Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Thanks for letting me join. My wife and I are in our 40s-50s. Both used to tent camping as younger folks, but age and injury dictates we upgrade some. Not folks to want to haul the whole house to a state park, and fine with leaving behind the computer, TV, and air conditioner, we are ordering tomorrow a 6X10 Hercules trailer from Homesteader. We'll have it factory wired for 110V, swing open rear doors, a 32 inch side door and....an extra 1 foot height to take my 6 foot 5 inch tall frame. Really have enjoyed lurking here, and hope everyone will tolerate my questions as they arise. We are treating ourselves to a factory window, stubbing up for a fan overhead with vent, factory insulation sides and top, leveling jacks, and spare wheel and tire. I look forward to sharing progress notes. Hate that it'll be a 6 week turnaround to get the trailer, because it has to be built for us. Hope to be ready for the fall season. In the meantime, we are enjoying getting together camping stuff (air mattress, Coleman dual Fuel stove and lanterns, box fan, coolers, etc.). My loving wife even treated me to an old style stove top percolator for my coffee throughout the day. Don

Don,

Welcome to the forum. There are plenty of people here willing to give advice and share ideas. Congratulations on ordering your trailer. Sounds like you will have a big head start with all of the options you have selected. Looking forward to your build. I know you are looking at a "basic" trailer, but I would be willing to bet after you get going you will add to your plans. I too am in my 50's and have tent camped all of my life either from a car or via backpacking. As I have planned my trailer I have continued to add to my plans. I am used to cooking outdoors and will continue to do so, but in case of inclement weather I am adding a few indoor kitchen items. I already have a spare toaster oven, microwave and coffee maker so I will use them in my build. I purchased an inexpensive 120v refrigerator to complete my indoor kitchen. I already had a 15" HDTV that I got for $16.00 so I am going to use it for winter days when it gets dark and cold at 5:45 when the sun sets early. I'm sure after I complete the initial build I will find other things that I may want to add.

Good luck on your build and remember to take and post plenty of pictures.

Well folks, there's been a change of plans..........Neither my wife or me enjoy pulling trailers that have fenders out beyond the sides of our truck, since both of us have not trailer towed a great deal. Also, my truck is 12 years old with high mileage, and I have treated it gently since day one, and to boot doesn't have a towing package. What we chose to do today, after looking hard at what was on the lot, visualizing what we desire to do, and having a Taco Bell value menu lunch, was to go with yet a smaller unit. We ordered a 5X8 foot Homesteader Challenger. Options we are getting are a foot of extra height, a walk-thru door, one sliding 20X30 window, crank out roof vent, rear stabilizer jacks, spare tire and rim, jack wheel, and 16 inch on center cross member floor joists and wall studs.
We had decided that we do not want a permanently attached floor cabinet, but instead will build and install small wall cabinets. Fold down work surfaces are a possibility, and as cooking will be done outside, we'll make a " chuck wagon box" for our Coleman dual fuel stove, utensils, spices, etc that we can just slide out of the trailer and set up on site. This is how we did it when I was a Boy Scout, and she was a Girl Scout leader. Plenty of floor space for an air mattress, a folding canopy, grill, lanterns, etc.
We'll insulate it and cover the ceiling with 1/8 inch Luan plywood. Wiring for 120V will be fairly straight forward I hope, and I'll be (we'll be) seeking guidance as we go. Penny is a habitual chronicler of events with her camera, and will be recording the progress. We are both really excited, and are busy getting things together. Thanks for the encouragement folks. Don.

Well folks, there's been a change of plans..........Neither my wife or me enjoy pulling trailers that have fenders out beyond the sides of our truck, since both of us have not trailer towed a great deal. Also, my truck is 12 years old with high mileage, and I have treated it gently since day one, and to boot doesn't have a towing package. What we chose to do today, after looking hard at what was on the lot, visualizing what we desire to do, and having a Taco Bell value menu lunch, was to go with yet a smaller unit. We ordered a 5X8 foot Homesteader Challenger. Options we are getting are a foot of extra height, a walk-thru door, one sliding 20X30 window, crank out roof vent, rear stabilizer jacks, spare tire and rim, jack wheel, and 16 inch on center cross member floor joists and wall studs.
We had decided that we do not want a permanently attached floor cabinet, but instead will build and install small wall cabinets. Fold down work surfaces are a possibility, and as cooking will be done outside, we'll make a " chuck wagon box" for our Coleman dual fuel stove, utensils, spices, etc that we can just slide out of the trailer and set up on site. This is how we did it when I was a Boy Scout, and she was a Girl Scout leader. Plenty of floor space for an air mattress, a folding canopy, grill, lanterns, etc.
We'll insulate it and cover the ceiling with 1/8 inch Luan plywood. Wiring for 120V will be fairly straight forward I hope, and I'll be (we'll be) seeking guidance as we go. Penny is a habitual chronicler of events with her camera, and will be recording the progress. We are both really excited, and are busy getting things together. Thanks for the encouragement folks. Don.

Sorry folks. Double post. Don

Hi Don:

Sounds like a good plan to me.

Worked for my trailer build, lol.

Oh, and we want pictures.

Cheers

sometimes a second look is a good idea.
sounds like you had a change of heart on the larger trailer
I hope it fills your need there is another 5X8 builder here on this site
he did a great job of adding to his trailer wish I could remember
his post but if you check through the post I'm sure you will find the one
I'm referring to.
will it still take 6 weeks to build or did they have one in stock?
I would add a transmission cooler to your truck they don't cost
much and will save your transmission
pete

Hi. Thanks for the greetings. Nothing on the lot to suit our needs. 4 week turnaround to get from the factory. Our thoughts are that we can maneuver the smaller unit easier than the 6x10, and besides, we can store it in our backyard, slipping it thru our double gate. We'd like to keep it covered with a tarp to help avoid fading during hot off seasons, and protect during winter when we aren't out in it. I've been researching camp kitchen boxes like we had back in my Scouting days, and have begun accumulating appropriate sized coolers, our lanterns, dual fuel stove, and other things we will be using. An inflatable mattress, folding awning, and other items are in the works too. Basically, storage cabinets, finished laminate floor, painted walls, interior and exterior 120V outlets, and things like that are planned. I know some will probably say we made an error going smaller, but we really gave this thought. It will be a quality build and will suit our purpose we believe. Not a lot of money involved compared to what others have invested I guess, but Penny and I like to keep our things simple. neither of use wants a lot, and we grew up used to sleeping on the ground in tents. Just having a hard roof over our heads will be a treat. Being able to have all our gear in one neat package will be great. And the extra foot height means I won't be having to scrunch over to move around inside. Please wish us good luck everyone. I admire all the neat things forum members here have done, and I expect I'll be asking lts of questions as we go! Don

Don,
Glad you had time to rethink your trailer size. Sounds like you've got a plan and hope your trailer delivery stays on time.
Have fun with your project!
Barb

There's a problem with tarping your cargo trailer.
They're meant to take the elements. If you use a standard tarp, the evaporation moisture that goes up and under the tarp from the ground will eventually cause mold and mildew on the sides of your trailer.
You need a breathable tarp like they use on cars. You can have Camping World order one sized to fit your trailer ... ( I think ).

I had never thought of condensation issues. Would I be better off to simply wax our rig well a few times yearly with automotive wax? Don.