Looking for help finding my way out of the frills :)

[parandyb]

I'm a newb to the forum looking for what most will likely find to be a boring teardrop. By way of introduction, my wife and I recently retired and are planning to do a lot more traveling in the near future. We have been camping out of my pickup and a backpack tent for 40 years. We are dedicated hikers and sometimes bikers and it isn't unusual for us to be gone from a campsite from 8am to 8pm. But at 66 years old I have accepted that I won't be able to sleep on the ground forever and we want to have the flexibility on extended trips of NOT having to setup a tent in the rain and then pack a wet tent to move on. A few years ago we spied a really interesting teardrop in the Big Meadows campground at Shenandoah National Park while hiking by on the Appalachian Trail. It gave us hope of finding a simple solution to our future problem. We are lucky enough to live about 30 miles from Hershey, Pa so we just attended the big show there and started collecting information. The problem for our purposes is that everything is overkill. I don't want a microwave, I don't want air conditioning, I don't want a shower, etc. etc. etc. What we need is a dry place to sleep inside and a fairly well designed galley outside so that cooking, etc. doesn't dirty up the sleeping quarters. I understand that this is an unusual request and the manufacturers/dealers were pretty helpful in focusing us on the few solutions that were at least coming close to our wish list. It seems that major manufacturers just aren't building things like this and we will need to seek out smaller providers that are likely going to be harder to find. So I'm hoping that someone out there in tnttt land has an idea of where to start to find my perfect solution. I'll stop there to keep this from getting longer and more boring than it already is and hope someone is still awake enough to respond or ask a question. Thanks for the opportunity to get my head around this.

[Ottsville]

Welcome! You've come to a good place for ideas - there's lots of good builds here for a wide variety of needs.

Is building your own trailer or modifying a small cargo trailer in your abilities?

[tony.latham]

Hello!

I'm the same age with the same background other than I started weaning my way from tent camping with my first teardrop fourteen years ago and can't recall sleeping on the ground for nearly a decade. But I've got hundreds of those nights behind me.

I don't want a microwave, I don't want air conditioning, I don't want a shower, etc. etc. etc. What we need is a dry place to sleep inside and a fairly well designed galley outside so that cooking, etc. doesn't dirty up the sleeping quarters. I understand that this is an unusual request and the manufacturers/dealers were pretty helpful in focusing us on the few solutions that were at least coming close to our wish list.

I'm failing to see the problem. That's your basic teardrop.

It sounds like you're buying and not building. May I suggest the following quality builders:

https://vistabule.com/

http://tinycamper.com/

https://www.tcteardrops.com/

I've looked closely at those brands and they are all well built.





Tony

[parandyb]

Welcome! You've come to a good place for ideas - there's lots of good builds here for a wide variety of needs.

Is building your own trailer or modifying a small cargo trailer in your abilities?

Able-maybe, but interested-no. I've got a couple hobbies that keep me busy and I want to travel, but building or designing something like this is not how I want to spend my free time. I'd rather be fishing.

[parandyb]

Hello!


I'm failing to see the problem. That's your basic teardrop.

It sounds like you're buying and not building. May I suggest the following quality builders:

https://vistabule.com/

http://tinycamper.com/

https://www.tcteardrops.com/

I've looked closely at those brands and they are all well built.





Tony

I'd say you fail to see the problem because you solved it long ago. Thanks very much. These are much closer to what I am looking for. I'm a cook so I love the more elaborate storage in the galley of the Vistabule, but it may be a bit heavy and larger than we need. We need to either keep the weight to about 1000 pounds or put electric brakes on because it will likely be towed behind one of the new Subaru Forrester's coming out next year that only have a 1500 towing capacity. But this is a great start and much better than I was finding searching the net on my own. The closest I found in Hershey was Nucamp and there you started with all the goodies and had to subtract to get here. Thanks again.

[tiiiiii85]

Hello!


I'm failing to see the problem. That's your basic teardrop.

