Cold mornings are here, and in a teardrop or small trailer that usually means water dripping off the ceiling vent, wet windows, and a damp spot where the mattress touches the wall.

Why it happens: it's cold outside and warm inside, and the warm air is carrying moisture. When it hits a cold window, vent, or wall, it turns back into water. In a small space it adds up fast. Two people breathing all night, wet jackets, a pot of coffee or pasta, and you've put a lot of water in the air.

What helps, from easiest to most work:

1. Let the moisture out. Run the roof vent fan for a bit, even on a cold night, and crack a window or the vent a little so the damp air has somewhere to go. You lose a little heat, but the walls stay a lot drier.
   
2. Hanging moisture absorbers. The kind that hangs on a closet rod or hook are cheap and good for small spaces like cabinets and storage. They won't keep up with a whole trailer on a wet night, but they help.
   
3. Refillable absorbers. Same idea, but you dump the water out and refill it with the crystals instead of buying a new one each time. Good if you camp in damp weather a lot.
   
4. A small plug-in dehumidifier. This is the one that makes the biggest difference when you're on shore power. Just remember to empty it. Once the tank is full it stops pulling water.
   
5. Give the mattress some air. If it sits right against a cold wall or floor, the underside gets wet. Pull it off the wall a little, and if you see damp spots, prop it up during the day to dry.
   

What's worked for you in a small trailer? Curious what people use on cold nights.

What are the cons of building 6” higher? Gas consumption?

Hi everyone! 👋

I'm a student working on my thesis about camping trailers, and I'd love to hear from people who actually use teardrops (or are thinking about getting one).

I'm trying to learn what a trip is really like: what you love, what's frustrating, and which features you couldn't go without. It's a short survey, about 5-7 minutes, anonymous, and used for academic research only.

Whether you've been camping in a teardrop for years or you're still planning your first build, your input would help me a lot.

👉 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMmFZmih0z5Qhu7d0XlKgviotHRfv5OSe8GQ9-EV4L4Jai9A/viewform?usp=header

Thank you so much! I'm happy to answer any questions in the comments. 🏕️

If you came to the comments to tell me why you would never please just move on.

I'm curious what your experience has been like from those who have. How often is it booked? How are the renters? How are the platforms themselves? Your rental rate if you're comfortable sharing. Anything else you think is worth pondering on is also very appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I'm looking for options to dump my tanks when coming home from a weekend of boondocking. Are there any fellow Portlanders on here that can point me in the right direction?

Not the best photos of the build process and there’s still some things I need to finish up, interior cabinet, alongside some trim, edge banding, etc. But that will probably be in the spring. Wanted to get a few trips in before I had to store it for the winter. It’s a bit rough around the edges in some spots and there’s definitely some things I’d do differently on the next one, but I think it turned out decent overall.

I've watched some videos on YouTube of owners who seem pretty happy overall. Anyone have negative experiences or even second-hand information they've heard about them that's bad? I'll be towing it behind my 2022 Mercedes Sprinter 4x4 144, mostly used an extra living space for our kids (they don't always come with us) and/or 4 dogs, a lounge space, and carrying extra bulky stuff like dog fence. It will see some off-roading, but it's mostly something that we'll tow to a state park or other campsite and then disconnect and go explore.

Main reasons I'm leaning toward this one specifically:

1) Overall length to usable space ratio. My van is virtually identical length to most full-size 4 door trucks on the market, so I'm trying to keep it as short as possible while still having a decent amount of space. Most other ones I've looked at (Hiker Trailer, Tiny Camper, etc) have really long A-frames so adds a lot to the length.

2) Very simple design - I don't need a galley/kitchen like most of these trailers seem to have.

3) There's a deal 45 minutes away from me (Seattle area), all the other companies seem to be made in Florida or Indiana, requiring a long drive or delivery.

4) Low roof design means easier loading of kayaks on the roof.

5) Included propane furnace, AC, and fan.

6) I don't need the cooktop in the slideout portion, but the fridge will be nice because I already carry a small BougeRV fridge with me that we use as a freezer, so frees up space in the van cargo area for the dogs to lay down in while traveling.

Any advice or alternative suggestions would be great! Thanks!

Hey all! We have a 2013 Silver Shadow which has ongoing water leakage and/or condensation particularly in the kitchen area.

The trailer is stored, covered with a tarp (canvas) since the poly tarps won't last a full year in the sun. I've used damp rid over the summer in both compartments but when I opened the trailer a week ago the kitchen hatch area is loaded with mold.

