Let's talk Teardrop Trailers

Just got the Tacoma last week and finishing up the trailer build now. Should be able to camp in it next week

 

Those colors look great!

 

You are putting matching wheels on the trailer, aren't you?

 

Right now they are matched for the Jeep. I decided it was going to be a little heavy for the jeep. So for now I will have to carry a spare until I am ready/can afford swapping out the hubs and wheels

 

This is my on-road 2012 Treeline Teardrops 5x9 Sierra. Treeline is a franchise of Socal Teardrops. Been tweaking things out over time, but now we have a 3 yo, and all three of use cannot sleep in the cabin, so I've related myself to a cot in the back of the truck as of this year. As he gets older, like 5 I think, our plan is to put an RTT on top for kiddos. It was never intended to be offroad, but I may look into more robust tires and suspension down the road, so to speak.

Taking possession with my old 1st gen, virgin voyage to redwoods.




I have no idea what we're doing, first night out. But we had a fire and drank 21 year old Scotch while listing to Dark Side of the Moon under redwoods.

 

It took us a few trips to get things sorted and figured out.

But once you do, the camping game is forever changed!

 

We were more dialed in pretty soon, and our longest stint yet was 12 days from California to Utah and back.






Changed to and ARB later. This is at Bryce NP.


Arches NP


Capitol Reef area


Interior. Still have several things I'd like to tweak in here, but creature comforts rather than primary needs.






With the 2nd gen


Santa Cruz last year, heading there again this weekend.


Seqouia NP this past August


Recent improvements to the ARB setup. Hold downs, wire management/pinch avoidance. Screw-in 12v connector is next.

 

It's funny, I was looking at the picture you posted thinking to myself, man I've seen a tongue box like that somewhere before. Then I remembered your build on TNTTT. I really like what you've done

I helped a buddy apply the Raptor Liner to the roof of his Sportsmobile and he's giving me his leftover (five untinted bottles). I'm planning on applying it to the tongue box and the front of the trailer along with the fenders where I've begun collecting a bunch of rock chips. I'm just not certain of what color tint to pick up, going back and forth between black and grey. I won't do the job til spring, so I've got some time to change my mind a few hundred times

 

I need to do the same to mine. The left and right ends of the front are pretty beat up. And on my most recent trip last month, one of my gas cans got a chip in the powder coat.

 

I think the best alternative to a RTT on our teardrop is a fully enclosed awning room. You can throw 2 cots in there and sleep 2. It can also be used as a changing room as well where we can actually stand up.

 

I remember seeing yours on there. You did good work!

 

I finally pulled the trigger on a teardrop trailer after drooling for years. It's another Escapod Topo. It's starting to snow here in SLC, so I'll be camping in the garage tonight!

 

Very nice. I like color and wheel match with the vehicle.

 

I have a general question for those of you towing teardrops. I have a 2nd gen V6 automatic, and everything I have read about towing with a 2nd gen auto says to never do so in 5th (overdrive). Everyone puts it in 4th gear to keep the trans from overheating due to gear-hunting and lock-up converter issues. This is fine, and makes sense for heavy trailers like car haulers or full-size campers, but it kills gas mileage. If I bought a teardrop it would be to see the country, and that means lots of miles. This is very unattractive to me if I have to do it all in 4th gear, but teardrops are relatively light. Using the Escapod as an example, the dry weight fully optioned is ~1700 lbs with a ~140 lb tongue weight. Add a few hundred more for water and gear and you get about 2000 lbs.

So, are you guys towing in 5th (overdrive)?

 

I do. I have a larger than stock trans cooler, and an external transmission fluid filter. I also have a real temperature gauge - not relying on data from the OBD II port.

I also manually shift into 4th when necessary. I try to shift before the trans does, and always when the trans does. And always monitor temperature.

My teardrop is around 1000 lbs. Water and gear is carried in the truck, not the trailer. (Obviously, I still have the weight to move.)

Oh, and the cruise control does not like the trailer. It causes erratic shifting when trying to maintain speed. I do not use it when I have the trailer.

 

I'm new to towing as well. I picked up a NoBo 10.5 which is around 1,800 lbs with gear and such. I was using 4th on the way from PA to Overland Expo East and was filling up with fuel at just under 200 miles. On the way back I decided to use 5th on straightaways and downhill and the truck seemed to pull it fine. I'm driving a 2014 TRD Off-Road with tow package FWIW. I don't seem to notice it ever searching for gears.

I usually get around 17.5mpg as I drive my truck every day (a mix of city and highway). On my trip I was getting anywhere between 12.5 and 14.5 mpg towing the trailer.

 

...and what about trailer brakes? Needed on the road? Bad idea on trails?

 

I have trailer brakes. They are never a bad idea, but not always needed. Most lightweight trailers do not have them.

I wanted brakes since I tow mine off-road. I don't want the trailer pushing me downhill. Also, the added braking is nice in emergency stop situations. That being said, the same reasons apply to being on the road. If you ever have to jam on the brakes on wet road, you will appreciate trailer brakes.

If you find a nice teardrop without brakes, you can fairly easily add brakes (just swap the axle).

 

It depends. If I'm freeway flying and it's relatively flat then I'll pop it into overdrive. If I'm in stop and go traffic, I'll usually leave it in overdrive. If I'm in the mountains or hills then I'll take it in and out of overdrive as needed. I basically try to listen to the engine and minimize hunting. I haven't found the happy medium where the torque converter stays locked all the time while going over big mountains, but I've only done a couple of big mountains so far. The manual for my first gen says explicitly "do not tow in overdrive" but the manual in my 2015 doesn't say one way or another that I've seen, though it's possible I've missed it.

I've got them. Most teardrops will fall under the weight limit for requiring them. I've towed my trailer with and without the brake controller (and thus the brakes) connected and the difference is night and day. I'd recommend them as an added safety factor. I haven't weighed the trailer loaded up, empty it's just shy of 1400lbs. Loaded is probably closer to 1700lbs. You'll need a brake controller if you're running trailer brakes. I've got a Tekonsha P3, and I can adjust the max voltage to the brakes on the fly. If the trailer is light and the brakes lock up during normal driving then I can bump down the voltage so that less force is applied. I can also bump the voltage up if the trailer is loaded with all the camping gear. I can do the same for wet vs dry roads. It has other features as well that will vary the amount of braking force being sent to the wheels depending on what you're doing with the brake pedal (mash the brakes hard and fast and it will apply more force, ease onto the brakes and it will start off light and slowly increase the force). The Tekonsha has an "oh-shit" lever that will apply max force to the trailer wheels to stop sway. I'm pretty sure that my truck also cuts out the accelerator pedal when you flip the lever. I haven't had any issue with the brakes on forest roads and minor trails.

Brakes are relatively easy to add to the trailer. There's a decent chance that your trailer axle will already have the square flanges, then it's just a matter of getting new hubs. No flange, no biggie. Axles are pretty easy to swap out.

 

Nice job on the build!
Here is my ghetto rig, Not really a teardrop?
Its about 300 lb, call it 800lb with trailer. Cost about $800 and 2 years to build