newbie from Connecticut

[bfraley]

Hi all! I'm new to the world of teardrops but trying to make the best of it. I have a 97 Honda Civic Hatchback with an integra LS engine swap to give me about 145HP for pulling on my class I hitch. I ordered a new 5x8 lil silver teardrop from pleasant valley trailers and will be picking it up the week of 22 June 09. I ordered it with basic aluminum finish which means I'll need to polish it up good. It may be my first newbie mistake to not go with anodized, but the wife likes shiny.

We plan on attending SoulFest in NH at the end of July and maybe make a short weekend trip before that to iron out any camping kinks.

Glad to be here and please pass on any advice that may help!

[Nancy P]

Hi all! I'm new to the world of teardrops but trying to make the best of it. I have a 97 Honda Civic Hatchback with an integra LS engine swap to give me about 145HP for pulling on my class I hitch. I ordered a new 5x8 lil silver teardrop from pleasant valley trailers and will be picking it up the week of 22 June 09. I ordered it with basic aluminum finish which means I'll need to polish it up good. It may be my first newbie mistake to not go with anodized, but the wife likes shiny.

We plan on attending SoulFest in NH at the end of July and maybe make a short weekend trip before that to iron out any camping kinks.

Glad to be here and please pass on any advice that may help!

Welcome to T&TTT! I hope you enjoy your TD as much as we enjoy ours.
Nancy

[hiker chick]

Welcome and congrats on the new teardrop!

Now charge up that camera battery, because...

We need lots of pics!

[teardrop_focus]

Welcome! We want pics!!!

bfraley

Glad to be here and please pass on any advice that may help!

I'm gonna sound a bit fatherly, here...

First things first... you definately have added some grunt with the motor swap (gotta love Hondas!), but now you'll need to think about your car's braking system. If you haven't already, at LEAST do a full brake fluid flush with fresh fluid (nothing else) and install fresh brake pads. Check the rotors' thicknesses... you'll need full-thickness rotors if running the stock brakes.

What's the recommended tow capacity spec for your Civic? The info is in your car's Owners Guide.

Either way, an acquaintance of mine used to haul what was more than likely an 1100 lb Benroy behind his 110 HP 1500 '80s Civic with no problemos... but he's a very sklled driver and knew how to control the combination's downhill speed without overheating his brakes.

Again, be sure that you're not towing more than the recommended spec for your car and be sure your car's brakes are fresh (will your tear have electric brakes? That'd be a safety bonus!)

Think also about traveling very light. Minimal goodies and other conveniences. Just go with the camping essentials and foul weather gear.

I too will be towing a lightweight tear of my own design and build behind my Ford Focus. Again, Welcome!

[Walt M]

B (if I may) welcome to the crazy place. If your interested you can meet some tearjerkers in N.E. check this site out.
http://tearjerkers.net/forums/viewtopic ... e4015b65fd
As for the Soulfest will that be your first time going there. The band I'm in has played there in the past. (you can check us out from the link in my profile. Good luck with you new toy, Enjoy. Blessings, Walt

[bfraley]

Hi all! I'm new to the world of teardrops but trying to make the best of it. I have a 97 Honda Civic Hatchback with an integra LS engine swap to give me about 145HP for pulling on my class I hitch. I ordered a new 5x8 lil silver teardrop from pleasant valley trailers and will be picking it up the week of 22 June 09. I ordered it with basic aluminum finish which means I'll need to polish it up good. It may be my first newbie mistake to not go with anodized, but the wife likes shiny.

We plan on attending SoulFest in NH at the end of July and maybe make a short weekend trip before that to iron out any camping kinks.

Glad to be here and please pass on any advice that may help!

Welcome to T&TTT! I hope you enjoy your TD as much as we enjoy ours.
Nancy

Thanks!

[bfraley]

Welcome and congrats on the new teardrop!

Now charge up that camera battery, because...

We need lots of pics!

I plan on taking lots of pics after I get the teardrop!

[bfraley]

Welcome! We want pics!!!

bfraley

Glad to be here and please pass on any advice that may help!

I'm gonna sound a bit fatherly, here...

First things first... you definately have added some grunt with the motor swap (gotta love Hondas!), but now you'll need to think about your car's braking system. If you haven't already, at LEAST do a full brake fluid flush with fresh fluid (nothing else) and install fresh brake pads. Check the rotors' thicknesses... you'll need full-thickness rotors if running the stock brakes.

What's the recommended tow capacity spec for your Civic? The info is in your car's Owners Guide.

Either way, an acquaintance of mine used to haul what was more than likely an 1100 lb Benroy behind his 110 HP 1500 '80s Civic with no problemos... but he's a very sklled driver and knew how to control the combination's downhill speed without overheating his brakes.

Again, be sure that you're not towing more than the recommended spec for your car and be sure your car's brakes are fresh (will your tear have electric brakes? That'd be a safety bonus!)

Think also about traveling very light. Minimal goodies and other conveniences. Just go with the camping essentials and foul weather gear.

I too will be towing a lightweight tear of my own design and build behind my Ford Focus. Again, Welcome!

Awesome advice!

My brakes are new all around...so are the rotors and drums. My tear will have electric brakes. Honda doesn't have a towing spec for the Civic in the manual, but I've that European owners have a 2000lb/200lb spec in thier manuals. I've been towing a thule 4x7 trailer with my DJ/PA gear and it works great.

Thanks again!!

[bfraley]

B (if I may) welcome to the crazy place. If your interested you can meet some tearjerkers in N.E. check this site out.
http://tearjerkers.net/forums/viewtopic ... e4015b65fd
As for the Soulfest will that be your first time going there. The band I'm in has played there in the past. (you can check us out from the link in my profile. Good luck with you new toy, Enjoy. Blessings, Walt

Thanks for the link!

This will be our 8th year going and might be our last as the kids are grown and the wife wants to head out into open country, hence the tear drop. Glad to hear you are a musician! Keep th faith and thanks again.

[Barry and Darby H.]

Hi bfraley,

Got a teardrop gathering in Lisbon Ct. at Ross Hill campground on July 17-19th and we'd love to have ya join us. Feel free to ask any questions or pm me for more info.

Barry

[bfraley]

Hi bfraley,

Got a teardrop gathering in Lisbon Ct. at Ross Hill campground on July 17-19th and we'd love to have ya join us. Feel free to ask any questions or pm me for more info.

Barry

Barry,

Hey, glad to meet you! Wish I had time and a garage to build my own teardrop. You've done a great job with yours. I'll look into the Lisbon,CT meet. It would be the maiden voyage of our tear.....other than the trip home from Ohio(builder). Thanks for the invite.

Barrie

[FireLion]

Hi! Welcome to the jungle! I also have a Little Traveler by Pleasant Valley, you made a good choice. As was said before, go light,.....except for a few choice pieces of cast iron!!! Oh yeah, pics, we wanna see pics!

[bfraley]

Check out my album. I'm still working a few kinks out of the system but plan to make the first camping trip at the end of July. Soulfest at Gunstock in NH.

[FireLion]

Love the pics! Man, you went all out, all of the comforts! Congratulations Now, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to get out there and camp (and take pics of your maiden voyage).

[bfraley]

Love the pics! Man, you went all out, all of the comforts! Congratulations Now, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to get out there and camp (and take pics of your maiden voyage).

Yeah, Joe was very flexible in meeting my build requirements. I asked a lot of him and he came through with flying colors. He has a great crew there. Can't wait to get the teardrop camping for the first time.