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 vintage teardrop trailer poster can be purchased from All Posters in various sizes. Check out how it would look on your own wall.

Friday Teardrop Photo

Some wonderful camping details can be seen on this teardrop from the Vintage Camper Trailers Facebook page. Pink flamingos AND an Italian espresso maker.

Friday Teardrop Photo

Perfect for wintery weather (just kidding). This 1932 Kozy Kamp Tent Trailer is owned by James T. Gandley. He posted it and its summery accoutrements on the Vintage Camper Trailers Facebook page. Even though this little camper is not a teardrop trailer it was a prototype for future hard top tent trailers like the Coleman, Apache and Ranger brands.

Friday Teardrop Photo

This delightful photo of a family hitting the road with their BMW Isetta and a very small teardrop trailer comes from the Vintage Travel Trailers Facebook page.  Be careful: you might end up spending hours looking through all the wonderful photos of vintage campers and trailers.

Friday Teardrop Photo

On the first day of spring, I thought I would put up this photo from Outpost Vintage + Thrift. Carolyn Felding of Ontario, Canada lives out of this colorful, 1960s era teardrop trailer during the summer and uses it as a mobile vintage clothing shop.

Photo by Outpost Vintage + Thrift

Friday Teardrop Photo

This beautifully riveted Modernaire teardrop trailer was tucked behind a house in Virginia City, Nevada. We hiked nine miles from down in the valley up to the mining town where you can find a slew of antiques and vintage items—like this teardrop from the 1940s.

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.

Friday Teardrop Photo

A vintage teardrop trailer shot by my husband at the 20th Dam Gathering of the Tears at Shasta Lake, California.

Photo by Harry Thomas

Tiny Meercat Trailer

While this tiny trailer is not a teardrop, the Little Guy Trailers distributor in San Diego, has done a really amazing job of restoring a vintage 1968-69 Eriba Puck trailer into a stylish and modern camper. The company decided to rename their project and are calling it the Meercat Trailer because of its diminutive size.

The original Eriba Puck trailers were lightweight European trailers built for two people and weighing in around 500-800 lbs. The Meercat is 900 lbs. and only 6-feet tall at the roof, but it luckily has a pop top for taller people. This steel tube framed trailer features a dining area that converts into a queen size bed, a two-burner stove, sink and an ice box, a closet and storage under the seating, a port-a-potty, stylish lighting, and a battery and connections for power and water.

The 100 percent American made trailer is now being built and sold by the San Diego company as a unique, restored design built around the size of the original Eriba.

  

 

  

Photos by Little Guy San Diego

Friday Teardrop Photo

Today's photo is of a 1948 Kit teardrop trailer for sale on Tiny House Listings. The trailer is 4x8 with new windows and tires. It contains a drop down ice box that loads from the top, a cast iron stove and a shelf and cabinet in the galley for food and supplies.

It's currently selling for $3,500 and is located in Pacific Grove, California.

Two Kamp Masters Featured in Tiny House Magazine

I recently wrote a story for Kent Griswold's Tiny House Magazine on the two Kamp Masters owned by Bob and Melanie Kelly of Ione, Calif. The couple restored a 1949 Kamp Master trailer and then built a new trailer from scratch using the original as a model. I met them and their unusual teardrop trailers at the Dam Gathering of the Tears at Shasta Lake in northern California.

The magazine can be purchased as either a digital version for the iPad or as a PDF. Each issue is $2.99 and Kent is now running a special where you can purchase all six issues for $14.