It sounds like you're buying and not building. May I suggest the following quality builders:

https://vistabule.com/

http://tinycamper.com/

https://www.tcteardrops.com/

I've looked closely at those brands and they are all well built.





Tony

I'd say you fail to see the problem because you solved it long ago. Thanks very much. These are much closer to what I am looking for. I'm a cook so I love the more elaborate storage in the galley of the Vistabule, but it may be a bit heavy and larger than we need. We need to either keep the weight to about 1000 pounds or put electric brakes on because it will likely be towed behind one of the new Subaru Forrester's coming out next year that only have a 1500 towing capacity. But this is a great start and much better than I was finding searching the net on my own. The closest I found in Hershey was Nucamp and there you started with all the goodies and had to subtract to get here. Thanks again.

There is a user Cosmo, who has a Vistabule and tows it with a Subaru. He also likes cooking. check his posts and his video on YouTube. Maybe he gives good comments for you.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

[QueticoBill]

A little off but you might take a look at the sylvan sport camper. Lots of nice features.

[Esteban]

Here's a link to Cosmo's YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Sd6k ... LUQ/videos

There are many smaller manufacturers of quality teardrops across the USA. Please add your (general) location to help us suggest or recommend teardrop builders near you.

Checking out the Teardrop Manufacturers part of the TNTTT forum may be of help.

You also could Google "teardrop manufacturer" to find them closer to you.

Good luck finding one you like.

[Bruue1]

I find inspiration and encouragement in your post/request. I personally keep playing with the idea of building a couple foam tear drops for the purpose of selling. I know there is a market for small durable campers that can be towed by 4 cyl fuel efficient cars.

One thought: I really like to stand up in my camper. I'm only 39 and I get tired of crawling around on my knees. Keep searching the net. There are a few stand up options and a ton of other options.

Scamp campers made in MN come pretty streamlined and light weight. Older stand up scamps weigh in around 800lbs. They have a fridge and stove top a convertible dinette and a gaucho couch.

You can check out this site for fiberglass trailers, they have used postings from all over the country. It is educational, by searching through it you can find out a lot about what is available.

https://www.fiberglass-rv-4sale.com/rv-for-sale

You'll find an older model called a Hunter on there. Its neat, is small, low profile and lightweight, has a pop top in just the middle so you get standing space. I'm sure they have at least couple of Hunters on there. And Casitas, Scamps, Trilliums, Bolers, Burros, tons of odd little campers.

If you want a new fancier bare bones camper there is this extremely versatile Happier Camper. This is a relatively new company that builds an awesome lightweight fiberglass egg shell camper.

https://happiercamper.com

Made in CA. All of the add ons/accessories are modular and can fit into the camper many different ways by fastening into a grid sytemt built into the floor. The result is you can buy whatever accessories you want and design it however you like. For instance the stove and fridge modules double as bench seats and can be taken outside if the weather is nice.

I'm not sure what they are called but once upon a time someone did build a plastic tear drop that looks like a little egg. The thing weighs 300lbs empty. It would be perfect to tow behind a 1st gen Miata.

I love the foam and canvas camper I built. I wouldn't want anything else. Foam and canvas is number 1 IMHO. That said lots of campers are cool and you can have fun with anything that tows easily behind your vehicle. The ability to tow it while feeling safe should be paramount.

Motorcycle tent trailers are neat, extremely light weight, cheap and can definitely be towed by cars as well as motorcycles.

There are small traditional pop ups that weight less than 1000 lbs

Check out the Quicksilver 6.0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q260zwPrUT8
That little camper is all aluminum and composite materials, nothing could ever rust or rot it weighs well under 600lbs and you can stand up in it when it is set up. Of course the canvas could rot eventually but that is 30 years down the road. The quicksilver Line is very functional and again the furniture can be inside or outside per your daily preference.

I would search for used and new campers. There are many different camper creations across the past 50-60 years. Some of the best designs are not made anymore. Looking at used and vintage campers too might save you money and will definitely expand your options.

Have fun, I hope you find a cool camper! . I love campers. Almost more than using them.