Teardrop trailers

[Chuckanut]

I have traveled about with a tent for years, but now that I am getting a bit more [-]fussy[/-] sophisticated, I would like a small trailer that sleeps 2. I would love to be able to store it in my garage. I do NOT want a motor-home, big trailer or something that requires a beefy truck to haul around. I would like to be able to pull into a camping space on a rainy evening at 8:00PM, lock the car, climb into the trailer and get some sleep. KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid.

What do people thing of the so called tearcrop trailers?

Oh, I am a bit over 6 feet tall.

Thanks.

 

[Whisper66]

I use a tent trailer with electric lift which I enjoy because it fits easily in garage, easy to tow and goes up quickly and has plenty of space. But doesn’t meet your rain needs well. I looked at tear drop trailers but they were too small for my tastes. About the smallest I’d go are the Casita trailers. Very well built, light weight and comfortable.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

I like the Oliver/casita trailers. Better insulated. Inctedibly lightweight. I think you can get them even without a bathroom. Any smaller than that gets me claustrophobic

 

[Ronstar]

I like teardrops, but DW won’t have it.

I follow “Keep your Daydream” on YouTube - a family who travels around in an rv. Each season they get a different rig. Season 8 was a teardrop. Here’s an episode. https://youtu.be/ddtGAAa8Zhk

 

[RunningBum]

Have you backed up with a trailer of any size before? Some people do it easily...some not so much. That and dealing with a crosswind on the road would be my concerns.

 

[Animorph]

I liked the Alto trailers, though never followed through to buy one. They have a larger teardrop that dropped down enough to fit my standard garage. Very nice, it should pass a DW test. On the pricier side, made in Canada but they can sell to US, and they had about a one year waiting list when I was looking three years ago.

 

[geeky_grrl]

My SO likes teardrops but I really want something with a bathroom so I'm pushing for something at least Casita sized. We haven't bought any sort of trailer yet.

 

[Bamaman]

I like the Oliver/casita trailers. Better insulated. Inctedibly lightweight. I think you can get them even without a bathroom. Any smaller than that gets me claustrophobic

Olivers are built less than an hour from my home town in Hoenwald, TN. They are of very high quality, however the price is about the same as I paid for a 36' fifth wheel trailer with 4 slides.

The Olivers are just so expensive for what you get
.

 

[Bamaman]

A neighbor had one of the original teardrop trailers when I was in high school, and they'd often pull it out to a lake and leave us there over the weekend in it.

So I've always been a fan, even though they're now relatively expensive to buy.

A teardrop trailer is great to use if you're touring from place to place--long distances.

But the better value is to buy a good used pop up camping trailer with air conditioning. Many people that buy them never make the commitment to use them regularly, and it's easy to find them 10 years old and like new. Use it for awhile, and sell it for what you paid for it.

 

[folivier]

" The Olivers are just so expensive for what you get "

Not so much that as the others are so expensive for the junk that they are. Have you seen some of the junk that is being built?

 

[CRLLS]

The smallest Oliver is 9 ft tall. Too high to fit thru a standard garage door.

If OP wants a trailer to store in a garage, easy or no setup involved, and comfortably fit his 6 ft body, a pop up is possible. The problem is the effort to set up and take down a canvas tent-like trailer every day. One alternative is the A-frame hard sided pop ups. The issue there is that they are a puzzle to set up.

I would look at the new Hi-Lo Wanderer 18. In addition to fitting in the garage, it has a 6'2 inside height. It collapses to reduce frontal area (seldom considered in addition to weight) to improve MPG. It raises with the flip of a switch. It is still a hefty trailer and would require a car with at least a 3,000 lb towing capacity, probably more.

I have not seen these in person. I am an ex-pop up camper owner. Not doing that again at this stage of life.

 

[ElizabethT]

I love teardrops, and you are right that they don't come much easier. In order of size that would fit in your garage and be super simple at set up, I would rank teardrops first, followed by A-frames, followed by TrailManor swing-ups.

Teardrops have almost a cult following, so you should easily be able to locate a forum of dedicated users. Go for it, you already know how awesome it is out there, and compared to the relative hard work of camping, will feel like you are in the lap of luxury regardless of which way you go!

 

[Sunset]

I was fairly interested in a trailer, looked at a few.
Finally did some calculations and am less sure it's worth it.

The big surprise was the camping fees, sure there are some places people say are free, but many places I looked up were pricey, considering you are simply parking there for a $0.50 water and $2 of electric hookup usage.

The reduced mileage besides being an added cost, also means it takes longer to drive 500 miles per day as normally I do 70->75mph, but would probably have to slow to 60->65 mph due to trailer sway, which always seemed to be an issue when I would pull small trailers.

An extra expense for us, was the storage fee if get a normal travel trailer, as we cannot store it on our property in the city.
So we would also want a trailer that can fit in the garage.

When I did the comparison, it was not clear a trailer could save money.

(cost of trailer + camping fees + more gas due to reduced mileage) / number days per year.

Vs hotel cost based on avg $100/night.

A totally made up simple example say 30 nights per year camping 500 miles from home and then drive back, if drove around a bunch, then the $18 cost would increase:

$2000/yr amortized + ($35×30) + $18 + $18= $3,086

This would pay for 30 nights in a hotel, so kind of a wash moneywise.
There are a host of other issues, like shower, toilet, effort, etc, but simply on money, unless used a LOT, it's hard to get value out of it.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Before we bought our motor home we laid down in a teardrop. It’s like being in a coffin. We sold our motor home for all the reasons mentioned such as it didn’t save us money and you definitely have to drive slower. Plus repairs are expensive.

