little guy trailer

[chriskub]

I know the little guy trailers are basic - but as they are less expensive, light and priced well - any opinions on buying as a first teardrop?

quality?

and problems / concerns?

any ideas of puting on a roof rack to carry a canoe?

Any dealers / owner in BC, canada?

thanks for any advice you can give me as I consider my options.

cheers

chris k

[catrinka]

Hi Chris and welcome to the board. I"m not sure which part of BC you are in but there are a couple of other manufacturers there. http://www.wee-kender.com/ on the island and another one by Moyie that I can't find the link for at the moment.


[/quote]

[Dennis T]

Chris, My wife and I looked at different manufactured teardrops and looked at building one. We decided on the the Little Guy. We bought ours in Canton, Ohio for $3995. As far as B.C. in concerened I do not know of any dealers there? The quality of the trailer is good. It's put together well. As far as problems, well the wheel hubs didn't fit right. They rattled as we went down the road. The fix was to use electrical tape around the outside of the hub until it was tight on the rim. The doors are a little had to close at times. Sometimes a little pressure on them to lock. And speaking of locks, there is no way to lock them when you are inside the trailer. It comes with an air mattess in which you can throw away. It doesn't fit inside when it inflated. Look into buying another type of mattess. We have an areo type and like it. You can read about pros and cons on another thread in here. They galley, well frankly there is none. Just a piece of wood that opens and closes. It's good for storage. I am making mine into a galley that will suit us but in the beginning it's good for storage. The handling when being towed is great. You don't know it's there and sometimes that is scary. I have a f-150 and a Mariner and it's fine with both of them. As far as a roof rack, I don't know. We are getting one for our Mariner for kayaks. I have thought about it but only thought not acted. One of the options I did get was the add a room. Pricey at $500 but it is money well spent. Easy to put up and adds privacy for dressing and if you have a port-a-potty. A place to go if it rains. If you have a dog, it is sealed so it can't get out. The only thing that was bad was they put snaps on it but not on the Little Guy. I don't know why? So you have to put them on. Only three and no big deal. We put a piece of in door carpet down and underneath the floor we put down those foam things that clip together. Makes for a soft and warm floor. I have some pictures in my gallery. Take a look. Anything else I can help with e-mail me.

Dennis

[Proud2BCDN]

Hi Chris and welcome to the board. I"m not sure which part of BC you are in but there are a couple of other manufacturers there. http://www.wee-kender.com/ on the island and another one by Moyie that I can't find the link for at the moment.

Here ya go http://www.canadianteardroptrailers.com

[chriskub]

thank you all for the feedback - I will keep going on my research.

cheers

chris k

[chriskub]

I looked at the "weekender". First impressions are that the quality is good and that it is well set out.

For me, my concerns are the weight - 900 lb. For that weight it is at bit less than 4 ft wide. I have a toyota matrixs (1.8 lit) so it would be pushing 1000 lb or 500 kg by the time I head off.

Other than that I think it is a good purchase for someone with a larger car - it is priced at about 7000 cnd. but they appear to have some older models on sale at about 5 -6 k.

I will keep looking at the little guy and hopefully find someone who has one out west.

cheers

chris k

[campadk]

The Canadian Teardrop Trailers are advertised at $5,160 US.

Chris, also look at Pab's Kustoms (Edmonton). See http://www.geocities.com/pabs_kustoms/ . No idea how much these go for.

There is also Northern Teardrop Trailers In Langley BC. See http://members.shaw.ca/teardroptrailers/ . No price available.

I took a peak at a Little Guy here In Ottawa. Like Dennis said, it is pretty basic. Its also only 4X6 which is awfully small. The floor length is only 69 1/2" (5' 9 1/2"") which is very tight. Most people complain about an 8 ft tear being too short. I thought it would be awfully cramped for multiday camping. There isn't really any storage inside either which is a problem.

MRSP on the standard Little Guy is $3,095 US.

If you can splurg a bit, look at the Hunter HU-1 which is a 4x8 for MRSP $4,380 or an HU-3 which is a 4X10 for MRSP $4,795. It has a full galley which is a bit lacking, but is easily modified if you like (which we have done with ours). The Hunter does have the option for a roof rack for luggage or canoe. Hunter is located in Sandpoint Idaho which is somewhat in your neck of the woods.

[Proud2BCDN]

I looked at the "weekender". First impressions are that the quality is good and that it is well set out.

For me, my concerns are the weight - 900 lb. For that weight it is at bit less than 4 ft wide. I have a toyota matrixs (1.8 lit) so it would be pushing 1000 lb or 500 kg by the time I head off.

Other than that I think it is a good purchase for someone with a larger car - it is priced at about 7000 cnd. but they appear to have some older models on sale at about 5 -6 k.

I will keep looking at the little guy and hopefully find someone who has one out west.

cheers

chris k

I bought my leftover 04 CanadianTeardrop for less than $5K CDN...I'm heading out to pick it up in the near future (possibly the week after next if work and weather play nice ) I'll let you know what the quality is like once I've seen it first hand. BTW I'll be pulling it with either my Geo Tracker and/or my KIA Rio RX-V and don't anticipate any issues with either...but I also don't expect to break any land speed records

[chriskub]

I understand you are buying a used "little guy" (?) Where did you find it ? I am trying to work out who is selling them in BC if at all.

