How did you get into teardrop trailers?

Rocket_Man

I'm curious how others got interested in the small teardrop trailers and why you picked the trailer you have? I have seen these trailers out on the highway and in campgrounds and have always been fascinated by their small, compact size. What created your interest and why do you like the T@G trailers or your current trailer? I'm an avid camper and would like some pointers as we are considering stepping up and getting into one of these units?

Thanks!

BBsGarage

For us, we were at a gas station on the NY Thruway and a guy with our same car and a Silver Shadow pulled up next to us. We started talking to him about it and he opened it all up and showed us around. We have camped in tents, pop-ups and class C campers and were most recently back to a tent out of necessity. Not enjoying the ground or packing/unpacking we were looking for a solution.
Since we spent very little time actually inside of the campers we have had, we knew that the small trailer was a perfect fit for us. Gets us off the ground and protected from the weather when we sleep, can carry most of the gear which reduces the packing and unpacking and it just looks way cool.
It was a little over a year from first seeing the SS at the gas station when we bought out Max XL. The wife liked the dark wood over the light of the SS and the slightly taller roof line. I knew we needed the XL for the additional foot of interior, doesnt sound like much but it is a world of difference to us.

SueBHunny

We attend a lot of music festivals and spent a lot of time in tents. We graduated from the ground to air mattresses and then cots. But a tropical storm came through a festival we attended last year and our tent leaked. We're middle aged and just knew it was time for an RV. But we wanted something easy to manage. We needed a dry bed and an air conditioner. A kitchen was a bonus. But most importantly, we needed to be able to tow it with our 2004 Subaru Forester. After a ton of research I knew the T@G was perfect. I found a used 2015 T@G and bought it in February. This year it took us to 8 different music festivals in 5 different states. No regrets. But someday when I can afford a bigger Subaru I'd like to upgrade to the T@B Outback. Someday. For now the T@G is perfect.

LuckyJ

Began my yound adventure /travel life with a small bikepacking hikking tent. Always like the light stuff. Got a bigger tent, still 2 person, but with vestibule that would help for gears and bags. Never really like rv trailers or RV. When I got into ambulance/paramedic work, tought I would purchase a used ambulance from my boss, cause I knew how they would have been driven and the past history on it, but then realized that this would be one more vehicule to maintaine, register and insure. Was not that cool anymore. So decided to purchase a RTT to install on an offroad oriented utility trailer. I still own that set up and will keep it but a bit on the large side to pull behind the jeep cause almost half empty all the time. Got to a point when GF was not really happy about end of day set-up time on tent, cooking set-up and eating set-up and tearing it all up in the morning. We have a tendency to move every day. (We are more into adventuring and travel than seting up at a camp site for a week.

Here come the T@G max outback. Easy to pull on the back roads, highways and even inside town and cities. Easy and quick set-up, confo for two adult and an 85 lbs dog, easy in and out.

Just love it, but still some mods to do to realy fit our needs. Among then, mod traile thong, rear 2" hitch for bike rack and recovery pojnt and probably air bag suspension next spring.

And yep, I am still thinking about keeping the rtt-offraod setup for more hard core adventures.

ontheroad

don't even remember how/ where I saw a "T@G", but when I saw the "T@G "...I fell in love...sorry honey...but when The "T@G MAX XL" came out...we knew this was a perfect match for us, although I wasn't sure of the microwave....we love every square inch of her...including the microwave...

StellaMaris

I've always loved tent camping, but saw my first teardrop (a homemade one), while camping with friends at Sun n' Fun in Florida. Saw a MyPod a few years later and fell in love. Had my "Lil' Cockaboose" for a little over a year, but it was just too small for two adults and four dogs! I've always loved the look of T@Gs, which I saw when I ordered the MyPod, and when they came out with the XL, I knew it was the camper for me! I've only had StellaM@ris for about two months now, but so far I've had two actual camping trips, and spent three days holed up in my garage during Hurricane Irma. Hooked Stella up to a generator, and although my neigborhood was without lights, I had AC, lights, television and a microwave! Three more trips planned in the next few weeks. She is just perfect!

Michigan_Mike

@StellaMaris said:
II've only had StellaM@ris for about two months now, but so far I've had two actual camping trips, and spent three days holed up in my garage during Hurricane Irma. Hooked Stella up to a generator, and although my neigborhood was without lights, I had AC, lights, television and a microwave! Three more trips planned in the next few weeks. She is just perfect!

