Featured Teardrop: Little Guy T@G

The Little Guy Worldwide company just keeps coming up with new trailer ideas and the T@G teardrop marries two of their most popular designs: the T@B and the classic 1940's teardrop like their popular Silver Shadow. The T@G is a stylish and modern teardrop trailer that is light enough to be towed with a Toyota Prius.

The T@G has a 100 percent aluminum frame and a silver or white fiberglass exterior with brightly colored trim and graphics. The doors feature a portal window like the T@B, two additional windows and a full galley with a sink and a stove. The T@G comes in two versions: the 875 lb B@sic and the 1,105 lb Max.

The B@sic includes a 3-speed, dual directional roof vent, fiberglass fenders, alloy mag wheels, wood cabinetry, LED lights and a high quality, padded queen sized mattress. The tongue of the trailer features the T@B LP tank, which also houses the battery. The galley is set up for an optional fridge/freezer. The trailer has 12v and 110 power with multiple outlets, LED interior lights, porch lights, a 30amp inlet and a 25 power cord that you can use to charge up the battery at campgrounds. The B@sic starts at $8,995.

The T@G Max includes all the B@sic features as well as 12v fridge and freezer chest for the galley, a 19 inch LED TV with DVD/CD/AM/FM/MP3 and mounted speakers and installed AC. The Max starts at $10,995.

 

 

Photos by Little Guy Worldwide

Friday Teardrop Photo

The Sunflower in front of the Tetons in Grand Teton National Park.

How do you decide where to camp?

People have asked us in the past how we decide where to take our teardrop camping. They are curious as to how we find our great campsites and what we look for in a campground. We've camped in many different types of facilities including free boondocking sites and WalMart parking lots, but prefer national and state campgrounds. In addition, our preferred sites usually have the same five principles.

When we drive to a campground and don't already have a designated space, we first take a tour of the entire place. We slowly look at each campsite and check for shade and sun options, fire pit quality, privacy and a possible view. If the campground is filling up fast, we back or tow the teardrop into the spot and rush back to the front of the campground to pay for the site.

These are the five things we look for in that perfect campsite:

1. We like to be where we have some sort of view or quick access to a lake, stream or river.
2. It is nice to have a campground store for last minute food and wine, it's also a benefit if the campground has a gas station nearby.
3. With a teardrop we usually need wind protection, so a campground with trees, rocks or some sort of wind block is nice.
4. It helps if the picnic table can be moved. We like to put it next to the teardrop galley for some extra cooking space.
5. Neighbors are nice, but sometimes you don't want them too close to your camp. We like a site where we have privacy as well as peace and quiet. We also like to play board games in the evening which can get a little rowdy. 

Photo: That perfect site near a waterfall just outside of Yosemite National Park

Wishing for Whitney

Ever since I saw Mount Whitney for the first time about 10 years ago, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States has been on my mind. This year, my husband, several friends and I have decided we are going to attempt to summit the 14,497 foot peak located near Lone Pine, California.

To summit this craggy peak, you need to put your name into a lottery with Recreation.gov and then cross your fingers that your specific dates are chosen. Many people attempt the 22 mile climb in one day, but we are going to try it in two days. That means we backpack in and sleep at one of several overnight camps on the mountain. The training has begun.

Of course, we will not be able to tow our beloved teardrops (and their comfy beds) up the mountain, but they will be waiting for us at one of the campgrounds below the mountain trail. We will either stay at Lone Pine Campground, Whitney Portal Campground or Horseshoe Meadow Campground and will collapse in our beds after returning from the mountain.

I was wondering if any Tiny Yellow Teardrop readers have camped in the Lone Pine area and if they have been lucky enough to summit Mount Whitney. I would love to hear your stories.

Photos by Itoda

Friday Teardrop Photo

The Sunflower on Highway 1 near Jenner in Northern California.

Top 10 Teardrop Themes

Why do many teardrop trailers have a theme? Why turn one teardrop into an Area 51 spaceship and another into a Hawaiian Tiki bar? The answer might lie in the history of the teardrop as well as what it represents today — a form of rebellion.

The original teardrop trailers were built at home, rather than by a manufacturer, so the builder had carte blanche on what they could do with their own trailer. This still applies today. With their small size and simple lines, builders can create a themed trailer or even take a plain teardrop, add some creative decor, and turn it into whatever their fantasy might be.

Themes can be reflected in the drapes and bedding, the paint job or exterior siding, the hatch art and the various decor that owners choose. It's also fairly inexpensive to do. If you were to "trick out" a large 5th wheel, that could cost a lot of money. Tricking out a teardrop can be done on a shoestring.

Themed teardrops have a sense of humor as well. It's hard to be serious about a tiny, round trailer bopping down the road. It's even more fun if the tiny, round trailer is painted to look like a toaster or a ladybug. Personally, I knew right away what the theme of my trailer would be. When I saw the yellow and black colors I had to give it a happy sunflower theme that would always make people smile.

What are the top 10 themes I've run into over the years? 

 

1. Vintage or retro style (Elvis, 1950s, chrome, vintage camping gear)  
2. 1970s (hippie, tie-dye, Bob Marley or psychedelic)
3. Nature (flowers, wood, natural decor and colors)

 

4. National or regional pride (Union Jack, Switzerland, USA, Confederate South, Australia)
5. Hunting or fishing (Smokey the Bear, vintage fishing gear)

 

6. Humorous (pirate ship, UFO, submarine)
7. Wine and beer

8. Western themes with cowboy or cowgirl motifs
9. Travel (Route 66, map designs, tropical) 
10. Cartoons or characters (Hello Kitty, Barbie, Sock Monkey, bugs)

The Five Best Movies to Take Camping

Whether you call it glamping or high-tech camping, sometimes it's just fun to curl up in the teardrop trailer at night after a long day of hiking to watch a movie or TV show. Most of the time when camping, we'll either download a movie or show to our iPads, or we'll bring a DVD along to watch on a laptop. In this list I tried to cover the gamut: from horror to drama to one of my favorite travel TV shows.

The Cabin in the Woods

Most people wouldn't choose a horror movie that takes place in the woods to take camping in the woods (stay away from The Blair Witch Project and Deliverance). However, this is a different kind of horror movie: smart, well-written and funny. It turns the typical teen horror flick on its head.

How the States Got Their Shapes

If you are traveling across the country in your teardrop, don't leave this informative and funny series by the History Channel behind. Host Brian Unger hits the road to uncover the history hidden in the lines and contours that make up the U.S. map. Everything from geography to Supreme Court cases defining our nation are covered in this fascinating show.

The River Wild

Meryl Streep can pull off any kind of character, but I think she really had fun with this role as a sign language teacher and river guide whose family runs into the wrong kind of men on a whitewater rafting trip.

City Slickers

This classic Billy Crystal movie features everything you want in the great outdoors: wide open country, a cattle drive, deep philosophical conversation and a rugged cowboy who epitomizes the American West.

The Parent Trap

I'm talking about the 1961 movie with Hayley Mills and the beautiful Maureen O'Hara, not the one with Lindsay Lohan. This is one of my favorite Disney movies and it still holds up today. This is a great movie if you are camping with children or anyone who loved summer camp as a child.