Introduction

And so it begins ...

It's called a Teardrop - a unique kind of camper, yet one that has been around for longer than those large, lumbering land yachts you see on interstates and in tourist towns. If you had brought up the subject of teardrop trailers with me a year ago, I would have raised an eyebrow and asked "What's a teardrop?"

Teardrop trailer photos posted from Tiny Yellow Teardrop blog

And after being shown this picture, I would probably look at its small size (like you're doing now) and say, "Cool ... so what do you put in it?" Would you believe among other things, two adults and a kitchen?

 

A little history ...

Teardrops tend to follow this layout - a mattress arranged lengthwise on the floor of the trailer, with a stepped divider that separates the kitchen area - accessed from a hatch in the rear - from the footwell of the cabin.

Teardrops got their start in the 1930s, first popping up in magazines like Mechanix Illustrated. Back then cars were limited on both towing power and storage, so teardrops provided for a sturdy enclosure to enjoy the great outdoors economically ... in something other than a tent. Do-It-Yourselfers with a love of getting out there soon found a connection in teardrop trailers.

Teardrops were fairly popular up to the 80s. Gas became cheaper and, not surprisingly, larger RVs started becoming more common. Having more of the comforts of home along for the ride was a big sales point.

Now, these little campers are making a comeback. Their low cost of ownership, aerodynamic shape and light weight make them easy to tow and 'fuel-efficient;' coming back to the roots of what made them popular to begin with.

Why I'm going to own one ...

This year I introduced my son to camping, and rediscovered the fun I had camping with my dad as a Boy Scout. I'm no longer a fan of camping on the ground, so I created a tent pad for my truck - just to keep us above all the critters:

The first trip was great. The weather was nice and cool, and both of us were hooked. Even though the experience was practically perfect, we were eyeing my sister's camper closely (on the left). While the tent was fun, it left something to be desired for creature comforts.

The second trip was for my son's birthday ... in the middle of summer ... in hot, humid South Carolina. Different tent camping experience completely! Thankfully, we were out with my sister's family again and the camper made for a great shelter from the heat and rain. My son and I now had a sense of what our next camping trip should be like. 

So I started looking for a camper. Spent hours on the internet, reading manufacturer's pages, poking around Craigslist, and educating myself as much as I could on the subject. I knew a trailer was the way to go, but had to consider its size. I live in a community, and parking campers outside is not allowed. I didn't want to have to pay to store it somewhere, so it had to be able to fit in my garage.

That pointed me towards pop ups. The price was in the neighborhood of sensibility, but this class is a little too much like a tent. I looked at the hard sided variety (e.g., HiLo trailers), but these were too expensive, even for used ones.

I then came across the teardrop trailer. Granted you give up a some amenities (and for some, this might be giving up a little too much), but it seemed like a good fit - especially when fitting into the garage. I thought I could even build one of these myself.

I dove in deep, starting with online build journals, blog sites and forums. Over two months of almost daily research helped me come to understand the possibilities. I came to the conclusion I shouldn't take on a full build by myself. Perhaps I could find someone who could get the majority of it done while I could put in the finishing touches. I had some grand ideas for it, but eventually whittled it down to a sensible list of what I wanted:

• As big as I could get it - while still getting it into my garage.
• Enough room for at least a full size mattress and a separate twin bunk
• Air conditioning
• AC Power (with means to add battery power later)
• Aluminum skinned
• Room for a porta-potty
• Ample storage and floorspace

I decided that given the custom design, I could do without the hatchback kitchen (called a galley).
With a teardrop you're going to end up cooking outside, so I didn't see a gain in doing it from the back of the trailer, as opposed to next to a fire or picnic table. Besides, a teardrop without the galley meant a sturdier frame and more interior space.

Finding a builder ...

There are a fair share of teardrop builders out there, and I looked at many sites and videos, but eventually found a fellow outside of Mt. Airy, NC. (Andy Griffith fans should know where that is!) He had posted some basic videos of his work on YouTube, and was offering to build custom teardrop trailers at very reasonable prices. Even though he has just a few projects under his belt, he impressed me with the quality of the builds, and included key features that I was looking for. His company is called Rustic Trail Teardrops.

While this one was too tall to fit in my garage, I thought a slightly shorter one would. The plan I had in mind would call for it to be a foot wider and longer too. A few emails and phone calls (including to the owner of the teardrop in the video) helped me decide to give Jonathan the project. I took a trip up to NC and met with him to finalize the specifics. The build is now on!

Blogging the build ...

Given the fun I had blogging my family's Great Tomato Race, I thought a blog on this effort should be enjoyable for anyone with either a passing curiosity or serious interest in teardrop trailers. Either way, please consider 'Following the Project' by submitting your email address through the link at the bottom of this site. You'll get fresh posts as I write them.

Why "Compass Rose"?

I came across a picture of a teardrop trailer that appeared to have a compass rose design on its side. Turns out it was just a watermark of the company's logo on the picture, but at first glance I saw it differently, and liked what I saw! 

Using Google Sketchup I created a 3D model of a compass rose. I positioned the 'camera' in the program to give me a cool perspective view of the model, then snapped a 2D picture of it. You can see it in the banner at the top of this blog. 

I plan to take that design to a sign company and have them create large, vinyl decals to put on the sides of the teardrop. This would be the same material used to create graphic designs on RVs, yet this will be truly one-of-a-kind!