NOTE: Unfortunately, as of March 2015, Toad Camper seems to have gone out of business. If you are interested in a similar trailer, the Small Trailer Enthusiast post on the Tiny House Blog may give you a few ideas.
The summer camping season is starting to heat up and for those Tiny House Blog visitors who are lamenting the loss of the tiny Retro Traveler, the Toad Camper is a nice and affordable alternative to the ultra lightweight trailer.
Toad Campers are built by hand in North Carolina with the best American-made products and can be towed by most 4-cylinder vehicles.
What I thought was a typo, was that the campers start out at $2,999 for a basic streamlined weekend trailer.
The company offers four basic models: the Micro, Micro XL, Tadpole, and 20-foot Bull Frog.
Each of these models have very flexible floor plan arrangements including small bathrooms with showers, full or queen beds or bunk beds.
They also come with the following features:
- Heavy duty axle with bearing buddies
- Insulated frame
- 13″ Radial tires
- Laminate flooring
- Various color choices
- Microwave, refrigerator, air conditioner and flat-screen TVs
- Wash station or full kitchen
- Central roof vent
- Durable rubber roof
The Toad Camper company also offers their trailers as rentals so you can test drive their different sized options. They also build custom trailers for just about any other kind of use including kayak trailers, refreshment trailers and restroom trailers.
Photos by Toad Campers
By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]
I love it! What’s it cost? What about toilets?
How about a link to there website?
Norm B. there is a link to their website in the first paragraph where it says “Toad Camper.”
http://toadcampers.com/Features.html
Does one have to contact your company by phone for pricing? Also, will my 2012 Honda Fit pull your smallest camper? Thank you
Can’t believe how much they fit in there!
Wow, very nice!
I love these just wish there was more information on their website. I drive a 4 cylinder and want to know if it just pulls that teeny tiny one? and what is the one that is 2nd from the left?
Wondering if anyone will answer our questions. 🙂
Thanks for your interest Jeanie. Have you called or emailed the company with your questions? I think the company also refurbishes and sells additional trailers: the second on in the photo is a Serro Scotty.
It does look like a Scotty but it is actually a model they build.
The prices have gone up; nothing they sell now starts at $2999. Still a great deal, though.
Hello My name is Lacey and I’m the office administrator for Toad Campers. You can ask questions via our website contact form or through email at toadcampersales@aol.com. We are also currently on Facebook under Toad Trailers LLC and there is more information there and more photos of trailers in production. If either of those portals do not seem to answer any questions feel free to call us at the off (910) 579-6962
I do not see any toad trailers llc on Facebook.
The pricing and models are outdated, the facebook page has been taken down for now. If you go to the website you will find more current models and phone numbers. Best to contact them directly for pricing.
Guess you folks are out of business? Don’t seem to find you anywhere??
These are very well built campers. My husband and I recently purchased a second and larger one this past summer. Our old one has served its purpose well. It has NEVER had any issues mechanically and we have been is some really bad rain storms and horrific thunderstorms and it has held its ground. I could not have been more pleased. These are far better quality than the “cookie cutter” manufactured campers. The insulation, floors, countertops etc are all wonderfully made. You won’t be disappointed.
I’m “disappointed” to the tune of about $6k. No camper, no refund. Just took our money and ran. 🙁
I bought one in 2012, I noticed it was leaking in the corners as soon as I got it home, I resealed all the seams to no avail! Here is a copy of the email I just sent the owner this past week!
Issues!
