How many go to the dark side?

[aggie79]

I think there is one market segment that the RV industry has not addressed.

That "missing link" is a travel trailer designed for two-persons only that has the following facilities/amenities: dry bath with shower, toilet & sink; permanent bed for two (preferably full/queen or twin beds), two-seat dinette, galley kitchen with decent size fridge, decent size sink (one you can actually fit a pot in) & lower cabinets with drawers instead of doors; tankless water heater, etc.

From my CT conversion sketches, this can be fit into a 7' x 16'-18' space, so it won't be something you can tow with a small vehicle or hybrid.

[S. Heisley]

If you decide to go with a fiberglass trailer, be sure to check out this one, too!...:

http://smalltrailerenthusiast.com/2012/ ... parkliner/

Sharon,
Looks like a well-built fiberglass egg, but when you try to access their web link it is redirected to another site. Also, their Facebook site doesn't have any entries in 2018. I don't think they are around anymore.
Take care,
Tom

Sorry, Tom. I guess I used the wrong addy. I've updated my original post with the right one. It's a brand new addition and a member of another group just bought one.

Here's the video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0gWpQ9cA7k

Take a look at this one, too: https://www.folsomlakerv.com/product-li ... el-trailer

[M C Toyer]

". . . a travel trailer designed for two-persons only that has the following facilities/amenities: dry bath with shower, toilet & sink; permanent bed for two (preferably full/queen or twin beds), two-seat dinette, galley kitchen with decent size fridge, decent size sink (one you can actually fit a pot in) & lower cabinets with drawers instead of doors; tankless water heater, etc.

From my CT conversion sketches, this can be fit into a 7' x 16'-18' space, so it won't be something you can tow with a small vehicle or hybrid.

Size and amenity wise you described my log cabin and a whole host of other CTCs. My cabin measures 7 foot wide x 14 foot long, overall height 96 inches with 72 inches interior in the center. That was achieved with a boat trailer frame that had downward arched cross members. The trailer overall trailer length was 20 feet so I have additional storage and room for a generator there, but otherwise 17 foot would suffice. Ground clearance with 15” wheels is 12 inches.

Now mine was built primarily for the style but a streamlined version could be made. I am reminded of the couple from Irving ? Greg and Terry ? (can't recall their name or find any old posts) that had the oversize teardrop with the drop down floor and a full size sleeper sofa.

You may recall my full size murphy bed is fully made up and easily swings into position and is 24 inches from the floor making entry and exit easy. I have hanging closet space behind the bed, ample storage in the lockers below which also double for seating and/or table or desk top.

I have a full kitchen with 8 linear foot of countertops, 10 linear foot of upper cabinets, 6 feet of lower, freezer/fridge combo, microwave, pod coffee maker (for the new wife), propane oven w/3 burner cooktop, 24x36 combo shower and toilet, a propane tankless hot water heater, and 8000 BTU air conditioner. I think I have about 8 gallon grey water and 12 gallon black water tanks below the floor. Now I was in a bit of a rush to build so used standard size ready-made cabinets but with your wood-working skills could make much more efficient and lighter.

I am towing with a Jeep Liberty, so not a compact, but not a full size pickup either.

[booyah]

With a family of 6, we've discussed switching to a larger camper, but we'd have to go SO much larger it would get us away from what we love about our TD.

Most of our trips arent the entire family, and when it is, some of us tent and some of us use the TD. Overall we still get most of what we love about the TD (convenience, and equipment) just while using a tent off the side of the eazy up

Heres an overhead shot of our camp setup fully deployed. Tow vehicle, tear drop, eazy up, side tent, and bug tent.

DJI_0115 (Large).JPG (554.88 KiB) Viewed 784 times

[Mr. Lahey]

I think that converting a pop up camper to a vintage styled canned ham is a great way to go to the dark side. There are 2 build journals going right now for these conversions on the forum right now. One thread has pic's from a third builder who posted, and the results are beautiful. In my case it's me and my lady who will do the camping. Ocasionally with a grandkid or two. I think the conversion could be kept small and light, yet offer many more comforts.

As I checked into the idea further I started looking to see what you could get a used pop up for. As luck would have it I hit the jackpot. I found a 2008 10' box Jayco pop up for $250. It was being sold by a very frustrated owner. I had thought that if you were to get one, might as well go for a heavily optioned one. Less to buy new if you would like to have those features. The one I bought is loaded and all of it works. It has roof top A/C, 3 way fridge, water heater and outdoor shower, indoor/outdoor propane stove, propane furnace and thermostat, dual propane tanks, and group 27 battery box, power converter/charger, and spare tire. How do you get that much stuff at that price any other way?

