SoCal Tear Drop Owners! Post up!

tacoma870

New member
Anyone with a socal teardrop going to overland expo west? The wife and I will going up there and we would love to check some out. We learned the company won't be up there with representatives so we were hoping maybe a few friendly people who have trailers would let us look at theirs. Thanks!
 

kuvtsiskay

New member
Some questions for any existing owners.

Water Tank:
I have the 30g water tank. How long does it normally last you with minimal use? Have any of you installed a water level monitor? Upgraded to a larger water tank?

I ran out of water after one and half day of use. This is just to wash dishes twice a day. Washing hands, Face, feet. No showers. I'm also thinking perhaps the other tank didn't get filled as it's hard to see when looking from underneath the trailer. Water did spilled back out when I filled the tanks.

Before the trailer, I would normally carry about 20g of water with me and that leaves me more than enough and then some.

Hot Water:

I find it hard sometime for the igniter to ignite. Also, per the manual, the propane should only be turned on and the switch to "ON" when in use. Am I not able to leave this on at all times? I find it a PITA after several use that you have to keep turning it off and on, off and on, etc....
 

Lucky j

Explorer
Wow, for what you are describing, les than 5 gallins of water should have been enough. Did you test the real water capacity with a five gallon or even a 1 gallin milk jug? Unless you use a lot of water for rinsing.

To wash one's feet, a wet hand towel is more than enough, same with face. Dishes cab be wash with a bot of water in the largest pan you got dirty and rince in a small clean water bucket by dipping.

If you really have 30 gallons of water, I think you need to rework your way of doing things a bit.

Food for toughts.

Have a nice one! :)
 

kuvtsiskay

New member
@Lucky j I agree that 30g should have lasted a week or more reason why I ask. I normally use less than 10 gallons when i'm out for two days. I find it strange when water spilled over when I filled it and not lasting more than 1.5 days.

Again, I couldn't visibly tell by looking underneath if the tanks was full or not.
 

Lucky j

Explorer
@Lucky j I agree that 30g should have lasted a week or more reason why I ask. I normally use less than 10 gallons when i'm out for two days. I find it strange when water spilled over when I filled it and not lasting more than 1.5 days.

Again, I couldn't visibly tell by looking underneath if the tanks was full or not.

I absolutely get it, this is why I would fill it, and then empty it using water gallons to make sure how much water you take out. And as an example, in our T@G, the tank is 13 gallons, but the way it is factory plumbed, only about 8 of them are available. a small mod makes it possible to get almost all of it.

It could also be the location of the water pick-up vs the trailer level. I am here not cause I know much about the socal TD, but because I like to learn about them. Now, this is only comon trouble shouting. ;)
 

Jensini

New member
If anyone in NorCal wants an AC unit for their SoCal trailer, I have one. I pulled it out of my trailer after 2 years, realized that where we travel, there is just no need. If you're in the desert, it might be important to you. Retrofitting this to your trailer will require some ingenuity, since you won't have the custom tongue box mine was in (I had to make some modifications to the box to get the unit out - SoCal for some reason built the box AROUND the AC unit, with zero ability to remove the unit, even for service). Requires a generator or shore power, or a seriously large battery/inverter setup.

Here's the deal - it's in my basement, I don't have any photos right now - but it's basically new. We never used it. I'll give it to anyone in the north bay who owns a SoCal (bring pics) and all I ask in exchange is a nice bottle of Bourbon!

