Toad Campers

I have links to a couple of sites that have plans & examples of homebuilt trailers near the bottom of my Fiberglass Trailer Page.

slightsilver wrote:
Hi to the person who sent me a PM with two sites to check for information about construction of trailers. I'm not sure if there was a misdirect, but the first one sent me to a private email site and the second one sent me to a site that talks about boat construction. Maybe I did something wrong? I wondered if there might have been a typo on your end. If you have time to try again and let me know I would appreciate it. Thanks.

On the Glen-L website, click on "Online Catalogs" and go down to "RV Plans". And, you're welcome!

Yes, I saw the standie earlier today. The seller is in Indianapolis, and I will probably go through Indpls on my way from CA to NY in August. I doubt if it will still be on the market by then, but you never know. But that is pretty close to what I want.

Gypsy, if I recall you said you visited the Teardrops and Tiny Trailers forum. If so, do you look through the section at the end titled "Wanted or For Sale"? From time to time you'll see a standie teardrop and other very small trailers. There's a standie listed now for $3,200. It is eight feet long, six feet wide and tall enough to stand in,
Filon on the outside, blonde wood on the inside, 1800 lbs, electric brakes, two burner stove, sink, AC, colman extreme cooler...

There's also a Sunline Sunspot for sale on there. It's on the east coast.

Hi to the person who sent me a PM with two sites to check for information about construction of trailers. I'm not sure if there was a misdirect, but the first one sent me to a private email site and the second one sent me to a site that talks about boat construction. Maybe I did something wrong? I wondered if there might have been a typo on your end. If you have time to try again and let me know I would appreciate it. Thanks.

As suggested, I think the A-frame trailers would work good for you. They're pricey, but maybe you could find a good used one.

bakerkids, you are certainly right! I just looked at a 10 minute video of someone (actually a couple of people taking turns) setting up a tent camper. I can get my big tent set up faster. It's too bad because there are some nice ultra lite models. I'd love to have a Scamp or Casita but don't want to spend that much money, nor do I need all the amenities. Basically, I just want a place to sleep.

Gypsy, I would stay away from pop-ups unless you intend to stay put in one place for quite some time. The set up and tear down can be a hassle. Some of my friends, shorter women like myself, have a difficult time getting the door in place. If you have to tear down in the rain, things get wet, and you need to pop back up soon to let the fabric dry.

You might want to follow RV Sue's blog. It's a woman (in her 60s) and her dogs full-timing in a 17' Casita with full solar set-up. It's my favorite blog of all time!
She gives a ton of useful information.

Good luck on finding the trailer that's right for you!

gypsy1997 wrote:
I appreciate your reply to my questions. I have slowed down to 200-250 mile days when possible, although just traveling in a Highlander I can "do" 350 or more if I have to. I never drive over the speed limit and often below it. I pulled a 34' 5th wheel with a Ford 351 Diesel for a couple of years, but it was way more than I need now. I lived in it for 2 years. As for my travel preferences, I take the secondary roads where possible, and have driven a big part of the way across country on US12 as well as on US2. The worry I have with towing a lightweight camper with the Highlander is the mountain ranges I have to cross - the Sierra or Cascades; the Rockies; the Alleghenies; and the Appalachians.

I do have health issues, and while plenty of people my age and older travel all the time, I don't think my eyes are going to allow the kind of travel I like to do for many more years. I also have a number of other health issues, but rather than sit around worrying about them I want to just get up and go!

The Escape is more than I want or need. There is a Jayco Jay Series Sport, floorplan 8, tent trailer that would be perfect for me. I hope someone out there can tell me if it would be difficult for one person to set up and take down on their own. Also, the price quoted on the Jayco website is about $2k less than any local dealer. For the difference in price I would consider picking it up direct from the factory, if Jayco allows this.

Hey Gypsy,
Are you living in SD? I'm in MN, close to the Twin Cities. If you can give me a couple of weeks to get it moved and setup, I have a Cox popup in the back yard and you're welcome to take it for a long spin. I've pulled it with an Explorer and a Mazda truck (little too much for the Mazda). This is my second Cox popup and they are built well. I have an AC unit in this one and it will get cold enough to hang meat, lol. If you're interested, you can send me a PM and we can iron out the details.

BTW, the Cox is a snap to setup, there are two end panels that fold out for beds and two bows that swing up for the canvas. The entry door slides into place and you're camping.

The pop-up could be difficult. We are in our late 50's and ours is hassle and we hope to get something else but it is a larger one. Have you considered something like the small Aliner? You might want to look at that and Forest River is making one and they call it a hard-sided pop-up. Something else to look at, which is one of my favorites, is the Leesurelite which is a motorcycle trailer or for very small cars and their website has a video of how it goes up and while a little work, I would think the ease of putting it up and towing it along would make it worth the extra work not to mention the savings on gasoline!