why build a teardrop in the first place?

[Bigwoods]

We tent camped and canoe canoe camped for years after the kids left home. After I built the tear we felt like we had a huge RV because it was so comfortable and met all of our needs and the way we camp.

[PKCSPT]

I blame all of you. Really I do, it is all your fault.

I wanted a camper but my husband does not like to camp. Now that the kids are expanding their families I wanted a camper I could handle by myself, just hook up and go at a moments notice to join them and pull with my beetle. So I looked for small campers and this forum kept popping up. I lurked over a year before joining and getting a teardrop.

See, all your fault. I couldn't be happier and thank you.

[mvperini]

the wife does not understand, but the fun is in the build, and when the build is done i am looking for another. that is why i am restoring canned hams, i think i will always have another that needs to be restored. she told me that is fine but not to make the next one as nice as the last or she will want to keep them all.
building these trailers has nothing to do with gas mileage or saving money it is all about the build and the satisfaction of doing a good job. i think a lot of people on this forum will agree


Mike

[starleen2]

Summer hail storm in a tent - Nuff said!

[Kevin & Sandy]

1: Paid as I went when I built. No Payments.
2: It fits in a garage. My street is small for a big camper.
3: I don't have a big pickup.
4: It was a challenge, people still can't believe it is homemade.
5: *pic size exceeds forum rules*

[Wolffarmer]

I like to camp. Motorcycle tent camped, Backpacked, car camped. I use to drive a 74 VW camper van that I would take places that only a 4X4 should go. Some how I got it out of those places. I then got so I could no longer tent camp. Needed to do something about me and taking the VW down wrong roads. Tried to figure out a way to put something in my 4X4 Mazda pickup that would not cause a lot of wind resistance, fast to put up and take down. came up with zilch. So I built a TD. TD is built for rough/bad roads. When it gets to rough can unhitch and explore some more with vehicle only. Very fast to set up and take down. No longer sleeping on the ground. Warm in Winter, have slept in it to 12 degrees with no heat other than me and was still very warm. Fun to build, Fun to show it off, meet a lot more people with it.

Randy

[Steve F]

I've no need for things like toilets and showers and an internal kitchen and all that sort of stuff, if we bush camp we dig a hole and setup a shower tent . Just somewhere dry and comfortable to sleep along with some convenience. I also found I was towing a trailer with 5 of us anyway except it had tents and stuff in it. So why not tow a trailer ready to sleep in

With the rooftop tent on the TD and the annexe we can comfortably sleep the 5 of us with minimal setup and pack up time and have a fairly small footprint on the road and in the garage at home.

The TD is also smaller than the Jeep but with the same wheel track so I can take it almost anywhere

Cheers
Steve

[len19070]

It was origionaly my wifes Idea as a way to keep me out of the Bars and away from Red Headed Women.

It evidently worked, I'm Single, Haven't been in a Bar for a while and I'm Dating a Brunett.

Happy Trails

Len

[dreadcptflint]

My wife and I rediscovered camping on our honeymoon because we wanted to get away from it all and had no money. We found that we loved it so we kept doing it.

After more than one adventure I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. The doc gave me a CPAP machine which means that I have carry a 12 volt battery with me. Those things are heavy so I found a trailer to put it in.

Oh yeah setting up camp with a toddler was no fun with out our little trailer.

[Deryk the Pirate]

Ive back packed since high school. Well a fall down an icey flight of stairs and haveing a vertebrate fused took the fun out of sleeping on the ground.

I became active in a medieval reinactment in my later 20's. Years of lugging large piles of heavy canvas circus tents and a forest of poles and miles of rope to set it up for a weekend. Mostly by myself since I have a low threshold for stupidity and drama thus Im single. It always seems to rain when I camp and haveing to come home and set the tent up in my parents back yard to let it dry and get the same speach from my mom how I better not kill the grass from the tent bein setup on it.

Bought a sailboat in my mid 30's and ended up moving aboard it. Ive come to the conclusion that I dont need a huge space to be comfortable. A couple year relationship ended and realized too many of my friends are all married and or coupled up.... time for a social life so went back to my medieval reinactment since lots of college kids and grad students are involved in it and mostly not married.

So last summer while unemployed and working on my newest projectboat I foolishly bought another canvas tent...smaller then the ones in my past but same problem of wet canvas. I went to an event on Slippery Rock Pa. where about 15000 of us go for an annual camping event and I saw several Vardo's. I made up my mind and decided I wanted in.

So I sold my tent on ebay and used my tax return and am in the process of building it. Im really looking forward to useing it this summer.

[CARS]

Why am I building a teardrop?

My parents have had motorhomes or 5th wheel campers for decades. I love to camp with them. Once I got married with built in children to entertain, we started tagging along in a tent. Fine when I was 10 years younger I guess, but soon we decided to buy a pop-up camper.

Fast forward a few years and the last 3 kids in the house are all teens
They don't want to hang with mom and dad anymore at the beautiful MN State Parks.

Last year I went to Oblong IL for the International Metal Meet (metal shapers event) and saw, upclose, my first teardrop. Loved it!!!

