I purchased my Little Guy a few months ago and took my first trip, of any length, during the early part of Oct.– My trip was from Oregon through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Mich. and Wisc.–Total round trip took 3 weeks, traveling 5,200 miles.

This was an inspiring trip for a recently widowed, 74 year old fellow who has always relied upon motels for traveling accommodations. I can’t say enough about the convenience, fun and relaxing experiences this trip afforded me. I went through: snow, rain and wind over the length of the trip and the Little Guy handled without incident. When the weather overcame me with little or no notice, I had no problem finding a place to put down for the night or until the weather pattern changed to more favorable conditions. —Looking forward to my next adventure in the springtime, mainly so I can spend
more time cooking my own meals on the road. I’m in the planning stage of putting together another trip in the Spring. High desert of Oregon to Death Valley, Yosemite, Grand Canyon with a visit to New Mexico and return.

Dean Hatfield
Roseburg, Oregon

By Ken Masden (TOWline25, teardrops.org)

This was our first vintage rally where we actually showed a vintage trailer. It was the 1935 Masterbilt being towed by our 1936 Oldsmobile convertible sedan. Of course Marty and I were just glad to be there basking in the glow of our trailer being shown (having just completed the trailer the day before leaving for Deming and having a few car problems on the way up). There was a steady stream of folks through the trailer with lots of favorable comments. Everyone was amazed by the bathtub. Most everyone took a look through the scrap book Trudy Glassett so kindly made for us and were amazed as to how bad the trailer looked when we drug it home, then when Rod Glassett tore it completely apart and then how nice it came back together. Rod really did most of the “back together” part. Then my friend and neighbor Alan Whitney and I did a lot of work on windows and other details. Ed Kelson did the beautiful exterior paint job and Doug Cronn did the interior paint (which also turned out great). Marty’s friend Carol made our curtains for the final touch. Doug Keister sent us eight great photos he took of the car and trailer at the rally that will be added to the scrap book. The weather was hot and muggy, but everyone was having fun. The speakers did great. Doug Keister’s presentation was superb. Doug autographed his new book Teardrops and Tiny Trailers for everyone. Forrest Bone with TCT did a fine presentation also. The potluck went well with plenty for everyone. The desert potluck went fine also. Pat Ewing, our host, said he was more relaxed than ever before and thus able to enjoy the rally this year. The car died (or almost died) about five times on way to the rally. I think the fuel pump may be weak. After the first time, I figured out that I could hit the electric fuel pump switch and hold it long enough to climb hills and/or accelerate. I also learned how much gas I could give it before it conked out.

During the rally, I took a couple of guys into town. The car died, but Bob Johnson was with me. He had us going again after (hopefully) fixing it for good. Del Little was along also and helped diagnose the electrical problem that we had (not just the weak fuel pump issue this time).

We had no car problems on the way home. This time the Birleys and Jacobsons followed us down the highway. Just to be safe!

I thought this was the best meet that Pat and Joanne have ever hosted. We spent most of the time showing our Masterbilt. Gary and Sally Lodholm’s trailer was beautiful and big crowd draw also. There may have been more trailers than ever before and such a variety too.. So many beautiful ones, we didn’t know where to start looking. We loved the beautiful wood interiors on a lot of trailers. Many were as beautiful as one would see in a fine yacht. It was a great rally – fun to get together with old friends and make new friends. Thanks to Pat and Joanne Ewing (and the many volunteers who helped them make the rally a great success)! A good time was had by all!

“I have always been a fairly keen camper; Scouts, Army and time in PNG. I started with a modest camp kit, slowly building it up, getting the bug to buy more and more stuff, competing with friends for ownership of the latest and best camp gadgetry until someone remarked – “You don’t go camping, you move house for the weekend!”

I got sick and tired of the planning, then the set up and horror upon horror the pack up and clean up when you got home.

I have been interested in a camper trailer for a number of years, making my annual pilgrimage to the Camping and Caravan Show, tantalizing myself looking at all the latest offerings none of which I could afford. Not only that, but I didn’t see anything that interested me or which I felt offered the versatility sufficient enough to motivate me in the direction of my trusty bank loans officer.

Then one day I bought a copy of the Campertrailer Guide. Whilst pleasantly engaged leafing through the comprehensive and spectacularly expensive range of camper trailers on offer, I turned the page and nearly dropped the magazine. There was this miniature caravan, perfect in every detail offering a world of escapism without the need for a 100 series V8 Landcruiser or a Ford F250.

As I had recently disposed of a very nice but costly 4WD myself, and now parked a very modest and rather elderly Toyota Camry in my garage, the size of this tiny caravan was very appealing. Not only that but how handy it would be for those overnight BBQ’s where you either don’t drink, catch a cab home or wake up stiff and sore after a night spent on the lounge room floor!

