Mid-Life Crisis?

[sonriacat]

Hello from the Atlanta metro!

I'm not sure if I'm having a mid-life crisis or not. The story goes like this: when I turned 30 and was still single, I decided that I was tired of waiting for "the one" and instead learned how to travel and take vacations on my own. (This is something I recommend for everyone, actually.) The problem, though, is that vacationing is a rather expensive habit if you do it the wrong way and boy was I ever!

But I'd always hesitated about camping because of some terrible experiences growing up. Over the years since I turned 30, though, I came to realize that a lot of what I'd hated about it was related to lack of experience, flexibility and simply being taught how to handle things, and overcoming a lot of fear. The first time I ever successfully went on a hiking trip, for example, was at the age of 32. But I loved it, and for my 35th birthday I ended up giving myself a trip to Hawaii where I spent probably half my time with a pair of hiking boots on my feet.

I figured that if I could adapt to hiking, I could adapt to camping, but I've always been more than slightly fearful because I still travel alone. The idea of being a single female who only came to the outdoors as an adult, sleeping on the ground with nothing more than a bit of canvas between me and the animals out there -- especially the two-legged ones -- just is a little too much. But I also knew that managing an RV was still well beyond my capabilities.

That's when I discovered teardrops and TTTs. I've been lurking around them for several years now, but something about turning 40 has pushed me into quitting the talk in favor of walking the walk. Unfortunately, the first item I need is a halfway decent tow vehicle; my current vehicle is max rated at 750 lbs. and when I look at curb weight vs. GVWR, and then factor in my own weight plus a safety margin for gear (and for the common sense idea of just plain not max'ing the dang thing), even that looks awfully dicey. Unfortunately, the budget says I can't have a new vehicle for at least another year.

Until then, I'll probably lurk and gain ideas. The current one is a TTT because I'm not much for cooking even indoors; I'd rather have a little extra room in the cabin so I don't have to put the mattress right against the doorway. Since I am an apartment dweller and don't have either power tools or access to a garage, I will not be able to do a build; but the current idea involves purchasing something very basic/bare-bones and doing the final finishing myself. It looks like I can do that with hand tools, but we'll have to see.

Hope to read more from everyone soon!

[Woodbutcher]

Welcome, and we hope we can answer some questions along the way should you have them. Lots of ladies travel alone and have a great time. I suggest you look at the gathering section here and over on www.tearjerkers.com and find one close to you. Even before you buy a trailer, go visit a gathering and meet the people and see their trailers. Get familiar with both. If you are reluctant to camp alone, a gathering can be just the thing to get you some experience and in the safety of others.

[gregp136]

Its not a mid life crisis, you are just growing up. Welcome to the fun.

[PKCSPT]

I travel alone, me and my dog but sometimes he stays behind too.
Welcome to the fun.

[Shadow Catcher]

It's a Friday the 13th thing.
I did a study for a social work class on "mid life crisis" and in reality it is statistically not significant it is, because you are middle age and things happen... No one remembers what happens on a Friday the 14th or a Friday the 12th.
What does happen is that you tend to care less what other people think and are more likely to take risks.
As suggested, come to a Tearjerkers gathering there have been a number of folks that I know of that have and it helped them decide what they want and as a group we are very welcoming.

[bobhenry]

My Suzuki Esteem is " not rated to tow"





The previous tow vehicle was a Scion XB also " not rated to tow "



I will confess that now that I have my pickup it does most of the towing but a lite 600 to 800
pound trailer is no problem for even the smallest of vehicles.

and yes the little white trailer pictured above is still for sale and weighs 525 pounds ready to camp.

[buckisland1950]

Welcome to the forum. I think you will find lots of "single" ladies that travel alone. Some are married and their husbands don't camp and other are actually single. I'm sure they will have lots of helpful information. You have a great teardrop builder right in Canton who I just met at the last Dixie Chapter gathering from the Tearjerkers. I have included the link if you're interested and I'm sure he would be glad to discuss any aspect of building or buying a teardrop. http://www.tearjerkers.net/new_forum/me ... ile&u=4705. There is lots of information here as well as the Little Guy forum and the Tearjerkers forum.

Franke

[sonriacat]

My Suzuki Esteem is " not rated to tow"

The previous tow vehicle was a Scion XB also " not rated to tow "

Yes, but I'm still hoping that Hyundai is going to actually honor the last of the warranty repairs I have asked for...I still have 8,000 miles left after all.

Don't get me wrong; it's a good car (a 2011 Elantra Touring), but I don't even want to risk them seeing a trailer hitch on it, particularly given that the repair in question involves the transmission. If it does get fixed and running well, I'd gladly consider hanging on to it for a while. Which would put me that much closer to my TTT!

[PKCSPT]

I did that with my beetle, just waited til the warranty we done.. It's not rated to tow either. I wouldn't recommend anyone do it but it hasn't been a problem