Is a teardrop right for us?

fireball

Explorer
No real interest in an external tent or annex room setup. The point of the TD is to make setup and teardown as quick as possible! We want to be able to travel and cover a good bit of ground next summer. The setup above with a hard shell RTT will be awesome....2' setup time! All the bedding can stay in the TD for us and the RTT for the kids. No worries with arriving to camp after dark, and should be able to spend a few nights at Walmart or Cracker Barrel parking lots if needed.

I'm just wondering if a 5x10 cabin is going to be a bit too unwieldy on the trails....
 

Yulli

Yulli the Yeti
Leave the dog in the truck? I know a few guys that had RTT and left their dog in the rig.

Tough decision.
 

dcoy

Adventurer
The AT teardrop is a SoCal except for the frame and suspension. SoCal supplies most of the AT stuff except frame and suspension. Doing a frame from AT is a good idea though if you can find a cabin builder who isn't as expensive as AT or SoCal.

FYI, the AT folks at Overland Expo told me this is no longer the case. They have a local (AZ) subcontractor building the teardrop box.
 

Yulli

Yulli the Yeti
FYI, the AT folks at Overland Expo told me this is no longer the case. They have a local (AZ) subcontractor building the teardrop box.

SoCal still provides them most of the materials I believe. In the end, they're still pretty similar. Just some options are different. There's another distributor that's in Northern CA and SoCal sends them all their materials up there and the final build is completed.

They send their kits to Canyon County Teardrops in AZ. I dunno if AT builds the frame and gives it to Canyon County or what. Either way they're both pretty similar. I know the AT is just priced a little more with the different suspension set up. They are pretty close in price with all the other options.
 
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luk4mud

Explorer
This is some really nice work you are doing. Way beyond my skill set. Look forward to seeing to progress as time and money allow.
 

yj-hank

Observer
Fireball did you get rid of your bronco? I followed your thread on Classicbroncos.com . It was very nice.

Hank
 

fireball

Explorer
@rubicon08 - the wife wants the dog with her, so we either build a TD big enough to fit the 3 of us, or I'll be the one sleeping in the car! :)

@luk4mud - thanks for the kudos. It's fun planning it all out. Still trying to work out details with AT. There's also a TD enthusiast gathering 2 weekends from now closeby that we'll be attending. Not off road specific, but will give us a chance to poke around a few other units and speak to folks about how they use their trailers and come up with a few more ideas.

@yj-hank - yes we ended up selling the Bronco. Sad to see it go but honestly we just didn't use it that much. It turned out too nice! Garage queen ice cream getter and soccer practice shuttle... We had a pretty successful 17 day trip out west this summer that has paved the way for a 6-8 week (or 2x 3-4 week) trip next summer. Hopefully the TD will make that experience a bit more fun. And the old '98 Buick Century that is my DD will have to suffice for ice cream and soccer runs.

Any other thoughts on how successful I'll be towing a 84"Wx174"L trailer down the Rubicon next summer?! (just kidding, not taking it down the rubicon, but don't want to limit ourselves either)
 

fireball

Explorer
Have been working with AT to figure out the size of the chassis. Looks like total length would be ~193". 120" cabin, ~19" of storage space b/w the front of the cabin and the tongue box, then tongue box and then 18" extension before the max coupler.

I've moved the stove to the first shelf just below the c-top. It will be at about 41"H, which is probably just a touch higher than ideal but not terrible. The drop down table on the driver side of the cabin will be at ~42-44" depending on the height of the air bag suspension. For longer stops where we are camped for a night or two I can drop the bags all the way down so the trailer is as low as possible. I should be able to tuck a 5# propane bottle on the driver side as well.

Because of the axle and fender placement, the cabin doors aren't quite as far back as I'd like. Ideally these would be at about the midpoint of the bed, this would make getting in and out of bed easier, and likely allow for access to the footwell cabinetry without climbing the whole way into the cabin.

I'm still debating on where or not to go with the integrated 19 gal water tank in the frame.

@rubicon08 - pretty sure this design has plenty of room for me, the wife and the dog! A full queen size bed (60"Wx80"L) plus a 37"Wx22"Dx30"H area for the dog at the foot of my wife's side of the bed.

