Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Well, of course first we have to build it. Once it is done, then it will be one of 3 cars. 1960 Dodge Dart Seneca with 225 slant 6 and pushbutton automatic; 1997 Dodge Neon with 2.0 liter SOHC and 5-speed; 1972 Plymouth Road Runner with 400 v-8 automatic (eventually a 5-speed). The Neon will need a full size radiator as it has the base half radiator now and already hates hills with full throttle in 3rd or 4th.

Rule #1 . . .ya can't beat cubic inches

Too true, but the Neon already is our primary camping vehicle. We have a platform that fits into the trailer hitch. Fully loaded with my wife and I plus the dogs, it is 3400 lbs., the car alone only weighs in at 2450. So a 1000lb teardrop would probably only be about 400 lbs. heavier than where we are at now. I know I will have to take it a bit easier on hills, not try to stay at 60 mph in the mountains, but then if I am pulling a trailer, the car should not be going that fast around corners anyway. In any case, I expect that I will still be getting in the mid to up 20's with the Neon pulling the trailer. That will still be better than either the Dart or Road Runner get pulling nothing.

Ageless wrote:Rule #1 . . .ya can't beat cubic inches

We tow with a 2003 Honda Odyssey. It doesn't seem to have any problems pulling the tear even in the mountains in Western NC. On flat interstates it gets 20+ mpg when towing, but I did get 27 mpg last year on I-10 in New Mexico without the tear.

1998 Ultra Trike

Ellie got 22 mpg towing up the Beeline highway to Roosevelt Lake ... not sure how much Duckie weighs. Previous owner said about 800 lbs.

What ever is in the front of the driveway !

this is my favorite tv but i got a f150 if need be

1998 2.0l 4cyl Honda CR-V. Tow rating only 1000lbs, but I have pulled waay more. I just take my time, and leave plenty of brake room.

The cargo trailer I have now (separate from my soon-to-be build here) is around 800lbs empty. I can barely feel it back there. I love Hondas.

Mine will be pulled by 'Zoot' my 2007 Kia Picanto it has an 1100 cc four cylinder engine with 64hp. It usually gives me around 16 km/l (37mpg)and I expect to get around 12/13 km/litre (30mpg) towing.

And when we get to a hill, and yes we have lots in New Zealand, the gearbox will simply get used, vigorously if necessary!

Py0tr wrote:Mine will be pulled by 'Zoot' my 2007 Kia Picanto it has an 1100 cc four cylinder engine with 64hp. It usually gives me around 16 km/l (37mpg)and I expect to get around 12/13 km/litre (30mpg) towing.

And when we get to a hill, and yes we have lots in New Zealand, the gearbox will simply get used, vigorously if necessary!

That looks like a 2004 registered orginally in Bristol England. It is a cute car. Is it bigger or smaller than the Rio? I think Rio is the smallest Kiyundai we can get here.

It gets better gas mileage than my Chevy Aveo, which I think is called a Holden Barina in Australia and New Zealand. It gets between 6 and 9L/100km, which is like 26-40mpg(us gal) or 31-47mpg(imp gal).

Hi There, the car in the picture isn't mine it's one i nicked from the internet but this is!



Taken 20 minutes after Scoot became mine at Lake Rotoiti, just down the road from where he was built in Whakatane, New Zealand.

To answer your question, the Picanto is smaller than a Kia Rio. The Rio is quite a bit larger and has a 1300cc engine. The Picanto, an 1100, shares a floor pan with the Hyundai Atoz. In fact it shares a whole lot of other things too like engine, gearbox, brakes, chassis ....

I was a little apprehensive as to how strong the engine was but after a quick 300km tow home I am now satisfied we'll manage fine. The fuel consumption increased slightly but despite a 40km/h headwind which necessitated long stretches in fourth to keep the speed up to 100km/h, and running the air con some of the time too, we still got 15km/l for the 600km round trip.

Today we got the awning up and immediately had to rush out to buy sides for the awning and are about to start the packing for our first trip away. I can't wait

Since the last post we've got a new member of the family...

Freddy a Mercedes A160. I don't think this model was sold in the states but they are very popular in Europe and South Africa.


The Picanto had been around long enough and to be honest I was longing for some thoroughbred European automotive class.

I took the trailer for the first tow this afternoon, I only had the towbar fitted on Tuesday, and it is superb! Much more guts than the 1100 Kia and torque to pull down the house.

We're going skinny tripping again this weekend so it should all be great

"Skinny Tripping"

Now someone MUST use that as their teardrop name! It is priceless!