Outdoor Adventure USA

Early checkin.

Robert, VK2DY, in Kellyville Ridge, NSW (metro Sydney).

Please check me in for tonight's net. Thanks
KI7SDI

Jim

General Teardrop Trailer Observations

I had been wanting to get a teardrop trailer for several years and often checked out eBay, Craig's list, and other web sites. One day the planets aligned where I had the funds and a teardrop turn up for sale in Arcadia. It was a vintage 1947 Kit teardrop that had been carefully restored by a graphic artist. I wasn't particularly looking for a vintage teardrop but it suited my intended use for towing with my PT Cruiser and it will eventually fit in well being towed by my 1946 Hudson Club Coupe.




While not an off road trailer by any means I can make some comments about using a teardrop trailer in general.

Likes

• Solid structure - I've been out a couple of times in very strong wind storms where people's tents were being blown down and those outside were thoroughly miserable. I was very comfortable inside my snug teardrop listening to the wind outside being very grateful that I wasn't in a tent. I've also ridden out rain storms in the teardrop and comfortably watched movies on my computer until it was over.

• Light weight - The '47 Kit weighs about 700 bs. I primarily towed it with an '02 PT Cruiser 5 speed which it handled very easily. I've also towed it with an '04 Ford Focus, '04 Toyota Tacoma standard cab 4X4 and my '72 Pinzgauer 710M. Behind the Tacoma or Pinzgauer you can't even feel that it's there. They are both 4 cylinders and not overly powerful. Also, it's light enough that I can easily unhitch it from the tow vehicle and move it around camp by hand if it fairly level. Hitching it up is also no problem because you can lift up the tongue and drag the trailer over to the tow vehicle.

• Comfortable Mattress - When tent camping I tried all kinds of different mattresses and never found one that was truly comfortable. In the teardrop I use a twin size mattress topper from Ikea which I've found to be very comfortable and better yet agrees with my bad back. It's only about 4" thick but provides enough support to not feel like it's bottoming out. The '47 Kit is a classic teardrop design based on a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood as a base. The sleeping area is just long enough to squeeze a standard size twin mattress inside. There is about a 9" gap on one side which makes a great space for storing luggage. If you want a full size mattress then one of the 5' wide teardrops would be a better choice.

• Rear Kitchen - This is a classic teardrop trailer design with a large rear hatch that open up exposing a built-in kitchen. It's very handy having a ready to go kitchen area and not needing to use up space on your dining or camp ground picnic table for your stove and food preparation. The '47 Kit also has a built-in ice chest. Mine doesn't keep ice very well so I generally use it for storage but if I find that I use the trailer more when I retire I will likely convert it into a refrigerator using one of the Engel plate cooler kits.

Dislikes

• Small Interior Space - The trade off a small trailer is small interior space. It took awhile to get over a feeling of claustrophobia when sleeping in the teardrop. I found that if I was feeling closed in I'd just reach up with my arms and realize that I couldn't touch the top and would be OK. This lasted maybe the first half dozen times I took it out. Now I feel perfectly comfortable in the teardrop. You also need to be a contortionist to get dressed in it since the best you can do is sit up in bed and your legs partially extend under the rear kitchen area.

• Keeping the interior clean - The whole floor inside the teardrop is your bed. One of my comfort criteria when camping is to keep dirt out of my bedding. As hard as I try it seems that I always end up with some dirt inside the trailer. To avoid getting dirt inside the main thing to do is to sit in the doorway and remove your shoes before you get in. I generally leave my shoes outside and slide them under the trailer where I can reach them the next morning.

• The Cooking Area Hatch - This probably isn't an issue with modern off road teardrops but the rear hatch on my Kit does not open far enough for me to stand under with out crouching down or ducking my head little bit while working in the back. I'm 5' 11" and could use another couple of inches of clearance on the hatch.

This is KM6OJB, please check me in
Thanks Joe

Good evening to the Net.
Please check me in early.
Pablo
KN6BOZ

Thanks for early check in KF6KOC Randy and KF6RGR Becky.

Check in please - Thanks - Bernie

Checkin please!

Jack M KK6WXQ
Kevin P KK6DGL
John D KM6FXI

Thank you !!

Early check in

W6RIP

Kevin

73