SoCal Teardrops Krawler 459 - Enhancements

adventureduo

Dave Druck [KI6LBB]
As all of you guys know, we've owned a Sportsmobile, AT Horizon and now are tooling around in a cool Expedition Sprinter built by Mike Hiscox on this board. But we always come back to our Teardrop and it never fails us for it's simplicity, it's capability and its somewhat sophisticated amenities for an off road trailer. It's like the best of both worlds.

Well, our SoCal Teardrop Krawler 459 just got even better. So i figured i'd start a thread on it covering what we have added, what's newly available to all you guys and what we're going to be working on in the future with it.

UNDER FLOOR STORAGE

For a while now we've oogled the options that SCT has to offer. Being that we snatched up the test unit shortly after falling in love with it, ours did not have this option. After the dust settled and we made some arrangements with the guys over at SCT it was rolled in and accomplished. Now this is the first of their trailers to ever get a Retrofit floor storage option. All the trailers before were built to order with it or without it. So, i have great news, if you have an existing trailer, you now can take your trailer back and order this option.

The install a new split mattress.
img3277i.jpg

It folds up and out of the way so that you can gain access to the floor storage area.
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The storage bays are made from crafted birch with tig welded aluminum boxes. They're truly a work of art as with the rest of the trailer. Not just some off the shelf items they welded into the underside.
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The under floor storage area makes for a great place to keep blankets, cold weather gear, emergency gear you may not always need or even a place to stow away valuables.
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People have asked and i certainly can understand. "But how far do they hang down"
The answer is easy. About the size of your pinky finger.
img3349o.jpg

So if you were to ********** them on a rock or a boulder someway or somehow, it wouldn't be much of a problem as the frame is right there. Secondly, you could replace them fairly easily by unscrewing them and ordering a new "tin". If you weren't really picky, you could grab a large rubber mallet and beat it back into shape.

Here's a small animated gif that shows just how simple it is to access the Under Floor Storage.
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While SCT was in the area, we had them put in this great tie down lock track. It works great for securing bulky items on top of the mattress in transit like camp chairs or rolled up tables. This way, when the rough gets going you don't knock out a window or worse, damage the beautiful birch wood interior. This is also an option for their trailers and can also be retrofitted at any point after you take delivery.

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adventureduo

Dave Druck [KI6LBB]
HANNIBAL USA 1.9MM AWNING AND ROOM EXTENSION

So we love our Fiamma awning, don't get me wrong. But there's something to be said for an area that you can enter to eat, change, do your business or what have you. And the biggest thing for us was the part of waking up in the morning, popping open the door and being on display for the entire world to see. So we decided to pair up with Hannibal and see if we could accomplish the first ever Hannibal USA awning w/room extension on an overland trailer (as far as ive seen in the states at least).

The problem as many of us were seeing it was the way the Hannibal awnings mount. They're kind of their own beast. They use a c-clamp type mount that needs to fit snugly against the same size side rail of a rack or load bar. The other thing is, whatever you mount it to, it better be stout.

Gabe Pari from SCT was up to the task. This had been a long time idea of his to make it work. I personally thinks he gets a kick out of figuring out such things, but thats another subject all together. Anyhow, so with the very generous sponsorship from Chris Dickerson of HannibalUSA to the AdventureDuo family, the awning and room extension made its way down from Nevada to California. Then the fun began.

This is what he came up and im quite pleased. Its stout and lightweight and im telling you, at 250lbs, i'm pretty much certain i could do a couple chin ups on it without it failing.
img3338x.jpg


It's based off their hand fabbed aluminum load bars. Yep, not Thule, not Yakima. They're own.
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So the now the awning was mounted, but how well would it work?

The awning deployed at SCT in Upland Ca. Can be deployed even faster than our Fiamma did. The trailer can be turned if need be for shade if so is desired due to not having any legs or guy lines keeping you in a fixed position. Also, the newest versions of the Hannibal awnings seem to have a rake to them so the water run off shouldn't be a problem.
img2059gpa.jpg


We grabbed at the awning like monkeys, because seriously, thats the first thing people do. The new adapter bar worked amazing. Didn't even flinch. And this was good because we hadn't yet attached the walls and that meant it was only going to get a harsher workout.
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So then it came time to attach the walls and experience the part we were waiting for. The room extension. It went on with out a hitch. Everything worked perfectly as designed.
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Windows and door open. The canvas is amazingly thick and heavy duty. In clear daylight you step inside and its cool and dark inside. Not like the changing rooms i've owned under my RTT's where people can see my every move.
img3307z.jpg


Here's a short gif animation of how easy it is to deploy. Unstrap the awning material, let it hang and grab the two load bars. Pull them out, roll the awning out onto the bars and insert the pins. Then, the three walls hook under the awning, zip together at the corners and thats it. Stake the ground if need be and open what windows and doors you'd like.
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This room extension really makes a nice addition to the teardrop and im happy to announce that it will now be an option for any of the SoCal Teardrop owners out there. Look for the option and pricing on their site in the coming weeks!
 
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adventureduo

Dave Druck [KI6LBB]
Next up to bat was to swap out our old Lock N Roll multi axis hitch for the Newest Max Coupler. Big thanks to Chris at KILBY for getting us one of his very first productions run units. We were happy with our LNR but it's seen a ton of miles, has a small kink from being backed up and generally starting to look weathered.

