Featured Teardrop Trailer: Vintage Overland

The Vintage Overland company in Scottsdale, Ariz. was recently featured in Outside magazine and from their rugged designs you can see why. Each of these stylish teardrop trailers are built by hand by Britton Purser and feature off-road tires, hardwood interiors, solar panels and vintage styling.

Each teardrop weighs about 500 to 600 pounds and three models are available. The Tuco is 4x8 and costs $10,500, The Great Escape is 4x8 with a rear hatch and storage area for $12,500, and the T.E. Lawrence (named after the British adventurer) has extra lighting and a pull out writing desk for $14,500.

Other basic features of the trailers include an oversized door, exterior lights, torsion asle, a rear receiver hitch for bikes or gear, vents and fans, tinted windows and insulation made from re-purposed denim.

You might be wondering about that large logo on the side. Vintage Overland will create a custom graphic for the side of your trailer.

Photos by Vintage Overland

Off the Grid Rentals Rents Off-Road Teardrop Trailers

If you prefer rugged, off-road camping and don't want to buy a teardrop trailer just yet, check out Off the Grid Rentals in Orange County, Calif.  This company might be one of the only off-road teardrop trailer rental services in the U.S. and they allow you to take their teardrop trailers onto the mountain and desert backroads of this beautiful state.

Founder Nizar Najm founded Off the Grid Rentals when he could not find the appropriate rental gear for taking his children out into the California desert. This teardrop trailer, made by So Cal Teardrops, was CNC-machined to be overbuilt and the tires, body and suspension were designed to handle rough roads. The galley features a camp stove, an ARB refrigerator and plenty of storage space.

The teardrop also has a rooftop tent option by Columbus Variant for additional sleeping space. Attached to any roof rack, the tent includes a 2.5 inch foam mattress and two entrances from the side and rear. The tent is opened with internal gas rams. Along with the tent rental, you can also rent an ARB refrigerator and a generator.

The off-road teardrop trailer is rented for $170 a night and there is a two-night minimum. The roof top tent rents for $60 a night and the refrigerator for $20 a night.

You can rent directly from the company online.

Photos by Off the Grid Rentals

Featured Teardrop: Viper Caravans

Being able to go off-roading seems to be getting more and more popular with teardrop trailer owners. Face it...campgrounds are getting more popular and getting off-road is very appealing for those interested in peace and quiet.

I recently found the Viper Teardrop camper from a builder in Jacksonville, Florida. The brightly colored designs won't be very stealthy in the forest and desert, but the high clearance, storage options and organized galley will make living off-road a little more comfortable.

The 8x4 Viper off-road model has Landcruiser wheels and tires, LED lights, a one piece fiberglass body, and a sleeping compartment with vented windows and two doors. Extras include a 15 gallon water tank, interior personal reading lights, a slide out stainless steel three burner stove and sink combo, a storage toolbox, electric or hydraulic brakes, alloy wheels, a TV/DVD/CD combo or an outdoor tented room.

The basic model weighs less than 500 lbs. and because of those Landcruiser wheels, costs around $13,500 brand new. The loaded version is $16,500. However, if you don't want to go off-road, you can still have the same design for a base price of $9,500.

Photos courtesy of Viper Teardrop

Little Guy T@B Goes Off Road

Starting in 2015, the popular T@B trailer by Little Guy Worldwide will be going off-road. The new concept trailer is not available yet, but the upgrade package will be available if you order and purchase a new T@B from Little Guy.

The new T@B Outback will have a five piece ABS off-road assembly package as well as a pitched axle, off-road tires and rims. Other features will include:

• Roof rack with cargo basket and off-road spare tire
• Custom diamond plate tongue storage box
• Aluminum front utility platform
• Cargo netting above windows
• Tough Marmoleum flooring
• Radiused diamond plate LP/battery box
• Solid gray couch/bed cushions

The Outback will be available in any of the T@B floorplans except the Clamshell rear kitchen design. Production of the trailer will start over the next couple of months and units should be available come the start of the 2015 camping season.

Photo and information by The Small Trailer Enthusiast

NetDep's Teardrop Awning

NetDep is a reader of the Tiny Yellow Teardrop blog and recently sent me some photos of his 6x10 Little Guy Silver Shadow teardrop trailer. Right away, I and several other readers,  noticed the cool awning that he had over one of his trailer doors and I asked him more about where he got it.

NetDep ordered his Silver Shadow with a Rough Rider off-road frame and also had the factory install a roof rack. A local auto shop,that has done some custom work on the trailer, ordered an ARB awning and attached it to the rack. The ARB is a retractable awning that fits onto any vehicle or trailer roof rack and can be stored away in a roof-top bag while driving. They are designed for harsh sun and are waterproof and UV protected. The awning and telescoping legs are stored away in a PVC bag and then deployed and installed in just a few minutes. Optional mosquito netting is available for the ARB.

"I could not be happier," NetDep said. "ARB is an awesome manufacturer of all things Expedition and the camp chairs I use are also ARB and I love them. My favorite ARB dealer is Sierra Expeditions."

His rugged, off-road Silver Shadow was custom ordered from Little Guy and contains a sink and stove but no refrigerator since he uses a Yeti cooler for storing food. Other additions include a solar panel with plug-in and an upgraded entertainment package. He also wanted the color and the tires to match his 2011 black Toyota Tacoma.

Featured Teardrop Trailer: Treeline Teardrops

Whether you want to hit the road (or go off-road) with a teardrop trailer, the Treeline Teardrop Trailers company from Petaluma, California have a ton of sizes and options to choose from. These well-designed, sleek silver trailers are custom built with premium materials through the use of computer aided design, CNC routers and exclusively engineered components. But they still look like the vintage favorites complete with white wall tires.

The Treeline teardrops come in a ton of sizes including 4x8, 4x9, 4.5x9, 5x9, 5x10 and 5x11. The Rover, Sierra, Cal-Deluxe and tiny Buzz can all be taken on the road and the Buzz-Off and the Krawler are ready for some rougher, back roads. The off-road trailers have heavy-duty springs, electric brakes, adjustable shocks and gas and water tank holders. You can compare each of the trailers on their Models Comparison chart.

All the Treeline trailers have steel frames with steel fenders, rubber torsion axles, rear stabilizer jacks, mounted full-size spare tires, running lights, locking doors, a galley pass thru, a battery charger/converter, outlets, a thick foam mattress with a cover and a built-in two-burner stove.

 

Photos by Treeline Teardrop Trailers