Long term teardrop camping

[beverlyt]

Hello all,
We just returned from our property in Tennessee. We will have a septic system put in by next summer and are considering getting started on our cabin building. We have plans for a 16'x24' cabin.

While there, we found a 16'x16' cabin someone had built.

The creek was really up due to mountain rains and the old mill dam was quite a sight a few yards down from our property.

We have our teardrop, outhouse tent, heated Zodi shower, etc. We're hoping we could stay about a month in the teardrop and get the cabin dried in.
What's the longest anyone has camped in such close quarters? I think we could do it!
Bev

[tdhombre]

I think you can do it as well. It appears to me that there is a LOT of places you can go to be by yourself if you really wanted to.

The only downside might be weather induced. If you catch a lot of rain, then staying "inside" might be interesting, for example.

I have hopes of being able to do long distance traveling in our teardrop. Only time will tell if that will work out, though. I have promised my wife that we WILL stay in a nice motel if/when the weather doesn't cooperate.

Other than staying in different places each day (unlike your situation of being in the same place each day) there seems to me to be lots of thing similar. Bottom line is that folks have to be really good friends to exist in tight quarters for any length of time.

Ah, well - that's my philosphy lesson for today!!! Be well and enjoy.

[OurStuff4You]

If your tent is big enough for a table, and space to move around in you should do just fine if the weather turns rainy. I don't know if I could do it tho ...

[Spook]

If you have a pole barn shell with blue tarps or even tin roof it woild be like a picnic pavilion. I think you can do it.

[twc3]

When I was a child my parents always vacationed with a Tent Trailer and we went everywhere and always for a couple of weeks.

I just recently got back from the longest vacation I have had as an Adult 10ish days with a Tear Drop and a three-year-old girl. The total trip was 2609 miles and it was very interesting. My father and I built a Kuffel Creek Cubby Tear Drop last fall for this trip specifically as we were going to a family reunion and it was a camping trip to Mt. Rushmore – I was not going to tent with a three-year-old girl.

Traveling with a Tear Drop is great and for maximum comfort while traveling I would recommend KOA or some RV parks simply for the amenities and they are ½ the price of a hotel. We found that the KOA or some RV parks were only a few dollars more than Forest Service campgrounds and half the time the Forest Service campgrounds did not have any running water. Also always pack a 10X10 Canopy they are worth the money for some reason snow/rain always follows me when I go camping. Eating and living outside can be a chore if the weather is bad and a good thing can change to ugly really fast. I want to adapt an attached side room for my Tear Drop – I am just not sure how I am going to go about it.

Bev it sounds like you have a well-rounded supply of goods to keep you comfortable and civilized so you should be able to swing a month, especially considering you are on your property and not driving all over the place.

The creek looks beautiful

[Chip]

Beverly,,just a thought for ya to contemplate,,,,organize a barn(cabin) raising,,sort of like the ommish do it,,neighbor helping neighbor,,,,except put a twist to it,,,have a teardrop get together and lets put your cabin up,,,,My girlfriend and I would be glad to stop by for a few days and help,,most teardroppers I think would help also,,,and look at it on the good side,,most have built a teardrop so construction on a cabin is a breeze,,,give it a think,,,next spring is nice in Tenn..bet if it is organized and some prep work is done we could get ya dried in within a few days,,,then ya can finish at your leasure,,,
any excuse to go and do something different is interesting,,,,

Chip

[beverlyt]

Chip,
Thanks for the offer of help. Very nice of you. It's a great idea...though I would feel strange asking for the help.
My uncle and cousins live within 1/2 hours drive from our property. I'm hoping to get some help from them as needed.
I'm thinking we could do pretty well with the teardrop and screen tent/room to sit in. We'll probably get temporary electric to the site so that will help with power tools and keep the battery charged up in the teardrop.
It will definitely be "roughing it" for a time! Glad we have the teardrop to stay in!
Bev

[beverlyt]

Interesting bit of trivia someone just sent me:
Warren Miller of the ski movies fame, lived in a small teardrop one winter in the Sun Valley parking lot when he was a young guy. And he had a roommate!

