Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

It is with strongly mixed emotions that I make the following declaration:

The Road Foamie is For Sale!!

After lots of thought, consideration, hand wringing, hemming and hawing, vascillating, and pondering, I have decided to sell the Road Foamie. The wife and I are at a point in our lives where we would like to take longer trips in both duration and distance and there are some issues with that in a Foamie. The 2 issues for us are the lack of a toilet inside and the lack of an indoor sitting area. I have a Thetford porta potty that we used to set up in a shower/privacy tent but I was trying to get away from setting up tents when I built the Road Foamie. The weather (mostly Oregon coast) has forced us to sit on the bed for hours at a time and it can get confining, so a bigger unit with a separate place to sit and a bathroom is something we both wanted.

I realize I am now stepping into the realm of speed built travel trailers and "professionally" made RV's that can be poorly built and often leak or have other issues, but we need something bigger than I could build to accomplish our goal. We' have looked long and hard at our options, visited many dealerships, attended a few RV shows, walked into and sometimes right out of many RVs, so we think we found one we like and are comfortable with the reputation and build quality of the manufacturer. (It ain't cheap ).

Anyway, I hope you don't consider me a pariah, and I hope that I contributed even half as much as I received from this great group. I consider building the Road Foamie one of my greatest accomplishments in life just behind having 3 great kids and an awesome wife. Though I've fallen out of touch, I consider all of you my good friends. I'll stick my head in now and again if for nothing else to see if KC's finished yet. Seriously though, KC, I am simply awestruck by your work. You are a true craftsman.

Here's the ad I posted on the site. viewtopic.php?f=18&t=63005.

If you're interested please take a look and feel free to call with any questions. if you hear of someone looking for a "teardrop" give them a heads up.

Much appreciated.

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=63005

Thanks, Mel. Sorry to hear that you won't be building that 5er that you had been talking about doing. I was looking forward to that.

For sure, don't be a stranger, and you never know... I might actually finish TPCE someday!

My biggest concern about building that 5er would be the frame. I just didn't have faith that I could find someone to build a frame that was well built without being overly massive or improperly built and I just don't know where I could find the place to build something like that since I'm sure it would have taken about a year and a half to get it done. It would have been fun and since we haven't bought the RV yet, there is still a faint hope. Just don't tell my wife

That’s all right .... a commercially made RV will last just fine if you keep it Inside all the time and never use it ... I suppose you’ve already researched your particular interest on someplace like IRV.com

A word(s) of advice ... If you at all possibly can , read the MANUAL of the trailer you’re thinking of buying , and read it well BEFORE you buy it .... many things are disclosed in the manual that should be discussed BEFORE the sale, but are hidden ... Little things like when we bought ours , we didn’t know that in order for the Warranty to be valid , we’d have to have the RV dealer re-caulk the roof EVERY year , at a small cost of $1200.00 Not mentioned before the sale , but disclosed in the manual (in the fine print) , not to mention all the other pricy maintenance that must be done by the dealer ... (What a Racket !!)

Best thing to remember is RV dealers are Bigger LIARS than even politicians or the big money special interest groups that back them ... Sad, but TRUE !!! You’ll see !!!
No matter what , stay away from membrane roofs ... !!!

Ps. if you can’t sit with the wife for a few hours , you may want to consider separate vacations ... or a deck of playing cards ...

I'm curious about what you are looking at. The more I look around, the more I find that the Casita/Scamp type trailers seem to be the most suitable for us. The only problem with that is finding something capable of towing one that I can regularly get 30 mpg with.

Someone is going to get one well tested trailer in the Road Foamie. You did more real world proof of concept structural testing than anyone.

I've had multiple travel trailers and motor homes over the years. I learned long ago, Buy Used. Not just because they are often very inexpensive, but in many cases many of the kinks have already been repaired and there can be an enormous amount of kinks.

You can pick up a really nice, under 25', maybe 10 year old trailer for under $5,000. My last one I got for $4k, eight years old. I replaced the tires-bearings, put a coat of Kool Seal on the roof, redid the brakes, added in a better 12v system. We towed it over 15,000 miles with an F150 in one year. Sold it in less than a week after advertising it, at a net profit. Never leaked, never broke down. Present owner has had it for almost 2 years, never had a problem.

My neighbor, over the past 7 years, has had 4 pretty expensive, new motor homes. In every case they leaked, slideouts got stuck, paint went to hell, he lost tens of thousands on them when trading in for the next one. He sold his last one and is now spending a lot of time at my house watching me build my trailer. He is a retired body shop guy and I think I know what he is going to start working on pretty soon. :-)

dave

there is no reason for you to leave the foamies, I don't want to see you leave, so I hereby nominate you to the beginning foamie advisory committee. This means you have to stay around to give your 2 cents worth of advice commentary to the foamie population. You can share the wonderful camping experiences and travel experiences and all the quotes and funny things you see. We love your encouraging words and your shared expertise. I pray you will continue to add your point of view. plus on a personal level I want your address and phone number for a short drive by and meeting when i go on my Big Out West trip Next summer. Good luck with that RV.

Mary C.

Oh so want to get rid of my 32' Fifth Wheel. The New Dometic AC installed last year at $1550 has just stopped cooling. Dealing now with trying to get it replaced under warranty. Found out the diagnostic and service call are not covered, more $$, before they will even determine if they will replace it. My RV tech says they will try tooth and nail not to be responsible. Also found out that I can't switch to another brand as the rv was wired for a dometic and they're not for other brands, ie Coleman. Still planning on a larger Foamie, the Foamstead, similar to but slightly larger than GPW's Foamstream. If the AC were to die in it I would just have to run to WM and pickup another 5k window unit and slid it in myself.

Mary C wrote:there is no reason for you to leave the foamies, I don't want to see you leave, so I hereby nominate you to the beginning foamie advisory committee. This means you have to stay around to give your 2 cents worth of advice commentary to the foamie population. You can share the wonderful camping experiences and travel experiences and all the quotes and funny things you see. We love your encouraging words and your shared expertise. I pray you will continue to add your point of view. plus on a personal level I want your address and phone number for a short drive by and meeting when i go on my Big Out West trip Next summer. Good luck with that RV.

Mary C.

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Thanks Mary, I appreciate the kind words, I'll stick my head in now and again. I'll pm you my info

I know someone who builds a hell of a frame.

Debbie,

You're gonna get me killed. After dragging Jan to multiple RV lots, more than a few RV shows and walking through probably a hundred trailers, if I resurrect the idea of building a larger RV, I can guarantee she will not be happy with me. But that being said....

So sorry to hear this, but I for one do understand those other needs. Good luck to you and stick around, no need to leave.

Mel, what about doing a cargo conversion [CT]? I too share GPW's scorn
of new RVs. As well as being ugly and heavy they are just not that
well designed or durable. An aluminum CT could be lighter - before
you fill it all up with goodies... To control size, you could build it
with a Tip-Out or Fold-out for the sleeping area... There's a whole
section on here to mine for ideas... Just thinking on it...

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

Mel, where you gonna’ store a bigger trailer ... ??? Rental storage facility ... Best NOT leave it outside !!!

Cargo trailer conversion was second on my list if the FS hadn’t happened... they DO live outside ...