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.

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

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.

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

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.

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?

Little background. We were borrowing a larger camping trailer for a few years in exchange for storing it in our barn. We don't actually spend much time inside the trailer, Its just a covered/secure place to sleep at night. My family tent camps as well but would love to find something between the tent and a travel trailer that I don't need a full size truck to pull. I have a large shop with wood and metal working tools. I have experience in wood work, metal fab, welding, finish work as well as being a 3D CAD and product designer by trade. I have a CNC router and laser cutter in my shop as well. Would love to see if there are any base plans for a 6x10 square drop that can sleep me, my spouse and two young kids. I like the design of the summit pinnacle with two bunks for the kids and the queen mattress. I'm fine with building a custom frame from the ground up. I'm even open to designing the whole thing from scratch with my design and CAD experience. Really just looking for some good plans that I can reference or at least some good resources to start me on the right foot.

Hey everyone! We’re moving from Dunedin to Christchurch in two weeks and need to transport a few pieces of furniture and appliances.
We thought hiring a tow trailer would be the most budget-friendly option, but the one-way hire prices we’ve found so far are quite expensive (all over $800).
Has anyone done a similar move or know of any more affordable options for a one-way trailer hire? Any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! 😊

Is this thing worth $5500? I’m considering downsizing from a 36 ft 5th wheel that I’ve only used 3 times in 2 yrs down to this. I’ve never owned a teardrop, other than the obvious what’s the pros and cons? We are considering it because we feel like with the ease of using something like this we might actually use the dang thing. The 5th is so much of a hassle.