One door?

[Oldragbaggers]

This question would be directed more at those who travel as couples, as I would already assume that a single would only need one door.....

How many of you have only one door and are satisfied with that arrangement?

I would love to have factory doors, but due to the high cost, if I go that route I am thinking one door and a large window on the other side. I just can't get my brain (or my wallet) wrapped around $500 for two doors.

Becky

[S. Heisley]

Two doors allows for:
- Better resale value
- Not climbing over/waking up partner
- Emergency exit
- Air circulation
- Addition of an attached second (tent) bedroom while still having a way to get out without bothering your guests.
- Quick escape if a bear is at the other door


One door allows for:
- One of you being tromped on in the night
- Increased claustrophobia concerns
- Less money and time spent
- Less leakage concerns
- Less porch light wiring (if applicable)
- Less resale value
- Entrapment in emergencies

The last one is the "biggie". If you aren't going to have a second door, then do yourself a favor and be certain you have some other type of emergency exit. My first thought was cupboard doors onto the galley countertop...but if a fire starts in the galley, that wouldn't work.

Commercial trailers get away with not having a second door because they have windows that can either be pushed out or are big enough to escape through.

PS. I have two doors and sleep better because of it. As a bonus, it also makes for easier access to some stored items.

[Oldragbaggers]

All good points, Sharon.
Thanks for the input.

[iplay10us2]

I'm a single camper, and would not buy a teardrop with just one door.

Sharon had great points, and I will add that it makes me feel less claustrophobic.

[cuyeda]

Isn't it a code violation if you don't have two doors on teadrop.

[Oldragbaggers]

The masses have spoken. There goes the retirement fund. (Either that, or I am building my own doors.)

Becky

[stumphugger]

I'm a single camper, and would not buy a teardrop with just one door.

Sharon had great points, and I will add that it makes me feel less claustrophobic.

Same here. It also makes it easier to make the bed and load stuff.

[cuyeda]

The masses have spoken. There goes the retirement fund. (Either that, or I am building my own doors.)

Becky

Becky,
The nice thing about this forum is... no one is going to think any less of your teardrop that you built yourself if it had only one door.

Look at most TTT (canned ham/standies) there is only one door on it, and can sleep 4-5 or more easily. Talk about a Chinese fire drill if an extreme emergency should happen.

Everyone's decisions can be different, and does not always involve economics or resale value. Build what you want, it's your trailer!

[Ratkity]

My LG reverse TD has one rear door and I love it. I also have windows on either side. It would be an issue of getting in and out if I wasn't single. The way I sleep in the TD, an extreme emergency exiting wouldn't be hard because I'd unlock the door and fall out head first (on pillows) LOL.

The one advantage I see with double doors in a traditional TD is that you can make a temporary foam door and put a window shaker AC unit it in to cool things off if things are unbearably hot and you have electric while camping (Eaglesdare does this).

Do what you feel most comfy with.

Hugs,
Ratkity

[Roly Nelson]

If you have any doubts about the need for 2 doors, just push your bed into a corner of your bedroom, then move the dresser up against the head of the bed. Place end tables along the side of the bed, allowing about 30 inches for you to make the bed. Now, get on your knees and try to tuck in the mattress pad, the bottom sheet, the upper sheet and a blanket, all nice and snug against the walls and dresser..........enough said. Often times I wish I had 3 doors in my tear, to make it even easier. Enjoy that dual opening option.
Roly, the tudor woody guy

[Aaron Coffee]

What Rolly said. I haven't actually slept in #2 yet (really need to come up with a name)but it only has one door and making the bed is a pain in the backside.

[Ratkity]

What Rolly said. I haven't actually slept in #2 yet (really need to come up with a name)but it only has one door and making the bed is a pain in the backside.

OK, forgot about that aspect. Ditto what has been said. But then *ahem* I rarely make the bed and shove the blankies and linens in the copious amount of storage and forget about it LOL.

Hugs,
Ratkity

[Oldragbaggers]

For the record Slow, I am on the east coast.
I'll reserve comment on the rest of your post.

[Woodstramp]

So far I'm liking the one large door.

Benefits:

Costs less.
I don't camp with bears. IF I did, there'd be a firearm inside capable of breaking a bear down.
My windows (both sides) can be knocked out for emergency escape.
(actually, one large area on the doorless side is only two layers of lauan and could be kicked out in an extreme emergency)
Also, once I'm in, that is it for the night. Door is on the wife's side. Her bladder is smaller.
Less leak potential (already mentioned)
I have a foot wide transition area between the door and the mattress. It is a place where feet (shod or not) can be before entering/exiting. A "mud room" of sorts.

[Oldragbaggers]

Thanks Woodstramp,

So far the only things that have been mentioned that really have made me think about the second door were; the ease of making the bed, and loading stuff.

1.) Crawling over someone - Lance and I have been living and cruising/camping on small sailboats for so many years and anyone who is familiar with the berths on small sailboats knows that no night time evolutions occur without someone crawling over someone. Lance also made the point that if one of us was up and outside the camper in the night, the other one would want to be awake anyway for safety reasons.

2.) Emergency Exit - If I go with one door the window on the other side will be large enough to use as an exit window We also would not think of traveling/camping without a gun aboard, so unless the nature of the emergency is that the teardrop is on fire, whatever is on the other side of that one door is going to have more of an emergency than we are.

3.) Resale Value - We couldn't care less about that. When we decided to build a teardrop we evaluated what we normally spend on travel in a year and what portion of that we could save by using the teardrop. We figured it will pay for itself easily in the first 2 years. Every year after that we'll be making money on it. Whatever we get when/if we sell it (option being giving it to one of our kids) will be gravy.

4.) Cost of the doors - Just to clarify, I was only joking about having to take money out of our retirement fund to buy doors. A bit of tongue in cheek exaggeration. I don't think the security of our golden years will be impacted greatly by the cost of one teardrop door.

The other thing that has me leaning toward the 2nd door is being able to have a cabana room set up all the time outside one door and still be able to have the other door accessible without having to go through that cabana room. If someone wants to peek in the teardrop I wouldn't want them having to go through my potty/dressing room to do it.

Thanks all for the interesting and thought provoking replies. The fact that people are willing to jump in, answer questions, share ideas, and stimulate one another's creativity is one of the things I love best about this forum.



Becky