When I retired in 2018 my wife and I purchased an 18 foot Winnebago travel trailer and a new F150. After using the travel trailer a few times we were finding that our camping experiences were somewhat limited as it was difficult to book full service campsites here in Canada without a lot of notice. As soon as the campsite reservation websites opened the serviced campsites were booked almost immediately. The trailer looked really nice, but the build quality was subpar. The materials that were used in the trailer were really cheap, and I was concerned that it would required a lot of maintenance as time went on. When Covid came we had an opportunity to sell them and we got most of our money back. We had an SUV, so we decided to put a bed platform in it and removed the rear seat to provide extra storage. We bought a Jackery for portable power and a Coleman Instant tent just to have a private relaxation area on our campsite. Much to our surprise, this worked out quite well. Setting up the tent was really easy and we had a nice comfortable bed in the SUV. We don't cook very often when we are travelling as we often eat in restaurants when we are out for the day and we just use the Jackery or a butane stove for cooking at suppertime. We prefer to stay in campsites with washroom and shower facilities, so we didn't need to do anything in this regard. We recently purchased a new SUV and built a bed platform similar to what we had earlier and added a rooftop cargo box. This setup is simple and cost effective. If we were ever to consider another trailer, we would definitely consider a small teardrop that we could store in our garage. Thank you for the video!
Thanks for the informative video! This was the kind of reasoning I was giving my fiancé to get a teardrop and will show her this video. We have been trying to decide between teardrops and smaller campers. We have a Subaru outback wilderness with the tow rating of 3500lbs. Most people see that rating and go hog wild looking at the the big campers. I want to stay under 2500 fully loaded. We are a family of 4 (kids are under 5 years old) and most likely we would use a rooftop tent (or I would for sanity reasons lol). We have a few teardrops in mind and going to an overland show in Oct that will have some that we are interested in.
I will be taking posession to a new InTech Persue in about 3-4 weeks. State Parks and National forests are my favorite. Having a squaredrop is exactly what I want. I have towed "Portable Motels" and that is too much like work and very limiting as to where I can go. I will be towing with my Tacoma and there is a tonaeu cover to keep my gear dry. You are right, the large campers which I have owned two were maintenance nightmares. I fully agree, I go camping to go camp and my canoe will go with me. Good video, thanks and happy adventuring.
I love my little Hiker square drop. I can tow it almost anywhere and it is really all I need. I’ve owned it about a month and have camped in it about a dozen times. It’s wired for solar but I just ordered a bunch of solar gear for it. Like you said Brandon, one really just needs a comfortable place to sleep, (and perhaps a bit of heat in the morning and hot coffee ) right? Half the fun is realizing what works for you and the comforts that are just nice to have. Nice video. TU from Washington state.
Yep I agree, a bed and a kitchen is what's needed for camping, when it comes to van and RV it is not camping it is about road trip which is on the other side of the spectrum, asphalt-gas-parking lot VS trees-creeks-birds....
A tear drop / square drop are basically hard sided tents with a chuck box and maybe a water tank on wheels. Essentially its tent camping with out the hassle of set up tear down and loading the gear. I had a tear drop for 5 years loved it the older kids slept in a tent when they came along. We had baby come along and opted to get a tent trailer still no storage fees more space but what a pain in the but setup and take down was plus I had to drag it out and at least partially set it up to load up or unload it, we got a bigger 28 bunk house. Had issues with stuff breaking, found out we just sat around inside more then anything. Not to mention the storage fees, dragging back and forth to load un load and charge batteries winterize de winterize. That’s gone now and I want to build my own tear / square drop to suit my needs. A tear drop is the most convenient option for last minute camping trips
Just traded in our full size trailer for a tear drop. Didn’t go with a super high quality manufacturer, but it’s still worlds better than the big trailer.
We have a small square trailer from Tiny Camper Company. Its same concept as a tear drop, just shapped a little different. One very important value point we would like add is how fast you can come and go. We have been able to get into parks that are seemingly always booked by taken advantage of cancellations of others. Easy, simple, fast, and so much fun. Also we tow with a Subaru Crosstrek. Great video.
Can I ask, why you stopped using the awning? Is it a huge hassle, not very useful, etc? I have been looking at a teardrop and really hope the awning provides the "changing room" option.
Great Question. The actual awning room is a bit of a hassle to set up. They are quite heavy, and once wet you'll have to dry it out at home. I wouldn't say it's a deal breaker, they are quite useful, but we just eventually decided it wasn't giving us any benefit. The last time i set it up i think we were receiving 4 inches of rain overnight, which was supposed to continue happening for the next 3 days straight... so after two hours of holding the awning up for added drainage i just decided i didn't want to camp that bad. On sunny adventures, absolutely the awning is great. On rainy trips they can collect water and require monitoring to prevent a swimming pool effect. I recommend an awning, but awning rooms are something i learn to live without.
