Let's talk Teardrop Trailers

I am in the same situation in that I don't have the space or time to build my own...I like to rustic/ultralight camp, but the wife does not. She lieks the outdoors, but does "not want to poop in the woods", so with her, it is teardrop camping, which I really look forward to.

I can get my primitive camping with friends on MTB/bikepacking trips

I am still shopping though...

 

I am looking at one of those TAG trailers....any comments on it?

 

Pro's.
Easy to tow.
Light weight (1500lbs loaded)
Well equipped
Good quality

Con's
Small interior
Expensive
No bathroom
Not a true off- road camper

I'm actually getting a bigger camper on Monday(Geo Pto 15TB), but I really hate getting rid of my TAG. They are not for everyone, but I would highly recommend one if they fit your type of camping.

If your over 6' tall or big boned they will not be a good choice.

 

All good to know. Right now a TAG and the Timberleaf Pika are my top 2 choices

We don't need a bathroom, and I am right at 6 foot. We will be doing about half off road and half State Park, "prepared campsite/glamping" camping.

They make the TAG's an hour from where I live, which is not a big selling point, but it will allow me to possibly go check before I buy.

 

Has anyone see one of these in person?

Rove Light ~ 1600lbs all aluminum

They are just hitting the market place for 2021

Probably require a larger diameter tire upgrade and a fender repositioning to gain clearance for forest roads.

https://travelliterv.com/rvs/2021-rove-lite-travel-trailers/

 

Any idea what the price is? I couldn’t find one listed anywhere.

 

Saw a few listed around $20K

https://www.prosserrv.com/New-Inventory-2021-Travel-Lite-Trailer-Rove-Lite-14FD-prosserrv-9901235

like the light weight but the fresh water capacity could be better. Probably would have to haul a few 6 gallon jugs of fresh in the under bunk front storage. 30 gl Gray and 5 gl black seem ok for a small trailer.

 

I’ll be in campgrounds with it, full hook up, so that doesn’t really bother me. No back country stuff planned.

 

They have three different floor plans but I've only been able to find the floor plan in the link posted above. One of the other floor plan might appeal to you depending on how it will be used.

 

Pretty excited for the current state of the trailer. My building has been somewhat constrained by weekend availability, but we're getting really close. Since my last post we've gotten everything assembled, wired, put on aluminum sides, and did the vinyl wrap. This weekend I got all the wiring terminated, solar charge controllers, and battery monitoring installed (the first photo, blue trailer). Also got to help put their latest body on the trailer frame (the black trailer - ). The guys at Hyk Outdoors have been amazing to work with on this project. I looked at a lot of trailers before deciding to work with them and I'd stack their quality against anyone.

 

@CalTacoma09

 

Got the first trip of the year under our belts this past week. Five nights total spread over three campsites. This picture was at Salt Creek on the Olympic Peninsula. Great tide pools for the kiddos. Gun battery to explore, though it wasn't as exciting as the ones we'd seen during the first two nights of the trip at Ft Ebey.

 

There's been some substantial progress figuring out the right tongue weight, putting on trim, and the doors. Hopefully wrapping up soon.

 

Looks like you got way more involved than I did I drew up a free body diagram, started figuring out the moments and then realized that I had basically a three inch fore/aft window for my axle position that was limited from moving forward by my door and limited from moving aft because then it would look silly. My tongue weight, unloaded, is right around 150# for an empty weight right around #1400. Due to axle location, anything that I put into the trailer is either directly above the axle or forward of it. There just isn't room to put stuff aft of the axle outside of the galley.

 

It's one of the perks of working with a guys who build these things full time. We're at 216lbs tongue weight. I'm guessing the trailer dry is about 1650. Most of the weight in the cabin will be right above the axle. By the time we add battery and water in the galley and food in the fridge up front it will probably be right around 200lbs of tongue and 1900lbs gross weight. Fingers crossed. All of this put the axle back from the hitch almost exactly matching the wheelbase of the Tacoma so I'm pretty pleased about that. Should note that the axle/fender are moved back from the location in that first picture to achieve this weight/length.

 

I think the only picture I have on the road is at Independence Rock between Rawlins and Casper, Wyoming.



It's not as fancy as a lot of these rigs, but I can stand up in it and it has a real queen sized mattress. Also a stove that pulls out from the side, and a toilet inside. Wired for inside lights, outlets in and out, and lots of storage. 1200#

 

If you wanna know what our trailer looks like inside and out, along with other details about how we survive our life on the road (10 months now) in a home built teardrop. Visit our 'tube channel

https://youtu.be/ySz3MlzIZTY

 

Over the weekend we got the axles aligned, brakes mounted, and all the pieces ready for it to actually be a drivable trailer. Came out to 200lbs of tongue weight which I think will be just about perfect. Still have a few detail pieces remaining - trailer lights, tongue box, fridge slide, rear kitchen slide, and mounting the solar.

 

That's a sharp looking teardrop Do you know what the overall weight is? I finally weighed mine loaded for a trip and came in under 1900lbs. I was thinking I was heavier than that with all the crap that a family of 4 takes with them.