My TD hunt

[Techguy]

I was posting this in the Introductions but it doesn't seem right there. So, I am starting this to document and facilitate my search and solicit opinions from the forum members. I have learned a bunch in forums like this, especially if the subject is less common or diverse, like scooters and tear drops.

I got to see the Hickory Nut Teardrop that a gentleman, Glenn, from Reno makes. It was a very nice, simple teardrop with a sleeping comparment that runs the entire length of the trailer (95 inches?) and has a small galley that starts about from 18 inches above the floor. There is not a lower section to the galley. The camper is all sleeping are and upper galley. The sides were Alder framing with a hickory ply behind it. The side walls were caulked and sealed with spar varnish. The roof was white FRP with a trim strip over the outside edges and a nice hurricane hinge. The one we saw was being delivered and it was equipped with two doors, the front box, a simple 110 system, curtains, and a custom mattress. He installs the doors so one set opens at the top (glass slides down) and the other side opens at the bottom (glass slides up) to allow for venting at either the top or bottom of the camper to control heat and prevent cold butt from a low vent near you posterior when sleeping. The side walls (and other wood, I assume) are cut using a a CNC cutter at a cabinet making shop.

I am not associated with him, I just saw the camper and wanted to share my experience. I am not in the market today but am interested in getting a tear drop.

Here are some shots from his website http://www.hickorynutcampers.com





A couple of my thoughts...

It has a very small galley... this means I would need to store my utensils and cooking tools in something else... but I could store the basics here in baskets and have others elsewhere. I had three small drawers in my pop-up and they were plenty for 90% of the items I used while camping.

There is realistically no pots or pans storage inside the galley area but in my 10+ years with the camper, we only cooked inside once. So we would likely cook at the picnic table or another table... like we always do. I would need a storage box for the pots and pans and I would need to store them in the camper or haul them in the TV.

There was a small sink in the galley that drained to a bucket placed under the campers tail. Do i really need a sink in the galley? I have the Coleman camping kitchen with a sink in it. I normally do dishes in it or bus tubs. I also normally use a 5-gallon water cube for hand washing and drinking and place it on a table or hang it from a nail.

Do I need a place for a cooler in the galley?.. or is hauling it in the TV and placing it in a bearbox or in the truck (TV) overnight to prevent critters more realistic?

[48Rob]

Techguy,

Welcome to the hunt!

Having a fancy optioned out trailer is really nice.
Having a stripped down version is really nice too.

It all boils down to why you are switching from a tent or whatever shelter you used previous.
You used tubs, and containers, and kept food and supplies in the car.
Nothing wrong with that if it works for you, and you prefer to keep it that way.
If you are upgrading to a trailer, having a few basic things "built in" like a sink, water, cooler, and general storage may make your camping experience more pleasant since things are more organized, and less time must be spent shuffling things around.
On the other hand, with each added option comes more maintenance, and the need for more space in the trailer.

Everything is a trade off, only you can decide what you want, and will be happy with.
That said, keep in mind that many first time trailer owners/builders are overwhelmed at all the choices, and sometimes choose to go "too basic" just because that is the easiest choice...
When you have a tent, a trailer with no galley looks pretty darn good, but if you buy or build a trailer without a galley, you may find yourself wishing you had one as you quickly tire of hauling supplies from the car to the table, and back again, while watching the other campers simply close the hatch...

Rob

[Techguy]

We are firmly in the middle... we started tent camping and progressed from the 2 person tent to larger tent to a stand-up family tent to a double king pop-up with the full monty inside. We still cooked outside, used the camp restrooms and dry camped without power outside of the campers charged battery. I n all the years we owned it, we never plugged in at a campground. KOA and full-hook-up is not our style and prefer to camp where generators are uncommon. I know a nice Honda is quiet but I have heard to many contractor special genpacs that sound like a lawnmower for hours on end. We camp in the foothills and mountains of northern California where bears are common and raccoons are everywhere.

I like the idea of galley that we can store the majority of our camp kitchen supplies.

I foresee that we would also use the teardrop for tailgating and soccer games where having a place to prep food is quick and easy but also allows us to simply park, open and prepare,... and then close and secure to go back to the game.

[jstrubberg]

I am 6'2" and I have to say, 95 inches of sleeping compartment is a waste. A standard queen bed is 80 inches long. I'd utilize that other 15-18 inches in a galley rather than wasting it like that.

[Blumie]

Techguy, if you already have one of those folding camp kitchens, you might be better off going the pantry/storage way in your galley, especially if you think most of your camping will be at one destination per trip, where hauling and setting up a camp kitchen is worth the effort. If you're moving camps every day, that gets to be a lot of work.

Camping "where bears are common and raccoons are everywhere" -- not to mention chipmunks and ground squirrels -- is a lot easier when the lid to the galley can be closed so easily and quickly. There are campgrounds in northern California where the golden-mantled ground squirrels have learned to jump high enough to get onto the floor of an open galley... there and elsewhere, we've made it a habit to close the galley lid when unattended. We also park our shoes on the roof above each cabin door, rather than leave them down for the ground squirrels or worse. Keeping my food prep area clean and varmint-free is one of my top reasons for loving my TD.

We bought a relatively bare-bones Pleasant Valley TD from Missouri Teardrops: space to stow a medium ice chest, 1 small utensil drawer, a 6-in shelf above the counter, and a small cabinet underneath. We do more travel-camping than close-destination-camping, so we've equipped our galley with everything we need to make fresh coffee, breakfasts & lunches, and to wash up afterward. We also carry a cast iron griddle in the galley. That way we eat freshly prepared meals without getting all manner of things out of the car, except at the end of the day. We bring a large plastic tub with kitchen gear for cooking & baking, but it rides in the car alongside a second ice chest that carries leftovers and other foods. Most days, we don't need the kitchen tub except to cook suppers; if we have leftovers for supper, the tub doesn't even need to be unloaded from the car. I use a shallow plastic box to both hold dishes & silverware for 2, and also as my dishpan; this and a matching box that carries bread & chips ride on the counter when rolling, as does our 2-burner camp stove. We usually cook on the end of a campsite table.

We don't leave fried chicken sitting uncovered on even a closed galley counter in grizzly range or in Yosemite campgrounds, but otherwise we keep a clean camp and use bear lockers for anything smelly and stuff that can't be put away inside the teardrop or out of sight inside our car. We keep the galley lid closed between uses. We've camped 134 nights in the TD, many of them in bear habitats, with no indication yet that either grizzlies or black bears have figured out what a teardrop is... maybe it looks like a shiny silver bison to them?

[Techguy]

I am not sure I would want to store my food in my TD in bear country. If they have bear lockers, I use them for all food stuff. I would hate for my TD/tent/camper to be the one they decide they want into.

As for the galley, I think I want a place for a cooler, my stove to store (not use), and my basic utensils and a few other storage areas for dry goods the are commonly used. I did see in the 1947 magazine article about building a TD. They built the galley with a table cubby made underneath all the other cabinets with the TD floor being the bottom. The cubby was designed for a "bridge table" which I would call a "card" table. We own a white plastic table that tends to camp with us every camp that could be built into the galley for storage without taking space from other areas of the camper.