What I learned this summer! Things that worked for me.

[eamarquardt]

Most of this post is in a reply in another string but I thought I'd make it a separate post and stir the pot with some of my thoughts.

I bought a Little Guy this summer (used) and took it to Seattle and back (2500 miles). I added brakes before leaving home! Fortunately I'm a bit of a "slow learner" and had forgotten what a long drive does to me because of my already "frazzled nerves". It took me over a month to recover and I'm still not quite there (two months later) but "have opiates will travel" and I'm gonna do it again next summer after I get back from going on my wife's trip to China, ha! I'm still working (very slowly due to other distractions) on my build but I'm glad I bought the Little Guy as I've learned a lot about what I like and don't like about it and will factor these thoughts into my build.

Thoughts:

The 6 foot Little Guy with fenders outboard of the cabin is a bit wider than my van and we had to pay a bit more attention to keep the trailer in our lane. IMHO, a five foot wide teardrop will have less wind resistance and be easier to keep in the lane.

Having the head of the bed up against the curved bulkhead is a PITA as I can't sit up against the curved bulkhead. Better, IMHO, to have the head of the bed at the back of the cabin against the completely vertical bulkhead.

The the windows on the Little Guy open from the bottom so the fresh cold air is right at your face which I find annoying. I'll make my window openings a bit higher so the cold air isn't "in your face".

The LG has a three speed Fantastic Fan. I found it noisy and it draws a lot of current (when you're trying to conserve juice). I'm gonna look into some computer fans with a PWM controller and see how I like those and now much I can reduce the current draw. Scrounging and experimenting is cheap.

Storage on the Little Guy is non existent so I'm gonna build in more storage with a chamber between the galley and cabin.

I don't like the cabinets as they are difficult to get things in and out of and, IMHO, are an inefficient use of the limited space available. So, I'm going to modify the LG and make my build with simple shelves where I can put my Rubbermaid containers that contain "the essence of camping" . I like taking the Rubbermaid containers out so everything is on the camp table. With the lids they're weather tight and easy to load and unload. Takes only a couple of minutes to set up a "galley" on a picnic table and start cooking. I find I can cram a lot more into a box with a lid than I can a cabinet!

The small water tank, sink, and stove in the galley wasted more space, IMHO. I liked using 5 gallon plastic jerry cans for water as you can fill em up and carry them back to a campsite. I'll have a dip tube, an electric pump, with a couple of heads on a nozzle. One head for high flow, and one with a fine spray for rinsing off dishes. The pump and nozzle will be mounted on the trailer and I'll be able to pump from an internal water tank or an external jerry can. I've removed the sink and stove and prefer to have a burner on a picnic table. I'll have an oven in my build with a range top but will only bake and do "non messy" cooking on the range top. Frying and all messy burner tasks will be on a "remote" burner on the picnic table where a mess is easier to clean up! I have a nice big SS bowl to use for washing dishes. It is curved so plates and other things fit it nicely and it requires very little water to get some water depth due to the rounded shape of the bottom. As a plus when the water gets cold, a minute or two on the burner and the water is plenty hot for washing dishes (I hate doing dishes in cold water). I found a couple of (say) 2.5 gallon propane tanks and updated them with overfill protected valves. I'll mount one permanently on the trailer and one will be portable for use at the picnic table. With two smaller tanks the weight and space requirements are about the same as one larger tank and I'll always have one bottle with some propane in it (unless I screw up which is always a possibility).

Mounting the spare tire far forward on the trailer causes nearly a pound for pound increase in tongue weight. Better to mount the spare on a bracket using the rear receiver. On my build I'll have a box under the cabin so the spare is out of the way and out of the weather. I replaced the galley work surface, eliminating the sink and stove. I cut lift out hatches in this surface to access the area that was previously sealed off. This opened up nearly (I'm guessing) about 10 cubic feet of storage that was previously inaccessible. Much better.

Having the battery right on the end of the tongue gives virtually a pound for pound increase in tongue weight. Little Guy's specs for the tongue weight on the six foot wide Sport model are grossly inaccurate, IMHO,and there is no way to load the trailer to the load they say is possible without, again IMHO, exceeding the tongue weight limit of most hitches. Even getting close would require a weight distributing hitch! Even with only a few things on the platform in front of the cabin I found that the tongue weight is approaching the limit of my hitch (350#). So getting weight behind the axle is a must. I'm gonna relocate the battery to the space under the galley work surface that I opened up.

