Zyl Vardos Makes a Teardrop

teardrop

by Abel Zyl Zimmerman Though I normally build tiny houses, I don’t limit myself to that kind of structure. So, I recently built this teardrop trailer for some really sweet people who live just a few blocks down the hill from me. It is always so hard to fall in … Read more

1952 Kom-Pak Sportsman

With some families trying to get in a few more weekends of camping before school starts, I thought I would share some photos of a rare 1952 Kom-Pak Sportsman teardrop trailer that I ran into at my local grocery store. Bob Sullivan of Nevada was towing around his white trailer … Read more

Our Home Built Teardrop Trailer

Rebecca with ceiling of teardrop

by Rebecca Turner After 6 years of living in the real world (aka – not college) we’ve come to the conclusion that the path we are following might not be exactly what we wanted after all. We are finding that we are letting the daily grind of our jobs wear … Read more

Blonde Coyote’s Teardrop Trailer

The Blonde Coyote travels the backroads of the American West with a pair of trusty canines, a Subaru named “Raven” and a handcrafted teardrop trailer named “Rattler”. Mary Caperton Morton (aka The Blonde Coyote) is a freelance science and travel writer, photographer and a professional housesitter who has spent the past couple of years moving around the country every four to six months. Mary used to live out of her car in between housesitting jobs and carried her camping gear on the car’s roof rack – until she fell in love with teardrop trailers.

“I saw my first teardrop at a campground at Guadalupe National Park in Texas and fell instantly in love,” Mary said. “Less than a month later, I bought my own. I had been casting about for the next iteration of my life on the road. After 7 years of living out of my car in between housesitting gigs, I was craving some personal space, but I wasn’t willing to settle in one place. The teardrop was the perfect solution!”

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2012 T@B Trailer

The T@B is back! Dutchmen, the original manufacturers of the T@B, discontinued the production and support of the colorful, stylish little trailer in 2009, much to the chagrin of die-hard T@B owners and fans. One reason for this might have been because of the high cost of the various parts of the trailer that came from Europe. The rights to the popular trailer has now been acquired by Little Guy Worldwide, a company that makes teardrop trailers. Little Guy has partnered with Pleasant Valley Teardrop Trailers (the people who built my teardrop) to build the T@Bs. The Ohio-based company was also considering acquiring the T@B name and business at the same time as Little Guy, but instead decided to partner with Little Guy and their large fan-base.

The new 15-foot long T@B has the same smart and sassy design, options and details as the original, but is still in the initial floor plan phase. Little Guy has added some additional amenities such as an outdoor shower with a 2.5 gallon heated tank, a 3-way refrigerator that can run off 12 volt, 110 or propane and a detachable screen door. The trailer is about 1,500 pounds fully loaded, contains a sink and a 2-burner LP stove, a propane tank and battery attached to the front and has a 5 gallon fresh water tank. The interior has birch cabinetry, storage under and over the seating/Queen bed combo, a small closet, a Port-a-Potty, an LP furnace/CoolCat air conditioner and several upholstery designs.

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Teardrops for MINIs

For those of us who want summer to go on for just a little bit longer, here are some tiny teardrop trailers that exemplify the ease of summer camping. MiniTears are beautifully designed and built by Kurt Bowden in Northern California for MINI Cooper enthusiasts and other small car owners. … Read more