So i've been hacking on the factory floor pan drawing to come up with the floor plan for a conversion. Ive also found a vintage camper profile that would fit the converted floor plan inside it. From what I see this should be very very doable. Plus my first thoughts are to leave all the factory items as is. All cabinets and dinette booths etc. would stay in place. I would even reuse the cushions and king size bedding from the camper. In essence just build the walls around the existing pop up box.

The pop up right now has a broken lift mechanism cable. I intend to take a weekend and repair it this spring. It will get the pop up useable as is. I am near completing my teardrop and will work on it this summer till it's completed. Untill the tear is done I intend to use the pop up as is for some weekend get aways. If at that time I'm still in the mood I will have a great sarting unit for the conversion. Or at least something I could easily sell if I want.

A few pic's of whats on the back burner:

The pop up I bought

MVIMG_20180927_102405a.jpg (310.79 KiB) Viewed 740 times

Original floor plan

1393573_10151945539637558_1227931909_n.jpg (57.06 KiB) Viewed 740 times

Conversion floor plan

hamfloorb.jpg (99.46 KiB) Viewed 740 times

[Mr. Lahey]

Ran out of picture room on last post.

A pic's of the vintage camper profile I think would work best. Finished unit would come in at 13'to 14' foot long. There is room in this profile to accommodate everything shown as is in the conversion floor plan above.
I look forward to taking a shot at this. We shall see if it happens.

shape.png (586.63 KiB) Viewed 738 times

[2bits]

I think moving from a teardrop to a standy is a natural progression for alot of people (not all), I love tiny trailers and have the same goal that I started out with, easy camping with a small, light trailer that isn't a burden to tow. I started out with two teardrops, had a finished out truck camp and then had a '70s van but moving into a tiny vintage camper works great for me, at 6' wide and 10' long it is the same size as my teardrop, only a foot wider and two feet taller. I forget it is back there and have everything I need. My sister bought a Casita just last week and loves it, alot of people buy those because they squeeze alot in a tiny package.

Rememebr this site is Teardrops AND Tiny Trailers!

This is my 1978 Play Mor tiny trailer. Hopefully completed within the month

[coostv]

I was going to build a "standy", but for 9k I decided to just buy a year old unit. I still want to build my own, but for time being, this does the job. I didn't want to have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, nor did I want to be without A/C in the hottest weather.

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[dmb90260]

I had a very nice teardrop that I enjoyed. The problem was that I had a couple dogs active in the show world. In good weather the teardrop was fine but when it rained not so good. I moved to a 1960 Kenskill which was not too expensive at the time, it cost less than the teardrop and the dogs & I were nice and dry in bad weather. When i stopped showing the dogs I moved on to Vintage Trailer Rallies. They are a lot of fun and only get real expensive if you make your trailer into a museum piece. I did not go that way. You can see the trailer off to the left. It is 16.5 long and probably weighs 3500 loaded, I tow with my 2000 Toyota Tundra. Now I am tired of pulling the bigger unit and thinking about a teardrop again.
Things change and I just hit the big 80, downsizing is sounding better. I thought I spent a lot of money for my teardrop $8000 in 2004, now a comparable teardrop is twice as much.
On the good side my vintage trailer has probably gained some in value.


The trailer after I had new skin put on it.


The teardrop on my first night at a campground in Pismo Beach.
A few years later I would be at the same campground for Vintage Trailer Rallies.

[tony.latham]

I'm going to stay on the light side of this world.



A few years ago we were camped at a reservoir in western Montana. The weather was gorgeous and we had the place to ourselves.



And then the dark side started showing up and I realized it was the beginnings of Memorial weekend.

They'd pull up, unhitch and then flit about while leveling their big boxes. Then they disappeared inside where they would apparently cook, eat, and watch the tube. Never to be seen again. In a sense we still had the place to ourselves.

All while this kinda stuff was happening:



There's a reason we like to teardrop.

Tony

[ae6black]

