Anyone living in a teardrop?

[Trebor English]

Question;  I understand going 1' longer for more room, but why go narrower down to 48" ?   Your Yaris is at 66" wide, so it can't be for the aerodynamic affects...just curious !

Plywood for the floor comes 48 inch wide.  Trailers like Northern Tool or Harbor freight come 48 inch wide.  Other sizes are possible but the first step is 48 inches.

 

[VanFan]

Don't worry, a teardrop can be used alongside a 10x10 popup canopy. You tuck the rear kitchen area under the canopy...

Exactly what I was going to say!  I have seen this done to good effect.

 

[maki2]

People seem to forget that you also have a car to use for a living room area. That gives you comfortable chairs to sit/work in and lots of windows to look out of plus extra space for storage. Teardrops are for sleeping in at night and also for using the kitchen that is setup for tailgating. You can also take along a popup shelter that covers over the tailgate area to increase your outdoor living space. Or you can buy one of the tents that are made for use with teardrops. Some of them attach to the kitchen at the back, others attache to the side for entry into the sleeping area.

 

[bullfrog]

The biggest problem I have had with the small trailers has been the small wheels and low quality tires. Next would be how easily the frame is warped or the tongue can be bent. Getting a good axle with tires and wheels that match the tow vehicle saves space in the fact you can have one spare tire for both. By the time you reinforce the cheap trailer frames you could have bought or built a better stronger frame with no bolts and less welds to hold the heavier duty axle with car sized wheels and tires. The tires that come with the little red trailers wear out for me after about 3,000 miles of loaded highway use (most of them state they are not made for highway speeds) and should you get larger wheels and tires you run into problems with fenders and the effects of their heavier weight on the trailer components. Most of the camper parts are built too heavy in my opinion, 1/8" or 1/4" material glued to 2" foam covered on both sides with canvas / glue / paint is extremely strong and properly done will last for years.

 

[maki2]

There are all kinds of badly engineered home built travel trailers and tiny homes around. But there are also some very good quality builds being done by individual and also by professionals. Some of them are even capable of off road adventures.

 

[frankgibbons]

I love living in our teardrop! It has just given us so much freedom to travel anywhere – and for us, that is incredible! We organized our teardrop inside comfortable and the outdoor stored with camping equipment such as our grill, small propane tanks, camping table, etc.

We also have a cooler that store water in but not iced down. We also have a toolbox, [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]<a href="https://rvingreviews.com/plumbing/best-toilet-paper-tablets/">toiler paper tablets</a>[/font] very useful to clean up things and reusable after washing, and two small totes of extra clothes and a tote for dirty clothes and laundry supplies.

Happy Traveling  :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[nemoskullforgothispassword]

Sounds like it's working well for you, and allows you the freedom that you desire.

Question;  I understand going 1' longer for more room, but why go narrower down to 48" ?   Your Yaris is at 66" wide, so it can't be for the aerodynamic affects...just curious !

aerodynamics. going from 55 wide to 48 wide i figured id get better gas milage. really, its the top speed, i was topping out at 75 flat out in 4th, wasnt really comfortable. a narrower width and a better nose should get me a better top speed when needed. at least thats the thoery. mpgs are better, but have yet to test top speed runs.

 

[bullfrog]

Are your tires rated for speeds that high? Do you still have the proper tongue weight after adding a foot? How tall is the teardrop? I thought the salt flat time trials were earlier this year! LOL!!!

 

[highdesertranger]

let me get this straight,

your worried that you can only go 75MPH while towing?

highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

After rereading your post I see it is 4' tall and 1200 to 1500 pounds. That is heavy in my opinion for a foamy unless you actually have a well built trailer and axle. Have you weighed it? I haven't seen too many Yaris cars with hitches and am amazed it pulls and stops it as the car doesn't weigh much more than the teardrop. Would love to see some pictures of the hitch and teardrop. This lifestyle of cheaprvliving even for especially those of us that don't travel continuously can be great and very satisfying after we once learn to slow down and enjoy every inch of the journey. Your tow vehicle will last much longer if you do and your chance of surviving the crash will increase. My daddy once told me "Don't drive any faster than you want to be going when you crash." LOL!!!

 

[Jane's Jeep]

Would love to see a Hiker Trlr type teardrop. They just look so cool and tough. Bob talks about buying them and gave some cheap places to get one. Maybe there will be some in Quartzite!