeping things secure without taking up much space do to the design. I had the pleasure of talking to your wife a week or so ago about the 510XS vs. the 4.5x9 Krawler. If you don't plan on taking on narrow Jeep trails I think you will appreciate the extra space inside. It gives more room for your dogs when camping or kids and grand kids. I just found this thread and will start following. So if anyone has any questions I will be more than happy to help.