Thanks for the video. I'm getting laid off and plan to travel the USA for 3-4 months alone. Looking for something nimble so I can see as much as possible during that time. Do you think a teardrop is something you could live in for this amount of time? If not, what do you think you would miss having a teardrop vs a larger camper?
For touring the US, without a family in the teardrop? Absolutely. The pros of a teardrop are like you've said, nimble. You can take them through most drive-thrus, you can park in lots and turn around where large RV's wouldn't fit. You can still camp in private "RV" parks that don't allow tents, and with limited power usage and a solar power can camp off grid anywhere. They also don't cost much fuel. The only downsides of the Teardrop vs Large RV is room to stand up and the lack of a bathroom. Which many don't use in large trailers anyways. Quality wise, teardrops are better and will last longer, but i wouldn't rule out small trailers that allow you to stand up, assuming you can find one that won't fall apart in 5 years.
I have a T@B 320 Boondock...purchased in fall '17....2018 model yr. I can stand up inside ..lots of windows so light and nice view..bathroom,shower. It's been great...NuCamp makes a great product. Now. I have considered a bonafide offroad teardrop lately..looking at Bean trailer or Timberleaf. High quality, these will go the distance...pricey naturally 14:30
Thanks for the honest and concise video. I am looking to get a tear drop right now and I'm kind of stuck in decision paralysis due to how many options there are now. I like that you point out your wood interior is holding up so well and so is the rest of the trailer. I wasnt sure if i should get a "no wood" trailer or go with a wood interior. I like the feel and look of wood but I want something that will last. It looks like it was a non issue for you. Did you just re coat things for water proofing or what kind of maintenance did you have to do? In your opinion, is the all metal options out there better for longevity?
in hindsight, i forgot to cover my trailer's construction detail, but since the video seems to be a success I may follow up some day. My particular model is made with a birch plywood interior i believe, sandwiched with a layer of insulation between the powder coated aluminum exterior. I had to store it outside the first 6 years i owned it under a Pa'Ha Que teardrop cover, those last about 5 years, and it worked great. Honestly, I've dragged that trailer a 1,000 miles down washboard forest service roads, and it's never given me any sign of wear. It was recommended i pack the wheel bearings, and i do admit i had a leak once, which turned out to be a screw that rattled loose on the roof. I just tightened it back down and siliconed it once I knew where the source was (it was concealed under exterior trim). I've looked at the solid teardrop units, usually rotomolded or fiberglass tubs, and while the concept it great, at nearly twice the cost i just can't see the benefits. All of the maintenance items i've found on mine could be sourced at the local hardware store making them just that much easier to own.
@@getlostbrandon I was looking at a similar construction so your experience with your trailer is quite helpful. What about when its raining and you have to cook under the galy? lets say rain gets in from the side....has that happened to you before? did that make for any issues with birch? Just dry it and move on?
@@honey2badger so the old owner of Teardrops NW, the company that made my unit. He was a CNC machine sales rep of some sort. Point being he went on this very long, possibly hour long speech about how his trailers were the only ones with this hatch door design and i honestly should have paid more attention. I love the hatch on ours, i anticipated needing a rain cover to put over the hatch during wet weathers, cross considered a Foxwing awning at the time, ended up with an Alcove Shelter from REI, and have honestly never used it... it's still in the box. We do a lot of off season winter camping here in Oregon, and our first trip alone the campsite was flooded out, i'd share pics if i could right here. The family just got cozy watching movies inside the cabin and headed to town for some museums to pass the time. The galley has never cared if it was raining or not with the hatch open. I mean, high wind and rain, well yeah things will get wet, but otherwise the rain just channels off and into the gutter on ours. So, i have since looked at competitors and find their models have oddly shaped hatches, and have heard occasional complaints about the leak issue... so as i said, with the previous owner long gone now, i wish i had digested his info a little better, because whatever he was going on about for an hour, well he knew what he was talking about. One key point i got though was not to cook in the galley, unless you like grease stains on the ceiling. I opted for an extra drawer instead of a pull out stove for that reason.
@@honey2badger We have had our wooden td now for two years and camping in northern Europe have had a lot of rain. All the wood has been treated (some waterbased clear coating). Our hatch covers us nicely in rain, but we also have side skirts to cover up the sides. If wood does get wet we simply wipe it dry. The cabin doors get wet sometimes as well on the inside, but same thing there as with the damp from sleeping, we just leave it to dry during the day. So far we haven't had any problem at all. Between camping it's in an inside storage facility with the windows cracked open a tiny bit to let it breath.
