Tiny Trailers and Tear Drops

[masterplumber]

I went through a lot of these ideas when deciding myself. I ended up building my own cargo trailer conversion. https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Masterplumber-s-cargo-trailer-conversion It works for me and my family, but I don't have a separate bathroom, just a porta potty and solar shower. Somewhere in the thread another person discussed how they would add a bathroom, so if you're willing to read through, there may be some good nuggets of info, even if you decide not to build, but rather buy. I'm right at 6' tall, and have been in several Casitas. I fit ok, but they do seem a little cramped to me, especially in the middle around the kitchen. I really like the T@Bs and if you can fit, I think the model with the wet bath is awesome. The lady at RTR with one tows it with a Jeep JKU with no problems. I really like how you can leave the back of the U shaped dinette set up as a bed, and still have a small dinette to sit and work or eat at. But you do need to probably be 5'6'' or under to fit comfortably.

 

[Patd4u2]

For some time, I have been looking at tiny trailers and teardrops like the Casita, Scamp & other molded fiberglass and in teardrops, the Little Guy which encompasses everything to a tiny "pod" to a stand up height teardrop.  I have found blogs of people full-timing in just about everything at this point.

Since I am 61 years old, I want something manageable now and for at least, hopefully, 10 years into the future, maybe 20!  I am willing to sacrifice space for ease of everything else.  The number for this adventure is now just myself and my dog, Rinnie, chow/shepherd that spent her first year of life raised in an RV park so highly social.

The bathroom to or to not is one stumbling block along with my being particular about construction and materials being used.  I want more than "pretty" or "cozy".

I was just wondering if anyone is really thinking about going this small with an RV.  I considered a van but with my plans, I think separate units is the way to go, and I own a 2007 Dodge Durango to tow with.  Stealth is not a consideration.

And, yes, I do realize how small these units are and the challenges that will bring.  I like miniature, a fascination to me since childhood.

A tear drop was my original trailer I was going to go with, until I did some more thinking about being in it long term. Not so bad in the nice summer time but not so nice when its raining for a few days or its cold outside. I looked at the "egg" trailers and others and didn't want to spend that much, That is when I got my son-in-law to build me one the way I want it, to suit me. I am lucky that my son-in-law has almost everything to build it and he is a great fabricator. We are in the process of building it now, And it is only going to cost a fraction of a store bought one and it is going to be fully loaded, with RV toilet/shower stall, kitchen, full size bed, satellite TV, solar powered with a back-up generator, everything including the kitchen sink. and it will be more than strong enough to go off road with it.
When its finished and if people like it he might start building them for people.

 

[Patrick46]

A tear drop was my original trailer I was going to go with, until I did some more thinking about being in it long term. Not so bad in the nice summer time but not so nice when its raining for a few days or its cold outside. I looked at the "egg" trailers and others and didn't want to spend that much, That is when I got my son-in-law to build me one the way I want it, to suit me. I am lucky that my son-in-law has almost everything to build it and he is a great fabricator. We are in the process of building it now, And it is only going to cost a fraction of a store bought one and it is going to be fully loaded, with RV toilet/shower stall, kitchen, full size bed, satellite TV, solar powered with a back-up generator, everything including the kitchen sink. and it will be more than strong enough to go off road with it.
When its finished and if people like it he might start building them for people.

You 'DO' realize that we're gonna need a full write-up with lotsa pictures of this.....right??!!

 

[SoulRaven]

I have been through youtube looking at "home-built" and found some real beauties being built by "mom and pop" endeavors. A lot of real wood which I just swoon over. I love the craftsmanship involved. There is something to be said for "beauty", thus my love of the outdoors.

 

[AngryVanMan]

I very nearly started building a pop-up teardrop before I settled on getting a van. I had been pondering the idea since I stumbled upon Sumner's teardrop website here over a decade ago.  His pages, and that TnTTT group mentioned earlier are a tremendous resource for a home builder.  I may still build one, one day!

 

[Great White]

I had a 2014 R-Pod. Great little trailer. Came with a kitchen slide. 6'3" interior height. Light weight and narrow. Very easy to pull with a half ton truck. Queen bed and wet bath. Tear drop shape with fiberglass panel roof. Great all around trailer. I had the 177 Northwest Edition. Very tall suspension to be taken off road. 20' overall length.

 

[SoulRaven]

I have considered looking at the R-Pods, the smaller ones, since that is something they sell in our state. Looking in Kansas, well, the choices for off-the-shelf are not good. Only if I knew exactly what I wanted would it be worth traveling out-of-state.

 

[SoulRaven]

In looking over the Runaway website, I saw that they have a limited run on "standies" called the Wave. It sounds pretty good really. It is a 6' x 12' with 6' interior headroom at the highest point. It weighs in at 1,720 lbs and price is $8,995.00. Permanent bed mounted in the back and a dinette in the front would give additional sleeping space. Interesting. Looks sharp on the outside too!

Link: http://www.runawaycampers.com/pb/wp_a6beb857/wp_a6beb857.html

 

[Patd4u2]

In looking over the Runaway website, I saw that they have a limited run on "standies" called the Wave.  It sounds pretty good really.  It is a 6' x 12' with 6' interior headroom at the highest point.  It weighs in at 1,720 lbs and price is $8,995.00.  Permanent bed mounted in the back and a dinette in the front would give additional sleeping space.  Interesting.  Looks sharp on the outside too!