I sent an E-mail to the address on the article and made an appointment to see for myself the following Saturday. I wasn’t disappointed. As soon as I saw the Teardrop Campers I knew I had to have one. It wasn’t long before Reiner (Who makes them) and Sam (His Lady) were showing me all the ins and outs the Teardrop had to offer. It must have been my lucky day because Reiner had a demo model for sale considerably cheaper than the usual price. I lost no time in convincing my bank manager that a Teardrop Camper was the most vital item necessary to survive the next ten years, and picked up my new pride and joy a week later.

I have every intention of travelling extensively with the T/D (Not the Camry) and to this end have installed a full battery system with solar panel, made improvements to the kitchen and generally customized it to suit myself. I have taken it out camping on every opportunity and it has performed as well as or beyond my expectations. It’s comfortable and convenient, easy and hassle free. It is certainly not one of those things which will sit in the back yard because of the drama involved in moving it.

Your Fellow Teardropper

Leigh

In “honor” of Halloween this month, we are featuring some “scary” camping stories.  At the end of this one, there is a link for some more (keep in mind, these are all fictional and likely intended to scare kids)
Dancing with the Devil retold by S. E. Schlosser

The girl hurried through her schoolwork as fast as she could. It was the night of the high school dance, along about 70 years ago in the town of Kingsville, Texas. The girl was so excited about the dance. She had bought a brand new, sparkly red dress for the dance. She knew she looked smashing in it. It was going to be the best evening of her life.

Then her mother came in the house, looking pale and determined.

“You are not going to that dance,” her mother said.

“But why?” the girl asked her mother.

“I’ve just been talking to the preacher. He says the dance is going to be for the devil. You are absolutely forbidden to go,” her mother said.

The girl nodded as if she accepted her mother’s words. But she was determined to go to the dance. As soon as her mother was busy, she put on her brand new red dress and ran down to the K.C. Hall where the dance was being held.

As soon as she walked into the room, all the guys turned to look at her. She was startled by all the attention. Normally, no one noticed her. Her mother sometimes accused her of being too awkward to get a boyfriend. But she was not awkward that night. The boys in her class were fighting with each other to dance with her.

Later, she broke away from the crowd and went to the table to get some punch to drink. She heard a sudden hush. The music stopped. When she turned, she saw a handsome man with jet black hair and clothes standing next to her.

“Dance with me,” he said.

She managed to stammer a “yes”, completely stunned by this gorgeous man. He led her out on the dance floor. The music sprang up at once. She found herself dancing better than she had ever danced before. They were the center of attention.

Then the man spun her around and around. She gasped for breath, trying to step out of the spin. But he spun her faster and faster. Her feet felt hot. The floor seemed to melt under her. He spun her even faster. She was spinning so fast that a cloud of dust flew up around them both so that they were hidden from the crowd.

When the dust settled, the girl was gone. The man in black bowed once to the crowd and disappeared. The devil had come to his party and he had spun the girl all the way to hell.

http://www.americanfolklore.net/rv.html

Kevin Hauser provides a personal story that explains his transition into a teardrop camper trailer – please take a read on his website, here: http://www.kuffelcreek.com/teardrop_trailer1.htm

My first camping trip was with my grandparents when I was five years old. They were determined that I should have the “ultimate camping experience.” So, we went swimming in a lake, tried (unsuccessfully) to catch our dinner, and then tried (successfully – unfortunately) to catch a “pet.”

My Poppa propped a box up on a forked twig, tied a string to the twig and stuck a carrot underneath. Then we snuck back into the tent and waited for our rabbit to come. Finally we heard a noise! There was something in our box!

We pulled the string excitedly, proud that our plan had actually worked. And then we crept up on the box, gently raised the lid, and got sprayed by a skunk. After that moment, the only thing I remember is bathing in tomato juice and have my sisters tease me for smelling bad.

My grandparents were shocked that I begged them to go camping again, and even more shocked that my parents agreed after the fiasco on our first trip. But although it had a pretty stinky ending, my trip is definitely memorable.

We have owned our teardrop since April of 2006.  It is extremely well built and we absolutely love it.  It is so light and easy to tow.  One of our favorite pastimes is to watch the big RVs or pop-ups back in.  Then we time them to see how long it takes before they are able to sit down and relax.  Our setup involves getting out our chairs and our picnic lunch.

The first year we did a Passport Program with Missouri State Parks and traveled throughout the State of Missouri camping and visiting Historic Sites.  We camped at Sam A. Baker State Park and it rained 10 inches in the area that night.  We slept like babies.  We opened our door in the morning to find the campground totally under water.  I don’t think we would have been sleeping if we would have been tent camping!

We really love the outdoors and spend most of our time outside anyway.  Our teardrop is perfect to fall into in the evening for a great night’s sleep, as well as secure.  People are always interested in seeing it and are quite amazed.  We call it our Bed & Breakfast.

If you see a Teardrop on the road or in the parks, honk and wave.  It might just be us.