Teardrop Camper

[2002 Maxima SE]

We've been tent camping for over 7 years. A few years back we added a tent (one for us and one for the kids) which was nice for extra space.

For about a year, we've been planning a teardrop. This made the most sense for us as it's easy to tow, easy to store, the kitchen galley makes storage and cleaning easy and having heat/ac will be nice when the wife and I go solo.

I pulled the trigger on one over the weekend after months of research. 2021 Nucamp TAG Boondocks.

For those that own a teardrop, what are some tips?

 

[skyactiv]

The owner has a link to his RV website that might interest you. The link is above General and Off Topic or click on this https://rvthe.us/community/

 

[Pablo]

We rented several of the very near models over the last few years. We had tons of fun. That looks like a solid unit Enjoy!!!!!!!!

Pluses for us:
No more tents. In fact we got rid of two of our tents. Down to one and a pop-up.
Easy to tow. Tacoma didn't even work up a sweat
We loved the model with the kitchen out back. Absolutely fabulous! Even cooking in the rain was no problem.
With truck just put bikes and totes in truck bed
PRICE!!!!!!!!

Cons:
It's a trailer. Had enough. (this is largest factor). Small thing is tougher to back up than a huge trailer.
To leave and take off, not hard, but time consuming.
Several were just all bed, one could not even stand up inside (silly)
Ditto the standable space is limited even when not all bed

For these reasons we went van. Expensive. Don't even look. You made a good decision!

 

[fsdork]

You've probably become very good at conserving water and power resources while tent camping - don't make any assumptions about how long those will last in the trailer, including the grey water tank, if equipped. Depending on what the trailer is equipped with, a standard Group 24 starter/deep cycle battery can get chewed through in a hurry if you are running something like a furnace or refrigerator. When we bought our small travel trailer, I definitely lacked that understanding.

For the above reasons and others, try to make your first trip close to home, or at least close-ish to civilization. It's easier to keep the trip going if you can pop into town and grab the thing you forgot or didn't realize you needed.

 

[IndyIan]

We toured around in rented camper vans for a few months and my tip, is try not to use your toilet! Messing around with that, trying to find a dump station that is open but not with a line up isn't worth the convenience... We quickly learned that its for emergency use only.
The second van we got didn't have one at all and it wasn't missed.

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

No toilet or grey or black water tanks. Our only concerns were:
Lack of space for clothes
No room to stand

I've seen that solved with smallish side tent. We typically stay at state or federal parks and use their facilities, so shower and toilet were not a need or want.

 

[Oldwolf]

That looks like a nice unit. I have been toying around with getting an a-liner.

 

[Pablo]

We toured around in rented camper vans for a few months and my tip, is try not to use your toilet! Messing around with that, trying to find a dump station that is open but not with a line up isn't worth the convenience... We quickly learned that its for emergency use only.
The second van we got didn't have one at all and it wasn't missed.

Pooping is banned in the van. I cannot even imagine the stench nor would I want to!!

 

[mk378]

That looks a lot more sophisticated that most of the ones I see, which are basically a box cobbled together on a utility trailer frame. Door on the left side is unconventional. The original concept is that you might be parallel parked so you'd want the door facing the sidewalk not out into the street, so RVs always have the door on the right or "curb" side, and campgrounds are set up assuming this. I guess that is an awning on the right side for conventional camping. The top rails look made for solar panels, at least that is what I would use them for.

Be careful when loading you don't have too much tongue weight. The axle is pretty far back and I guess the only thing behind the axle is the sleeping area, which is not going to be very heavy. It's always a good idea the first time you load out a new rig to weigh it at a truck stop and make sure all axle weights are within spec.

 

[IndyIan]

No toilet or grey or black water tanks. Our only concerns were:
Lack of space for clothes
No room to stand

I've seen that solved with smallish side tent. We typically stay at state or federal parks and use their facilities, so shower and toilet were not a need or want.

Yep, the only time I was standing was to cook and do the dishes, and you are doing those at the back outside, so it should be great.
I would err on more tongue weight rather than less, you shouldn't have too much variation unless you are storing 10 of gallons of water at the back, or a hitch mount full of 4 bikes hanging off the back of the trailer.
A light tongue is a fast way to have a bad day. Tongue heavy isn't a big deal IMO as long as your tow vehicle has the tire capacity, which I think everything is pretty over tired except for minivans, especially ones with soft independent rear suspension with rear camber like this
/----\
Your truck or the Outback won't care too much about an extra 50lbs pressing down on the hitch, but if you get near zero weight or negative, the tail can start wagging the dog.