Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Or they just don’t want to …

I suspect a lot of it is price competition––which drives quality down.

It's also easy to build something that lasts a half-handful of years to make it through the warranty period when they are so much of a behemoth that they are only get used a week a year.

I just can't believe towing a big double-axle (or triple) is a lotta fun. Not to mention how many places it would preclude my wife and me from going.





Tony

What we found out ( the hard way ) , Big Trailer , BIG headaches , Big Maintenance ( Big Money down the drain ) … NO FUN !!! JMHO

Just read any RV forum and see how many problems there are … and their only solution is …Throw more Money at it … It was estimated a big RV would need ~$20K a year of maintenance … What a racket !!!

MINE! Last year counted 8 seasons in my foamie. I might be at a turning point with my camping set up for one reason or another. But my foamie keeps on truckin' on. We actually might have driven it more than ever this year. I'm estimating were over 20,000 miles. At this point, with a little bit of work it looks like my foamie might make it to next camping season, but my tow vehicle won't!

We've done a $100-200 in maintenance per year. And it's not totally waterproof (can't drive extended periods in rain). Here's what I can remember.

Year 5 - Fixed hatch with some eyebolts, turnbuckles, and wire rope. Re-waterproofed hatch hinge with trailer rubber roofing.
Year 6- I'm sure there is something.
Year 7- Replaced driver's tire. Rewired trailer lights.
Year 8 - Re-waterproofed front window and repainted front. Still persistent water entry in hatch but only when extreme rains or driving in rain. Broken front window, needs fix. Replaced trailer jack. 2nd replace of car towing harness.


To make it to year 9 I've got to...
Replace front window, replace trailer tire, fix side running light, fix roof box. Finish full exterior repaint, maybe retar the bottom wheel wells. Try a new waterproof on the hatch (or just don't camp in the rain). Repack wheel bearings

I realize this does not count but I have been working on my foamie for nearly 4 years. It was supposed to be a retirement project, only I failed to retire so far. That really cuts into the foamie construction efforts.

I got to thinking about this some time in the dim past. We rented a sparsely equiped teardrop trailer for a trip up the north California coast. It was a nice trip. I mostly had done backpacking camping before then. I started to build my own trailer. My goal was to build something more comfortable than tent camping. I wanted minimal not the RV route.

I now have welded up the chassis and assembled the floor. I got Iowa plates. The guy at the county office did not even want to see the trailer. I was not surprised, there are a lot of home built farm trailers in this state. I went to the high school parking lot on a Sunday and practiced backing up. I still need to work on that!

It is way too cold to glue stuff in my garage now. By last fall, I had accumulated a lot of foam panels covered with canvas. I made some doors and got a good start on the hatch, so this spring things should go together fast I hope. I am running out of excuses!
My daughter has already hinted she would take it off my hands when I decide to make the next one.

Thanks to all for ideas and sharing.

Tom

“ when I decide to make the next one. “ The second one goes a Lot quicker !!!

I just posted a 5 year update for my Camp Capsule foamy, it gets better with age and adjustment!

Mine was build over 2014-15. I'm going out in it for a week starting Friday. So it's like 6?