Link:  http://www.runawaycampers.com/pb/wp_a6beb857/wp_a6beb857.html

That's not to bad a price for the trailer, my son-in-law is building one for me right now with almost the same dimensions 6 x 12 only to make it more aerodynamic we are making it the same height and width as the towing vehicle. To be able to stand up in the living area of it we are making a pop-up roof for it.
When it is finished it will be full loaded with separate shower/toilet stall, kitchen area, Dometic fridge, 30 gal fresh water tank, on-demand hot water heater, solar panels, A/C, custom Tembren suspension, etc.
Even with it fully loaded ready to go it is costing me less than the Standie. The store bought ones cost so much as your paying their wages, shop expenses, materials, and of course profit.
When mine is finished and if people are interest we might start building some of these trailers for people.

 

[Konaexpress]

Nice!

John

 

[Konaexpress]

In looking over the Runaway website, I saw that they have a limited run on "standies" called the Wave.  It sounds pretty good really.  It is a 6' x 12' with 6' interior headroom at the highest point.  It weighs in at 1,720 lbs and price is $8,995.00.  Permanent bed mounted in the back and a dinette in the front would give additional sleeping space.  Interesting.  Looks sharp on the outside too!

Link:  http://www.runawaycampers.com/pb/wp_a6beb857/wp_a6beb857.html

Wow that's nice! I bet you could make those walls out of foam core and shed a few pounds of that rig. I would have to put a bathroom in it though.

John

 

[Txjaybird]

Height is not a problem as I am 5'4".  Lots of times I wished I was taller but now, it looks like an advantage to be shorter.  For me, being in a bigger space or smaller one inside is about the same.  I do not like being inside but can keep busy with thread crochet or reading reference materials forgetting where I am, more or less.

The larger T@B can have a wet bath and I had figured that using one side of the T@G would allow for a porti-pottie which could be placed outside in an attachable screen room with privacy curtains a lot of the time.  I do really like their screen/privacy tent because it attaches in a way that doesn't leave that gap where critters can come in, the larger kind anyway.

I will  probably be putting items in storage in KS, not that much, if my adult son with Down syndrome goes into residential here and returning during the late spring to early fall each year to workcamp or volunteer.  With any luck, I will get him moved to the SW sooner than later once I figure it all out.

would you please tell me what a T@B &  T@G are?  i think they sound like some form of T.T.'s ? thanks    TJB

 

[justbreathe]

http://tinycamper.com

I was enamored with the teardrops for awhile. Check these out. The Cadillac of tears. Check out the 560 model. Pretty sweet.

Changed my mind because of having to set up tents in bad weather.

But these are awful pretty.

 

[SoulRaven]

If you go to the Little Guy website, they have the info: http://www.golittleguy.com/ on the T@G/T@B. They also make very basic teardrops, one that almost looks like a "coffin". There is an online magazine, which is free, http://www.cooltears.com/ It covers tiny trailer & teardrops and this month, one of the articles is on the standy Runaway. It is nice publication is you have the internet access for it.

 

[Konaexpress]

Cool little magazine, thanks!

John

 

[Patd4u2]

I saw this "runaway" trailer on ebay this morning. Comes with a lot of camping gear too.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-RUNAWA...bdf89293:g:t~QAAOSwe7BWyhqk&item=252295287443

 

[SoulRaven]

Last evening I emailed RunAway Campers and asked the road height which was not covered in any of the info, within 2 hours I had a response.  Road Height is 94 inches on the largest model.

 

[masterplumber]

Do a search under Stevesway here on the forum. He had a Runaway and did quite a bit of writing about it. It didn't work out for him, but that doesn't mean it won't for you. He also had the smaller model. It's always good to get different perspectives from actual users to help make a decision.

 

[Royce]

Snow Gypsy,

You might consider finding a mid to late '70's Minuet.  They were made by Airstream and badged as Argosy.  My 6 meter Minuet weighs only 2450 empty and I tow with a 2005 Jeep Wrangler.  They were designed to be towed by the smaller cars of the time.  They can be very hard to find and sometimes expensive (typically $10,000 or so) due to being very desirable.  I bought mine 8 years ago for $1,500, started using it right away and have been spending about $500 per year on repairs and upgrades.  Still need to repaint the exterior and reupholster the cushions. The new Airstreams of current production run $70,000+ and are twice as heavy for the same size trailer.

 

[SoulRaven]

I came across a new website to me anyway and thought I would pass it on. I know some are limited and can't go to links so, I'll summarize some too.
They are called "Eureka" campers. Although they have trailers similar to Runaway, what might interest others would be their truck camper. They have one for standard and one for smaller trucks. Their units are very basic, which if you ever maintained RV systems, you would probably appreciate. The cost on truck campers is $5,000 and $6,000 now on sale per the website and $1,000 less. That is for the basic unit. Not many options available and they are factory direct.

The trailers, 4 different sizes range from around $3,000 to just over $6,000 for the basic units with very few options available. They are located in Columbia, TN.

I came across a used one listed on RV trader and googled to see who and where so otherwise, have no idea as to the quality or customer service.

http://eurekacampersinc.com/index.html