Hello all,
New member and new small camper owner in the Middle GA area. Between family and Boy Scouts did a lot of tent camping growing, enjoyed going and being outdoors. Family eventually graduated to a camper for ease of going, and later dad needed it for medical reasons. I kept doing both for years, but entering college and the workforce really put a damper on my time and basically quit camping all together. I'd still get away for a weekend or two a year and sleep on the couch in their camper, but not exactly comfortable for three grown adults in a 24 footer with no slideouts.
Regret not going more, especially since dad passed last summer, and want to fix that. Unfortunately in the years since my scout camp days, I have lost the ability to handle the summer heat around here. Mostly the sleeping, I need to be cold. So pitching a tent is out for much of the year. Also difficult to want to spend time packing and setting up camp, just to spend a day somewhere on the weekend. So been thinking about the small camper thing for a several years.
Love y'alls home build teardrops and other tiny trailers. Unfortunately life and time still aren't going to allow me to get that deep into building one, at least not if I want to use it in any reasonable timeframe. Also, to do what I want, I need a toy hauler. Was leaning towards a CTC and taking my time converting the interior while I used it, but kept getting stuck on the compromises it would require and cost. Go big enough for future toy plans and only be able to pull with one of my vehicles, at the time an F-250. Go small enough to pull with my '99 Ranger, but not be big enough for future plans. I only wanted to build once, and I wanted to pull with either. Cost and time of custom ordering a trailer to get the right features didn't appeal either.
Last weekend my compromise appeared on FBMP. Wasn't sure about it at first but after sleeping on it a few nights I bought it yesterday. A 2010 Forest River Take-it-EZ 14 foot, basically a mini toyhauler. I'll start a thread on that once I find the appropriate place and have more pictures. I'm not going to be building, but IMO it's got a lot in common with your teardrops and other tiny trailers. Still there is lots of outfitting and other work to be done in the future, so I'm going to be borrowing from y'alls projects and ideas.
Apparently I had my binders on when looking it over and missed some water damage and shoddy past work. It's in an area that isn't going to stop usage for now, but will need to be fixed in the not too distant future. Unfortunately it's also in an area that with require dismantling a lot of the trailer. As much as I hate to say it I probably just bought a shell that is going to get stripped out and rebuild, but if I'm careful I should be able to reuse most of what's there. When the time comes I'll probably be looking for a lot of advice and upgrade ideas.
New member and new small camper owner in the Middle GA area. Between family and Boy Scouts did a lot of tent camping growing, enjoyed going and being outdoors. Family eventually graduated to a camper for ease of going, and later dad needed it for medical reasons. I kept doing both for years, but entering college and the workforce really put a damper on my time and basically quit camping all together. I'd still get away for a weekend or two a year and sleep on the couch in their camper, but not exactly comfortable for three grown adults in a 24 footer with no slideouts.
Regret not going more, especially since dad passed last summer, and want to fix that. Unfortunately in the years since my scout camp days, I have lost the ability to handle the summer heat around here. Mostly the sleeping, I need to be cold. So pitching a tent is out for much of the year. Also difficult to want to spend time packing and setting up camp, just to spend a day somewhere on the weekend. So been thinking about the small camper thing for a several years.
Love y'alls home build teardrops and other tiny trailers. Unfortunately life and time still aren't going to allow me to get that deep into building one, at least not if I want to use it in any reasonable timeframe. Also, to do what I want, I need a toy hauler. Was leaning towards a CTC and taking my time converting the interior while I used it, but kept getting stuck on the compromises it would require and cost. Go big enough for future toy plans and only be able to pull with one of my vehicles, at the time an F-250. Go small enough to pull with my '99 Ranger, but not be big enough for future plans. I only wanted to build once, and I wanted to pull with either. Cost and time of custom ordering a trailer to get the right features didn't appeal either.
Last weekend my compromise appeared on FBMP. Wasn't sure about it at first but after sleeping on it a few nights I bought it yesterday. A 2010 Forest River Take-it-EZ 14 foot, basically a mini toyhauler. I'll start a thread on that once I find the appropriate place and have more pictures. I'm not going to be building, but IMO it's got a lot in common with your teardrops and other tiny trailers. Still there is lots of outfitting and other work to be done in the future, so I'm going to be borrowing from y'alls projects and ideas.
Apparently I had my binders on when looking it over and missed some water damage and shoddy past work. It's in an area that isn't going to stop usage for now, but will need to be fixed in the not too distant future. Unfortunately it's also in an area that with require dismantling a lot of the trailer. As much as I hate to say it I probably just bought a shell that is going to get stripped out and rebuild, but if I'm careful I should be able to reuse most of what's there. When the time comes I'll probably be looking for a lot of advice and upgrade ideas.
