Hi from Colorado

[sheila]

Hi everyone!

My name is Sheila (obviously) and I live in northern CO. My husband and I are tent campers and we're looking at trailers. We shopped around last weekend and I couldn't believe that there wasn't anything simple and basic in a hard-sided camper. That led me to a Google search and eventually here. I'm currently working on some design ideas using CAD.

I'm a glass artist and have dabbled in silversmithing. I've also done some small woodworking projects around the house and they all turned out well. I figure I have the basic skills to do this; I just have to work on a larger scale. Hubby is somewhat handy, but not good at details (meaning it'll work, but it won't be pretty). That means I'll do most of the work and he'll provide some muscle when needed. I'm very happy to see so many ladies on here getting their hands dirty! I'm girly and I love tools!

[tearhead]

Boy, did you come to the right place! This forum is TERRIFIC! Sounds like a good outlet for your creative and technical talents! Enjoy!

Pat from Wisconsin (another relative newbie)

[Roly Nelson]

Hi Sheily, (what ever happened to the "I before E, except after C"?) I want to welcome you to the board, and you will be absolutely over joyed to have found us. Of course you can build a teardrop, many girls, ladies, women, and ever high school gals, have built them with no problems. (Well very few problems, anyway)

This is perhaps the most helpful teardrop and tiny trailer forum on the internet. All you have to do is search for the info you need, and it is probably available. Questions are promptly answered and your build can go on. Good for you, knowing that there may be some exacting details that may not turn out to your liking, and that is true with many of us. You are lucky that your mate is willing to help, and as a reward, you might ask him to go camping with you. :-)

You live in a beautiful State, spent 18 months there, curtesy of Uncle Sam in Colo Springs, 55 years ago. How far north are you located? Wow, they even have mountains that never loose their snow, how neat.

Hope you get the shot of the HF trailer that you are looking for, I have used the same trailer for 2 tears and have had no problems. Remember, take pics as the build continues, post am and we'll all be happy. Then when finished, come join the fun. See ya at a campfire someday.
Roly (only 105 here today!)

[TheresaD]

Hi Sheila. Welcome to Teardrops and Tiny Trailer Travelers Anonymous!
Once you've been on here for just a short time you'll see what I mean. I joined this forum only a couple of months ago and it's in my blood now. I've been soaking up information like a sponge. Everyone on here is wonderful and so willing to help with any question you can come up with. You've just joined up with a great group of people. This has got to be the best resourse on trailers or camping in general that's on the web. Enjoy your build!

[asianflava]

Welcome neighbor.

[JenniferandPups]

Another Coloradoan! Welcome! We just made the switch from tent camping to tiny trailer camping last weekend... and let me tell you- we aren't going back! (Unless it's backpacking... but that's a whole different ballgame). These tiny trailers are just awesome.

[sheila]

Thanks for the welcome.

I know Roly, my name is spelled "wrong." I'm a tech writer and it would probably bug me if I wasn't so used to it. It does make me mess up the I before E thing if I'm not thinking about what I'm typing.

And howdy fellow Coloradoans! I'm near Ft. Collins, so I'm not far from Longmont. Do either of you have a teardrop built? It would be great to see one in person! I'd also love to chat with someone who has pulled a teardrop around here using a front wheel drive 4-cylinder. (We camp mostly at Medicine Bow in WY, so there are plenty of hills but nothing truly off-road.)

[JenniferandPups]

Sheila~ I'm in Loveland... but ours is a vintage TTT, not a build (and it's taller than a teardrop, though about the same lenght). We do pull it with our 2.2L 4 cylinder Subaru wagon (it's AWD, but pretty wimpy!). We brought it back from Laramie with no problems, and drove it up Hwy 14 a few hours this weekend for a first camping trip. It did fine on the hills.

[Roly Nelson]

Hi Sheila, sorry about the slam about the spelling of your name. No offense intended. I am an ex-Coloradoian, and have been transplanted in So Calif. I am the proud owner of a 4 banger Toyota Camry, and I regularly tow my little 4x8 woody teardrop to all parts of the nation. So far, no problems with transmission or overheating and to my surprise, I get about 28 mpg while on the interstate.

Fear not about pulling a fairly light teardrop with a 4 cylinder engine. All you have to do is keep it serviced regularly and keep your foot off of the gas peddle and all will be well. Good luck.
Roly, li'l ol' teardrop builder and user, way out west.

[Pam Wright]

Hi Sheila~

Welcome to the board.... it is THE place to come for advice.... We have gobs of Lady builders, remodeler, designers here and the most awesome guys too!

I live in Littleton and try to camp as much as I can. Having changed jobs recently and having weekdays (Wed and Thur) off has changed my world some but.... maybe I can meet you some where with the Cherry Drop????

I host a gathering called the "Last Gasp of Summer" 2009, September 24th-27th down south west.... at Royal Gorge, just outside of Canon City. Hope you are ready to camp then.... but would love to meet you before then!

Again welcome!

pam

[asianflava]

Yes, I do have one built. We've used it for about 3 or 4 years now. We've used it all over the country, from the redwoods in Northern California to the beaches in Florida. We used to tow with my wife's 4-cyl FWD Toyota Highlander. Now we tow with my truck because the mileage is about the same and it has more room.

If you're interested in coming by to take a look you are more than welcome. I've had several people come by for a look even before I was finished. When I was building it, my wife was a bit puzzled. She couldn't figure out what I was doing, to her it just looked like a bunch of sticks. Only until we visited someone else did she see my "vision".

If you're interested I'll send you a PM with my contact info.

[JenniferandPups]

BTW, my mother-in-law's name is Sheila! Spelled the same!

[sheila]

No worries Roly! I didn't take it as a slam at all. I have a rather dry sense of humor that doesn't translate well to text.

Jennifer, I'm in Loveland, too! I would love to see your tiny trailer. If your Subaru can handle it, then I'm pretty sure my Vue can (and mine has the towing package, for whatever that's worth). Driving up to Medicine Bow isn't quite as steep or twisty as 14, so that really helps my confidence.

Pam, I would love to see the Cherry Drop. It might help convince my hubby that a tiny trailer would be just what we need. The rest of my weekends from now until Oct. are booked (son in marching band, weekend camping, etc.!), but I'll keep it in mind for when I get a weekend or evening free to drive down there.

[JenniferandPups]

Small world! You are more than welcome to stop by sometime and see our trailer; we are going out of town for the next week or so, but send me a PM and we can find a time to meet up!

We found out today that our trailer is about 500 lbs more than we thought it was.... so I bet your Vue can handle any teardrop!

[Larry McGimsey]

Hi Sheila, welcome.
We live just down the road from you in Mead. We returned from our second camping trip in our Teardrop last night. We really enjoy the camping and all the wonderful people we have already met.

We would be happy to have you look at our teardrop.