Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:42 pm**

A recent trip (early July) to Nebraska to visit my aunt, I came across a nice roadside park in Kansas.
Everything I ever wanted when I was dreaming and building my trailer -- a nice place to pull over and spend a few hours away from the big city.

Thanks again to ALL who made/make this site --

Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:56 pm**

I stopped at the "Golden Spike" in Nebraska. A small railroad museum next to the Union Pacific Baily Yard. Very interesting and a great break from driving. Android phones don't take good landscape pictures, but I am the 2 white dots under the American flag (looking down from 7 floors up above the prairie).

Looking out over Baily Yard (I think it was 25 tracks wide)

The Nebraska Prairie

The tower and gift shop

Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 6:14 pm**

Last one!
Visited Fort Laramie Wyoming. What a great place for someone who grew up watching Westerns!

Storing the ammo

The bunkhouse (very authentic!)

A hand cart from the pioneer days - the precurser to the teardrop??

RV -circa 1880

The Oregon trail (Scottsbluff, Nebraska)

Prairie for as far as you can see (the Oregon Trail in Scottsbluff, NE)

It was good to see my aunt!

Won't bore you anymore with my travel tales!

Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:45 pm**

I find it most interesting seeing other areas I will
never get to myself. Glad you had a good trip!

Thanks for the pictures.

Posted: **Fri Aug 18, 2017 8:54 pm**

Thanks for sharing, great pictures.

Posted: **Sat Aug 19, 2017 3:42 am**

pchast wrote:I find it most interesting seeing other areas I will
never get to myself. Glad you had a good trip!

Thanks for the pictures.

As Pete said :thumbsup:

Posted: **Sat Aug 19, 2017 10:07 am**

cubbyboy57 wrote:
...A hand cart from the pioneer days - the precursor to the teardrop??

RV -circa 1880

Looks like you travel light, and simply, seeing that you tow with a HHR, rated for only 1000 lbs. I also have a HHR Panel...it was my intention to build my trailer to be pulled initially by it (or my wife's Cobalt), but it soon became obviously too heavy (1400 lbs when first camp-able) to be towed legally/safely? by either. What weight is your trailer, is it braked ?, and do you have trouble on hills (not so much in central USA)?
hhr panel at the ranch.png (314.66 KiB) Viewed 3974 times

very capable, but not for towing my now 2k lbs trailer
My TTT has grown to over 2000 lbs travel weight now, though I upgraded the axle to carry more weight, and now also equipped with trailer brakes, but, even so, I would only try to use the HHR as a last resort (I have two pickups for use: a beefed-up GMC 1500 and an OVER-BEEFED 2500 Chevy HD. But, I miss the gas mileage of the HHR, and the extra, dry, storage it offers inside.
I included your photos of the cart and wagon, as a reference/comparison as to how they built simply, and for a simple purpose, back then. Somewhere, along the way, I overlooked that rationale, and over-complicated and over-built my trailer. I started as simple as their cart. and threw everything I could into it (except for the proverbial "kitchen sink"), and overshot my weight goal of 1000 lbs (HHR max tow weight) by a country mile.
and the weight is still growing.png (350.89 KiB) Viewed 3974 times

cart to wagon; ten times the starting weight

Posted: **Sat Aug 19, 2017 9:47 pm**

Thanks for all the replies -- I always enjoy looking at the pictures posted (if I don't post mine it feels like cheating).

As far as weight, with the trailer loaded for a couple of days it weighs just under 1100 lbs. This trip with the tools I took to help my aunt with some home projects and myself I added about 1600 to the car total (60% more than Chevy USA recommends). I didn't actually camp except to eat lunch/supper/breakfast and sleep overnight - it is about 15 hours of driving, a bit more than I wanted to do in a single day. Once there I slept/ate in the house. I was able to drive 60-65 all the way up there (Scottsbluff, NE) my preference as the speed limits were 70-75. I made a trip to Arkansas and took about the same weight in coolers/ice/water as I stayed 5 days in the National Forest (dry camping). Any hill it struggled on (high rpms) had a truck lane and I just took them at 50-55 no problem. I haven't had any trouble with brakes (no brakes on the stock HF trailer). Although it does take longer to stop. I normally get around 26 mpg (DFW rush hour traffic to and from work). Both trips cost me around 6 mpg -- right at 20mpg. It is a 4 cylinder car, so not really made to pull anything. I will probably go back to a small pickup when I get tired of the HHR.

Posted: **Wed Aug 23, 2017 3:01 pm**

cubbyboy57 wrote:

I enjoyed your whole trip report, but there is just something special about a TD in the shade taking a little time to relax. You have to love this!

Posted: **Thu Aug 24, 2017 12:06 pm**

Not Boring! Thanks for sharing! :thumbsup:

Posted: **Fri Aug 25, 2017 6:03 pm**

KC, I am convinced that the few hours I spent in Kansas on the side of a country road added months to my existence. I came came home without the stress I left with. I am waiting for the summer heat to break (at least at night) to take my next exit from the rat race.

Posted: **Mon Aug 28, 2017 8:16 pm**

Those pictures are great examples of why I stay off the interstates as much as possible. I always try to stop and look at the historical markers, scenic views and other "attractions" while on my trips. Also, the slower pace of the 2 lane highways does not leave me all tense and stressed out after a day of driving. I drove all the way across Kansas on US 36 this summer and there was plenty to see along the way...not boring like the interstate would have been.

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

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