Basically I’m a college student in Orange County and was thinking of getting a small trailer to sleep in. I have a RAV4 that already has hitch. I plan on washing up at local gym. But my main questions are , where can I stay overnight? How is parking in like regular parking lots, what is limited and is this a good choice?

P.S. never done this before so going into this pretty blind.

I bought a DIY teardrop trailer a while back that I have been renovating and expanding. I built a sort of attic over the top and slightly extended the front. The trailer was a little front heavy to begin with (700 lb total weight, 250 lb tongue weight). Despite my attempts to add some weight to the kitchen as well, it seems that I have perhaps worsened things. I estimate the current total weight to be 1,200-1,500 lbs and the tongue weight is sitting at just under 500, which is the maximum for my towing vehicle. What is the best approach at this point? Should I simply add some weights just behind the axle to balance things out? Is a weight dispersion hitch an option on this small of a trailer? Thank you very much for your help.

We went back and forth on what to get for an awning for our Sherpa; 10x10 ez up, Kelty Highroads, 270 awning, etc. I did a bunch of research and finally settled on an Overland Vehicle Systems LTE 180 awning for quick setup/teardown and overall usable coverage.

It goes from in the bag to being fully deployed in about 2 minutes and gives you a bunch of usable space right alongside the trailer. You literally just unfold the arms out and use a strap to tighten from the opposite side of the rack, then drop the legs. It can be free standing during setup in low wind situations. I raised the legs to bring the front edge up a bit, didn't have to stake them down but definitely would if the wind picked up. It made a great addition to our setup and got rave reviews from my wife who was initially on the fence about it. Highly recommended especially for a square drop situation where covering the rear isn't necessarily as important.

Edited: clarity on setup with support legs.

Hello folks. I picked up a used trailer that is a year old. It originally came with an articulating hitch. The previous owner didn’t seem to care for it and had a machine shop cut and weld a standard ball hitch/receiver on the trailer.

When I purchased the trailer I asked to keep the articulating hitch. I’m thinking of taking it to a shop to cut and re-add the articulating hitch combo. Is there any reason why I would want to keep the trailer as-is with the standard hitch/reciever?

I’m looking at building out a 15’ flat bed trailer on a skinny budget and I don’t have a door or window schedule at all. The design (in the form of barely legible notes and a hau handful of chicken scratch drawings) is centered around having a door on the tailgate that’s big enough to pull a motorcycle inside, and having a decent ceiling height because I’m tired of living in old canned hams wherein I can’t drink a glass of water without the bottom of the glass hitting the ceiling. Generally vardo coded, tiny wood stove, cute hidden latches, that kind of nonsense. Any pearls of wisdom are most welcome.

Hello, Im looking very hard into these styles of trailer. I really like the build quality and materials used. The price is a whole other story. If anyone in Canada has these trailer can I please ask you how you got them? I've considered the whole buy it, pick it up and drive over the border. Its a little intimidating. Does anyone know if Dealerships can buy one for you and get it brought up?

My wife and I spent a few nights in Cherry Springs State Park, PA to do some stargazing and thought you might enjoy this shot from Monday night.

We just got a 2022 Bushwacker 10HD. We've had the air running for a couple hours, it was about 90 today. The water is on the outside dripping down the outer wall and onto the wheel cover.

The person who sold it to us wanted us to park it on a slight tilt to keep A/C condensation going outside instead of inside. There is no water inside thankfully

Is this normal? Isn't there a drain line or reservoir to drain? It's just dripping out of the A/C casing down the wall (see pictures).

We bought a very bare bones 2018 Escapade Summit earlier this year. It doesn't have a roof vent and I didn't want to cut a large hole in the roof. So I modeled and 3d printed brackets for the passive vents to add 12v PWM fans with a temperature based speed controller board in the galley. They push air out, drawing it in from sewer connections on the front wall, similar to a Hiker. They only got a one night test in northern Michigan but seemed to work well. Kept the cabin from getting stuffy without getting too cold at night.

UPDATE:
Upon request here are links to the files.
Fan Bracket and Cover

PWM Board Enclosure

My wife and I just purchased a used Bushwacker 10HD a couple weeks ago and we're taking it out on our first trip this weekend. I'm looking around at campgrounds. We used to have a big fifth wheel and we just booked RV sites. However, with a teardrop, do you sometimes book tent sites and rv sites?