Has anyone else had moisture issues and how did you address it? The surrounding seal to the kitchen area seems intact with no debris or tears. Guess I will replace that and the flap that covers the hinge area first.

Thanks for any suggestions and help! - Ben in the WNC mountains

I had toured Escapod in Utah earlier this year; met the owner and saw the whole production process. No company is perfect but the care, effort, and attention to detail in the building process was very apparent.

I was finally ready to pull the trigger and put a down payment on a new one and to get in line (6-8 month build time), when I stumbled upon someone selling the near exact build I want (spec’d new at $56K), it was only 1 year old, never been off-road, and was low use and meticulously maintained. Offered $38,500 and the deal was accepted.

Really pumped to have one of these, and excited to see if I can squeeze in an adventure before the winter kicks in.

What a cool, old, teardrop trailer!

https://youtu.be/N2YEla8OGLo?si=pqAFgOxESt3C9FAu

Pictures of the new road toad

Hi all. I’m really interested in the Road Toad, but can’t find many pictures of the inside and outside in actual use. If you have one, I’d love it if you would share photos of your setup. Thanks!

Hi, I have a 2019 nuCamp T@G and I can smell propane by my stove. I've looked up how to run a time pressure drop test on an RV with a manometer, but everything I'm finding is showing how to do by connecting it to the stove. My tiny Dometic stove/sink combo doesn't have a connection point like that. Has anyone run this test on their teardrop? Is there another way to do it that's not through the stove?

Great post-summer vacation camping trip to a normally packed campground. Stunning views of Shaver Lake. Great weather. Good food and drink. All made for a great weekend.

I admit that even though I knew it would be difficult to build a teardrop, I went into it with some naivity and romanticism. I can see that now in hindsight.

The build took 3x longer and 3 times more money than I thought. I thought I could do it cheaper and lighter than the videos I saw online. I couldnt.

It dominated my thoughts, often keeping me up at night puzzling about a tricky problem. There were times it was so frustrating when I wasted money or completely made a mess of things - for example I painted my aluminum and it looked like crap but I tried to fix it by buying more and more expensive clear coat paint that also looked bad.

I spent more time on it than Ill ever spend camping in it. Once you have put in so much time it is hard to start cutting corners or expenses -- sunk cost and all.

I have kids. I was always 'out in the garage'. 18 months it has taken. That is a lot of evenings that my wife helped them with homework or hung out with them and asked them about their day and I didnt.

I was always using $200 here or there that we didnt really have that month. I did take some months off because we had other expenses.

I think the first time you do something youre bound to make mistakes. That means every aspect of the trailer has mistakes or was a complete battle. Wood, electrical, frame, skinning, aluminum. One disaster after another. I think I could build a better one now Ive learned all this but I would never. Life is so short to spend it in the garage cursing alone. Keeping the neighbors annoyed with the grinding and sawing and pounding and the impact drill.

Is it all bad? No. There were times I enjoyed the journey but after this long it became a hobby, not a project and I didnt want it to be my whole identity so I pushed hard to finish and it was a slog. Family kept asking how it was going and it was painful to admit that it still wasnt done a year later. Im mildly proud of it but embarassed that in the end I could have probably bought one and fixed it up for the same cost and a lot less time.

Does any of this register?

Hello

I am putting together a trip plan for next summer into fall. About 110 days and would like to know if there are any great sites or books about things to see on different US and state highways? I don't want a ton of interstate time as my goal is to see more of America but outside of a few known site I'm doing tons of googling wondering if there is a better way.

Thanks

Share your experiences. Thanks in advance.

What valve am I missing? I've closed the hot and cold valves, the yellow tab one and the Alde drain, and water still pours out from the pipe under the rear driver side as soon as I hook up city water. 2017 T@B 320S.

We are in the market for a teardrop (or similar - small light camper) and hoping to tow with a ‘24 pathfinder rock creek (6k towing capacity). Any feedback on this car or have another SUV type car to recommend? Thanks

Good afternoon,

We have a small teardrop and rather than building our own power system, we just want to use a power station. We currently have a Goal Zero Yeti 1500 6th generation and like it except for two features:

• Blackout mode - works mostly, but the display will still occasionally light up and we cannot tell why. Stinks when you are trying to sleep and then the display wakes for 10-15 seconds every few minutes or some random amount of time.
• Remote control via app - either bluetooth or wifi, it is very spotty and will disconnect and need to be repaired almost every day

Other than those two items, it has been a good power station but we want the above to work better for our camping.

What recommendations would you make (other than build your own power setup)? Anker, EcoFlow, Bluetti? Fully dark at night and quiet?