Bev

[Shrug53]

My brother-in-law owns land like that in Georgia. He actually rented an RV for two months and lived in it while his house was being built. You may want to consider some sort of rental.
I checked a bit and that can run anywhere from 75 to 150 a day. But that was just with a quick check and during peak season.

[campadk]

Interesting bit of trivia someone just sent me:
Warren Miller of the ski movies fame, lived in a small teardrop one winter in the Sun Valley parking lot when he was a young guy. And he had a roommate!

Bev

We had a hoot when we discovered a shot of Warren Millers tear Bev... looked so close to our setup! Were real skiing buffs which made it erie...

See these and several other primo tear photos at http://warrenmiller.net.

(Warren Miller photos are for sale at http://warrenmiller.net/photos.html

Here is Warren Millers tear back in 1948...




Here is our tears photo taken in 2003 (bit less snow and different tow vehicle)...

[beverlyt]

Dave,
Very cool!
Thanks for finding those pics...and my, time seems to have stood still!
Bev

[Wild Mike]

I'm back to work today after spending last week at Scout Camp ... In my tear. WooooooooHoooo !!!!

I got home Saturday about 1:00 and didn't even need a nap ! Most week scout camps take a little recovering from, but I slept like I was at home in my own bed.

The best part was when I parked up by the trading post Saturday morning to drop off the trash. When I got back there were 5-6 Scoutmasters looking at my tear and giving compliments on the workmanship and design. In fact I am sending a set of sidewall prints to a scoutmaster that wants to build one !

So far thats my record ... a week of camping in my teardrop.

Wild Mike

[BufordT]

Hello all,
We just returned from our property in Tennessee. We will have a septic system put in by next summer and are considering getting started on our cabin building. We have plans for a 16'x24' cabin.

While there, we found a 16'x16' cabin someone had built.

The creek was really up due to mountain rains and the old mill dam was quite a sight a few yards down from our property.

We have our teardrop, outhouse tent, heated Zodi shower, etc. We're hoping we could stay about a month in the teardrop and get the cabin dried in.
What's the longest anyone has camped in such close quarters? I think we could do it!
Bev

Bev,

I don't know how big a cabin you guys want to build but I just got the book by Lester Walker on Tiny Tiny Houses. I found several small houses in the book to build on our property in Ga. Thought this might help you.

Bufordt

[beverlyt]

Bufordt,
As I have searched for cabin plans, I have run across the same problem I had with teardrop plans. I wanted plans that walk me through EVERY step of the building process.

I found KuffleCreek teardrop plans to be the most complete. For us, we would have never got our teardrop built without them. I wanted step-by-step plans and they really delivered.

As for a cabin, I have bought WAY to many sets of plans that say they are complete, but really weren't. The best plans I've found so far are these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 85560&rd=1

How complete are the plans in this book? Do they walk you through how to build, board by board?

Thanks!
Bev

[BufordT]

Bufordt,
As I have searched for cabin plans, I have run across the same problem I had with teardrop plans. I wanted plans that walk me through EVERY step of the building process.

I found KuffleCreek teardrop plans to be the most complete. For us, we would have never got our teardrop built without them. I wanted step-by-step plans and they really delivered.

As for a cabin, I have bought WAY to many sets of plans that say they are complete, but really weren't. The best plans I've found so far are these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 85560&rd=1

How complete are the plans in this book? Do they walk you through how to build, board by board?

Thanks!
Bev

Bev,

There are no plans in the book just a lot of pic's and layouts of tiny houses.

However I have found this site which might be what you are looking for. From the last pic in the download looks like they tell you just about everything you need to know.

www.sheldondesigns.com

I downloaded the catolog and looked at the layouts. You can order the plans then.

Bufordt