How do you convince your "better half"?

I'll admit that my husband was not fully on board when I got my first teardrop trailer. I wanted one, and I bought it with my own money and without his input...so there! Just kidding. I really wanted him to like it and actually bought the Sunflower to accommodate both of our needs, wants and size. Now he enjoys our camping trips with the comfortable bed.

So, what do you do when you love teardrop trailers, but your partner is not so hot on the idea? I asked some fellow teardroppers on the Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers forum how they were able to, or how they plan on enticing their partner over to the tear side.

Idea #1: Compare the costs

"We were temporarily on the east coast, and planning our move west. The estimated cost to build the teardrop and the gas for the trip was less than the cost to ship me, the car, and the dogs back to CA. On top of that, traveling with dogs could have been tricky trying to find someplace to stay if I didn't have a teardrop to sleep in. Now that we have it, she still wants nothing to do with it. She doesn't like to camp, and she is mildly claustrophobic, so I can't even get her inside. But it works great for my son and I to go camping. If the "other half" isn't a camper, then she won't become one. If she is a camper, then look at how much better the teardrop is versus a tent."

—SoCal Tom

"I explained that I could build one for a fraction of what it would cost to buy."

 —jss06

"If it's a money argument, pick some places to go and figure out how much it would cost to fly and stay in a hotel versus camping. List the places you can visit and friends you could see while showing how many vacations you could take in a year just based on cost."

 —Mary C


Idea #2: Expose them to teardrop life 

"I took her to the Dam Gathering. Upon meeting all the nice people, seeing how much fun they were having, and seeing all the decorating ideas, she was on board."

—robfisher

"Fourteen years ago, my sweet wife said, 'You don't expect me to sleep in that thing, do you?' She had trepidations about what "those trailer people" were like. I said they were having a gathering in a nearby campground, and suggested we go over and check them out. There were a bunch of tears, all parked side by side. We were offered coffee at the second trailer and when we got to the end of the line, my wife asked if there was really room enough in there to sleep. She was told to take off her shoes and climb in. 'Wow, this is really roomy and comfortable' she said. The teardrop owner asked what we were going to do for dinner, and we said we were fairly close to home, so would go home and eat. 'We've got four steaks all cooked up with all of the fixins, so why don't you join us for supper right here?' they said.

—Roly Nelson


Idea #3: Give them some visualization

"I built a full size cardboard mock-up of the cabin (with a few wood spars/slats to hold it together) including a full size side profile with door opening and walked through my plans with my wife. We sat in through the door, laid down inside, and she helped decide on a few things like headboard height, shelve height, light switch locations, etc."

—kayakdlk

"Like you, I was the one who wanted the tear. What convinced Randy was buying him Steve's Fredrick's manual to help him visualize how to build it."

—nevadatear


Idea #4: Do all the work

"Tell your other half that you will do all the cooking and all the cleanup. Then they can relax without a care"

—KennethW

"I bring easy to prepare food, do the cleanup, bring electric blankets, nice camp chairs, coffee...anything to keep it fun and simple. We had fun, then we went to a gathering and met some wonderful people."

—coyote


Idea #5: Go without them

"I always say, 'you can't teach someone to have fun'. I built a very nice teardrop, with the hopes that my wife would start to camp again. She said that is a very nice trailer but she was not camping any more. So now we are both happy. I go camping with friends and the dog and she stays home......win-win!"

—Woodbutcher

"My other half does not enjoy camping and has no interest. I love it. I showed him a picture of the one I wanted and went and looked at it. He said I was crazy but I should go ahead and get it"

—PKCSPT




Photo courtesy of ArtbyChrysti