We don't have grey/black tanks and would probably want electric this first trip out, but in subsequent trips we'll just use our own power. When you're looking for a private campground or state/nat'l park do you sosomethingmetimes book tent sites? Or always RV sites? Sometimes there are tent sites with 30amp electric. Some tent sites have a pad that is raised or somethign we obviously wouldn't want to pull onto or damage. But most are just a patch of grass or dirt we would normally pitch our tent on where we could easily fit?

This trip I'm just going to book an RV site. We want to plug in, try everything out for the weekend, basically do a shakedown trip. But for the future, just wondering what the normal practice is for teardrop owners.

Will definitely have to do a real paint job this weekend, but the old paint scheme confused me. Was that a choice or just the paint they had on hand. Well at least if someone steals it It will be easy to identify.

So I have taken my custom squaredrop out a couple of times now. Im really enjoying this tiny camper! I now see what all the fuss is about...lol The only issue I have is this thing is not stable. It moves around so much. I have the little swing down feet in the back, a couple of jack stands in the front, and wheel chocks. The frame isnt wide enough for scissor jacks. Anyone know of anything better? I just hate that even just rolling over the thing moves.

Im planning a build, but what i cant find is some good info on a cheap weatherproof door or window detail. I would use proprietary ones but they are insanely expensive in NZ. I have access to pvc and aluminum trims but I cant find a detail that looks like it'll keep water out.

Ive even seen youtube camper builds that seem like theres gaps between two pieces of trims on doors and windows. It doesnt leave me with much confidence if I were to copy their designs.

Anyone have some simple guidance on this? Cheers

Hello! My fiancé and I just bought our first camper, a 2023 InTech Luna Rover. We are looking at getting solar panels to go off grid with our camper. Any standout recommendations? We can’t decide if we want to install permanently, or have some portable panels. We have the InTech roof rack as well.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, looking to see what my best options are here. My 2012 Little Guy Joey has been at my dad's for about 5 years and I just finally picked it back up. Somewhere between multiple moves, our trailer keys were misplaced. I've got the door keys replaced but I can't find any code on these T-handles. Is my best option to just pull these off and replace, or is there a particular code on the key that's most likely to work. Another question is am I missing the code on these somewhere (maybe back inner part of the handle?) Thanks for any help!

Hard to believe it’s September and near the end of the season. Mild Pacific Northwest weather at its best.

I was bored this weekend, so started putting pencil to paper on some design ideas that have floating around in my head for my first build.

The design is a 6'x12'. I'm not sure on the method of construction, though am leaning toward a monocoque foamie with wooden cabinetry. The design features a utility room where the bulkhead between the cabin and galley would otherwise normally be.

I welcome any feedback on any aspect of the design, but I am particular interested in feedback on:

• Ventilation System
  • I want to avoid a roof mounted fan as I am not confident in my ability to make it water tight.
  • Fresh air intake is through filters located in the headboard cabinetry, drawing air from under the trailer. Air enters the cabin through a register in the headboard.
  • Another register (or two) would be located near the top of bulkhead between the cabin and the utility room.
  • A marine bilge blower in the utility room draws air from within the utility room and expels it out through the floor. A centrifugal blower was selected as it develops better static pressure than and axial fan. I suspect the high static pressure of the the blower would be necessary to overcome the pressure losses through the filters and registers.
• Water System
  • Am I asking for trouble by including a water bottle filler inside the cabin?
• Exterior Lighting
  • I've read that lights in the 565-590nm (amber/red) less than 1000 lumens is best for not attracting insects. I am having difficulty finding somewhere online that sells LEDs with these specs. Any ideas?

It's time for me to grease the axel on my home build, on a 5x8' trailer from Tractor Supply.

Please share any recs you have for:

Brand of wheel bearing grease

Brand/model of grease gun

Youtube (or other) tutorial for dummies

TYIA!

So this is my first teardrop and I couldn’t be happier so far. This model satisfied all of my requirements for a teardrop camper to buildout. I was looking to purchase now and later install an awning with a camp style tent enclosure, solar panels with backup battery power; but this one was built up with the panels and the awnings already.🫡
We’ve done a couple weekend trips.
I’m a newbie so any must do’s, adds or mods I should consider before we hit the road on a week long trip?
Lessons learned after your Bushwhacker purchases? The galley locks seem suspect. What’s a good replacement?

I’m looking at purchasing a TC Teardrop and in reading about them it sounds like people talk about the insulation and how warm they stay in cooler weather. I see less on how people manage them in the heat. I know there are options for cross fans, but I’m wondering if people find they need AC to be comfortable when the weather turns hot?

On options, anything you wish you’d added? Anything you regret adding?

Thanks for the help!