Realistically, how long could you live in a TD?

[toolman]

I remember a gentleman started out full timing in a TD and soon traded up to a tiny trailer. How long a time period would you consider "long enough" to spend in a TD? A week? Two weeks, two months or even two years?

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to build. Maybe a simple box with no insulation for a short use span, or something more "permanent" to live in for a longer period of time.

I realize that everyone is different and have a different lifestyle. Just trying to get some opinions (or experiences) from you nice people. My wife and I are elderly and lead a sedentary lifestyle, we do enjoy being in the out-of-doors, but don't really hike or do any strenuous activities. I'm on Oxygen and hate toting an air tank around. Also, I have to take my Oxygen filling machine along for daily use.

Our old '89 Plymouth reliant K is not the best for a tow vehicle and we would not go too far from home, but just go someplace (AKA getting out of the house!) to fish or just enjoy nature. We live out in the country and a huge lake (Bull Shoals) is less than 2 miles down the road, but some different scenery would be wonderful. I personally have not been away from the house for more than a day and really getting tired of the same old scenery.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Jerry

[Miriam C.]

Jerry do you need room for a machine?
Do you have trouble sitting up or going from sitting to lying.
Something larger might be more useful to you if you answered yes to these.

With a Plymouth Reliant you might have trouble towing more than a thousand pounds and with the hills down there less.

One of the advantages of a TD is the weight. You can also do a puffin clone and get the weight low.

If I needed to I could live out of mine. Not in it, but out of it. There is a difference...

[notned]

I read this guy. http://www.edwardfrey.com/ as you say he upgraded. He's a full timer and it seems his issue was storage. If you live in your trailer how much will you spend on a mini-storage? I have an interest in this too, but there are definitely issues.

[toolman]

Other than having COPD I don't have too many other problems.

Yes, I have to take along the Oxygen concentrator to fill the bottles. It looks like this:


It is roughly 2'x2'x3' or the size of an upright vacuum cleaner.

No, really was not thinking of full timing. We have friends here that go to the Calif. desert from Dec. to April where it is reasonably warm and they can visit their daughter in LA. This winter has been especially hard on my wife who has rheumatoid arthritis. We were thinking of spending a few months in a warmer climate during the worst part of winter and maybe in the higher elevations during the hottest part of the summer. Probably not realistic, but considering the possibilities. I do need AC during the heat and humidity here in the summer!

I got distracted learning to fly fish last summer and forgot all about a TD! Would be nice to be able to go some place to fly fish or just fish for trout for a few days.

I have a 5'x8' utility trailer that I used the Plymouth for and I've put my riding lawn mower on it and have had no problems pulling it. I don't know how much heavier a TD box would be than the lawn mower. I do have an '04 Toyota Rav 4, but it is not set up for towing a trailer.

Jerry

[Deryk the Pirate]

I liveaboard a 27 foot MotorSailor. I understand the space issue. Generally when you go small to live living isnt a problem... where to put all the stuff is an issue lol. I keep a small 4x2x6' shed at my parents with extra tools and supplies and in their basement I keep alternate season clothes and blankets. I would need a much larger boat to keep everything aboard... or have a storage unit(which is expensive)...but most apartment dwellers keep a storage unit.

The trailer Im workin on I could spend 2 weeks camping in it ( Im in the SCA ( http://www.eastkingdom.org/index.html )and we have a 2 week event in august) but extended staying I would run into the problem of where to keep everything.

[toolman]

I read this guys site. Interesting, but not the same person. I wish I could recall his name. He posted here a few months ago about his adventure. I still have a mental image of him standing out it the wind and rain in his PJ's holding down his EZup. LOL! I don't think he thought it was all that funny at the time.

[quote="notned"]I read this guy. http://www.edwardfrey.com/ as you say he upgraded.

[Betsey]

How long you stay in it really depends on what you are using it for.

The longest period of time we've stayed in ours was 3 weeks.

We have a customer who has lived in his full time for 6 years & doesn't have any plans to change that.

Different strokes for different folks.

Betsey

[Shadow Catcher]

I think the question can you, should be, would you be comfortable. I met a man on one of my social work interships who was living in a section of concrete pipe, and he was concerned about his pet mouse. This was Toledo Ohio in the winter!
A teardrop can have virtually any amenity that you wish, but you will spend a goodly bit of your time outside.

[Miriam C.]

If it was me, and I had RA I would go to the dessert if I could. I would also sell both my cars and get a van that gets good mileage or a small truck. Mileage is an issue and some mini-vans get 26mpg. Or you can get a smaller car that does 30mpg. Best bang for the buck is the van...

As for the oxigen concentrator---put it in the car!!!! and go fishing!!!! I need some fly fishing lessons!

Look at this:
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=40943

[johnb]

Bull Shoals - lovely spot. We're toward Mountain Home on the other side.

We went through the same questions, although at a different stage. Started out with a teardrop that I built and used it primariliy for weekend get aways when we lived in S. Cal. Wonderful for quick getaways - we left it packed up and all I had to do was dump some groceries and water into the car, hookup and go.

Upon leaving Calif we took a long trip in the TD - longest stretch was 3 weeks around Lake Superior. We've been all over the world on all sorts of vacations in all sorts of styles from luxury to dirt cheap. This trip in the teardrop ranks as the best. We are a family of three which is tight in a teardrop but without rain it works fine. I wouldn't trade that trip for anything and being in the teardrop was a big part of what made it special.

