New guy from Washington

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New guy from Washington

Postby rebelrider.mike » Fri Feb 10, 2017 3:26 am

Hi folks! I'm a long time tent camper looking to upgrade to a small teardrop. I've been motorcycle camping for a couple years, and I plan to do an extended trip where a camper would make things much easier for me. Of course, I'm being generous when I say motorcycle camping, as I cheat and use a sidecar, which allows me to take a lot more gear than your average two-wheeler. Here's a couple pics of what I do now:
Image
Image

A friend of mine from the Ural motorcycle forum, SovietSteeds.com, sent me here. So I'll be exploring for a while before I start a thread and ask noob questions. In the mean time, thanks for including me in your community!
Mike
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Re: New guy from Washington

Postby Padilen » Fri Feb 10, 2017 8:02 am

Hi,
Nice load!
Just a question on your canopy. Just one person can set it up? Before I installed my awning I thought about that type of canopy. But was told it took 2 people and still was a "pain".


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Re: New guy from Washington

Postby rebelrider.mike » Sat Feb 11, 2017 4:32 am

It is easier with two people, but I haven't had a problem setting it up by myself. Just takes a little extra patience. :)
Mike
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Re: New guy from Washington

Postby greygoos » Sat Feb 11, 2017 9:28 am

Welcome aboard. I like your setup. Was wondering how you like that tent cot?
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Re: New guy from Washington

Postby rebelrider.mike » Sat Feb 11, 2017 4:01 pm

Thanks!

I like the tent cot quit a bit. I prefer it to other tents I've tried. The only down side, is that its not great in the rain. The rain fly will keep the water out until you need to open the door. Then it lets the water drip right in. And such a small space makes for a lot of condensation. So I skip the rain fly and just use the pop-up shelter. The two have made a great combination for me.
Mike
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Re: New guy from Washington

Postby bc toys » Sun Feb 12, 2017 9:18 am

welcome to the group like your set-up
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Re: New guy from Washington

Postby Vedette » Mon Feb 20, 2017 12:48 am

Welcome from the PNW Tear Jerkers :thumbsup:
So are you looking for a teardrop to pull behind your motorcycle or are you upgrading your TV also??
What part of Wa. are you from?
Do you plan to camp mostly by yourself or are you looking to meet other campers and experience group type events?
What style of TD do your like or what are you thinking of getting?
Do you want to build or buy.
How can we help you? :thinking:
Questions are answered fairly quickly see on the Forum.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi
Here is a link to my Build Journal
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=50912
Image109106109111109110138766
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Re: New guy from Washington

Postby rebelrider.mike » Mon Feb 20, 2017 2:00 am

Thanks for the welcome Vedett!

To answer some of your questions, I'm still pretty early in the planning phase of all this. But I do have a few specific ideas in mind.
To start with, I want a solo teardrop camper. I plan to build my own onto a small flatbed trailer. Something along the lines of 4'x6'. The closest I've seen so far is Northern Tool's smallest trailer http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200612543_200612543 So I may get that as a base and build up from there.

The tow vehicle would be my Ural M70 in the pictures above. Urals aren't fast, but they're great work-horses. I'll be adding a hitch socket and wiring to plug the trailer into.

A few features I'd like on the trailer:
A couple of batteries that match the motorcycle's.
DC charging station for small electronics.
AC inverter, though I intend to make everything DC if I can.
A solar panel to keep the batteries topped off.
An AC converter in case I'm near a power outlet.
Interior and exterior LED lights.
DIY swamp cooler. (Lots of You Tube vids on this.)
Vent fans.
Some kind of fold out table for outside the trailer.
Windows, and a door I guess.
Maybe some underneath storage, depending on ground clearance, though most of the gear will be in the sidecar.

I figure I need to settle on a trailer first, and get the footprint figured out before I can design the actual camper. I'll be asking specific questions soon. In fact, I just started a thread about towing with a motorcycle: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=67959
Mike
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Re: New guy from Washington

Postby MatthewWorks » Mon Feb 20, 2017 4:30 am

Welcome to the group!

Also, just sold my Ural... hadn't entirely wanted to. Nice to to see yours here.

Always thought it would be a ball to do exactly what you're doing!

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lost, but enjoying it so far.

18Jan2018:
total days in camper 92 (since Apr 2017)
camper has paid for itself with hotel/rental savings: 209%
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Re: New guy from Washington

Postby Vedette » Tue Feb 21, 2017 2:13 am

Have you seen the videos on the "Spud"?
Great starting point.
Traditional 4x8's are easy to keep light and simple enough for towing behind a Motorcycle.
Good Luck with your build!
Brian
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Here is a link to my Build Journal
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=50912
Image109106109111109110138766
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Re: New guy from Washington

Postby Roly Nelson » Thu Feb 23, 2017 2:17 pm

Welcome aboaard. Building a very light weight trailer is surely possible. I put one together on a Harbor Freight trailer that only weighs 245 lbs. So, yes it can be done. If you want more super-light info, just PM me and I'll be glad to fill you in.
:) 8) :thumbsup: Roly, the li'l ol' So Calif 1/2 Nelson woody guy.
See the little 1/2 Nelson Woody constructions pics at: http://gages-56.com/roly.html
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