We sold our 5' x 10' home-built teardrop camper last October. We then purchased a 2020 Grand Design Imagine 17 MKE travel trailer and a 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500 double cab truck. We were only able to use the rig one time before winterizing it. I'll admit to having seller's remorse most of the winter. The teardrop camper was incredibly customized and suited us well. We camped in it about 120 nights during our four seasons of use.
With 20 nights under our belt in the travel trailer, we've personalized it and settled into a new process for camping. Our typical trip uses the camper as a base camp for other outdoor activities such as kayaking, fishing or mountain biking. Four seasons of tear dropping helped us refine this approach and made our travel trailer selection relatively easy as we knew exactly what we wanted in a new rig.
This photo shows the rig set up on an off-grid trip in May before the campgrounds were allowed to open in MN. We caught some nice sized northern pike (27", 28", 29 1/2" and 32"...our limit) while kayak fishing. We enjoyed exploring the old logging roads on our mountain bikes. Notice the Kamado Joe Junior in the foreground. I strap it behind the driver's seat and we're enjoying some awesome grilled meals while camping.
One thing I miss about teardrop camping is the awesome gas economy while towing. We've gone from 20 mpg to 9 mpg...ouch! Our trips are a little quieter now that we're not giving constant teardrop tours!