Show me your campers!

Looks great your towing comment is spot on. The Tacoma certainly isn't hugely underpowered but it is not the best choice, just marginally capable especially in the mountains.

I also installed the redarc great interface. Looks good and works great.

 

Right. We paid around $6,000 pre-covid for a little teardrop and it has held up very well.
If we add up all the nights we've been out in this thing, compared to hotel costs, it has paid for itself already.

We've done dozens of 2-3 nighters, we did a 16-day excursion, and recently a 7-day excursion. I've taken it out a few times
over long weekends myself.

We'll probably keep it another 2-3 years and sell it for what we paid, then she is also thinking about buying a van and tricking it out.
She has the skills to do it and has already got the design plans spec'd out.

 

I originally wanted a teardrop such as what you have. But the wife said she had to have a bathroom and shower no compromise. So the next thing up is the Casita class trailer. You can get non fiberglass for cheaper, but we/she fell into believing all the owners that loved the Casita. So far not bad just not worth the price point. It does have a pros and cons just depends what and where your wanting to go.
Your teardrop is very nice good luck.

 

I just got rid of my 24' motorhome and replaced it with a new to me 1988 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx. It is rated as a 19' unit but is a 17' unit. It has a dry wieght of 3100lbs and GVRW of 4300lbs. Perfect size for us and for the Tacoma.


I like older trailers. And having the tandem was important too.

 

We're both smaller people so it works for us. The wife is a meadow-muffin who used to do 20 mile solo hikes into the Sierra's so
she's not afraid to drop her panties and wee in the wild - or anything else for that matter. We did buy a cassette toilet thing for
emergencies ( middle of night stuff ) that has worked out well. For showers we plan our longer trips around a state-park that has
showers somewhere along the way, or we spritz wash - ain't that big of a deal. I think on our 16-day excursion to YellowStone I went
a full 7 days without a proper shower - I felt like a ... man ... LOL ... smelled like one too ...

 

I want to mod my Taco to look like this....

 

Diy

 

That looks great. Do you have any details on it? For example, what trailer is that? What are the dimensions? I'd love to build something just like this.

 

It's on a 5x8 trailer with a 3500 lb axle under it I made it home myself so no manufacturer not too hard just start building it, we hook a wall tent to it and it works pretty good

 

Man, you did one hell of a great job on that. I've been weighing my options for camping and yours just made the top of my list. Do you have a ballpark what that cost to build?

 

I'd say I got around $3-4 grand into it, though it would be cheaper but it adds up fast, especially these days

 

You don't have to do a TV lol and might save a couple bucks

 

Nice work - the wife thought about doing that as well - but after writing out the specifications came up to the same cost as you,
then she figured her 'time' and of course it came out way more - so we figured $6k for what we got was worth it. This was pre-covid
and the cost for what we have now is closer to $8k ...

She's a tinkerer and knows her way around welding, electrical, plumbing, and wood work - still must be satisfying to know you
built it yourself.

 

Thanks, you're set up is pretty sweet too

 

NEVER LET HER GO

 

Ha - I know right - she has 3 Master's degrees and is the department head at a major university as well -
It's tough.... street smarts and book smarts is a lethal combo.

For a spell there she was a military jet aircraft mechanic.... I got no room in the double garage she turned it into a work-shop that
is the envy of the rest of the 'hood.

 

Like the other comments they have issues just like any other RV. All the parts that they use (water pumps, heaters, faucets ect) are pretty low quality compared to what is in your house but for me the peace of mind that the shell will not rot was important to me. We have two small kids 5 and 3 yr old and this checked all the boxes if they are comfortable and sleeping good we can go on trips more often.

 

I have a 2009 Coachman pop-up I've had since 2018.
Tows super easy, small to store at home. I actually wanted to sell it and get something like a Sunray 109 for a few years but prices and demand were crazy. Now that I'm not single anymore the pop up and the Sunray 109 would be a bit too small. Plus the significant other wants a bathroom. We been still camping a bit with some compromises like sites close to the bathhouse.
Looking for something 17-21 feet and under 4000 pounds or so will probably be good for the Tacoma

 

We started with a used 2000’s Coleman popup a few years back when I had my 4Runner. After a few years fighting the canvas and not having a proper kitchen or any bathroom we decided to upgrade to a single axle travel trailer. We upgraded to a 2020 Bullet Crossfire 1700BH when I still had the 4Runner, but now tow it with the Tacoma that I traded in the 4Runner for. It’s about 3400lbs dry and 4700 gvwr. I don’t have a better picture of it hooked up to the Tacoma, but this is hooked up and plugged into shore power at home while we prepped it for a trip. Kayaks get mounted to the roof rack and bikes go in the bed of the truck or in the camper between the sink and table.

 

That’s a beautiful set up!