Mar 14, 2015, 12:20 PM
Just wanted to let you know of a few issues, as so you can provide a better product to your customers. First and foremost the floor in the camper should have been water sealed, at the very least on the underside, as the water that runs off the side of the camper and gets on the corners is being absorbed by that untreated press board. Esp. in the corners of the camper, I have rotten press board at all four corners. Also when you put the big wheels on one, as you did mine, please try to seal the edge where the wall is behind the lip of trailer, behind that big wheel. I hosed the camper off behind each wheel base to get leaves out that got suck behind there and water ran all in my floor. And that is another spot where rain water is getting in the camper as well. I had to pull all my tile up as so the floor could dry out. It would have been nice if that press board had been water sealed on the inside as well. This goes for both seals behind the wheels. Next big thing! The air conditioner needs to be able to be pulled out of the back of the camper when in use, as all the hot air from the airconditoner is released inside of the camper, even though there is a vent there, the air seeps into the storage compartment, which was not sealed off, which I sealed off, but did not help at all. So I made the hole bigger re braced it, and removed the vent and put a removable door there, as so I could plug the whole when in storage and during travel. Also the floor under the airconditioner was really rotten. As the airconditioner was not draining down the hole properly and getting on the wood, when I was trying to use it with the original design. Again the floor needs to be water sealed. The roof is leaking in all four corners, my walls are warped due to this, I have put silicone there multiple times, Including when I got home from picking it up from you!, I am not sure the solution to this?? Maybe more sealant around the wood when you put the roof on. It seems to be leaking at the joints where you connected that vinyl on the roof to the aluminum. That entire seem on both ends leak. I siliconed the crap out of it to no avail! I am thinking of replacing that vinyl with the pastic shower panels, I used for the inside ceiling. I Also siliconed in the nail holes and around the nails on the inside as water was dripping down the nails into the ceiling, I had to replace the ceiling. I replaced It with shower panels, that are water resistant solid fiberglass that are. $35 per 4×8 sheet. A little pricey, but a nice upgrade from the paper backed board that warped when it got wet. I am contemplating replacing my warped walls with this as well. Also the holes where the lights are located both the accent lights and brake lights are leaking into the walls. I siliconed them both inside and out. I would also upgrade from wire nuts to soldier, or the very least those wire crimps, as all my lights had a bad connection. Also the outlets need to have the backing protector on them, for protection from all the water that is leaking through the untreated wood and under sealed seams and for bracing, as all my outlets are pulling out of the wall. Also the entire trailer frame is rusting, I applied sprayable truck bed liner to the frame andwheel housings. Oh when I tore down the ceiling I noticed there was a lot of condensation under the insulation. I had a heater on inside and it was cold outside, thus condensation on the cooler aluminum! You might want to consider those shower plastic panels or something like it instead of that aluminum! I sprayed leak seal on the aluminum on the inside, and that seemed to stop th e condensation for now. My window with the sliding panel that has a screen on one side,leaks through the screen side even when the window is closed, I would get away from using this window. And go to one that closes tightly down on the bottom that has a screen on the outside. And I would have bought you a couple of cans of Thompsons Water Sealer, if I had known the entire frame was going to get wet and rot!
I know a lot of corners where cut in the production of my camper, as it was producted for less revenue. I might have gotten a camper worth 3,500, but I doubt it!. As you informed me when I ordered mine that you were doubling the price. If I had paid 6 or 7 grand for this camper, with these issues, you and I would have a serious problem. Infact I would be having you replace all of these failed elements, but I feel that I am repairing it with higher quality materials than you would. And I will cut no corners.
Thanks,
Bridgett Jenkins CST
I’ve just come from a court mandated mediation with the previous owner of Toad Trailers, LLC. We’d ordered and paid $6k for a Tadpole trailer, in 2011. After years have passed, we canceled the build and asked for our money back. Never received a dime. We finally made the decision to file a lawsuit against the company (we’re not alone I might add) and they offered $1k as form of compensation to us! We can go to court, but even though our chances of winning are very good, it’ll be years, if ever, we see a dime from this man. Lesson learned.
Bridget, have you been in contact with them lately? I understood they went out of business?
Nope, I sent the owner that email on linked In, I never got a reply. I did manage to strip reframe and rebuild my camper myself. It took me about 8 months to do. And around $1000 to do it. I water treated what was left of the frame with water sealer along with the wood I rebuilt it with I corrected the design flaws with the air conditioning , and wrapped it with house wrap about 10 times. And insulated it with both fiberglass in between the beams. And styrofoam sheets on top of the beams, both inside and out. I used coroplast for the outside covering, which does not look as good as the aluminum it came with, but it was a lot easier to work with. It took me a month just to get all of that aluminum off. So I was not going to go through that again. He had built it with just a frame, no structural walls, and no house wrap! Just the aluminum attached straight to the frame with sheet metal screws piercing holes through the Unprotected un treated wood! It is no wonder it leaked and rotted out! This guy is, was a preacher who claimed to have cancer. Well all I have to say is thAt Karma is a bitch!
I’m looking to purchase a used one.
How do I appraise it?.
Its a 2011 sport.
Any help will be appreciated.
Big things come in small packages. Toad campers are designed in a way that they are of lightest weight and easy to pull. Thanks for sharing details.