Any other thoughts opinions or ideas are greatly welcomed!!!

ben TD DF quarter 3.jpg

ben TD - DR quarter2.jpg
 

grogie

Like to Camp
That is a neat design, and long after the kids are gone I can see you and your wife using that for years. Now that's living the dream... :)
 

Septu

Explorer
Here are the teardrop questions:

1. How is sleeping in the TD with a RTT above? Wife and I would be below, kids up top.
2. Can the TD still have a power vent to circulate the air with the RTT above?
3. Height and size - I'm 6'2", wife is 5'6" and dog is big! Would a 4.5x9' be sufficient (i.e. the Krawler 459) or do we need bigger? One thing I've seen on some models is the galley door and potential attached awning might be a bit low for the tall guys?
4. Last question for now...the idealization of the teardrop is that you've got it loaded up and ready to go, all you need to do is fill the cooler and hook it up and you're ready to go at a moments notice. Is this the REALITY for those that own it? No more dragging the camp gear down out of the attic, no more worrying about getting to camp after dark and setting up in the dark, etc.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Can only comment on the last 2 questions.

3. Having a tent that's 4.5 wide (James Baroud) and a TD that's 5 wide, there's a noticeable difference in space between the two. Not unmanageable, and likely more useable than my RTT due to the hard sides... but that extra 6 inches seems like a lot more in the TD. I couldn't imagine 2 ppl and a mid size (or bigger) dog inside my RTT.

4. Yes and no. It really depends on how much stuff you're setting up. I have 2 trailers, and while each is fairly quick to take down, they both have different advantages. My biggest issue with my TD is storage, and the fact that the kitchen in mine isn't setup (it's just a counter, and I don't have it setup yet). This has always been my biggest time consumer for the setup/take down with my setup(s). But the moment I don't have to worry about cooking, it's great for those 1 night stops. With multiple ppl, your take down/set up time should be fairly fast - especially if the kids are able to chip in (and if their in a RTT I would assume yes).

I spent a week in Alaska this summer with my TD, and spent a week with my m101/ RTT in BC. I truly love both... and both have their advantages. And other than my kitchen setup that's a PITA, it truly is park and camp, or wake up and leave.
 

Septu

Explorer
I'm just wondering if a 5x10 cabin is going to be a bit too unwieldy on the trails....

All depends on the trails. I hauled my m101 over a very very tight trail couple weeks ago... but wouldn't really consider hauling my Little Guy over anything more challenging than a dirt road... unless I knew the trail before hand. Just too wide, and too tongue heavy to mange it by hand if need be.

And honestly... while the idea of being able to haul my trailer (either one) anywhere with me is appealing... it's stressful as **** with it behind you on anything harder than a gravel road. You go a lot slower than you would without it, and over any technical stuff it's hard, and stressful. I wouldn't have taken my trailer down the Telwka pass if I'd been alone (I still wouldn't). And that's a trailer I can hand balm around fairly easily.
 

grogie

Like to Camp
And honestly... while the idea of being able to haul my trailer (either one) anywhere with me is appealing... it's stressful as **** with it behind you on anything harder than a gravel road. You go a lot slower than you would without it, and over any technical stuff it's hard, and stressful. I wouldn't have taken my trailer down the Telwka pass if I'd been alone (I still wouldn't). And that's a trailer I can hand balm around fairly easily.

Completely agree. My trailer is new to me, but I've been on plenty of Jeep trails I'd never consider towing even an off-road built trailer on. The stress wouldn't make it enjoyable.
 

fireball

Explorer
Septu - thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. What size is your Little Guy? I see your sig line says 5'...what is the length? And is that 5' body plus ~12"w tires so total fender to fender width of ~84"?

I'd likely rate myself an intermediate off road driver, certainly not an expert! So would be very nervous of towing the truck and trailer down anything too tight or technical. And have no experience towing an off road trailer down technical terrain. It's a lot of time, money and gear to muck something up! So this goes back to my original debate of where all I'd like to be able to take it, and then selecting a trailer that will make it down those trails.

With a nice RTT and a galley as designed/shown above, I believe our setup/tear down time would be super low! That part alone would make us super happy campers, and allow us a lot more freedom to plan our travel days/stops accordingly.
 

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