 

[samm]

+1
Great review of the cost issues.

I was fairly interested in a trailer, looked at a few.
Finally did some calculations and am less sure it's worth it.

The big surprise was the camping fees, sure there are some places people say are free, but many places I looked up were pricey, considering you are simply parking there for a $0.50 water and $2 of electric hookup usage.

The reduced mileage besides being an added cost, also means it takes longer to drive 500 miles per day as normally I do 70->75mph, but would probably have to slow to 60->65 mph due to trailer sway, which always seemed to be an issue when I would pull small trailers.

An extra expense for us, was the storage fee if get a normal travel trailer, as we cannot store it on our property in the city.
So we would also want a trailer that can fit in the garage.

When I did the comparison, it was not clear a trailer could save money.

(cost of trailer + camping fees + more gas due to reduced mileage) / number days per year.

Vs hotel cost based on avg $100/night.

A totally made up simple example say 30 nights per year camping 500 miles from home and then drive back, if drove around a bunch, then the $18 cost would increase:

$2000/yr amortized + ($35×30) + $18 + $18= $3,086

This would pay for 30 nights in a hotel, so kind of a wash moneywise.
There are a host of other issues, like shower, toilet, effort, etc, but simply on money, unless used a LOT, it's hard to get value out of it.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

A modern 'teardrop' (most are not teardrop shaped) will work as described for minimalist camping.
I take a slightly different approach to the idea - a full size pickup truck equipped with a camper shell for sleeping/shelter pulling a custom built utility trailer that opens both front and rear.
I then use a folding insty-shade type structure to bridge the gap between the camper and trailer thereby greatly expanding the sheltered camping area. The front opening trailer gives us convenient access to kitchen/camping gear under all weather conditions. With a warm jug of water and wood grates to stand on we can even take a shower.
This is our remote back country set up, we also have a small self-contained travel trailer when that is more appropriate.

 

[Plantman]

How about this for an idea? Get a pickup truck with a good sized cap on the bed.

 

[travelover]

The problem with teardrops is that you can't stand up in them and you have to cook outside. I, too, came from backpacking / tent camping background. My solution was initially a 13 foot fiberglass camper, then moved to a 17 foot Casita to gain a bath. Neither one will pass a 7 foot garage door opening. Popups are roomy once opened and fit in a garage but you are constantly dealing with the canvas, either by folding /unfolding, drying out, repairing.

 

[Janet H]

Is there a budget to consider? Price points for tear drops, small trailer, a nice class B (tricked out van), truck with a slide in, etc are widely ranging.

What is it about your tent that could be improved? Make a list of desired changes. If that list includes a bathroom or fridge a tear drop is prolly not for you.

I was a die-hard tent camper until a few years ago when the ground started to get hard and the idea of getting up to a cold rain to relieve myself became less appealing.. I rented a tent trailer and disliked it. I finally settled on a tiny fully self contained camper. Small enough to get into tent site and out of the way spots.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

The problem with teardrops is that you can't stand up in them and you have to cook outside. I, too, came from backpacking / tent camping background. My solution was initially a 13 foot fiberglass camper, then moved to a 17 foot Casita to gain a bath. Neither one will pass a 7 foot garage door opening. Popups are roomy once opened and fit in a garage but you are constantly dealing with the canvas, either by folding /unfolding, drying out, repairing.

Friends of ours love their Aliner (I'm sure you are familiar with them).
Might be worth a look -


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

 

[youbet]

Friends of ours love their Aliner (I'm sure you are familiar with them).
Might be worth a look -


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

Our Aliner is a 2010 we've been pulling around the country with a 1999 F-150 for a number of years now. Fit's easily in the garage. No canvas. Plenty of headroom in the tallest section and the bed accomodates a 6-footer easily. A real breeze to set up. If you like off grid camping, it can handle that right out of the box (except for the air condx which would require a generator).

Ours is a basic model. We have a kitchenette, 3-way fridge, air condx and furnace. They now make 'em with dormers and such but I'd keep it simple, like ours, to minimize the weight and number of moving parts. We do recommend the "off road package" which includes larger wheels and a heavier axle. We frequently seem to find ourselves on rough roads.

We do everthing from one nighters to two months on the road. But, it is really "camping" and not "RVing." You should probably check them out.

 

[travelover]

Friends of ours love their Aliner (I'm sure you are familiar with them).
Might be worth a look -


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

Yea, I forgot about those - a good compromise, though you still have to set it up to use it even temporarily, like for a roadside stop. I considered one when I was looking.

 

[youbet]

Yea, I forgot about those - a good compromise, though you still have to set it up to use it even temporarily, like for a roadside stop. I considered one when I was looking.

Yeah, the trade off is getting a foldable that fits in a standard garage yet has plenty of headroom vs. a non-folding unit which is either short enough to fit in the garage (like many teardrops) but you can't stand up in them or one tall enough to stand up in but it won't fit in the garage. You pay your money, you make your choice

Erecting the Aliner walls is a snap and only takes a minute or two. After that, it's identical to setting up a non-folding unit (hooking up the water, electrical, leveling, etc.).

In the 11 years we've been camping in ours, the biggest downside of the folding feature is the moving parts. There haven't been many issues but I have had to do some maintenance unique to the folding walls. At least there is no canvas to fret about putting away wet, etc. and that helps.

 

[Chuckanut]

Thanks for all the great inputs. There is more to consider than I had thought.

Great information!

 

[MRG]

We see many more teardrops than other small campers like a scamp. Could be a factor of the folks who visit here.

DW really thought she wanted to get a class C after we retired until she tried it. Who knew you can't take 40 minute showers and dry camp?