I made a water heater out of an old pressure cooker (see album) and it worked great for a 2 gallon "Navy" shower. The trailer came with an inexpensive shower tent and it, also, was fine. I see some sort of "commode" in the future for totally "dry" camping. A couple of Gatoraid bottles worked fine for gpitmotn. I'm not bragging, but if I could find a bottle with a little bigger opening that would be a plus. A little Simple Green and the bottles smell nice again (but I wouldn't drink out of one). Suzy, with her "cast iron bladder" can determine how she wants to handle her needs w/o my input.

It doesn't take much light to light up the cabin so a couple of spot lights with LED bulbs are, IMHO, plenty. A light or two in the galley will also suffice. Perhaps a single spotlight on an recycled camera tripod if one wants to be "totally electric" and have some light a short distance from the trailer.

I bought a three way reefer and was gonna install it objections that it can't be done safely, practically, and economically notwithstanding. Prior to the trip I found a used Norcold chest (identical to an Engle) for about half price on Craigslist (and I also got a second one for my boys off of Craigslist for even less). I kept it in the cabin of the trailer, (a PITA) for this trip because Suzy didn't accompany my brother and me, but on future trips I'll keep it in my van with a dedicated battery. It was GREAT. I learned that you can put a lot more into a chest than you can an upright reefer. Also, as it is "powered" no ice is required and no ice takes up no space. Ice is a MAJOR PITA based upon my sailing experiences. The only problem was that we bumped the thermostat knob once or twice and froze our sodas and fruit! On my build I'll build the chest into the galley on slides so you can pull it out and access it. I may, depending upon our style of camping, build a box on the tongue and put the thee way there. The advantage of the three way is its ability to run on propane. It will also run well on a/c power but on 12 volts it is a POWER HOG and won't pull down the temperature but just maintain the temperature you've already gotten to with a/c or propane. I bought some solar panels and feel that the solar panels will provide all the juice needed for the trailer and chest when we're not moving around and charging the trailer's batteries with the tow vehicle. Even if the panels don't keep up with the entire load, by the time the battery(s) gets a bit low (the solar panels will delay that) we'll be ready to move on and the tow vehicle will bring the battery(s) up to snuff. I'll verify this "theory" this winter using one of my bathrooms for a heated test chamber and with the solar panels exposed to the winter sun.

I bought a small propane BBQ but never used it and returned it upon getting home. I then discovered and bought a Coleman Fold-and-Go grill. It is small, folds nicely, wasn't too expensive, is relatively easy to clean, and although it's a bit of a compromise for grilling it does ok. A nice feature, that I don't think I'll take advantage of, is that you can get an accessory grate for it and it will serve as a burner with a pretty good output for pots and frying pans. It was only about 50 some bucks on Amazon.

I bought a big plastic "foot locker" at Home Depot and strapped in in front of the cabin for extra storage. I may buy another one to stack on top. They are easy to strap down, can easily be removed and used to form a table of sorts, are weatherproof, and can be locked. The LG has a huge platform in front of the cabin and my build has a bigger than average "fore triangle" (a borrowed sailing expression but I think folks can figure out what I'm referring to) and they can be used on either trailer. They were reasonably priced for as robust as they are. Not as space effective as a custom tongue box but worthy, IMHO, of merit.

I'm gonna make a few more mods to it and use the LG as I finish my build. When I'm done I'll sell it or "donate" it to my boys. Suzy can afford it.

I'm glad I bought the trailer (Suzy, to her credit, got over it in record time), have learned a few things, and think I can sell it for pretty much what I have in it should I decide to.

So, there you have it, more of "The World According to Gus".

Cheers,

Gus

[Redgloves]

Gus,

Engineer posts are so enjoyable to read. Information presented in a factual manner, with interesting humor.

Thanks for your summary.

Jean

[S. Heisley]

I really enjoyed reading your review, Gus. I'm glad you bit the bullet and bought a teardrop. Life is too short to wait very long. May you have many more enjoyable trips in your new 'adventure tear'.

PS. Where are the pictures of this new 'wonder' trailer?

[eamarquardt]

I'll post some pic's later but here are the "Trip Reports" I sent out to friends.

Feel free to read them, or not.

Cheers,

Gus


Hi All,

Tuesday Evening: For only the second time in about 15 years I’m on a “road tripâ€

[Mukilteo]

I would say you nailed it. I even removed the under bed storage to try to gain some head room so I could sit up and read. Didn't work,
I ended up sitting sideways wirh my back against the side wall to read.
I may buy a class B motorhome (Van Conversion)
Maybe I will rip out the cabinets & wall seperating the galley from the cabin. Turn it into a cargo trailer beacuse it seems I won't get much trying to sell it. Other than parking it in Little Guys parking lot & setting it on fire.
I could put the overflow camping gear in the trailer.