I cured myself of wanting a teardrop trailer

I'm not an "RV" person. I've always camped in a tent, but I've been somewhat interested in a small trailer for a while. I decided to try one out and recently returned from 12 days on the road, 8 with a teardrop I rented. While it wasn't too bad towing it, my gas mileage tanked (~12 mpg) and even though small it was a huge pain to stop places as I had to first figure out where to park. I don't know how people with large trailers manage. They must spend all their time at truck stops as most of the places I went wouldn't accommodate a trailer at all (I left it somewhere first) or I was able to double park because it was small and the places weren't busy.

As to the teardrop in particular, the lack of room and not being able to stand are, for me, huge drawbacks. I was seriously considering a TC Teardrop but once configured the way I wanted it was still over $15K for what is essentially a low headroom bed on wheels.

I'm probably just too old to appreciate these things, but I think I'm going to look at some of the pop up campers so I don't have to tow anything and still can stand up. Or maybe I'll look into some sort of popup trailer. Or stick with my canvas tent.

 

That kind of trailer is for sleeping only. Maybe look into a pop up tent trailer or a roof top tent. The pop up tent trailer will have more room, the roof top tent... not so much. Towing anything with this truck is going plummet the mpg.

 

True, but most tents are also for sleeping only. I have no interest in a RTT. While it solves the towing issue, it has all the other drawback (small, can't stand, hard for my large dog to get in) plus not being able to leave it and go places.

I wish I could find a pop up trailer I liked. I looked at some of the Forest River stuff and wasn't impressed. They seemed mostly for campgrounds and while I don't need to haul a trailer up a 4x4 road, I do want to be able to go places a bit more off the beaten path. I like the Opus stuff but man are they expensive. The Black Series Dominator looked great until I watched a setup video. What a pain.

 

dog didn't seem to mind it?

 

So buy something similar and build what you want
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200612544_200612544

 

Hey phdog/Jim,

what a story!

I towed my 1982 Suzuki GS750T from Dover, Delaware to Alamogordo, NM with my 2003 Honda Pilot and can sympathize with the parking situation.

I pulled the Harbor Freight Collapsable Trailer (roughly 280-300lbs) and my motorcycle which weighs about 500lbs--overall, maybe 1K/lbs total.

I wasn't estimating mileage even though the weight was minimal, I'm sure it still affected MPG. Here's some pics from 2013 at Holloman AFB:





As for this teardrop camper...I've discussed buying a RTT but the wife would not have any of that since it does not include a built in shower/toilet.

Soooo, I started looking at the smaller campers (with standing room) that includes a shower/toilet. I could get her to buy into that option.

I would want to stay as close to 3800lbs (less is better) and a max 600lbs tongue weight.

There's more weight numbers to consider so you might want to research/join a group of camper folks who are having great adventures with their Taco/Camper combo!

Granted, campers can get pricey so that's something to consider.

For me, I would budget about the price I paid for my Sport: under $40K but less would be better. We shall see what the future holds.

Hopefully, you don't take yourself out of the Camper idea.

 

Unfortunately, not within my skill set. I'll find something I like eventually and stick with my tent for now.

 

YouTube college can teach you

 

True. To be honest I probably could build it if I had the tools and time... and motivation.

 

She loved it. Took up most of the space too and by morning most of the blankets.

 

Understand
Sometimes it just easier to buy what you want and need.

 

I’ve considered one of these in the past, seems like it hits most needs

https://aliner.com/campers/ranger-10/

 

I don’t know what you would want to spend, but have you considered the Tag’s big brother the Tab? It has a wet bath, AC, heat, and TV. I pull ours with a 2.7L 5 speed.

 

Have to say I'm surprised by those mileage numbers. Mine gets 12 on a bad day, but average a good 14-15.

Parking is a small challenge but it's easily doable. I've parallel parked mine in the street in many crowded urban areas during a random lunch stop.

Every camping solution is a compromise- you gain something and you give something up. I chose the pop-up life because it's easy to tow, it stores in the garage, and as you discovered, I love me some walkin' around room inside. The trade off is that I sacrificed a set-up time that's on par with a family tent, and with all the insulating properties that thin canvas can provide.

That said, I'm on year 5 of this bastard and I'm not even close to ready to give it up. It's a fun trailer.

 

Now that's how to camp

 

Bravo ole chap

 

Gotta say, those West coast winds that y'all get really gave it a run for her money a couple years ago. It'll creak and sway and complain, but it did well.

And if I can drag it up the 805 to the 405 to 1 and find parking as needed, then that was proof enough that the trailer will go anywhere. Gravel tree-lined switchbacks in the Rockies, Appalachia, and the Black Hills were a cakewalk after that.

 

Alamogordo that's where I am LOL. You must have been at Holloman?

 

My family of four sleeps in a trailer not much larger than yours We approach it with the mindset that the trailer is the bedroom, the world is the living room. Don't get me wrong, it does get cozy in there. Depending on where we are and what the weather is, it usually isn't that big of a deal. I've got an awning room that I set up on the side next to one of the doors that nearly doubles our square footage. I usually only set it up for inclement weather. As for parking, yeah, it can be a pain sometimes. I usually just park out far and walk a little further to get to the store/attraction/whatever. But, I totally get that it's not everyone's cup of tea

I steered away from soft sided pop up trailers, canopies and RTTs because of rain. I don't have anywhere at home that I could pop up a RTT or trailer to get it to dry off after a rainy trip. The teardrop isn't an issue, even if I have to put my awnings away wet. I can just unroll them and let them hang in the garage. The setup on a Black Series or MDC tent trailer is crazy and sent me a different direction before even factoring in dealing with a wet trailer.

Going forward, if you're looking for a camper to go into your bed, keep in mind that our payload is pitifully low. Yeah, you can push it a bit and I'd be lying if I said I was *always* under GVW (especially with aforementioned family of 4). I really like the design that Hiatus uses for their pop top. You'd need to be either crafty or have some extra room in your budget if you wanted to build out a camper, but if you stay bare bones then it largely doesn't change the bed of your truck. https://www.hiatuscampers.com/

The pisser with Hiatus is that they cost nearly as much as a teardrop.

The rPod trailers do have more room but they are also considerably bigger than the TD you rented, both length and width. I know that quite a few people really like them. I personally wasn't impressed with the build quality of the ones I've been in.

 

I used to have one and drug it around with a 1989 4cyl Ford ranger. Oh.. and the top was laoded with firewood and supplie(probably 1000lbs of milk crates filled). My dad built a 2x4 rack to contain the load. It was heavy as all hell and squirmy behind the truck. Doing more than 55 mph was hazardous as all shit, for me and anyone around me