This Friday's photo is actually a commercial featuring an awesome Ural motorcycle with sidecar AND teardrop trailer setup. You gotta love those Geico commercials ... and ZZ Top.
Showing posts with label teardrop trailer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teardrop trailer. Show all posts
Friday Teardrop Photo
This Friday's photo is actually a commercial featuring an awesome Ural motorcycle with sidecar AND teardrop trailer setup. You gotta love those Geico commercials ... and ZZ Top.
Roadtrippers Profile Pages
I've written about the fun Roadtrippers website and app before, but now the travel planning site has updated profile pages where you can search for, save and edit the places you want to take your teardrop trailer.
After you've filled in your profile with specific locations, hotels, attractions, restaurants and outdoor recreation sites, you can share it on any social media site and embed it on a website. You can also print your itinerary before a road trip. The profiles are searchable on the Roadtrippers site and you can leave reviews of each location you visit.
Teardrop Trailer Trips | My Collection itinerary on Roadtrippers.com!
After you've filled in your profile with specific locations, hotels, attractions, restaurants and outdoor recreation sites, you can share it on any social media site and embed it on a website. You can also print your itinerary before a road trip. The profiles are searchable on the Roadtrippers site and you can leave reviews of each location you visit.
Teardrop Trailer Trips | My Collection itinerary on Roadtrippers.com!
Friday Teardrop Photo
Vintage salt and pepper shaker in the teardrop galley of Bob and Lynn's Midget Trailer. You can sometimes find these cute shakers on Etsy or eBay.
Teardrop Trailer Facebook Groups
Show your love for teardrop trailers by joining or liking one of the many Facebook teardrop trailer groups. Here are just a few:
Teardrop Trailer Lovers
Kay's Teardrop Friends
Teardroppin' Group
Cumbrian Teardrop Caravan Group
Teardrop Travel Trailers
Photo: This pink heart-shaped teardrop trailer belonged to Zsu Zsu, the Crybaby Drama Queen. Her former lover dragged her to Burning Man. In an attempt to make her happy, he built her a custom trailer complete with tanks of French air. She refuses to come out but demands your attention and gifts. At this 2008 art installation, Zsu Zsu blames you for her discomfort and inconvenience. She also hates heat, dust, loud music, art and "heepies".
The Pros and Cons of a Teardrop Trailer
When fellow campers approach me and my teardrop camper, many of them will ask why I chose to get a teardrop rather than a "regular RV." One of the main reasons I chose a teardrop was for its ability to be towed behind nearly any kind of car. I didn't want to have to get a large truck or SUV just to go camping. Also, I was drawn to the cuteness factor of the teardrop.
So I got to thinking about the other pros and cons of owning a teardrop. After talking with a few other teardroppers, these seem to be the pros and cons that pop up the most:
Pros
When you drive into a campground, everyone looks at you (this can also be a con)
I get a lot of smiles when I pass people on the road
Since teardrops are so small, you get to spend most of your time outside
Your bed is always made
You can cook and eat outside
You can hook them up with very little effort or strength
Teardrop gatherings and other teardroppers
Cons
During rain or wind storms, cooking is no fun
It's difficult to get dressed in the bed area
You always get approached by someone when you've just woken up
Lack of space for clothes
Hauling bags of ice into the ice chest
Most teardrop camping has to be done in warmer weather or climates
Photo by TJfromAZ
So I got to thinking about the other pros and cons of owning a teardrop. After talking with a few other teardroppers, these seem to be the pros and cons that pop up the most:
Pros
When you drive into a campground, everyone looks at you (this can also be a con)
I get a lot of smiles when I pass people on the road
Since teardrops are so small, you get to spend most of your time outside
Your bed is always made
You can cook and eat outside
You can hook them up with very little effort or strength
Teardrop gatherings and other teardroppers
Cons
During rain or wind storms, cooking is no fun
It's difficult to get dressed in the bed area
You always get approached by someone when you've just woken up
Lack of space for clothes
Hauling bags of ice into the ice chest
Most teardrop camping has to be done in warmer weather or climates
Photo by TJfromAZ
Camping in the Sunflower
We have camped in a multitude of places with the Sunflower. Some of our favorite spots have been in Oregon, California, Nevada and Utah. The Eastern Sierras, the Nevada desert, Death Valley, Lake Tahoe, the California Coast, southern Utah and Crater Lake have ranked as having some of the best campgrounds around...and the spots fit a teardrop trailer perfectly.
