What teardrop to buy?? Or is that what we want?

My cousin is looking into getting this one: Tab. But I'm not sure it would accommodate your DH's height.

SoundGuy wrote:

NYCgrrl wrote:
We oh and ah at 5th wheels and motorhomes but aren't interested in towing, paying or remaining in the same lifestyle we could have in our stick and brick home.

We came to our final choice via the process of elimination: thinking about the difference between our wants and needs and it's an Alto R series.

Interesting perspective considering a Safari Alto isn't exactly inexpensive, starting at ~ $30,000 Cdn, and is certainly well beyond the OP's stated budget. :h It's also as similarly upscale as an Airstream (as reflected in it's price) and with clever design very much does try to emulate many of the amenities one might have in their stick 'n brick. Some would look at an Alto as glamping at it's finest but I suspect this isn't what the OP is looking for. ;)

I think that's the point. What one ends up with may be completely different than what one started out wanting. Especially with small trailers, one has to be open to all the options to find the best choice.

Our POPUP is equipped with the cassette pottie and it is really convenient to have.. Has a 6-gallon capacity and is very easy to pull out and tote to any localized bath room place or the typical primitive deep vault toilet. You can easily just pour the contents down the toilet.

Sometime when camping way back off the road we can dig a deep hole and pour down it.

We may just be lucky but in all of our off-road camping since 2008 when we got our OFF-RoAD POPUP trailer we have always found a source of fresh water. We carry two 5-gallon jeri-can water totes and will watch when we are going into the off-road areas for good source of fresh water. Then we just plan on coming back to this place to replinish our water source when needed... Our trailer holds 36 gallons of fresh water and has no other tanks on-board.

We use our a 2KW Honda Generator that lives secured in the tail gate corner of of our truck under a folding hard plastic bed cover. Our battery bank is large enough to run all we want to run using AN Inverter for the 120VAC items we have and direct connected to the battery bank for the 12VDC items. This was planned out to last the one day/night run off the batteries and reduce the battery charge to around it 50% charge state by 8AM the next morning. This is around 12.0VDC charge state. Then we connect the trailer up directly to the 120VAC receptacle of the 2KW generator using one of those 30A-15A long ADAPTERS (WALMART). This will power up our on-bard smart mode 60A converter/charger to recharge our battery bank back up to its 90% charge state in just three hours of generator run time. Most places we go to seems to have generator run time restrictions in place so we need to get re-charged as quick as possible using the generator which is the three hours run time. I am thinking of adding some so;ar panels now that we learned what we can live with which should reuce my generator run time down to only one hour. Then the high sun can finish the battery bank charge to the 90% charge state before we lose high sun. Having the generator around is a must have item for as it will work rain or shine where the solar panels have to be in high sun to work.

We do rather well going simple with things... I totally understand the RV TRAVELERS verses the RV CAMPERS. Our family gets together usually in the SEP/OCT time at Myrtle Beach and three of them have the big RV setups... Its what you can afford and want to do. Those big rigs do require a rather DEEP POCKET to stay afloat. My only expense is new tires when I need them and Tags/Inspections/Insurance and minor maintenance. I can even afford the fuel costs compared to their $150 to $200 everytime they stop every 6-8 hours... But they can afoord it or they wouln'd have it that way... So everything works out well...

When we all show up at Myrtle Beach RV Resort thing the big rig guys are beatup pretty bad from the long road trips... We travel almost the same distance and are fresh as can be haha...

I'm glad they have the big rigs however as it has much more comforts of home than my OFF-ROAD TRAVEL setup has...

Roy Ken

Also check out Forest River R-Pod. Small, light and solid walls.

Definitely check out T@B trailers.

http://www.tab-rv.com/

-Alan

Also check the Escape, Riverside Retro, and Camplite Ultra Lightweight.

There are options out there, but 3500 is tight even then. As NYCgrrl illustrates, these small trailers really cater to the "outside as much as possible" lifestyle. Also, some are electric only - meaning you have to have hookups or use a generator and/or a large battery bank.

NYCgrrl wrote:
We oh and ah at 5th wheels and motorhomes but aren't interested in towing, paying or remaining in the same lifestyle we could have in our stick and brick home.

We came to our final choice via the process of elimination: thinking about the difference between our wants and needs and it's an Alto R series.

Interesting perspective considering a Safari Alto isn't exactly inexpensive, starting at ~ $30,000 Cdn, and is certainly well beyond the OP's stated budget. :h It's also as similarly upscale as an Airstream (as reflected in it's price) and with clever design very much does try to emulate many of the amenities one might have in their stick 'n brick. Some would look at an Alto as glamping at it's finest but I suspect this isn't what the OP is looking for. ;)

NYCgrrl: We have just discovered Scamp and Casita today, along with the egg camper. These seem closer to what we want in terms of bath/toilet facilities and size for storage purposes. We're in NC so yes, seeing the first two are more common to the west of us. Will check out the brands you mention- R-Pod, Aerolite, and the Alto R-series as I have not encountered them yet. Will let you know what I find. Thanks!

SoundGuy wrote:
This just my opinion and one others may disagree with but I think of extra small trailers like the teardrops not as trailers for newbies but for those who've already been there, done that and clearly understand not only the advantages in owning such a small trailer but also the very real disadvantages.

For newbies like yourselves I suspect that although you may initially be attracted to these lightweight trailers you'd quickly find this size of trailer awfully restrictive and have you wishing for a more conventional style of travel trailer, something 19' or longer. The problem there of course is your tow vehicle which really isn't suitable for towing anything this size, so bottom line I don't really have an answer for you other than to say be awfully careful if you do decide to proceed with this teardrop idea.

Agreed completely for the first paragraph.
We want a smaller TT and my search began with vintage teardrops and have now settled on a modified 21st century version.

We are looking for a different lifestyle with less mundane worries, the want to cook and entertain out of doors predominately, and enough sleeping space for basically 2 of us although the ability to add in a grand could be good until she wants to sleep in a tent of her own anddddddddddd that 'tude has already begun;). We rarely spend much time in our tents past sleeping and can't imagine how that will change once the novelty wears off in an RV. We oh and ah at 5th wheels and motorhomes but aren't interested in towing, paying or remaining in the same lifestyle we could have in our stick and brick home.

Saw a cute lil R-Pod with slide this summer in our travels and had the opportunity to step in and chat with the owners. We enjoy seeing RVs in use over RV shows. We've found that most owners are happy to tell you the advantages and disadvantages of their unit over a cold beverage. The R-Pod series are prolly a good possibility for your price range. Also a small version made by Aerolite that actually perked the overall interest in RVs for the man.

We came to our final choice via the process of elimination: thinking about the difference between our wants and needs and it's an Alto R series.

West of the Mississippi? Take a look at the Casita, A-Liner and Scamp lines. More apt to find them in that region of the country.

Can't say anything about the towing capabilities of your Wrangler since we are doing this backwards: pick TT then towing vehicle. Not much use for owning a car in NYC so we'll be buying one special for the need.

downtheroad wrote:

Good advice here...I agree.
I suggest you look at pop-up (tent trailer).
We camped in one for years and it served us well...and would tow nicely behind your Jeep Wrangler.

agree on the pop-up, especially if you want to stick with your wrangler. DW and I bought a pop-up to pull behind our liberty. I do have to downshift going up long hills, but otherwise can keep highway speeds. We have a slide out dinette which gives us plenty of inside space. Yes, the portapotty only has a curtain, and no internal shower, but a tent has neither.