I've done the same thing during power outages here in Michigan and people are amazed at just how versatile these trailers are. Glad you survived Irma!

StellaMaris

@Michigan_Mike said:

I've done the same thing during power outages here in Michigan and people are amazed at just how versatile these trailers are. Glad you survived Irma!

Thanks, Mike! So am I! Nothing here in South Carolina like what Florida had to endure, but we did have lots of limbs down. StellaM@ris was safe in the garage however. We have a camping trip planned for Upstate SC next weekend, then StellaM@ris will be our tailgate headquarters at a local polo match! Our T@G wears many hats!

Dan_Ann

I first saw a T@B and T@G at Albert E. Sleeper State Park near Caseville, MI. My wife has tent camped for years for 1-2 weeks at a time. I am fairly new to camping so the idea of a small camper that is easy to tow behind a car or SUV appealed to me. A large trailer never really appealed to me. It may be easier to get in and out, but it also lends itself to being more tempted to stay indoors more. They seemed to be too much, too big, and too hard to store. I have not been in many large campers, but I did not think some of the materials used were not a durable as they could be for the price. However, recently we have found ourselves in several unexpected severe weather situations with torrential rain fall, thunderstorms lasting up to 5 hours with heavy winds, dropping limbs and trees, and flooding. Not the most secure feeling. After such an event, clean up of the tarps, tent, etc... took 3-4x the amount of time to pack up than if it were dry; also, for me anyway, setting up in the rain in not always the most fun experience. Just tent camping lends itself to being in damp environment anyway from condensation. This year we were motivated to try something else. We looked at custom built options and then we saw the T@G. The materials used and features available, for the price point, was important for me. A fairly simple set-up/ breakdown, with the addition of a simple canopy seemed more welcoming.

Cccjim

My wife and I only wanted a bed on wheels to avoid hotel cost and have the peace of mind of cleanliness. It is the cost of a hotel that for us, was the most restricting to being gone as long as we wanted. "Sparky", our teardrop is the answer. Though we are evolving, we really aren't campers and until now our idea of "roughing it" or primitive was a Motel 6. Love the freedom from expensive hotel costs that Sparky brings and the ability to be gone as long as we want!

Michigan_Mike

The smaller trailers do allow you to get into areas where the big guys can't go. They are also affordable for many and when I saw my first Little Guy I was intrigued by them and bought my first trailer a 4-wide sight unseen after driving all night from Michigan to Buchanan, VA to buy it from a trailer dealer.

I like the freedom they afford, you can pull off anywhere you want, take a nap when tired or have lunch. And true, with the composite materials used for the T@G units they do last longer and with less issues than the wood floor trailers, etc. No bed bugs to worry about either!

WilliamA

Keeping with my life mantra of doing things the hardest way, I've come about my camper through several iterations:

My first RV experience was in one my dad built from a 1952 International school bus. We packed the family in and went all over the place (at 45 mph) in this thing when I was a kid. I was hooked.

I built this on myself after getting out of the army. It worked fantastic. Lost it in one of my divorces. I'm great with tools. Not so much with people...

For my 4th RV, I downsized a bit. Did tons of low-budget traveling with this rig. I had to give up cycling due to medical concerns. Sigh.....

Current rig. It's small, but civilized and lets me get into places I probably shouldn't be.

There was a factory 24 foot 5th wheel in there somewhere but, while I lived in it for a year, I didn't really like it. I'm happy with the current compromise of small/big.

WilliamA

Texas_Dave

We've been hiking and sleeping in tents up until we got our t@g. We were shopping around and found an Aliner down in Round Rock, Tx and went down to take a look. After sitting in it and looking around at the Aliner I just wasn't happy with the build quality. I had no intention of buying a teardrop until we got a close look at the t@g outback. It seemed to fit our needs to a Tee. We like traveling/roaming and are well adapted to either boon docking or spending time at the rv parks. For now, the t@g fits the bill just fine but I think in about 5-7 years we'll want a built in bathroom and a bigger tow vehicle but we'll see.

TomD

As far as quality i’m Very happy with my 2015 LG Silver Shadow produced by the late Little Guy Worldwide. There was an Amish feel throughout the unit.

Verna

@TomD, actually, your Silver Shadow was manufactured by Pleasant Valley Teardrop Trailers (now known as nüCamp RV). Look at your VIN tag on the left side of the tongue, which will show you the manufacturer.

Little Guy Worldwide was only the marketing company, with no hand in the actual manufacturing or production process.

