Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Congrats ob1canola and DaytonaGTS!!!

ob1 - fun pic! What mods are on your list? What is your tow vehicle?

You're making me think of a tow vehicle question... I guess I'll throw this out to everyone here - and maybe I should post in the general forum...but since we're leaning towards a Yoder I'll post here first. We plan to tow with out 2003 Toyota Matrix XRS - 6 speed manual transmission, 180 hp 4 banger engine. Any concerns I should have? It is rated to tow 1500 lbs. What do you all think about trailer brakes for towing with a smaller car? I e-mailed with Keith at Yoder and he said that he's never added them because even if he's been asked about adding brakes, the customer has always decided against them. Your thoughts?

Bear in mind that the 1500 pounds includes all the people and gear in the car. You might run into some warranty questions if something happened.

You're right, mrainey, except from what I've found it doesn't include the driver...so the 1500 lbs is passengers, cargo, and anything towed. We passed the 3 year 36,000 mile warranty period about 6 months ago, so most things that would happen are all mine now anyway.

Hi
mods are going to be a lightweight countertop/table/sink thingy.
still thinking on the design.
I tow my yoder with an 03 vw golf diesel. 177lb/ft of torque 90 hp .
It tows just fine. I think I am at or around max with this trailer/car combo.
So weight added is looked at carefully.The yoder weighs 760 lbs empty.
So in my case i think brakes would be a good option.

ob1canola wrote:Hi
mods are going to be a lightweight countertop/table/sink thingy.
still thinking on the design.
I tow my yoder with an 03 vw golf diesel. 177lb/ft of torque 90 hp .
It tows just fine. I think I am at or around max with this trailer/car combo.
So weight added is looked at carefully.The yoder weighs 760 lbs empty.
So in my case i think brakes would be a good option.

Ob1, is your Yoder the 5x8? because I thought they were 760 lbs also from a piece of paper I got from the dealer, but I was looking around on the net and found out they are 960lbs ....... witch makes sense since the 4x8 is 700 lbs.

I don't think you'll have a problem with most small to mid cars towing these TD's..... I have way more than enough power, and I planed to do my towing with this car rather than my cruiser for that reason, but I have seen quite a few PT's pulling TD's so 150 HP will do the trick.

But when you have a Manual like I do you do need to think about your clutch, make sure you have a Heavy Duty clutch in your car, because that is a lot of work for a stock clutch that isn't made to accelerate with a load or for that fact decelerate down hills with the same load. My cluth is rated at 500 ft/lbs of torque so I am not worried about it.... I also Road race and Drag race it with that clutch so if it handles that kind of abuse it should handle a 1100-1200 lbs of towing.

The only concern that I have is the brakes, mine did great on my trip last week.... but I really had to give extra room because stopping distance increased probably by at least half. My pads are a carbon fiber/ Metallic pad, so for the track they rock but I'm sure they were never meant for heavy stopping. They now have a nice squeak to them and I bet I glazed them and need new pads..... Oh well.... brake pads are way cheaper than a clutch

As for electric brakes, for me probably not... if I install a brake controller then I'll have to install my Cobra 29... and then the inside of my car WILL look like a truck ....

Hopefully I made a little sense....

ob1 - cool, I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Daytona - thanks for the thoughts on towing, especially the word about the clutch!

I'm still waivering between build vs. buy...so many things to consider, but that's half the fun!

daytonagts
We have the 4x8 yoder ebay has it listed as 700 lbs.
the owners certificate i received from pleasant valley says it is 760.
I can't weigh the thing so no tellin not knowin.

KirstinU Thanks

ob1canola wrote:I can't weigh the thing so no tellin not knowin.

The next time you pass a closed truck scale, pull in and unhook it on the scale. Most of the scales are left on even when closed.

Ya...what Jim said. There is no excuse not to know the load you are carrying/pulling, especially with smaller cars like my Subie.

The first time I weighed my Hunter Fat Shadow (same construction as a yoder) it came in at 1450#! The listed dry weight is 800#.
I had it loaded for a short trip with ez up, several dutch ovens, tables, chairs. foam matress, cooking gear & clothes.

I don't think that dry weight includes 'options" like battery, foam matress, stove and other things we might not think of as optional.
I almost cancelled the brakes on my Shadow because of the 'dry' weight figure. Fortunately, they had already ordered my axle with the brakes installed.

bledsoe3 wrote:

ob1canola wrote:I can't weigh the thing so no tellin not knowin.

The next time you pass a closed truck scale, pull in and unhook it on the scale. Most of the scales are left on even when closed.

will do ..i know a couple..never thought of that..thanks