For me the TD has always just been basically a place to sleep. During hunting season or Trout Season in Pa in twenty degree weather, I am typically outside in time for breakfast and never make it back inside the cabin until it's time for bed. In the mean time I've been out in the woods or on my favorite stream all day. All cooking is done outside, as is everything else. My dog is a big sissy, he always wants inside the trailer about dark. In the two years that I've had him, he just doesn't get excited about sitting around a campfire with me. He also gets cold easy and even with the hurta blanket coat on him begins shivering when he's not running around. He'd rather be inside out of the wind and cold snoozing or tearing up the Trailer when he sees or hears something moving outside. Typically, when I move into the td for the night, it's time for a movie or reading or listening to some music. when the dog wants to go outside, that's when the hassle begins that involves the teardrop shuffle to put my pants back on (Since by then on a cold winters night i am typically under the covers and settling in till morning) Since I d rather camp with a dog since he enjoys hunting pheasants with me, and is tolerable company when I am out on a favorite steam I am beginning to think about a small fiberglass camper. I like the casitas or the scamps because they don't have a rubber roof. I've found that maintaining a rubber roof was always a hassle that I didn't appreciate. Going outside with the dog is probably one of my main reasons for thinking about going to the small travel trailer. Dealing with ticks on the dog and myself is another biggie that would be easier to handle in a small camper as opposed to a TD. The bathroom is the other main reason for flirting with the dark side. While the wet bath shower isn't my ideal set up, it could work in a pinch. At this point I am not sure which way I am going to go. If I do go the small trailer route, having a TD sitting around may be a bit redundant even if there are applications where a TD is the preferable unit to be camping out of. My problem is, even if I do decide to get rid of my TD, I want the trailer that it's sitting on for other applications. I wonder if anybody would be interested in TD itself if i did decide to part with it?

Art

[ojgrsoi]

I have camped in tents, pickupcamper, pop up, 23' travel trailer and currently own a TT and a 29' Laredo.

I have learned to set up the travel trailer in about 30 minutes and take down and dump in about 45, so that's not too bad. I think you can certainly get stuck inside if you let yourself do that. The toilet is nice and winterizing is just part of the deal. I'm retired so I want to do that as long as I'm able. It's something I've gotten used too.

I have a F250 that is my TV. I would have it any way as I tow disaster relief trailers as needed.

My TT is untested at this point. I am looking forward to taking it out sometime next month. For a potty we have a hospital toilet that we were awarded when my wife had back surgery. As mentioned earlier we plan to use a 10x10 canopy with walls outside the door of the TT. We will dress and put the toilet there. The test is yet to come.

If I was to buy a new travel trailer I think I would look at a lot more trailers than I did in the past. Layout is as critical in a travel trailer as it is in a TT. Things to look for in a travel trailer are how much counter space is in the bath and kitchen. Also sit on the toilet and see if you have enough shoulder and leg room. Really! Matresses come in all levels of comfort so choose wisely. There are so many efficient layouts in shorter trailers especially with slide outs. If you find what you want then it's a good idea to look for a 3 to 5 year old rig on the internet that is the same or similar. That can save you a lot of money. They depreciate fast!






not mine just cute

[Atomic77]

In the beginning, I thought what we wanted was a quaint little teardrop for 2. But as the design process began, Carrie and I realized a standy was much more what we needed. She wanted a private potty and I wanted a place where I could stand to put on my pants. Neither of us were too keen on an outdoor galley and we both wanted a dinette where we could sit on chilly mornings, drinking our coffee and looking out the windows.

It all started as a junker pop-up and turned into something out of this world. We bought materials as we had money and today, at 98% completed, we owe nothing. If we would have bought something else, even used, we would be making payments and that's just not our style. So for us, building a standy was just the way to go...

Happy Building,

Michael and Carrie

[Atomic77]

In the beginning, I thought what we wanted was a quaint little teardrop for 2. But as the design process began, Carrie and I realized a standy was much more what we needed. She wanted a private potty and I wanted a place where I could stand to put on my pants. Neither of us were too keen on an outdoor galley and we both wanted a dinette where we could sit on chilly mornings, drinking our coffee and looking out the windows.

It all started as a junker pop-up and turned into something out of this world. We bought materials as we had money and today, at 98% completed, we owe nothing. If we would have bought something else, even used, we would be making payments and that's just not our style. So for us, building a standy was just the way to go...

Happy Building,

Michael and Carrie

I went back again and read this post. Now I can't decide... Are we on the dark side or the light side?!

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[aggie79]

In the beginning, I thought what we wanted was a quaint little teardrop for 2. But as the design process began, Carrie and I realized a standy was much more what we needed. She wanted a private potty and I wanted a place where I could stand to put on my pants. Neither of us were too keen on an outdoor galley and we both wanted a dinette where we could sit on chilly mornings, drinking our coffee and looking out the windows.

We were fine with the TD amenities, but as we age we would like some more indoor creature comforts as Michael stated above, and would like less packing and setup time than what we have with our teardrop.

We bought materials as we had money and today, at 98% completed, we owe nothing. If we would have bought something else, even used, we would be making payments and that's just not our style.

Michael,

Sadly, it has become almost "un-American" to not to go into debt for material things. We too are on a "pay as you go" basis. We don't make a whole lot of money, our vehicles are 8+ years old, and our home is small and 35-years old. But we don't have any car/truck notes, mortgage or credit card debt. Our "move up" camper will also be on a "pay as you go basis".

Take care,
Tom