Another new manufacturer

[angib]

Ditto. Here's Camp-Inn's clever design.

[Junkboy999]

The wings nuts might be used just to tighten it up a bit on windy days.

I love the way you can just slip in the door and set down on a bench. The taller section of the door
matches the taller section on a seat. It looks like you are getting in a car door. Clever. The small table
is nice if your inside as well. The big window to look out of is a pluse. It would definitely need sun shade
and opening side windows.

This link would be a good one to plane in TearDrop Manufacturers section of the forum as well.

[prohandyman]

It looks like a nice design. Pricey, and if you get the $13,000 unit, you still have to pay extra for LED lights , stabilizing jacks, and a spare tire??.. THe big door you mention appears to be plywood, and may lend to easier warping being that big.
Nice looking cabinetry. I don't see any mention of how the aluminum exterior is treated if any.
I take exception with their small car towing info though. "Can be towed easily with almost any small car" is mis-leading. A large number of today's small cars have a 1,000# towing limit, and hybrids, which are gaining popularity, have even less,and this camper is 1240 dry and 1500+ expected when stocked. Makes it out of the range of most small cars.

[jdarkoregon]

I must say I enjoyed the VERY bright and airy sleeping area. I can see several people who refuse to get into a dark more Traditional teardrop liking that.

Concept wise the window in the hatch with the pass-through allowing the driver to see who or what is behind the trailer is a good one, BUT sometimes I get tired of people always sneaking peeks into my trailer when it is parked (except @ gatherings). I kinda enjoy having a place where I don't worry about others seeing the contents.

I enjoyed the manufacturer's design. an old idea with a different twist. To me it looked like a CNC engineer designed the whole thing. Its an idea bargin barn.

John

[Emmitt]

Delux model and all the options= $18,700
they do have a lot of ideas thanks for showing it to us.

pete

Your. For that I can get a small camper with a full bath, show there a sucker born each minute ....

[Vedette]

Delux model and all the options= $18,700
they do have a lot of ideas thanks for showing it to us.

pete

Your. For that I can get a small camper with a full bath, show there a sucker born each minute ....

If you need a full bath, teardropping or camping may not be right for you??
Brian

[mrsanderson]

all those windows are great and thankfully I don't suffer from claustrophobia but I also see challenges to changing in the trailer in close proximity to other campers, more opportunities for leaks, I don't like the fabric covers on the inside cabinets....too many opportunities for something to bounce out during travel and tear up the cover.

Not a bad design, just not worth the price tag in my opinion...

[grant whipp]

For all the folks complaining about the perceived high price of this (or any other custom built teardrop), I think a little bit of historical perspective is in order:

From the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, the cost of your typical 4x8 or 4x10 assembly-line mass-produced teardrop (KIT, Kenskill, Modernistic/Cub, Benroy, etc) was on average about 1/3 the cost of your typical full-size family sedan (read V-8 and comfortable seating for 6 or more). If you want to put that in round figures, the car was about $1,500 and the teardrop was about $500. Carrying that ratio into today's market, your typical 4x8 or 4x10 Little Guy should be selling in the range of $8-$10,000 ... when is the last time you saw a standard 4x8/4x10 Little Guy go for $8-$10 K ... ...? Yes, modern technology and building methods have been able to reduce the building time & costs of today's assembly-line teardrops, but in the overall picture, it's only made a slight difference.

Here, though, we're talking about custom-built teardrops, with amenities far beyond what the typical KIT, Kenskill, etc., ever thought of providing, and you can figure on at least twice the construction time and considerably more in materials costs. So, I don't really think prices of $15 to even $20,000 (in some cases) is out of line.

I know this is primarily a DIY-focused Forum, and it's tough for folks struggling to put $3,000 or $4,000 into their builds to relate to the selling prices of commercially-produced trailers, but the "Rule of Thirds" applies to these figures as well ... in a production situation, you take the cost of materials and multiply it by 3 to get your fair value selling price. And if you have employees (beyond your family members), you also need to factor in the additional costs of all the various benefits needed.

So, give these custom builders a little more slack ... as a former Mfg., myself, I know what it takes to bring a teardrop to market and try to make a little bit of a profit ('cause, believer me, if you're not making a profit, you're making a hole that will take a l-o-n-g time to crawl out of!).

Grist for the mill, all IMHO (and hard-earned experience) ...

CHEERS!

[vaddisonme]

Good post! Some of us don't have the skills, tools, time or desire to build our own trailer and are happy to pay professionals to do so for us. I am glad that there are buyers out there for these custom trailers, so that we can keep talented craftsmen in business. (No "made-in-China crap!!!!!")

[Vedette]

Well said Grant!
Same applies to the "Street Rod" business!
Good Roads
Brian

[Rhino Ray]

Nothing that is quality built is cheaply priced. I worked for a company who's motto is "Quality remembered long after price is forgotten". To custom build a TD, unless you have a source of free materials, is not without expenses. Tools, glues, aluminum, plywood, wire, fixtures and components all add up. Not to mention the countless hours of time it takes. I've done both TD and Street Rod. They are both expensive, take time but highly rewarding. I pay as I go and can afford it.

[firsthatched]

I am very intriged by the fold up couch. Anyone have a handle on the semi-automatic mechanism used?

[len19070]

Boy I hate to be a Na-sayer, But!.....

One trailer does not make you a Manufacturer. And thats what all there Gallery Photos suggest. (though there is a HF build in the background of one photo)

I never even hinted at being a Manufacturer until I had at least a dozen trailers done...and had a rep, with photos of several of them. And I have made a lot of money repairing 2 "Manufacturers" Problems who are now (and at the time of the repair) out of business.

22 trailers by 1996, http://s26.photobucket.com/user/len1907 ... 20trailers

And even now I don't consider my self a Manufacturer!

Some folks are better at designing a web site than they are a trailer.

Not that this isn't a nice trailer, but! Show people a little more.

Newbys...be careful!

Happy Trails

Len

[doris s.]

I love this trailer because of all the widows.
I also like the kitchen better than the Camp-inn. The storage is easy to get to when you are making food on the counter top. Nothing worse than having storage where you can't get to it.
Great job Vestibule. I love the name too!
The Camp -inn is $20,000 bucks so they are in the ball park.

Doris