Teardrop Trailers

[Beridian]

Converted vans are pretty interesting, the thread in this forum first brought that to my attention. While looking at those options I had come across tear drop trailers and was curious what people's thoughts and impressions were. At least for our immediate purposes, a converted van is a bit of overkill, so I was curious about tear drop trailers as a cheaper, more accessible, and lower footprint alternative. I wasn't sure if they did have any advantage over continuing to tent camp, and what I've been most surprised by in this discussion is how many people seem to not like tent camping :)


There is also the coolness and cuteness factor of a teardrop, but that might not be reason enough to buy one :)

Let the record reflect that I have done plenty of camping in tents.  I hate the set up and tear down, trying to keep things clean, trying to get everything neatly folded and back in their original bags or containers.  Seems like half the time you wind up opening everything up when you get back home just to clean it up and let it dry properly.  I have had small tents with no head room that were compact and easy to set up but were cramp and confining.  I had a larger tent that you could walk around in but you need PHD in engineering and half a soccer team to erect it, let alone tear it down and get it back in the bag.

Then there is the air mattress thing.  I absolutely loath air mattresses, they do not breathe and you always wind up feeling sweaty or damp, not to mention that they are just not very comfortable.  then you have to have a gizmo to blow them up.  Then they leak.  So you can go with a camp cot which will get you off the ground but is not much more comfortable and is just more crap that you have to pack, set up, tear down, cram in your trunk, and store at home.

You have to find decent level ground free of rocks and roots and animal boroughs (we once pitched our tent over a pack rat hole, the rat drove us crazy all night).  Then you need a decent tarp to put the tent on, a shovel to dig a trench in case it rains, stakes, a good hammer, and rope.   If you arrive after dark the set up will that much more difficult.  And if it rains everything will be an absolute mess when its time to pack it all up.  All this for a feeble shelter with no real security that is just a few notches above sleeping out in the open.  When I took inventory of all the crap I had to pack when tenting, and all the effort to set up tear down and clean it all up, I bought a van.  I can pull into a camp site in my van, throw out a folding chair, pop a beer and I am done setting up.   I was close to buying a tear drop trailer and I think they would be so much better than a tent, but the van is even better for my purposes.

As I mentioned earlier I like to tour and typically do not stay in the same camp site for more than a day or two.  For a family that is going to stay put for five days or a week maybe a tent makes better sense.

Happy camping!
 (PS I am selling my tents, cots, and air mattresses if you are interested!)

[therethere]

To everyone who chimed in about using a van to camp....

What do you do with your coolers and food? Do you just happen to not camp where there are bears or inquisitive animals looking for food?

[Beridian]

To everyone who chimed in about using a van to camp....

What do you do with your coolers and food? Do you just happen to not camp where there are bears or inquisitive animals looking for food?

When we were in Yellowstone and the Black hills we just left food in the fridge and cupboard inside the van and closed the doors at night.  I guess a determined bear could pry open a van door or break a window, but I felt much more safe than sleeping in a tent (we also had bear spray).   Also if all hell really broke loose in the campground you could always honk the horn or even drive away, not an option in a tent or trailer.  As I recall the rules in Yellowstone required tenters and people with soft-sided campers to use the provided bear-proof food storage containers, I don't think this was required for hard sided campers.

[CanuckExpat]

Everything is easily removable so I can also use the van for cargo purposes or even sell it as a cargo van if I find I am not using it.
...
A passenger can use the porta-potti, get a snack, or stretch out for a nap while driving.
...
The things that turned me against a tear drop camper were ...the added stress and complications of driving while towing a trailer.

Those two things do seem like nice positives compared to a separate trailer, and the complications of towing are a good point; we currently have an automatic, so I'd have to consider that as well as a limitation on towing.

Thanks for linking to the details of your van build. It does sound very cool. Do you mind sharing how long it took and what the total cost was?
You should also consider posting and reviving the van thread in this forum, there was a good discussion there and I'm sure people would like to hear about your build and adventures.

[Beridian]

Everything is easily removable so I can also use the van for cargo purposes or even sell it as a cargo van if I find I am not using it.
...
A passenger can use the porta-potti, get a snack, or stretch out for a nap while driving.
...
The things that turned me against a tear drop camper were ...the added stress and complications of driving while towing a trailer.

Those two things do seem like nice positives compared to a separate trailer, and the complications of towing are a good point; we currently have an automatic, so I'd have to consider that as well as a limitation on towing.

