Hi to all...finally jumpin' in!

[Gaelen]

Seems to be the day for registering. This is a great site and I've really enjoyed reading it, so I thought I'd stop lurking, register and introduce myself.

I'm in central NY (NYS fair country.) I've camped in tents for 30 years, although once a year I get together with some girlfriends and rent a motorhome or trailer to camp out at a local dog show that's held at NY's Sampson State Park. One of most fun parts of that experience (besides learning which local wineries will deliver to your campsite...) is wandering through the loops checking out how everyone has tricked their out their various rigs from pop-ups to 45 ft. touring buses That was where I first saw an A-liner, about 15 years ago, and I visited its owners more than once. I realized that for me, smaller is definitely better--I'm not looking for my camping experiences to be the Plaza Hotel with trees--just a little warmer and drier than my Eureka after a weekend of rain.

I'd pretty much decided to save up for a small pop-up, just something big enough for me, a friend and a couple of dogs, that I could easily tow with my Chevy s-10. Then two summers ago, I saw my first 'teardrop' on one of those RV shows on the Travel Channel, and I've been fascinated by them (and lurking in the teardrop webring) ever since! I love camping, but CNY weather doesn't exactly make for a 365-day tenting paradise. Being able to pull into a campsite and get completely set up in minutes, no matter what weather, is a great idea, and having something small enough to manage by myself is just what I've been looking for.

Originally, I wanted to build my own, but life has been a little curvy for the last couple years, so I probably won't try to start a teardrop from scratch. I may even purchase something finished or nearly done, or enlist my brother and younger nephews on a finish-it project. For now, I'm still just reading and checking out ads/plans/specs. But it's time to do this, and I look forward to learning more from all of you.

Now I really need to get the last of the tomatoes and herbs inside while we've got some sunshine! Great day, all!

[Joanne]

Gaelen, welcome to our little corner of the cyber world. I think you are spot-on when you want a step up from your Eurika. Tears are great for people who love outdoor camping (as opposed to indoor RVing) but are tired of tents. If you decide not to build from scratch, then buying used is a good alternative. One warning though, look at the trailer closely. Old trailers often have hidden rot that is not obvious. A "fixer upper" turns into a new build on an old frame.

Again, welcome to the world of tears.

Joanne

[PaulC]

Hi Gaelen, Welcome to our little corner of madness. Have fun with your research and remember to keep us all aware of you progress.

Cheers
Paul

[Nytewyng]

welcome aboard .........a wealth of opinions here. A lot of builders here , some can probably be comissioned to build for you. Go with 5 foot wide and maybe 10 long for storage. We have a 5x8 with a blank slate of a galley area. Its really nice to pack and go.....the 5x8 is basically a queen sized bed on wheels and a lot nicer than a tent..We adde a 12x12 side room tent made for our Tear which affords anice sitting area in any weather as well as a private place to get dressed ....take your time check your options, check some peoples albums too..... , see some before you buy.....( just my 2 cents) There are great builders here norht south and west of you....somone will have what you need...

[Miriam C.]

Welcome Gaelen,
Hope you find what your looking for. I'm making mine and it is both fun and frustrating. I read all the posts and books then decided I knew enough to do it. Glad the forum is here to say the least.

Build or buy, you will still enjoy the hard top soft bottom.

[goldcoop]

Gaelen-

Welcome!

You may wanna check out Steve Fredrick's work @:

http://www.steve-frederick.com/intro

He's just up the road from ya!

May also be able to supply custom parts and then you & your etc. could assemble, finish, etc...

Just a thought.. .

Cheers,

Coop

[b.bodemer]

Another gal builder............

Barb

[Gaelen]

Well, thanks all for the welcome! I no sooner de-lurked than work went crazy and I couldn't check back. There is so much information here, I'll be busy for months.

Right now, the only teardrop I own is 1:43 scale...a VW ragtop diecast towing a teardrop that reminds me every day that I'd rather be camping. I think while I'm playing out different things in my design mind, I'm going to do a little model work myself...but definitely bigger than 1:43 scale.

I've seen a T@B, an ALiner 300 and an Aliner Sport in person, but I've never actually seen a finished teardrop except at a distance. I saw one being towed along a neighborhood road, so someone in town owns one. I wasn't sure if following them to ask for a closer look would make me seem like a stalker...and I was on the way to work at the time, so I decided to save stalking for another day. Thanks, Coop, for the pointer to Steve. I'm a bit further upstate than he is, but I can always fit in a field trip.

[Rick Sheerin]

Hi Gaelen- Welcome aboard!! Where abouts are you located in CNY? I'm in Liverpool. My wife and I just completed our FanDrop( kind of a teardrop TTT hybrid). You are more than welcome to come on over anytime and take a look at it and our 1960 Metzendorf. You should also consider going to the Spring Tear-Up '07 if you want to see a bunch of TD's close up.

[Steve Frederick]

Gaelen,
Welcome!
We're about 40-miles N/W of Albany..or 1-hour East of Utica. Come on out! I'm starting a new build..we love new vict..oops... visitors!

[JawjaBoy]

Welcome,from another "newbie!" From what little I know,there are a lot of friendly people here that will help you any way they can. David

[Gaelen]

Hi Gaelen- Welcome aboard!! Where abouts are you located in CNY? I'm in Liverpool. My wife and I just completed our FanDrop( kind of a teardrop TTT hybrid). You are more than welcome to come on over anytime and take a look at it and our 1960 Metzendorf. You should also consider going to the Spring Tear-Up '07 if you want to see a bunch of TD's close up.

Oh my...Rick, depending on where you are in Liverpool I'm maybe 10 miles away, right off the second to last exit of the 690 bypass behind the old Top o' the Hill restaurant. Thanks for the invitation. The second work slows down and I have ten minutes to myself, I'll drop you a mesage.

Gaelen, Welcome!
We're about 40-miles N/W of Albany..or 1-hour East of Utica. Come on out! I'm starting a new build..we love new vict..oops... visitors!

LOL, Steve. I could be a victim of the fascination with teardrops, and a visitor, too. I've made about 20 train trips on that route in the last 16 months, on the way to NYC, and I just drove it Sept. 15th on the way to my oldest nephew's wedding in Springfield MA. I have to go down to NYC again in two weeks, again on the train. Unfortunately, that 40-minute stopover in Albany is a little short to fit in a field trip, but there's always time when I get back...

I did see the threads about the Spring Tear-up earlier this year. I would have liked nothing better than to drive up to Fish Creek (even for a couple hours) to meet some people who had teardrops but...well, the short story is that the Tear-up was the weekend after a chemo treatment and those weekends I was pretty much limited to driving my couch. At least now I'm on my own schedule again, sort of. Next spring, maybe I can be actually taking part in the Tear-up![/quote]