Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

After lots of procrastination and an aborted trip in August, I finally took my teardrop on the road. With a friend following (he was worried I'd break down), I drove from Albuquerque into the nearby Jemez Mountains, home to the Valles Caldera, third largest supervolcano in North America.

My 4-cylinder Subaru Outback easily pulled the trailer which handled like a dream due its sub 900 pound weight. No trouble keeping up with traffic on US 550 at 70 mph and the climb into the mountains was a breeze. We stopped at Soda Dam, a travertine dam across the Jemez River formed by adjacent hot springs.

After a short drive to the top of Fenton Hill, we took a forest road north until we found a nice secluded campsite. We set up camp and enjoyed a campfire and a starry night before turning in to bed. My friend elected to sleep in the bed of his pickup but didn't sleep well because he forgot a sleeping bag thinking that a couple of blankets would be enough for a cold, Autumn night at 8,000 ft. I was toasty in my teardrop under a down comforted on an 8-inch thick foam mattress. Now that's the way to camp!

The next morning I was up at dawn and started a campfire while my friend got in the cab of his truck with the engine and heater running to warm up. After he warmed up, we hung out for awhile before heading back to town.

Only issue of note was some scratches on the trailer sidewalls where the fenders rubbed, likely due to larger tires that may have pushed the fenders up on the bumpy dirt road from pavement to our camp. After I patch the divots, I'll put a rub plate on and raise the fenders to prevent trouble in the future. I'm looking forward to more adventures with my teardrop.

BTW I started building the trailer almost two years ago in October 2014 while I was performing at-home kidney dialysis. Since I received a kidney transplant in January 2016 my wife admitted she no longer wants to go camping (she is 60 years old and entitled to comfort I agree). I hope my children can also use and enjoy this trailer in the future.

Thats inspiring. And an awesome trip. Congrats. My best friend who is 36 is on the kidney transplant list and i will send him the link to this for some inspiration.

bam1028 wrote:Thats inspiring. And an awesome trip. Congrats. My best friend who is 36 is on the kidney transplant list and i will send him the link to this for some inspiration.

Good luck to him. I was on the list for four years and did at home peritoneal dialysis for three-and-a-half years. I had many years advance warning due to slow progressing kidney disease. The essentials to my getting and staying on the list were: 1) follow doctor's orders, 2) take prescribed meds, 3) eat the right foods, and 4) exercise! I'm 59 this month and hiked throughout my dialysis period and hike three or more times a week now interspersed with half hour strength training twice a week. I was fortunate to be able to retire at 55 with 30 years service and ample retirement funds socked away due to early diagnosis of my disease (IGA nephropathy) twenty years ago. Most kidney disease sufferers are not so lucky.

Looks like a nice place to go camping. I started my conversion (cargo trailer), not a build in November of 14. Just started using mine to. I had / have health issues but not a kidney transplant. But my cousin has one of her daughters, kidneys. She has had it for about 5 (?) years.


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Nice write-up about the trailer. Mine took 2 years as well, but as you said, it's worth the effort. We really enjoy travelling through & staying in New Mexico. Lots to see & do there, nice people & great food.

Glad you're back to full renal function. Have a friend in the same boat. He's still good after 14 years & counting on the transplant. Stay hydrated!