Tear drop (Moby) vs Expedition (Turtleback/Patriot)

[Tex68w]

I went ahead and sold my beloved Polaris RZR XP4Turbo in order to free up the funds for the purchase of an expedition trailer. We will be towing this behind a Ford F-250 Super Duty on 37's and eventually behind a 4Runner or possibly even a 200-Series Land Cruiser, but for now it'll be behind the F-250. I was planning on running a RTT on top of my truck, but it's so darn tall as it is, the last thing I want is to be handing the deployment of the tent with the roof of the truck 7.5 ft plus above the ground.

I am torn here between which style of trailer might better suit our needs. In theory I like the idea of the Tear Drop trailer, a full size bed inside with glamping type amenities always ready to go once you get to camp sounds rather appealing, even more so for my other half. I enjoy the kitchen at the rear that's ready to go simply by opening the hatch, and if needed I can still carry a RTT up top for other passengers. It makes for easy access at ground level (bad back) and I know my other half will want the damn dog sleeping with us at night so that'll be much easier with the dog as well. I worry about durability with its construction and design, there's lots of structure exposed and not nearly as strong in theory as a metal box.

A metal construction trailer like the Patriot or Turtleback on the other hand appears to be a lot more rugged and less impervious to trail damage from random strikes. I enjoy the minimalist approach and foresee less possible maintenance and issues with things needing attention or falling apart. With the sleeping quarters up top with the RTT, it leaves a lot of room in the actual trailer for gear, accessories, and other items, that the tear drop style simply wouldn't be able to handle. I have a bad back and I am not sure how much I want to deal with the RTT, that said, it is at a much more user friendly height on the trailer than it would be on top of the truck.

I know both of these trailers start out around $21K, but I am almost certain they will eclipse the $30K mark by the time we've built and spec'd one out to our needs/wants. I am not too worried about fuel efficiency or aerodynamics as they both will be well covered behind the truck considering its size. The F-250 is a 8x170 bolt pattern and it would be nice if the trailer mirrored its wheel/tire setup, but I am not sure its worth it when I can run a smaller, lighter, 34-35" AT, but on the other hand, I am not sure how much I want two different wheel/tire/bolt pattern setups to keep up with.

For those of you with one or the other or who have been down this path before, why did you go with that particular style of trailer? Thanks in advance for any insight, pointers, suggestions, etc.

 

[Yulli]

I have a SoCal Teardrops Krawler. I wasn't worried about going into places and probably damaging anything only cuz I usually would find a base camp then go explore. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get out as much as I wanted to with it but having a dry spot to camp and not have to worry about a tent to set up was always nice. Mine is on 35s. At the time I had a JKU. Now I have a Toyota Tacoma. I had planned on changing the hubs so I can have it match my Tacoma but haven't bothered now that I'm looking to sell it.

 

[DanCooper]

I went through an analysis similar to the one you described. I finally decided on the teardrop style because I did not want to be crawling into and out of a rooftop tent several times a night (I'm a 71 year old male with the smallest bladder in America). Having the trailer lets me park it, drop it, chock it, let down the rear stabilizers, and open the doors. The rear galley is ready to cook in as soon as I swing out the stove (or leave it in the closed position if I'm just making coffee and sandwiches along the trail or highway).

I built an "off road" teardrop that has more clearance than the tow vehicle, and that works for me. I'm not a rock crawler type, so logging roads, gravel roads, pothole roads are as severe a challenge as I seek out, and it does great on them. The point being that the off-road type teardrops will likely be as off road capable as the expedition/rooftop tent trailers if you are not going to be using it on extreme trails. And the teardrop trailers have the bonus of qualifying as a hard sided camper in some campgrounds with bear activity whereas the rooftop tents won't. (i.e. you can camp there in a hard sided camper but not a tent).

It sounds like you are going to buy something, and if you choose a teardrop trailer, I would highly recommend the Terradrop by Oregon Trailr. They would be my first choice if I hadn't had the build-it-myself bug so bad.

I'ma gonna follow along to see what you decide and why. Best wishes and good luck!

 

[flipmachine]

take a look at what we at Off Grid Trailers has to offer, no wood, only 1700lbs, and a sweet looking unit. with sink, stove, heat, fridge, hot water, shower attachment etc, you will be around the 26000$ mark.

