by Nobody » Sun Apr 16, 2017 11:13 am
Since my wife & I were married in 1960, we've owned/used just about every kind of RV except motorhomes. From truck campers, basic 8' cabover box with icebox'n stove to the largest cabover camper you could buy in the mid/late l980s. We also owned/used a Starcraft pop-up trailer, an 18' 'travel' trailer, a 32' 5th wheel trailer, & numerous pop-up type truck campers (we currently own a 1999 Ford F250, Supercab, long bed 7.3L Turbodiesel, that carries a 2003 8.5' SunLite Eagle, pop-up type truck camper with toilet, that I use for a hunting/fishing rig). We thoroughly enjoyed every one, & most all served us admirably while our 2 sons were growing up. They (our sons) grew up camping in various rigs, their families grew up the same way, & our grandkids'n great grandkids think that is really the only way to have fun. In late 2005 when we were thinking of downsizing a little, I remembered seeing teardrop trailers when I was growing up in the 1940s/50s. Being relatively new to computers and the internet, I began a search for information & pretty quickly discovered tnttt. I joined the forum (think there were only a couple thousand members or less at that time), visited our local Harbor Freight outlet where they had their 1800# trailer (that was the weight rating in those days instead of the 1720/40# now) on sale for $279 & I had a 20% off coupon (HF didn't have the restriction on trailers & other high$$ items then) so I got the trailer (in 3 boxes) for around $225 plus tax in Jan 2006. When I got home I put the boxes in my barn & didn't think much more about 'em 'til April or May. I'd been searching the internet for a design profile that we liked & finally settled on a sorta combo of the ultra lite & the Grumann. I drew the outline on graph paper, transferred that to a sheet of cardboard I'd found at a local furniture wholesaler, cut it out for a profile pattern, assembled the HF trailer & I was on my way. I had absolutely NO plans for the build, just kinda knew what we wanted, located 0.040" aluminum sheets (4X10') locally for a reasonable price, bought 'em, & located enough wood (scrap & some new) to begin the build. After 4 months of intermittent work (most every day at least a couple hours), the TD was 'campable' & I made the first trip to Shawnee NF, IL for an annual squirrel hunt/gathering of like minded individuals. We eat, BS, indulge in some adult beverages, eat some more, BS, do a little squirrel hunting, make music, eat, & generally have a great time for 5-7 days each September. The TD worked fine as did the 'slant legged' 8' square top, portable shelter I used over the galley. I quickly found that a 10' square, straight legged shelter such as E-Z Up or the 1st Up from WalMart was a much better shelter for not much more money. Also, the 3" thick folding mats I was using as a mattress didn't provide enough support for my aging bones, (we later acquired a 4" memory foam mattress which along with a 1 1/2" 'egg crate' memory foam topper, slept most as good as our bed at home). I spent most of the first year modifying the TD, adding fenders, a tongue box, a rear bumper, completing the galley & interior cabinets. We've towed the TD around 30K miles, over every kind of road/terrain, including a 10day 'flying' trip to California at freeway speeds, to visit wife's brother in 2012) & thoroughly enjoyed every minute. We did learn that it's a 'fair weather' outfit & not suitable, at our age (currently 81 & 77) for all circumstances. In Jan 2015 we located & bought a 2001 17' Casita Spirit Deluxe molded fiberglass trailer with bath. The Casita is much more suitable for those night time nature calls that have become inevitable at our age. Even erecting my wife's 'potty shelter' next to the TD or getting a site near the 'facility' isn't as 'handy' as using your own bathroom facility. We still will take the TD on certain outings but at our age we're looking for a little more comfort, & the Casita is better for us than the TD.
Harvey -
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Doing the right thing ain't always easy but, . . . it's always right!
Teardrops are made to last , RV’s are made to fail and have expensive repairs ... ( RV EVIL empire )
then went to a caravan(travel trailer) but still expensive to travel so bought a tear and never looked back. Best cost effective choice we made and most comfortable travelling ever. Don't even notice it behind us it tows so well. 
