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I’m new here. Before children, my husband and I used to tent camp a lot. We love the outdoors, hiking, national parks etc. In our empty nest years we are thinking to get a small trailer to do some exploring of the USA. I romanticize the idea of getting a teardrop and being that couple who sets up camp in our teeny tiny trailer, but is it unrealistic to think that this middle age, sort of chubby from life with a few aches and pains would enjoy such a trailer? Also thinking about an escape 19, but really don’t want something so big to tow. Thoughts on teardrops? Are they only for the young crowd?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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When we decided to get a trailer in our early 60s we looked at many of them, spending much of a day at each dealer over about 6 weekends. There are two main reasons that we avoided the small and teardrop trailers:
1. They have a "wet bath" in which the whole room is the shower, so the toilet and sink are getting wet.
2. The bed goes to the walls, you have to climb over the bed and possibly your mate to get in and out of it.
Other advantages to a bigger trailer are larger refrigerator, and more seating. We also disliked those with pop-out tent-like beds because there are bears where we camp. Of course the disadvantage is needing a larger vehicle. We ended up with 25' trailer that weighs 4,000 dry, and an F150 5.0 V8 with 385 horsepower.
There are teardrops with slides, and those get you additional space, but add weight. The best teardrop we saw was the Forest River R-Pod 189, which has a dry bath, but the queen bed has walls on 3 sides.
We are seniors and considered one too. I share the concern about getting out of the bed although I guess some models have doors on both sides. They are very expensive even used for what you get.
We had a pop up for decades, the beds were basically a 1" pad over plywood. It just got too hard for me as I got older. Now in our 60's we find a big tent and a couple of cots from Walmart is much more comfortable and has more room for the dog. And I no longer have to worry about pulling a trailer.
Before children, my husband and I used to tent camp a lot.
...but is it unrealistic to think that this middle age, sort of chubby from life with a few aches and pains would enjoy such a trailer?
It comes down to how far (radius from home) you'll want to roam and how long you'll want to stay away.
A week out and about within a 200 mile radius of home... you'll be fine with just about anything.
I like the idea of cooking outside. The nucamp boondock looks appealing to us. I also don’t think we would need a shower. I don’t know, maybe we would miss that. I like the simplicity of the tiny trailers. We don’t know what we are missing if we never had it in the first place. Know what I mean?
It comes down to how far (radius from home) you'll want to roam and how long you'll want to stay away.
A week out and about within a 200 mile radius of home... you'll be fine with just about anything.
We are in NC and would go up and down the east coast and even west. I feel like we could roll into a koa every now and again for a shower if we needed to. That’s what I’m thinking.
I’m new here. Before children, my husband and I used to tent camp a lot. We love the outdoors, hiking, national parks etc. In our empty nest years we are thinking to get a small trailer to do some exploring of the USA. I romanticize the idea of getting a teardrop and being that couple who sets up camp in our teeny tiny trailer, but is it unrealistic to think that this middle age, sort of chubby from life with a few aches and pains would enjoy such a trailer? Also thinking about an escape 19, but really don’t want something so big to tow. Thoughts on teardrops? Are they only for the young crowd?
The couple parked across from me right now have a very nice teardrop. Great kitchen in the back, doors on either side. They're at least as old as I am - 73.
What matters is how YOU plan to travel and what makes YOU comfortable. And this is true no matter what your age is.
If you're not doing much camping now, start doing weekend trips with the vehicle and the stuff you already have or can get inexpensively at a thrift store. As you do it, you will quickly learn what you're comfortable with. And then you can upgrade your used items to better ones, or re-donate the items you find you don't actually use. You can also rent different kinds of trailers and camping vans, and get a feel for what they're like.
One of my favorite you tubers is a guy named Slim Potatohead. He used to have a pop-up and now has a small fiberglass travel trailer. It's his trailer, and he mods it to be just how HE likes it, you can too. There are a lot of travelers on youtube who are VERY creative.
I personally left tents behind and now travel in a cargo van - because I wanted a real bed and because I LIKE camping in the rain. And if someone gave me a great van with a shower, the first thing I'd do is get rid of the shower. On the other hand, plenty of people go to great lengths to cobble up showers in their vehicles. You can have things exactly the way you want them, so the first thing you need to do is find out exactly how you like things. And you can only learn that by doing.
I have been seriously researching buying a Ford Van and making it a simple camper. I agree about no shower, every camp ground has them and you can make do with one of those solar showers by the camp site.
I’m new here. Before children, my husband and I used to tent camp a lot. We love the outdoors, hiking, national parks etc. In our empty nest years we are thinking to get a small trailer to do some exploring of the USA. I romanticize the idea of getting a teardrop and being that couple who sets up camp in our teeny tiny trailer, but is it unrealistic to think that this middle age, sort of chubby from life with a few aches and pains would enjoy such a trailer? Also thinking about an escape 19, but really don’t want something so big to tow. Thoughts on teardrops? Are they only for the young crowd?
go to youtube and type in teardrop campers, there are tons of videos of them, all different sizes and shapes.
many of the videos show older people who seem to be doing quite well with them.
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