Friday Teardrop Photo



This beautiful 1965 pickup truck and teardrop trailer are available for rent in the Sausalito area near San Francisco, Calif. The truck's name is Crusty.

Is a teardrop trailer a good investment?

Most people know that the purchase of a vehicle or a traditional RV is not a great investment. As soon as you drive the new toy away from a dealer, the value drops by double percentages. This is even worse if you borrow money to purchase said vehicle or RV.


Does this hold true with a teardrop trailer? Is a teardrop an actual investment that can be more valuable down the road? (no pun intended.)

Many teardrop trailer owners have built their own campers, paying for it as they go along. Other savvy builders purchase a vintage trailer that needs a lot of work and make an investment in materials to construct a nearly new trailer. Other teardrop owners have a custom trailer made for them by a builder—creating a unique camper just for them.

Who is more likely to get their money back in the end if they sell their trailer?

I payed $4,000 for my brand new teardrop trailer in 2009. It does have some expected wear and tear, but I've taken good care of it. While on the road, I have had some people offer to buy it off me for $5,000. My "investment" seems to have been a good one.

You can keep up with how both new and used teardrop trailers are selling by trolling Craigslist, eBay, the TNTTT sale forum and RV Trader. Many things should be considered like the location of the trailer, amenities, size and the temperature of the economy.

Whether or not you get your money back from the sale of your teardrop trailer, the investment in your camping happiness just might be priceless.

Photo from Jalopy Journal

Friday Teardrop Photo


This photo is courtesy of Dave Jansen of SimplyGOCampers. It shows a nice setup of a basic Little Guy 5-Wide galley complete with pump sink. Dave's rental company was recently added to the Rent a Teardrop Trailer page.

Photo by Rachel Antoun

Teardrop Trailer Pots & Pans

For such a small trailer, we tend to have a lot of pots and pans. Like any carrying vessel, they each perform a specific function during our camping trips and while we've looked at downsizing them—they tend to stick around.


We store them all under the countertop of the galley. While this is not the most ideal place to keep them (right next to the battery), this is where they fit. Since the space is so small, they have to be stacked back in the same way each time (like a Russian nesting doll) or they don't fit.


This pot with the two handy lips is for heating and pouring water for coffee or milk for hot chocolate. We also use it to cook veggies, eggs, etc.


This is a mixing and serving bowl used for salads, pasta dishes or mixing batter for breads and pancakes.


This pot with a locking colander lid is perfect for cooking and draining pasta and veggies. We store our measuring cup inside.


Along with our cast iron frying pan, we have a non-stick, non-Teflon pan for cooking sticky things like eggs.


Believe it or not, we have had this lightweight pot for probably 20 years and used to use it for tent camping. It's large and is primarily used for heating up water for dishes and showers. You can tell it's been placed on a campfire.


This smaller pot came with the larger pot above and while we also use it for heating up water, it's the perfect container for using in the popup shower shelter.

I think the main reason we have not gotten rid of one or more of these pots is that it can be difficult to find small enough and light enough pots and pans that will fit our space. Once you have a good pot that does the job, it's hard to give it up.






Friday Teardrop Video



Today I thought I would post a video by YouTuber Lucy. Her "Poor Man's Fiberglass" teardrop trailer build is one of the best and well thought out designs I've ever seen. The video tours her design that includes some features I've never seen before including tripod legs for cabinet doors and a rotating car stereo in the galley. Way to go girl!

Tiny Yellow Teardrop Summer Tour

The Sunflower will soon be dusted off for some spring camping trips and the Official Tiny Yellow Teardrop Summer Tour. We will be taking off in July to visit Glacier National Park and then I will be continuing the summer adventures with trips around Montana and then down to Colorado Springs for the Tiny House Jamboree.


Held August 5-7, the Tiny House Jamboree will feature tiny houses and trailers, workshops and seminars, food, drink, entertainment and talks by Tiny House Blog owner Kent Griswold, Deek Diedrickson of Relax Shacks, Jay Shafer of Four Lights Houses and Dee Williams of Pad Tiny Houses.

Last year's event attracted over 40,000 people and I'm sure this year will attract even more. The Sunflower might be one of the tiniest things out there.

Friday Teardrop Photo


The beloved teardrop trailer shown in the Geico Caveman commercials is owned by Jim Logiudice, who provides props for television shows and movies. Jim purchased the trailer off Craigslist and vinyl wrapped it to match the red URAL motorcycle.

Photo by Jim Logiudice

Featured Teardrop: Kulba

Another international teardrop trailer is on the road. The Kulba, designed and built in Latvia and available around Europe, comes in three different finishes: Woody, Silver Surf and Rebel.


Built with wood and Baltic birch plywood, the Kulba trailers range from 830 to 1,100 lb. and feature options like a bike rack, roof rack, hitch-mounted cargo box, fresh water tank and an adjustable mattress that can turn from a bed into a couch. The Kulba also has an off-road package, a hitch brake and windows with sun-reflecting rollers.



The galley kitchen has a water tank for the sink, an option for gas or electric stove, ice chest, power sockets and storage. The kitchen can also be designed to be open directly into the sleeping/living area. The Kulba extends the living area even more with an optional side or rear awning that is one of the largest I've ever seen on a teardrop trailer.





Photos by Kulba



Friday Teardrop Photo

I have decided I no longer want to be a teardrop trailer owner and have purchased this beauty instead. It's only $2,800,000.



April Fools!