Due to a change in both company’s directions in the marketplace, nüCamp and Little Guy Worldwide parted ways on April 1, 2017. nüCamp now has their own in-house marketing. LGWW has since changed their name, also, and they are now the marketing firm for other manufacturers.

ericmooreco

Hi Verna,

I saw Verna's t@b on the cover of koa magazine, and read the article in the magazine about little guy, then was able to convinced my wife in allowing me to purchase the t@g as it fits in the garage. I been wanting a camper for some time.

Verna

Actually, @ericmooreco, that really wasn’t my T@B, but it has the same colors! I still miss the simplicity of my SS, but I sure love my bathroom and shower in the T@B

TomD

Thanks Verna..appreciate the correction. I do know that Pleasant Valley manufactured my SS but thought their construction folks were from Amish country. Still fine construction anyway. As a side note, I did get an Amish cracker basket with my SS as others have and I know the history of that and why. Also, I’m familiar with the Liberty Outdoor and NuCamp stuff that took place last year. Seems to still be a little tense.

Verna

@TomD, yes, the nüCamp factory has mostly Amish and Mennonite employees, keeping the quality of the T@B’s, T@G’s and Cirrus truck campers near the top of all in the industry.

TomD

Ahhh. I knew there was an Amish connection with my 2015 SS. The name change from (Little Guy/ Pleasant Valley) to NuCamp seems to be a nothing-burger as regards my SS and the quality of feel. Thanks Verna!

Verna

You’re very welcome, @TomD. We’re in good hands with the nüCamp factory.

BobR

I got interested in teardrops in 1999 because I was tired of sleeping on desert rocks while camping with friends and coworkers in the Mojave Desert. I was actually looking for plans to build a camper for my Nissan truck when I ran across a teardrop website. 24 hours later I was ordering metal and an axle to start construction. Photos below of my project. This tear was given to our youngest son in 2005 when we upgraded to a full size travel trailer. Fast forward to fall of 2017 when we sold the big rig and diesel truck, bought a new T@G Outback and Jeep Rubicon. I am thrilled to be back in the teardrop community!

LuckyJ

@BobR wow, this is really nice craftmanship! You must have been very angry.... When he sold it under your nose!

Hope you like your T@G!

Again, welcome abord !

[Deleted User]

You did a beautiful job on the trailer Bob. Congrats on your new purchase. We are also moving from a full size TT to an Outback. I know I'm going to miss the bathroom but there are more plusses on our checklist for downsizing. Looking forward to new adventures.

So many reasons for choosing small, but it's mostly about getting into placers we want to be. Having a larger trailer can make that difficult. Having bad knees...it's much easier to sit and rotate than climb up stairs multiple times. The benefit of the garage parking, and they are just darn cute! I love the idea of simplicity, the outdoor kitchen, and a cozy fort to hunker down in for the night ;-)

lost_in_the_woods

Courted my wife in a ‘61 VW Westy. Have traveled so many ways all over and about. At 70 thought we’d try a teardrop so bought a t@g xl boondock at canoecopia early this month.

OutdoorEd

I'm a nearly lifelong tent camper and have been an avid backpacker for 40 years. My wife loves everything about car camping except the part about sleeping in a tent. We're dedicated outdoors folk and so we didn't want an indoor galley, dining or seating areas. So, the T@G's bedroom-on-wheels design checked all the boxes for us. Plus, it's adorable! It's perfect for our singletrack mtn biking trips and music festivals.

BarbaraLynn

We were also tent campers for a long time; while we were pretty good at it, our arthritis kind of made the decision for us.

We liked our TV, and plan on keeping it for as long as she wants to take us on our different adventures, so we had to get a camper that she could tow--we looked at (at that time) Little Guy trailers for a few years, and finally decided to go with it.

Tag75605

A relative purchased a teardrop. I looked it over and liked it. I didn’t want to make an impulse purchase and I kept trying to think of reasons not to blow money on a travel trailer. I waited two years. I retired and suddenly I had a lot of time in my hands. I purchased a new T@g and haven’t looked back. I’m just as happy with it as I was the day I bought it.

drsukie

^^ I bought mine in May. I live and work remotely in a 32 ft Class A, and rarely took it out any longer because of the hassle in the breakdown/setup x2 for a short trip - and gas costs even before current pricing. I used to backpack and hike a lot, so this is perfect. It really is like "glam tent camping" and my dogs, after the first trip that was a cluster, now LOVE it. Enjoy!