Am I totally crazy??

[DBaldwin]

Hello from south-central PA.

I was wondering if anyone out there had ever tried living in a teardrop full time in a semi-warm climate?

My husband and I are looking for a way to make life simpler and (theoretically) cheaper... Our current expenses are nearly $2200-2500/mo. We've managed to keep our home throughout some trying circumstances (mostly the challenge of trying to sustain so much stuff), but the strain of doing so is wearing us down.

We saw some teardrops on TV and loved them.

My husband is a magician and balloon sculptor, so we think we should be able to earn $1000-$1500 just by continuing to do that (our magic business is nearly 20 years with a good reputation - transplanted twice, and we continue to be busy).

It seems like it would be possible if we went to a warmer climate and, if we started with a good plan and invested in the necessary resources at the beginning....

Any ideas? Opinions? Advice?

Thanks,
Diana
BTW, am not a teardrop builder - don't know why it says that - but I couldn't figure out how to change that in my profile...

[mikeschn]

No you're not as crazy as you want to think you are...

I hung out for a while on the T@B group on Yahoo, and there are people there that live practically full time in their T@B.

And if you do a search, Steve Tripper found someone at Quartzsite, AZ who was living full time in a Little Guy.

I know I couldn't live full time in an RV, but there are a lot of people who do. It's all a matter of finding your comfort zone.

Oh, btw, welcome to the forum!

And yes, we like pictures, so be sure to fill up your album!

Mike...

[hiker chick]

Not sure even my dog would like me if we lived in the teardrop full-time, they're pretty darn cozy. But something bigger like a T@b or another small trailer with a dining table and a toilet -- certainly provides the essentials.

Sure appreciate the quest for doing with less.

Wish I'd come to that view earlier.

Best of luck!

[Mike C.]

Hi Diana & Hubby,


Welcome to the forum. I'm not sure I could live in a teardrop, year-round, but I suppose if that's what you want, I suppose you could make it work. I would think a larger trailer would make it more comfortable. You might check out some of the designs in the " Hall of Fame" in the upper left of each page, for what others have built.


See you around.

[Roly Nelson]

Hi there to the new hopeful full-time trailer users. Welcome aboard. The sweet wife and I lived full-time in our 22 ft Lazydays motorhome and enjoyed our travels for about 8 years. Some of our friends thought we were crazy, but if you and your spouse are really compatable, it's a great way to save money, see lots of the world and meet new people.

I don't believe that it would have worked at all in a teardrop trailer, even though we get along great, after 56 years of happy married life. I am sure you can pick up a small stand-up travel trailer for about the same money spent on a tear. Standing up and dressing without the wind blowing up your skirts sure means a lot to the sweet wife. Look around and see whats available, perhaps someone on the board can send you in the right directions. Good luck and keep in touch.

Roly, ex-tenter, ex-truck camper, ex-fifthwheeler, ex-motorhomer and present seemingly oldest, teardropper and vintage trailer enthusiast and owner around.

[JeremyL]

For several years I lived in a 16 foot travel trailer that sat next to my 60 by 80 foot shop. The shop did have an apartment that ran down one side, but my father lived in it.

Yes, the travel trailer was cramped, but I survived & was quite happy. In fact, looking back now I think those days were some of the happiest of my life.

Before I was born my parents practically lived out of an old Econoline van. They'd summer in Minnesota/Wisconsin, and during the winters they took off to Nevada or California.

My future plans are to move back to Texas sometime in the next year or two, and I'll probably live in a camper or some sort while I (re)build the old family homestead. Heck, I've even thought of going real old school & living in a Tee pee or something, although that would be roughing it.

[toypusher]

Diana,

Where in SC PA are you? I am in the York area and you are welcome to come over and see my teardrop most any time. It is only a 4x8, but might give you a better idea of what you might me looking at.

Welcome to the board!!

[DBaldwin]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and great advice.

I think many of you are right, that a teardrop may be too snug for a long term option. I get carried away with the nostalgia factor and inherent simplicity they offer. You can't see one and not at least consider what it would be like to stay in it...

We are considering all kinds of options to simplify, so we will definitely look at the T@B or some combination of trailer life & cabin rentals and whatnot.

We are looking at the long-term (2-3 years from now), so we are trying to learn all we can now, so that we have a good workable plan. We are thinking of renting a few different types of trailers for a week here or there - just to get some sense of the reality... We have some experience with living with less, but this would be a big change.

Again, I thank you all, and we welcome any/all wisdom, ideas, advice you'd care to share.

Happy Monday!
Diana

[Mini Renegade]

hello and welcome to the forum.
I`m not sure how practical living in a tear would be but I would like to try I spent months on end living under a tarpaulin sheet when I was serving in Bosnia so it would be luxury in a tear!

[the dog]

Hello from south-central PA.

I was wondering if anyone out there had ever tried living in a teardrop full time in a semi-warm climate?

My husband and I are looking for a way to make life simpler and (theoretically) cheaper... Our current expenses are nearly $2200-2500/mo. We've managed to keep our home throughout some trying circumstances (mostly the challenge of trying to sustain so much stuff), but the strain of doing so is wearing us down.

We saw some teardrops on TV and loved them.

My husband is a magician and balloon sculptor, so we think we should be able to earn $1000-$1500 just by continuing to do that (our magic business is nearly 20 years with a good reputation - transplanted twice, and we continue to be busy).

It seems like it would be possible if we went to a warmer climate and, if we started with a good plan and invested in the necessary resources at the beginning....

Any ideas? Opinions? Advice?

Thanks,
Diana
BTW, am not a teardrop builder - don't know why it says that - but I couldn't figure out how to change that in my profile...

No you're not crazy. I lived in a 16 foot camper for 18 months. Fulltime, all I had. Both myself and my blue heeler got used to it and loved it. It was Wa state, wet side. Maybe I should tell the story sometime in general discussion? Dog

[Miriam C.]

To the playground Diana and hubby. The "Teardrop Builder" thingy is a function of number of posts and can be ignored.

As to the crazy part. If you are planning on traveling to do magic shows and can book ahead that might work from a teardrop but where will you keep the stuff????

If you get a bigger tow vehicle you defeat the purpose of a small trailer. I have always wanted a small trailer to run over the country in so I would be inclined to try it.

As a matter of fact when I was expecting my first child I lived in a really tiny trailer but I could stand up in it.

BTW if you do it perhaps you can do some writing or video to suppliment your income.

[DBaldwin]

Thanks everyone for being so warm and welcoming.

We looked at some bigger trailers this weekend (I still love the idea of a teardrop, but I guess I am gonna have to live by myself for that one). To my husband's thinking even the T@DA is too small. To be fair to him, we are not tiny people.

Thanks for reminding me to be practical with the question about where would we put all of the magic stuff, because right now it is taking up a goodly portion of our basement. I know that we can condense a lot of it, and most of what we need would probably fit in a tow vehicle (we use a small SUV to transport for shows now), however, I know I haven't thought about all the other stuff we will have to bring too. We feel okay about parting with about 80% of our stuff, but I know that when it comes time to take what we will need, we are still going to need a fair amount of space.

We looked at some Jayco lightweights over the weekend - some of which were "winterized" and hubby liked those alot better. I was surprised at how well the space is used in many of them. Many of these are still in our price range.

Do any of you have suggestions of good resources to learn more about living in a trailer full-time?

Thanks again, we sure do appreciate all of your help!
Diana