Teardrop in 2014+ or expedition trailer and RTT in 2013+?

Kharn

New member
Hi everybody, I've been an occasional lurker for a few months and decided to join the action.

I've wanted a teardrop since discovering the world of tiny trailers and reintroducing my girlfriend to camping, but having tent camped for two seasons, my GF and I are getting tired of sleeping in a ground tent due to the usual disasters that seem to target people in tents. The extra effort of gathering all the camping gear from its various hiding places, packing the truck after work, arriving after dark and having to set up with flashlights and headlamps and the river that always seems to spring up directly underneath the tent regardless of how carefully we select the spot on the parking pad have been detrimental to our camping experience and we'd like to find a solution. We usually camp in state parks and boondock on occasion, but no great expeditions through Moab, off-roading, etc, we mainly go camping just to unplug for a few days, so rather pedestrian when compared to many ExPo members.

I would build a teardrop this fall/winter, but our garage is packed with my lawn equipment and my plan to build a shed this summer has been delayed until at least the spring due to more critical house projects. So one option is begin building a tear next spring/summer, hoping to have it campable late in the 2013 season, if we're lucky, but spring 2014 if anything delays the project.

The other option is a small expedition trailer and roof top tent, probably built on a Harbor Freight 4x8 trailer shortened to 4x6'. I could do the large plywood cuts on the driveway and handle the trimming, fitting, primer, first paint coat, biscuit and kreg prep, etc, in the basement without much difficulty, and then assemble it on the trailer over a fair-weather weekend with two more coats of paint once assembled to seal the seams. Being able to work in the basement regardless of weather would be a big help, and the smaller scope of construction would mean a high probability of being campable in early spring. The RTT purchase would be a bitter pill to swallow, but the total build cost seems to be about the same between the two options (mainly due to lower amenities on the RTT build). If we ever decided to upgrade to a teardrop, we could sell the trailer and keep the RTT for housing additional campers or sell it as a package, depending on circumstances.

So it boils down to: Camp another season in a ground tent to have a teardrop in 2014+, or compromise and have another form of tent, but sleep off the ground and our gear always packed for 2013+?

Any thoughts?
 

INSAYN

Adventurer
Ever looked at the Jumping Jack, or Carefree tent trailers? Spendy yes, but seem very well built.
I could see them being easily outfitted to suit your camping style.


You could also keep an eye open on Craigslist for an older used popup tent trailer. Sometimes you can get one with some TLC needs for $1000.
 

Aspen Trails Trailers

Supporting Sponsor
Most women that I talk with do not like the idea of the roof top tent. Hate the ladder, hate the mattress and mine hated the small area for cooking. Build her a tear drop, you will be her hero.

Bob

www.aspenXtrails.com

Home of the strongest, most trailworthy
Off Road Tear Drops made.
 

TheThom

Adventurer
Me three.....

Make that 4.

It'll take longer, but you'll be able to have EXACTLY what you want. I'm building a camper trailer from scratch and it's a pretty in depth process to source out every single piece. But that's what makes it so fun! So many possibilities. Also, wouldn't it be nice to arrive on site and be in your camper within 30 seconds?

The RTT ladder would be a show stopper for my wife.
 

rangerdogg

Adventurer
Well I bought a used popup last year and it looked good but after a few months then put away for season. I opened it up and found the rear a mess and the roof messed up also. I took it apart and started to rebuild it but the money and poor quaility made me reconsider. So then i found more info on roof top tent so i bought a tepui autana . I have truck its on that at the moment ,and it will be fitted on my utiliyty trailer next year. The size is real nice and quality is there plus i have the annex to cook or have my stuff and kids sleep there .My wife doesnt mind climbing the ladder and for what it was going to cost me to fix it , i bough this cheaper. Plus the pop wasnt that great. I took all the parts out i wanted to use when i build my trailer up.If you were closer I would sell ya the popup frame a u would just have to cut it and has new tires on it. If you want pm me for more info.
 

Kharn

New member
While I was thinking about it today, I thought of a third plan: Build a quick trailer, not many frills, just a weather-proof box for our ground tent, chairs, bags, crates of cooking gear, etc, with a deep cycle battery and place to securely hold a propane tank so a tree can be attached (we currently use 1lb bottles and always overpack for fear of running out).

The second biggest benefit (beyond not having to pack/unpack the truck) would be the battery letting us use our CPAPs (we're currently forgoing them whenever we can't get a site with electricity, which leads to cranky mornings until the caffeine kicks in), plus power tent lights and a fan without burning up AA and D batteries. I'm very hesitant to transport a wet-cell battery in the back of the vehicle due to the joyful time we'd have if it spilled (plus how heavy one is), and not too thrilled about the propane being inside the passenger compartment with us in our current arrangements.

Rangerdogg:
Thanks for the offer, but I was thinking of a gear trailer more along the lines of 4x5 or 4x6, not a pop-up-sized one.
 
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jim65wagon

Well-known member
If you are seriously thinking of a teardrop you can do what we did and plan a camping trip around a rental. If you have any reservations (is it too small? will I be claustrophobic? Is it as comfy and cool as it looks on the net?) about teardrop camping call Miller Trailer Sales in Perkasie, PA they rent teardrops by the day or week. It really helped us decide 1)That we really wanted and could live with/around a teardrop and 2) That we wanted to build one and not buy one of the uber-cool pre-built offroad versions and 3) How much space/storage/equipment we would need for our upcoming lifetime of "adventure"

You also have the choice of buying someones homebuilt that they are selling (craigslist, ebay, tnttt.com and tearjerkers.net). You might be able to get one for a reasonable price with the amenities you desire.

If you are serious about building: register on tnttt and tearjerkers now! You will find more info there on construction than anywhere else on the net. The folks are mostly friendly too. Then you can spend the winter reading build threads and deciding what you need and how you will build yours. We planned ours for almost a year before we actually started buying anything. Google sketchup was our winter-time fun, no Xbox 360 that winter(or the next, that was build winter)!

My also unanimous rec is for the teardrop of course!
 

Kharn

New member
Jim65wagon:
Thanks, I've been a member on TNTT and TearJerkers for a while, and we camped with the TJs whenever we could in the last year. We've checked out the local LittleGuy dealer and are totally fine with how compact they are on the inside, but we aren't interested in paying factory prices for something not quite what we want (we really aren't a fan of their kitchen lay-outs and a few other things that bugged me from a construction standpoint)
 

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