 

[SoCal Tom]

When you look at the Moby, SoCal or Adventure trailers, they have a stout frame, and they mount a "shell" on top of it. As long as you aren't bashing the shell against the rocks, its a pretty tough package. Think of is like a truck that sites on top of a frame. If yours is built along those lines, then I don't think you should have an issue with any road. From a convenience point of view. Pulling a trailer, any trailer willl probably slow you down in some conditions. In my case on Mojave road, the trailer kept getting air borne, and finally ate a rim on a rock. So we had to go a little slower. With A Teardrop, setting up camp means, leveling the trailer and opening the hatch on the back. Packing up means, cleaning the dishes, closing the hatch and pulling up the leveling jacks. An RTT, add more time to that equation, and unless you get really fancy, your kitchen setup will also be longer. So with a TD, you have the chance to make up for the lost time, with a RTT, not so much.
Tom

I should add though, if you need to sleep more than two people, a TD won't do.

 

[frq flyr]

both options are great.

I made the decision for the socal teardrop primarily based on the ability to sleep well at night during windy conditions. When it is windy, rooftop tents i have been in (magnolia) are very noisy. Perhaps more vodka would have helped. In the teardrop, during the same conditions, you dont really notice the wind.

 

[Michaelbestlynd]

That's a decision I struggled with as well. My original thought was an expedition type trailer would be able to go farther into more difficult trails, be lighter, cheaper, and overall more robust. What I've found is what I thought I needed, and what I actually end up doing were two different things.

I went the teardrop route and couldn't be happier. My unit has a pretty sophisticated suspension that rides better on rough roads than the Jeep JK. Even though I've been over some more difficult trails with boulders and rock ledges up to about a foot (which the trailer took it in stride), I think it was more an exercise in capability than me needing to get somewhere cool. Most of my good camping spots have been well within the ability of the trailer/jeep combo, and I cant see needing more after more than a year of ownership.

Many of the “pros” for a teardrop that you mention above, make the trailer/RTT combo less attractive to me too. Things I love:

The quick setup (most nights I stay hooked up, and the air ride does the leveling for me in seconds)
Always warm, dry, and quiet inside (slept through a major AZ squall in Sedona last spring that would have been annoying in a tent)
Kitchen always ready for quick roadside stops (hot lunch anyone!)
Plenty of clothes storage inside for week long trips, and in the kitchen for everything else
Bike racks on the tongue
No packing up a wet tent to move on to the next destination
A place to setup in bed and read before nodding off for the evening
AC and heat!

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Tex68w]

Thanks for all of the replies. After going over our Pro/Con list last night, we've certainly settled on a tear drop style trailer. We've already narrowed it down to two manufacturers and are leaning very heavily towards one of them, so barring any unforeseen changes we might be making our decision as soon as next week. It's crazy how many different makers there are of these trailers considering how niche of an interest it is.

 

[frq flyr]

we love our socal teardrop xs510. i am 6'5'', so the extra length and width are nice! we purchased used, saved much $$. SoCal teardrops added some options, and performed a fine tune. Zero issues.

[/url]DSC01359 by frqflyr, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Grendel Kahn]

My wife and I struggled with the same thing. I was leaning more towards expedition trailer the w/RTT the wife wanted the tear drop w/RTT. Moby1 was at the top of the list but looking and budget for the trailer we wanted something cheaper. After scouring the websites we decided on the TC teardrops a 10 month wait(we wanted something that had a more rugged look). We wanted a base model(budget wise and we have the stoves etc) The day before I was checking out Youtube and saw a video of a Rugged looking teardrop. We checked out the website and the price was within our budget. (Remember depending on where you buy from there will probably be a 2k shipping charge.) What was even better it was a local business. We made an appointment and went to see him. (one of our biggest concerns was buying a trailer without ever setting foot in it.0 We spent like 2 hours at his shop talking about the trailers and what he could do. He has different options not on the site and it really was limited to our imagination and budget. He said he has put diamond plate on the floor with tie downs so it could be used to store gear when being towed then unpacked for camp. An upgrade is a "Roll bar" around the teardrop to take hits. Well anyway we put our order in and we should see our trailer in about a month(about three month turn around) He also color matched my truck. ( I went to see it this past weekend and its a perfect match) He has kept in contact with us and giving us updates every week. So far the customer service has been amazing. We went with Bear Tear Drops.

 

[flipmachine]

hey tex.. did you ever end up buying a unit?

 

[Jonesmw9]

take a look at what we at Off Grid Trailers has to offer, no wood, only 1700lbs, and a sweet looking unit.View attachment 433822View attachment 433823 with sink, stove, heat, fridge, hot water, shower attachment etc, you will be around the 26000$ mark.

Do you have one of these available now?

 

[flipmachine]

for those not aware, I left Off Grid Trailers.

 

[Pathfinder7]

for those not aware, I left Off Grid Trailers.

Care to share why you left?

 

[flipmachine]

Care to share why you left?

I felt that they were not supporting me and I had to do everything myself.. so why have partners... I will be starting up again, just buying my time, I have new designs already in progress