I would certainly be interested in your experience with a car the size of a tracker.

Please keep me updated

thanks

chris k
Vancouver BC

[chriskub]

It appears that more than one canadian here has a us made teardrop. Whats the deal buying and geting one legally into canada?

things to do?

taxes insurance etc?

problems?

advice?

thanks as always,

chris k
Vancouver BC

[LeeB]

Hi First post sorry if it screw up. I have been trying to read all the old posts so much GOOD information and so little time to read it. We just bought a little guy deluxe in colorado springs co. $3700 with spare tire and pulled it home 340 miles with a Honda CRV pulled great and got 21 mpg. Most of the time didn't know it was back there averaged 75 mph and max was 85 mph had to pass a gravel truck throwing rocks. I was going to build one but my wife was not happy having a homemade teardrop going dowing the interstate that I made. Too many stops to pick up fallen trailer parts. I still might build one and can use the little guy for a pattern but will make it 5 foot wide. I'm putting in a small microwave $28 homedepot and a Coleman grill and stove burner combo $49, 2 plastic dish pans and a shelve for spices and cannned goods in the galley and a board divider angled for more storage under the shelve for fry pan and extras. Now in the process of putting in power outlet strips front and back and LED lights 12v 9 LEDS and only uses 55MA. We just order our 5 inch grade b foam from knox and a 3 inch memory foam topper from overstock.com.
Hope this might help.

Lee

[Dennis T]

Okanagan Traveland
S-92C-10 RR#4
Summerland, B.C. V0H1Z0
250-494-5077

I found this on the main site for Little Guy. http://www.teardroptrailersexpress.com/

There is also a doublewide but have not sean the specs yet?
Hope this helps.
Dennis

[campadk]

It appears that more than one canadian here has a us made teardrop. Whats the deal buying and geting one legally into canada?

things to do?

taxes insurance etc?

problems?

advice?

thanks as always,

chris k
Vancouver BC

Just saw your post now Chris after PMing you back.... I'll repost with a few more thoughts to these questions which might be helpful to other Canucks...

We picked up our tear in Niagara Falls NY then drove across the border and informed customs that we were importing the trailer. We filled out some paperwork at the border and paiod a small fee (less than $200) and payed PST on the Canadian amount of the sale. You need to ensure you have the ownership papers, sales receipt from the dealer and VIN number stamped on the trailer.

About a week later we received forms in the mail from.. darn I forget the department... I'll have to check with my wife. Anyways we took the forms and trailer to Canadian Tire (or any other authorized depo) to inspect and certify the trailer. They basically check that the it has stop and turn lights and looks road worthy. Once they signed approved the vehicle, we then went to vehicle licensing with our customs forms and certification and they gave us the trailer license and plate.

You have something like 15 days (should check exact number of days) to get your trailer cerified and trailer license once your back in Canada.
It should be pretty painless... for us is was not since the manufacturer had stamped the wrong VIN number on it. It took 3 days at Canadian Tire to satisfy them, and numerous faxes and recall notices to make them happy.. uugh.

We also ended up having our car wired for the flat 4 bin connector, but the trailer was the 6 pin barrel connector. We were forced to stay overnight in a hotel so we could get the car re-wired before heading back into Canada.

So you'll pay customs PST, get it certified at Canadian Tire (or equivalent), get licensed/pay the GST.

Our insurance agent (PAST insurance agent now) originally sold us insurance and it came classified as an RV and insured as a motor vehicle! They are very confused about what these trailers are so be sure they have had their morning coffee! The best thing to do is insure it under your house insurance, and I believe it is cheaper. I'll have to have my wife check what the amount was. Less that $150 if I'm not mistaken.

[campadk]

I understand you are buying a used "little guy" (?) Where did you find it ? I am trying to work out who is selling them in BC if at all.

I would certainly be interested in your experience with a car the size of a tracker.

Please keep me updated

thanks

chris k
Vancouver BC

Chris,

We managed to pull our Hunter (735lbs dry) plus gear (1090lbs loaded) without a problem with our previous 2.4L PT Cruiser (rated 1,000lbs). It was fine, but I wouldn't drive it in mountainous areas and it worked a bit on hills (shift down to 3rd). We also had 2 bikes and a canoe on 1/2 our trips which was pushing it. Most trips were about 3-4 hours one way. We traded the PT it in for a Jeep before we trash the tranny since we travel a load and have the bikes + canoe.

Is the tracker rated at 1,000lbs? If your staying on the flats you should be fine.

The Little Guy dry is 625lbs. Unless you really load it up, you shouldn't be much over 850lbs loaded.

Consider we added a tongue box and expanded the galley setup, so our real dry weight is about 760lbs, loaded came in at 1090lbs, so our gear weights about 330lbs which includes: 5gal water jug, 12V marine battery, stove, galley drawers full of cooking gear, bedding, understorage - clothing, tent poles, coats and front tongue box loaded with camp chairs, ropes, tarp, axe, 5lb propane tank.

Mucho info for a Monday morning! Hope some helps.

[chriskub]

Hey dave, thanks for the info.

some comfusion due to past posts.

I have toyota matrix 1.8 lit. towing capacity rated at 1500 lb.

I think the main problem with the little guy is length. Only about 6 ft or 190 cm. need more.

cheers

chris k