Since it is just the 2 of us camping these days and with gas approaching 4 bucks a gallon we decided to gut the pop-up to make a large utility trailer and plan a teardrop of our own. Another reason is that since we take our Dodge Dart to alot of car shows and races, why not pull the tear with the car we are driving anyway?? :-)

[the other side]

How could one see a teardrop for the first time and not want one? I didnt build, I bought. But the reasons are the same as a few of yours. I wanted to move to a smaller camper, something I could handle on my own. We were in a 25 ft tt and one of my daughters was on full life support. She wasnt going camping anymore. My husband could take camping or leave it. My other daughter and I still LOVE camping. She is handicapped as well, but is still able to enjoy camping.
I drove her to NC (from Maryland) to see a teardrop (after alot of research). We both fell in love! We can handle it by ourselves, its CUTE, its fun, its all we need (way better than tents for us). We bought it and she gets mad if I even LOOK at other campers now. The RV show in Baltimore was horrible this year. Daughter kept saying, "If the teardrop knew you were looking at other campers, it would be mad and cry"!

[TheBizMan]

We wanted to camp, not build. So I bought a teardrop. Went to several gatherings and even pulled it from Phoenix AZ to Nova Scotia and back. My son decided he wanted one so We built it. Now I like the new one better then the old, so he gets the old one. Right now he is in Colorado gold panning and is living in snow, but is warm and comfey in the TD.

[Time Out]

Hello everyone,

My wonderful wife and I visited our local Home and Garden show at the Fresno fair grounds last month. I was about 2 1/2 months out of major spinal surgery and thought I felt good enough to get out of the house and enjoy the Home show. We stayed about half a day and I discovered I was in a boatload of pain. I had already taken all the pain meds I could take and used pain sprays and ice packs all to no avail. We were ready to turn around and start walking back to the entrance where we came in when...we saw a group of the neatest looking small Tear Drop trailers we had ever seen! They just happened to be locking them up for the night as it was very close to the show's closing time. We only had time to peek into a couple of them and already the juices were flowing!

I am 65 and now 3 1/2 months after having 15 levels of my spine fused. From T2 to L4. My wife is 7 years younger. We were 2 of 10 founding members of the 'Calvary Riders' of Orange County, CA (a chapter of the Christian Motorcycle Association) and rode and did a lot of tent camping with them and on our own also. Neither one of us wants or can sleep on the ground any longer. I decided and promised not to ride any motorcycle again because the risk of damage to my spinal hardware is simply too great. So we decided to sell both of our BMWs and move on.

We are both avid photographers, are annual Disneyland pass holders and I do Fire and Rescue Photography with Mountain Valley Fire Department as well as both of us being Tea Party photographers. I hope I will still be able to carry the photography gear after I recover from surgery!

We sought out our local Little Guy dealer for the express purpose of seeing if I could sit in the doorway of a 6 wide and clear the top of the door frame with my head with 15 fused vertebrae. Well, I was able to roll back and pull my legs in with no problem at all!

With the high cost of hotel rooms, coupled with gas prices and our enjoyment of the outdoors and meeting people, we pulled the trigger on a gloss black 6 wide Little Guy with built-in 95 watt solar panel - 10 amp controller and marine deep cycle battery, plus a bunch of optional equipment if purchased through a local dealer, all standard with our Little Guy purchase. We even added the 10x10 screened room and a large Delta Champion bright aluminum diamond plate storage box on the tongue. It is being built as we speak and will be delivered to Fresno in about 3 weeks. I'll have photos at that time. I love to tinker and modify things and look forward to finding 'unused' spaces to make use of to hide valuables and such. Has anyone thought of installing wide angle door peep hole viewers to be able to look out the front of the cabin if you hear suspicious sounds outside without opening the door and giving yourself away? We are already stocking up on all kinds of new camping supplies and getting many great ideas from all of you Tear Drop pioneers here!

Because of my surgery, I bought a Harbor Freight trailer tow to help Linda and me maneuver the 6 wide into tight camp spaces without having to show off my backing up 'non-skills' I love all of the home built Tears and all the creativeness of people on this wonderful Forum. I plan on being an active participant and getting to know all of you better. I apologize for the length of this post.

Clyde and Linda - I think the name of our Tear will be "Sleeping Beauty"

P.S. I'm now out of my brace and will start physical therapy next month

[Gary and Cheri]

We have always loved camping and currently own 1 one man tent, one two man tent, one three man summer and one three man winter tents, a Revolutionary War tent and WWII tentage. Sold the pop up trailer when the youngest of our two daughters went to college. Then we retired to be able to do what we want and still be young enough to do it.

My wife and I were both school teachers and always wanted to go see the New England leaves in the fall, something teachers can't normally do. Grabbed one of our three man tents and headed east the first October we could. No rain, but every morning we woke up to wet nylon and even though it never rained we were not getting on the road before 10:30. While most days were 50 mile days, we felt we were missing so much time that should have been spent exploring a truely beautiful area of our country. Time for something different.

Along came an opportunity to get a tear and we jumped at it. Now we can be on the road in 15 minutes from waking up and never need to worry about beating a rain storm to the next camp ground or long morning waits while the tent drys enough to be put away.

We all have a different definition of what is camping and what it is not. To me a teardrop is a place to sleep. It is not a place where in it you can cook in it or use a bathroom. If you can stay inside all day, without ever having to get out, you are not camping. Camping involves dealing with the elements both good and bad. I can not picture staying inside when parked by a lake, in a forest, or next to a mountain.

Gary