I'm in the North Bay, 30 minutes north of SF.
Hi Tctundra, I'm interested in the AC unit if its still available. I live in the eastbay and have a SoCal 459 krawler I purchased from Treeline, picked it up in April 2018. Almost 6 months to build. Great trailer. Just got back from spending 4 days on the Mojave trail in may. Fun trip.
CJ,
 
Last edited:

Jensini

New member
Hi Tctundra, I'm interested in the AC unit if its still available. I live in the eastbay and have a SoCal 459 krawler I purchased from Treeline, picked it up in April 2018. Almost 6 months to build. Great trailer. Just got back from spending 4 days on the Mojave trail in may. Fun trip.
CJ,
I haven't been here in a while but wanted to let people know, I was able to use the ac unit on a trip to Lake Almador for a kayak trip over the summer. Made a removable adapter for one of the door windows, able to switch it to either side. Used 2 eight foot aluminum drier hoses ,one the the supply and one for the return. Stayed in a campground with power. During the day it was 107' outside, cooled the teardrop to 72'. It was great. Would maybe be cooler if the hoses were insulated but I'm not complaining. Made it nice sleeping overnight. I found it better to keep it on a moving dolly from Harbor Freight, move it under the teardrop so it's out of the way. If anybody has any question let me know.
Thanks again tctundra,
CJ
 

Nachos

New member
Some questions for any existing owners.

Water Tank:
I have the 30g water tank. How long does it normally last you with minimal use? Have any of you installed a water level monitor? Upgraded to a larger water tank?

I ran out of water after one and half day of use. This is just to wash dishes twice a day. Washing hands, Face, feet. No showers. I'm also thinking perhaps the other tank didn't get filled as it's hard to see when looking from underneath the trailer. Water did spilled back out when I filled the tanks.

Before the trailer, I would normally carry about 20g of water with me and that leaves me more than enough and then some.

Hot Water:
I find it hard sometime for the igniter to ignite. Also, per the manual, the propane should only be turned on and the switch to "ON" when in use. Am I not able to leave this on at all times? I find it a PITA after several use that you have to keep turning it off and on, off and on, etc....

I had the running out of water issue on my 459 Krawler, until I noticed, the 30 gal is actually 2 15 gal tanks, the fill spout to the first tank is a big 2+” hose, but the one connecting the 2 tanks is only like 1”, so I would fill up the first 15 very fast but the second tank would be essentially empty, also the air relief/overflow hose would get filed with water and lock out the second tank from filling. Now I fill up until it overflows, stop filling for a bit, then fill it slower until both tanks are full.
 

kuvtsiskay

New member
I had the running out of water issue on my 459 Krawler, until I noticed, the 30 gal is actually 2 15 gal tanks, the fill spout to the first tank is a big 2+” hose, but the one connecting the 2 tanks is only like 1”, so I would fill up the first 15 very fast but the second tank would be essentially empty, also the air relief/overflow hose would get filed with water and lock out the second tank from filling. Now I fill up until it overflows, stop filling for a bit, then fill it slower until both tanks are full.

Yeah, I noticed that after my trip. I came back home and took a much closer look and realized that was the issue. I had filled it up too quick and water didn't fill the second tank.

I do the same technique as you mentioned. Only difference I do now is once the first tank is full. I then close the water slightly to allow the second tank to fill slowly. Also, I have added a water monitor gauge for both tanks now so I know where the water level is at.
 

kuvtsiskay

New member
Has any current owner modified their tear drop to accommodate a window AC?

I have been using the smallest window AC that I can find. It's place through the pass-thru door and has work wonderfully. Only issue is once condensation builds up there tends to be quite a bit of water on the tray. I don't really want to drill a hole through my counter. Looking for suggestions. Thanks.
 

LakewooDad

New member
‘17 Honda Ridgeline tow vehicle with our SoCal Kascade 510 before departing and during our 17 state big trip. Took us from Ohio to the Grand Canyon before turning north up to Yellowstone and then back home. We’ve had the trailer for 3 years now and loved every moment of it. It’s held up great with over 6k+ miles on the road.
Options include the ARB tent and canopy, swing out kitchen w/sink and water heater, 30 gal water tank, dual propane tanks, matching tires and rims.
88B693D7-37BD-4AC0-B3FB-A8FC9F982562.jpeg9AB7A44D-2FB9-4527-97D6-6CB9698EA26F.jpeg
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,533
Messages
2,875,601
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top