However, for full timing you're nuts to do it in a teardrop. No fun in rain, no room for stuff like fishing gear, no bathroom. We currently have a trailer that we'll haul places if we're going to be in the same place for several nights and then come home. If it's overnight or stop to stop to stop then the TD is the choice. I still play the weather though, we were in a massive rain storm in Oklahoma a couple years ago. The teardrop was great and dry - way better than a tent. But then the rain didn't stop and we had to run to the bathroom, set up cooking shelters and dance around in the mud getting in and out...

Charm and nostalgia don't help when you're cold and everthing is wet.

Good Luck!

[toolman]

Miriam, I checked the link. I have been watching that build, is that what you call a Puffin? I assume it is. When are you going to be over in the Branson area for a weekend? I know the group gets together at a park there. I'll bring my rod and give you a lesson in casting. Everyone thinks it is hard to fly fish, but nothing can be further from the truth.

It is so enjoyable to get in the river and become a part of the action, totally different than fishing from the shore or a boat.

Jerry

:thinking: If it was me, and I had RA I would go to the dessert if I could. I would also sell both my cars and get a van that gets good mileage or a small truck. Mileage is an issue and some mini-vans get 26mpg. Or you can get a smaller car that does 30mpg. Best bang for the buck is the van...

As for the oxigen concentrator---put it in the car!!!! and go fishing!!!! I need some fly fishing lessons!

Look at this:
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=40943

[Miriam C.]

Miriam, I checked the link. I have been watching that build, is that what you call a Puffin? I assume it is. When are you going to be over in the Branson area for a weekend? I know the group gets together at a park there. I'll bring my rod and give you a lesson in casting. Everyone thinks it is hard to fly fish, but nothing can be further from the truth.

It is so enjoyable to get in the river and become a part of the action, totally different than fishing from the shore or a boat.

Jerry

This is starleen2s build and is I think better for two people.
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=40943

The Puffin clone is:
http://tnttt.com/album_ ... ser_id=404
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=11984

Now I am really going to have to get to Branson area. I have a fly rod that I can play with but never got serious enough to get some air on it.

[toolman]

I know Mtn. Home well, I used to work down there. Wore out a car driving back and forth. We move here from S. Cal. 15 years ago. Don't miss the traffic one bit. Hated the drive to work and home.

I belong to the NAFF club in Mtn. Home, come by the Soubug Roundup next week and check us out!

http://m.baxterbulletin.com/latest/article?a=2011103090335&f=1148
You are a lot closer to the White below the BS dam than I am.

Not crazy, not going to full time in a TD or a small trailer. Wife, two cats and a mutt would be a little confining.
Jerry

Bull Shoals - lovely spot. We're toward Mountain Home on the other side.

We went through the same questions, although at a different stage. Started out with a teardrop that I built and used it primariliy for weekend get aways when we lived in S. Cal. Wonderful for quick getaways - we left it packed up and all I had to do was dump some groceries and water into the car, hookup and go.

Upon leaving Calif we took a long trip in the TD - longest stretch was 3 weeks around Lake Superior. We've been all over the world on all sorts of vacations in all sorts of styles from luxury to dirt cheap. This trip in the teardrop ranks as the best. We are a family of three which is tight in a teardrop but without rain it works fine. I wouldn't trade that trip for anything and being in the teardrop was a big part of what made it special.

However, for full timing you're nuts to do it in a teardrop. No fun in rain, no room for stuff like fishing gear, no bathroom. We currently have a trailer that we'll haul places if we're going to be in the same place for several nights and then come home. If it's overnight or stop to stop to stop then the TD is the choice. I still play the weather though, we were in a massive rain storm in Oklahoma a couple years ago. The teardrop was great and dry - way better than a tent. But then the rain didn't stop and we had to run to the bathroom, set up cooking shelters and dance around in the mud getting in and out...

Charm and nostalgia don't help when you're cold and everthing is wet.

Good Luck!

[toolman]

Thank you everyone for your replies! I do appreciate your input.

After sleeping on it, I'm just about talked out of building a TD. I think it was the thought of living out of a TD with a wife, two cats that don't like each other (can't forget the stinky litter box ... gag!) and the dog was just too much for me. Not even a month or two in the dessert of AZ or CA.

The sun is out, a bit windy and in the low 40's at the moment, so I will get OUT OF THE HOUSE and do something useful.

Best regards,
Jerry

[toolman]

Thanks for the links. The puffin build by Steve Wolverton is the one I found with all the pictures gone. All I get is the dreaded red X.

If you truly want to learn fly fishing here are a couple of good links.

http://flyanglersonline.com/begin/101/
http://www.hooked-on-flies.com/

I actually live outside of Theodosia in the county. Theodosia is so small that it is not listed on some maps!

Thank you again for the information.
Jerry

Miriam, I checked the link. I have been watching that build, is that what you call a Puffin? I assume it is. When are you going to be over in the Branson area for a weekend? I know the group gets together at a park there. I'll bring my rod and give you a lesson in casting. Everyone thinks it is hard to fly fish, but nothing can be further from the truth.

It is so enjoyable to get in the river and become a part of the action, totally different than fishing from the shore or a boat.

Jerry

This is starleen2s build and is I think better for two people.
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=40943

The Puffin clone is:
http://tnttt.com/album_ ... ser_id=404
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=11984

Now I am really going to have to get to Branson area. I have a fly rod that I can play with but never got serious enough to get some air on it.