But I love my tent!

[TentersForever]

Hello everyone!

Allow me to introduce myself...

My name is Jim an I am a 30 year old former electrician turned student from Taylor MI.

My wife Tammy and I are avid campers and until three days ago we could have been considered "tent snobs"

Then we caught the last five minutes of a little show on the Travel Channel that featured these small yet oddly appealing little rolling thingies that looked a bit like those nasty C words (campers) but without all the road hogging, tree-branch snapping, view-blocking, gas draining, might-as-well-have-stayed-at-home-if-I-wanted-to-watch-the-big-screen-tv-all-night nonsense.
(Wow, that was a little over the top-I'll try to contain the tent-bias, sorry )

Anyway my wife and I both immediately had the same reaction:
"Wow, those are AWESOME!" (so much for our tent snobbery!)


Thus began three days of scouring the net and this forum in particular to gather as much info as possible on these things and to begin to figure out just what style/size would work for us.

Along those lines, here is some info on us to consider for anyone is willing to make helpful suggestions about options.

I am (as I said) 30 am my wife is ..er, moving on!
I am 5'10, 180 lbs. She is 5'0 even, 105 lbs.
We have a 10 year old girl and a 7 year old boy (both small framed) that will probably continue to tent but we'd like room to squeeze them in if necessary.

I'd like as complete a galley as possible but outside not inside (maybe a pass-through).
We are planning on purchasing two single-seat kayaks and might want them mounted atop our unit.
Right now I have a '95 F150 extended cab, short bed to pull with but we are looking to switch a jeep-type vehicle.
Electrical is not a problem and I have some carpentry and woodworking experience so I am leaning toward building over buying. My main concern would be sealing everything up and frame/axle/tongue issues (I am not automotively inclined and don't know how to weld).

After reading several threads here and doing some searching there are a ton of things I'd love to have- (wood stove, loo, standing room) but can probably do without (for my first one at least...shhh!), especially if I want to downsize my hauler. I was blown away by Rob's cabin car though!

I would like some under-storage accessible from outside and inside however, and some flexibility with regard to campground/dry camping would be a must.

I guess that's it for now, time to scour some albums!

Jim

***Edit: Man, how could I have forgotten to mention that we never camp without Ebony our 2 year old black lab! She'll never forgive me.

[depatty]

Hi Jim,
Welcome to the madness! Teardrop fever is quite contagious. Sounds like you have it bad.
Seriously though, take a look at the design library (in the header) and keep looking through the threads. There is a 2+2 that might be close to your needs. Also might want to look though http://www.mikenchell.com/Wild_Designs_Photo_Album/ for more really cool ideas.

Later,
dave

[TentersForever]

Thanks for the welcome Dave, and the advice.

I'll definitely check them out.

Jim

[Mike C.]

Welcome Jim,

Looks like you know what you want to do. If we can answer any questions, just ask. We are a friendly lot and love being asked.

See you around.

[jagular7]

Welcome there Jim.

I sent some info in a pm.

For your tenting needs, Schaney is one of those builders/campers. His information can be linked here.

[Mini Renegade]

hello and welcome to the forum, we also tent it and have various sizes for different situations, the car fits in the big one with us which is where the teardrop will go if I ever finish the bloody thing

[Ira]

Welcome, Jim.

Since you're ditching the truck for a Jeep (I did similar), and since you got the kids, since you also want to shlep two kayaks, and since you're a big guy but your wife ain't, you're talking some specific requirements here. But not impossible.

First, all teardrop trailers have exterior galleys accessible in the rear, but there's really no such thing as a "pass-through" galley because all you use the cabin for is to SLEEP--so there's nowhere to pass the stuff through to anyway. These things are TINY.

Know what I mean? Teardrop cabins are basically for sleeping only. There's simply no room in there to comfortably just hang out or eat. However, if these are definite requirements for you, check out Rob48's Cabin Car, but that is NOT an easy build and it's not small.

Next, most of use special side tent arrangements that connect to the tear door to accommodate the kiddies. Some have used hammocks inside the cabin to sleep 4. I myself would kill myself if I had to squeeze 4 people in the cabin of a TD, even a nice size one.

Main point I want to make is, the largest tear you're going to see is 5 wide by 10 long by 4 high. MAYBE 5 high. But 5 high is a lot less when you're done building, because of roof insulation and mattress. So it's not 5 high of useable space, as it's not 5 wide or 10 long of useable space either. Plus, once you get into 5 foot dimensions, you have material problems, finding suitable ply and skinning materials in 5 foot widths.

As far as the kayaks go, Sonetpro hauls his on top of the TD.

Regarding frame, the easy way out is to buy a prebuilt frame. Even if you buy a 4 by 8 frame, you can build "over" the frame to make it 5 by 10, which is a real nice size.

But forget the wood stove:

It never gets cold in Michigan anyway.

[Miriam C.]

To the playground Jim. If you look in the Hall of Fame and all the build forums you are bound to find what you are looking for. Second there are more than a few with pass throughs to the galley.

Kiddies can be accommodated with bunks which leaves you and the wife comfortable too. One of the neatest I have seen had the galley counter slide into the cabin.

Several others work. Mine is big but I love it. With a small rearranging It too can have bunks and a full double bed.

Enjoy the design process and don't sweat the automotive stuff. If I can do the building, almost anyone can.

[mikeschn]

Hey Jim,

Welcome!

It's a tall order but not impossible. You just have to leave a few things out.

I would consider building a teardrop for 4 with a full galley, and leave the bathroom and wood burning stove out. Heck, if you're caming in the winter you've probably traveled down to FL to escape the cold, and share a Bud with Ira.

Let me see if I can find that pic of a teardrop for 4.

Ah here it is... just round it off nicely using your favorite profile, and you've got sleeping for 4, plus the dog on the floor.




Oh yea, to get a galley in there, you'll have to make it about a foot longer, and also push the bed closer to the front.

Another option is to build the 5' high 2+2, at the very bottom of this page...
http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/t ... tear47.htm



Mike...

[packerz4]

welcome! you're gonna have a blast!

tk

[Tcurr]

Welcome

[swissarmygirl]

Welcome....you'll find everything you need here!

[neal b]

welcome aboard glad to have you here

neal b

[TentersForever]

Thank you everybody for the warm welcome.

Thanks also for the helpful advice, information and links both here and in PMs.

I look forward to getting started but I plan on spending quite a bt of time in the research and planning stages first. (My wife has gently reminded me that I have a bathroom remodel to finish trimming out and an entertainment center to complete before I start yet another project.)

Plus I want her to start perusing the galleries so she can offer her own opinions on what the finished product should be.

Thanks again and I'll keep y'all updated on my progress.

[Mike C.]

Hey TentersForever,

Is the dog in your avatar a black lab? Male or female? I used to have a female, lived until she was 14. And that was the smartest dog I ever owned. She spoke English, or rather she understood probably 50 words and would respond accordingly. Gosh I still miss that dog and she has been gone 19 years.

Thanks for the picture and reminding me of ol' Pepper.