MAX COUPLER - LATEST VERSION

Out with the old...
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In with the new...
img3324g.jpg


Although we've only driven a few hundred miles on this new unit, i can already tell it's quieter than our LockNRoll (which says a lot because you could barely here the LNR) and attaching it is nice as well, as i don't have to lift the hitch point up and over. The bushing just slides right into the coupler mount on the receiver hitch of the vehicle. Equipped with a large push pin, its not any more work or less than hooking up the old hitch.
img3317z.jpg


COMMUNICATIONS AND SUSPENSION DAMPENING COMING NEXT!!!!!! STAY TUNED!!!!
 
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1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
wow
the trailer is very nice
but with the Hannibal awing you are in a whole new place of coolness
 

Pskhaat

2005 Expedition Trophy Champion
Now, how to lever the teardrop so it can have some bunk beds in there too for the wee ones...

something like:
4192IMGP3612.JPG



...or...


Alto%20trailer%5B4%5D.jpg
 

JPK

Explorer
I thought a Hannibal awning on a teardrop was a great idea too, and had one built into my teardrop. I went with the larger 2.4m size, which works with the Moby1 shape.

Here are a couple of photos of a test set up from this past summer:
IMG_1126.jpg

IMG_1110.jpg

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And the Hannibal Jumbo Tourer RTT, with the room beneath, though we are still awaiting parts to attach the walls and floor. We have four in our family, so the RTT will see plenty of use for family trips. This is the 1.6m tent:
IMG_1114.jpg


A zipped door matching the teardrop door is being cut into the Jumbo Tourer back wall to allow ingress/egress and the back wall will attach to the tear drop's side so the room is bug free.

A back wall for the Hannibal awning is being sewn up, also with a zipped door, also with the back wall attached to the teardrop. Never have understood three sided enclosures. Especially three sided enclosure with bug screens on the door and windows...

The trailer's ride hieght will come down from what is pictured, enough that the awning walls will "seal" against the ground.

JPK
 
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Hilldweller

SE Expedition Society
I love that Moby, dude. Nice job.

Our Little Guy has a custom tent that attaches to the non-awning side. It has a door that mates to the trailer door and an exit door. It can be a screen room or full privacy room.
Haven't actually used it yet though...
 

adventureduo

Dave Druck [KI6LBB]
JPK, you stole my thunder! Im only kidding. That's is a beautiful setup. And just like you, a rearward section (4th wall) is in the works with a custom zipper for the door. I never understood 3 sided enclosures either. Doesn't make a whole lot of since.
 

SWITAWI

Doesn't Get Out Enough
So much :drool: in one thread...

Dave - That is seriously cool that they can retrofit those storage bins. More people need to think like that! How rigid is the free-standing awning in windy conditions? I'm sure once you attach the sides and stake the bottom corners down it's pretty stable...


Whoa... I looked up their site http://www.safaricondo.com/index_eng.php# and that thing is neat. Not really that maneuverable and not enough ground clearance even for some of the PINS beach I've been on, but seriously cool! Check out this interior shot...
int_2.jpg

That is some serious glamping in style. Talk about your mobile hotel rooms.


:Wow1: Just when we thought the adventureduo has it all... :elkgrin: Seriously though, nice setup. Definitely deserves a thread of its own with some non-pavement pictures.
:coffeedrink:

Keep us updated Dave!
 
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JPK

Explorer
JPK, you stole my thunder! Im only kidding. That's is a beautiful setup. And just like you, a rearward section (4th wall) is in the works with a custom zipper for the door. I never understood 3 sided enclosures either. Doesn't make a whole lot of since.

I slid in by a month or so, those photos are from August. Thanks for the compliments. Your set up is as nice and functional. I chose to pay a bit of a weight penalty for some extra features and family comforts, but my tow rig is an AEV Hemi JKU.

To the poster reagrding the Hannibal awming's performance in the wind, the Hannibal awning's ability to stand free even in windy or gusty conditions is one of the primary reasons I selected one.

Other awnings require support poles just to set up the awning, and then guy lines to secure it in windy or gusty conditions, but stakes for guy lines can be a major pita to drive, or the opposite, too easy to pull.

The Hannibal's triangular side frame requires no poles or guy lines. On the other hand, the mounting for the awning needs to be robust as hell since all of the torque and stress end there.

As evidence that great minds think alike, not only do Dave and I share the awning choice, the mounts for our awnings are remarkably similar.

Moby1 trailers still has mine. It was a first off "prototype" as far as several design and equipment elements - the independent trailing arm coil and shock suspension as an example, and some issues are being sorted out, like too soft springs as another example. When everything is sorted out I'll definitely start a thread.

JPK
 

STREGA

Explorer
Nice upgrades Dave, I should of had the underfloor storage installed when I ordered the trailer (had to stop ordering options at some point!), good to know it can be retrofitted. Glad I went with So-Cals custom load bars instead of the Thule/Yakima, there not cheap but sure are robust, will probably add the Hannibal Awning/walls also. Has the ship landed with those new storage bags yet?
 

adventureduo

Dave Druck [KI6LBB]
Strega, yeah i hear you on the "Options Make My Wallet Thinner" problem. Its nice to know you can add items later if need be.

Just got an update that the Teardrop Totes are in the Ocean on their way :wings:
 

Dendy Jarrett

Expedition Portal Admin
Staff member
I'd love to know more about this heater (gas pack) air conditioner- that doesn't require being roof mounted!
D
 

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