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| Ocean Cove, California |
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| Hickison Petroglyphs State Park, Nevada |
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| Twin Lakes, California |
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| Twin Lakes, California |
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| Crater Lake, Oregon |
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| Lower Blue Lake, California |
The Many Shades of Teardrop Trailers
Teardrop trailers come in all shapes, sizes and colors. One of the most fun things about owning a teardrop is that it's fairly easy to make it reflect your own personality or sense of style. Most teardrop trailer owners will design, paint or decorate their teardrops to follow a certain theme. I've seen hippie teardrops, 50s style teardrops, Route 66 teardrops, celestial teardrops and even a teardrop built to look like a pirate ship. Here are a few of my favorites shot from various gatherings and events:
Photos by Christina Nellemann. Top photo courtesy of Robin Ruybalid.
Introducing the Sunflower and a Little Teardrop History
I own a 5x8 foot bright yellow Pleasant Valley Spirit teardrop trailer named the Sunflower. It attracts so much attention that I thought I would finally put up a blog about my trailer as well as additional information on teardrops. Teardrop trailers are small (under 10 feet long) camping trailers and usually only contain a bed in the main compartment and a kitchen, or galley, in the back hatch. The main characteristic of a teardrop trailer is that you can't stand up in them. Teardrop owners refer to a taller trailer as a "standy".
Most teardrop trailers that you might see are built by hand by various builders. Some are owner built, while some are custom built for a specific customer. Many teardrops on the road today are manufactured by the Little Guy company, who also uses Pleasant Valley's building skills.
Teardrop trailers first became in the U.S. in the 1930s when magazines such as Mechanics Illustrated published plans. The first teardrops were designed around the idea of using standard 4 by 8-foot sheets of plywood with hardwood spars. Teardrop trailers remained popular until the mid 1960s, after which they disappeared from mainstream camping. However, in the late 1990s, plans became available on the internet and in recent years teardrop trailers have made a resurgence and are again growing in popularity. [From Wikipedia]
The Sunflower (most teardrops have a name) was manufactured by the Pleasant Valley Teardrops company in Sugarcreek, Ohio. It is Amish built and super tough for such a small trailer. Normally, a brand new teardrop trailer from Pleasant Valley can cost around $8,000 to $10,000. However, I was able to find my brand new trailer from a private dealer in Florida for $4,000. I paid a shipper from UShip (the Shipping Wars company) to tow it to my home in Nevada for $1,000. So for half the price, I was able to have my yellow beauty delivered right to my door. The Sunflower is towed by a 2008 Kia Sportage.
Photos by Christina Nellemann
Most teardrop trailers that you might see are built by hand by various builders. Some are owner built, while some are custom built for a specific customer. Many teardrops on the road today are manufactured by the Little Guy company, who also uses Pleasant Valley's building skills.
Teardrop trailers first became in the U.S. in the 1930s when magazines such as Mechanics Illustrated published plans. The first teardrops were designed around the idea of using standard 4 by 8-foot sheets of plywood with hardwood spars. Teardrop trailers remained popular until the mid 1960s, after which they disappeared from mainstream camping. However, in the late 1990s, plans became available on the internet and in recent years teardrop trailers have made a resurgence and are again growing in popularity. [From Wikipedia]
The Sunflower (most teardrops have a name) was manufactured by the Pleasant Valley Teardrops company in Sugarcreek, Ohio. It is Amish built and super tough for such a small trailer. Normally, a brand new teardrop trailer from Pleasant Valley can cost around $8,000 to $10,000. However, I was able to find my brand new trailer from a private dealer in Florida for $4,000. I paid a shipper from UShip (the Shipping Wars company) to tow it to my home in Nevada for $1,000. So for half the price, I was able to have my yellow beauty delivered right to my door. The Sunflower is towed by a 2008 Kia Sportage.
Photos by Christina Nellemann
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