Thanks for linking to the details of your van build. It does sound very cool. Do you mind sharing how long it took and what the total cost was?
You should also consider posting and reviving the van thread in this forum, there was a good discussion there and I'm sure people would like to hear about your build and adventures.

The van (brand new) was 31K out the door taxes and all.  I spent about $2500 doing the conversion, I worked on it in my spare time over three months, I would guess about 80 hours labor.

[MrsPete]

To each his own, but for privacy my van has a fully enclosed vented porta potti closet, That porta potty is also something that must be emptied out -- a task I'd rather not have. 
it also has two separate bunk beds. Inferior to one queen-sized bed and lacking in privacy.
As far as sleeping in a rest area or Walmart parking lot, you have to exit your vehicle and climb into the teardrop, not good if there is trouble  True, but the only thing that's ever trapped me in a tent was a buffalo.  Yes, really, it decided to sleep RIGHT OUTSIDE our tent door, and we decided we could just wait for him to go away on his own. 
While it's true that the teardrop can have air conditioning and heat, you will need a camp site with an AC hookup for air and heat or a propane system or generator.  I chose not to install a propane system in my van because of the dangers involved.  Incomplete answer; a teardrop typically offers a fan that can run on battery power, and you'd get lots of argument about the dangers of a propane system -- though we don't have any interest in boondocking, so we're fine with the AC hookups in campgrounds.
One other advantage over the tear drop, I can leave my dog in the van with the max air power vent open without a problem in all but the hottest weather.  I am not so sure I would want to leave a dog in a tear drop trailer, I guess it would be OK if it was properly vented or cooled.  I wouldn't leave my dog unattended in any vehicle.

Again, it's good that different options exist, but I can't buy your arguments as solid reasons.

[MrsPete]

Is it about right to eyeball that a used teardrop can be had for $1,000 - $5000 , while a converted van used you are looking at $10,000 - $30,000?

Yeah, the price is one reason we're planning to buy a teardrop. 

[MrsPete]

When we were in Yellowstone and the Black hills we just left food in the fridge and cupboard inside the van and closed the doors at night.  I guess a determined bear could pry open a van door or break a window, but I felt much more safe than sleeping in a tent (we also had bear spray).   Also if all hell really broke loose in the campground you could always honk the horn or even drive away, not an option in a tent or trailer.  As I recall the rules in Yellowstone required tenters and people with soft-sided campers to use the provided bear-proof food storage containers, I don't think this was required for hard sided campers.

Yeah, you're supposed to use bear-proof food containers in hard-sided campers too.  A determined bear can remove your car door or the trunk lid -- it can definitely get into a camper.  We viisted the Bear and Grizzly Discovery Center in West Yellowstone (I hope I got that name right), and my favorite exhibit was the trash cans and cars that'd been damaged by bears trying to reach food -- it gave me a real respect for what they can do! 

It's not only YellowStone and the Black Hills; last summer we camped in Virginia, and the campsite had bear-proof containers between every few campsites.

[Sweetloveginger]

As someone who backpacks, and camps regularly I think a tear drop is the perfect compromise. Although I am also someone who will arrive at a hiking location the night before and sleep in my drivers seat without a second thought. Here are my thoughts.

Van Option:  A van has an engine that has potential to break, especially if you are buying it second hand and only using it to camp a few times a year. Then there is the storage location issue, insurance, registration etc… all those costs add up, while yes there is more room and you could potentially have a kitchen area or a bathroom, it’s still much more expensive.

Pick Up Truck Conversion: This is actually my favorite option, but we already have a regularly used pick up so there is no additional cost like with a van. You could add a roof structure to all you to cook on the tailgate without getting rained on. With this option you are sacrificing the ability to stand, but I think that’s a non issue personally. The only storage would be the truck cap & accessories.

Teardrop: Can be towed with my tiny car, can be equipped with a boat bathroom (used inside), attached outdoor kitchen, smaller registration cost. However this would also have to be stored.

Basically I would use these for convenience: long distance driving and avoiding hotel stays, extended hiking trips, or really even partying downtown and not worrying about driving home. While useful I have always thought of them as being pretty ridiculously extravagant and therefore not worth the cost. I think if you are going to spend time outdoors and camping then you’re kind of ruining it by adding kitchens, bathrooms and groomed campsites. I fully understand that I am in the minority here, I just wanted to add my 2 cents.

[Papa Mustache]

There are YouTube videos of bears disassembling cars to get to the food inside.

If a steel car door won't keep them out then I have no hope that an RV wall would either. ;)