WHat Were Your Expectations And What Have you Added

[Dahlia47]

When you were building or searching to buy your tiny travel trailer, what did your travel trailer have to have? What were your reasons? I didn't build ours, someone else did. I was actually researching how to build one when I came across the one we bought. Other than the shell, the bed and 2 shelves, it was the blank slate I wanted and needed. I like to make things my own and give them my own touch. So I didn't really go in with any more than those expectations. I have since added quite a few things. I might add a thing or two still. Quite honestly...I have really enjoyed added things. Such as the bunk bed we built for our daughter, or buying the mini fridge. The joke now is..."Are you buying that for the camper!?" LOL!! What would you do differently? Whether you built it or bought it?

My minds wondering this evening.

[KennethW]

With 450 watts of solar I just up graded the battery to a 100ah lithium to better power the dorm fridge and instant pot. No power cord, easy camping off grid in comfort.

[JuneBug]

With 450 watts of solar I just up graded the battery to a 100ah lithium to better power the dorm fridge and instant pot. No power cord, easy camping off grid in comfort.

Curious to know how much it takes to power an Instant Pot. I traded my 6-quart in for a "just-right" 3-quart, which I prefer.

Also, does your battery (car battery or tear-drop battery) power your dorm fridge while you're driving?

[KennethW]

Curious to know how much it takes to power an Instant Pot. I traded my 6-quart in for a "just-right" 3-quart, which I prefer.
Also, does your battery (car battery or tear-drop battery) power your dorm fridge while you're driving?

I run the 6 quart instant pot (1000w) off the campers lithium battery and a 1500 watt true sine inverter as I need a true sine 1500w for the frig. Now with a 3 quart (700w). You would be able to have a 700w (plus for reliability) modified sine-wave inverter(true-sine would be better on the electronics). I would thing you would need a 100ah lead acid battery or 60ah lithium( lithium holds voltage under heave load).

[edgeau]

Lol! What would I change! Every time we go camping we think of new modifications. Every time I do one I come up with 2 more. That is half the fun. The next for me is side tables that will attach with french cleats. The last one was a jerrycan holder on the side of the tongue box.

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[working on it]

* I hadn't camped in almost thirty years when I resumed, after building my squareback TTT; I really didn't know what to expect, having previously camped in my cars/trucks in the 70-80's, but not properly "camped" since the Boy Scouts in the early 60's (where I always carried twice the normal gear). I don't think that I've ever gone to two campsites in a row, without adding and/or subtracting gear, modifying at least one item, or several at a time. Just search my posts and photos to see my one constant theme, mods. That's why I'm always "working on it" (my username, or versions of it, on forums for the last 20-25 years). And, my trailer has grown from 1438 lbs loaded on its' first excursion to a local state park, to the 2150+ lbs it is now. And that's after I've loaded about a half-ton of gear in my truck bed (most of which is permanently kept there).

* A lot of the gear I carry is for convenience, comfort, and emergency use: A/C & heat, lots of extra lighting, spare /food/fuel/supplies, lotsa tools, spare parts, and personal safety. Mods that I've made are for much the same. I've also modified my bedding system and made entry/egress easier (with steps and grab-handles...I'm getting older...) for comfort and usability, and also modified my hitch and the way I hook-up my trailer, too. All to make set-up or take-down easier.

* But, my big thing is getting enough storage space and containers in place, so that I can pack and go with little prep time. I think I've finally reached the limit that my truck (which is mostly used for camping, standing ready 90% of the time) and 4x8 trailer can accommodate, so I'll not be changing that aspect, anymore. Sure, I won't....

[tony.latham]

Does a new build qualify? With this new 'drop I've got going, the main changes are in the galley. Here's our "old" kitchen:



It's a great working operation. Pull the stove out, hit the piezo and you're cooking with gas. But that stove eats up a lot of cabinet space.

And by the way, on our commercially built Hunter teardrop, we bought in 2004 we added that same Reliance water jug. Quick access to water in the kitchen is a big deal. Kind of a no-brainer.

Here's what the new layout will look like in this current build:



The stove will slide out at 90º and will allow for all of the counter space to be used. And we'll have a lot more storage back there. Go figure.

Plus this heater will be behind the cooler:



And we will always have 100-watt solar cooking away on the roof:



Except when it's blacker than an Angus bull.

This trailer will be more secure with a removable coupler:



And eventually we'll have a removable bike rack that platforms above the tongue box:



Does this qualify for a "what have you added?"



Tony

[campbellinaz]

Tony, for you it’s more like “evolution”! Your eventually gonna have the “perfect teardrop”. It’s fun following along and seeing your ideas & changes.


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[tony.latham]

Tony, for you it’s more like “evolution”! Your eventually gonna have the “perfect teardrop”. It’s fun following along and seeing your ideas & changes.


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[Dahlia47]

Yes! A rebuild qualifies! LOL!

Awesome ideas everyone!

Before we bought our homemade TTT, I had thought of building our own. But we came across ours on CL. When I was drawing the layout plans, I really only wanted and needed a place for us to sleep. Thankfully, when we came across ours on CL, it had a bed and 2 shelves. It was a basically a blank canvas. I love the darn thing! So right now, our cassette potty and solar shower is outside. I am working on a way to bring it inside. But it needs to break down easily and not take up much room. I am 5'9", and hubby is 6'3". We need a bit of wiggle room, but not so much that it would crowd the inside. I just hate going outside to potty in certain places because I have come across raccoons while I was trying to pee!!! LOL!!! I think I picked the perfect cassette potty. Its a little over 3 gallons and has a small foot print.

The mods i need to do are...
bring the potty inside
make the solar water roof top tank
a cover for the roof top vent to keep the heat out (i need to find a way to still keep the ventilation, but keep the heat out during the summer months)
and a mini toaster oven, I found the dash mini oven on amazon
a safe place to put our new generator
a better place to store our clothes

I also got the generator !!!! We did some boon docking last month! It was great!!! Love it!!

[PCO6]

I'm about 85-90% complete on my expedition trailer build. It's pretty heavy duty, has a galley, will carry 2 kayaks and 2 bikes plus all of my camping gear ( http://www.jeepcentral.ca/forums/showth ... iler-Build ). I didn't want a roof top tent as I am quite happy to camp in a tent. My wife suddenly decided to take up camping. She's not crazy about tenting and wanted to be off of the ground. I made plans, bought materials, etc. for a tear drop build. With the right design, 2 doors, an awning, etc. we'd be OK with not being able to stand up in in it. We'd have to have the ability to carry 2 kayaks and 2 bikes. I figured it would be about a 12 to 18 month build.

While doing a bit of research we came across a Coachmen Clipper Express 9.0td. It fit the bill on many counts and we could use it immediately. I figured we'd use it for a year and I'd either modify it or build a more off-roadable duplicate. It's been pretty good so far and I'll probably go with beefing it up. I've stiffened the frame (with more to come), added a 2" receiver to the rear of the frame, added a utility box on the tongue to house the battery and other electrical components, built a hidden spare wheel mount and fabricated a kayak rack for it. A nice plus is that we can store 2 bikes inside it while travelling. That's about it for this summer. I'll be replacing the 2,000 lb axle with a 3,500 lb. axle, adding square fenders, running boards and an on demand hot water system this winter.

This thing came with a fridge, air conditioning (both DC powered and likely coming out), a heater, blue tooth radio and is plumbed for propane ... AND you can stand up in it! It really hit most of what we wanted and is a great platform to make it into what we want it to be.