What made you choose a campinn?

Hi,
Just wondering how you all came to find out about campinns, and tear drops in general and see if it relates to our experience so far. I'm more curious than anything, would be interesting to see the different paths to reason. I've been reading all these threads here, since we've more or less decided we're going to order a 560 this fall for delivery next year, which has been a fun process to come to this decision. In no small part to the info on this forum I might add, it's been an invaluable resource of information, probably could not have come to this conclusion were it not for this great resource (great job Evan).
Our story: My wife and I have had camping families, we had a tent trailer (apache), my wifes family a tent. My wife and I met in '92 and we were tent campers until around 2002, our kids were 4 and 2 at the time. We sat in rain one day under the rear hatch of our minivan during a tent camping trip kind of bummed at the wetness around us, looking at my brother high and dry in their pop-up camper. We said "we got to get one of those". Price and weight were right. We had that 10 years until 2012 where we decided it might be kind of nice to extend our camping season a bit and get hard sides. We knew we wanted small, light, nothing monsterous. We did some research for a while, but for some reason did not come across a campinn, or teardrops for that matter. We did come across an rpod, and bought one, and liked the fact it was small and light. I just didn't want to get roped into something heavy and bulky, as we like to spend our time outdoors anyway (when possible, I live in WA). We did at the time look at a couple other models, one of them a camplite. They do have something good going there, but I just keep getting the feeling the rv thing isn't our style, and my wife agrees. Toilets and showers are overrated. We have both in our rpod and we find we use the facilities at the campground, for one because the shower is quite tiny and the facility ones are just better, and two because I don't want to deal with dreaded black tank. Yuck. We've been looking in early spring for something different. It is mainly due to the fact the bed is 72" long, and I just cannot get a good night sleep in it. I need about 2-3 more inches and I think I'd be ok. Another reason is the generally shoddy construction I'm not happy with. Things are kind of coming loose here and there. Inside the drawers is just a miriad of wood screws driven at odd angles through sticks. Just kind of "meh". And some paneling has fallen off. I did take a look at the camplites again, kind of intriguing, but still kind of cookie cutter, boring. Then one day I was surfing youtube, don't even know what search term I used that day, but it was different that the other 1000 days of surfing camper videos because up popped a campinn video by dogorunning. I was kind of shell shocked and my jaw kind of dropped when I first saw it. I called my wife down and we watched it about 5 times. What really stood out for me was the apparent construction and how solid it was, and that kitchen. wow. Then Wha? bunks? sofa? TV? Lots of storage? Nice and light? Aerodynamic too? So we went to look at a 560 about a month ago and seeing one solidified our decision. We're just taking our time figuring out options now for an order later. We're going to make a trip of it in June/July 2015 to visit S. Dakota and Wyoming which we've talked about for several years now anyway. We're stopping on the way there to see the "Mall of America" which one of my daughters insists we must do. yike
So curious how everyone else found this product? What was your decision process? Has anyone come from something bigger, like a 35' land yacht or something?

Cheers
David J.

 

I am sure my story is somewhere on here, but the short of it...my husband had a bilateral hip replacement at 39 and was no longer able to sleep on hard ground (it started before that, but these are the top of the line titanium hips, and he still couldn't, so we knew we were done with thermarests and tents). We also have a younger child, and wanted to get out, and I thought a little trailer that could fit all of us would be perfect. Like you I didn't want black water issues, and something basic enough I would feel like I could handle it on my own (my husband works a lot and I do a lot of trips on my own). He also didn't want me camping in a tent alone, and preferred that I could lock my doors. Plus, as you said, living in the NW can be pretty wet, even in summer, and those hard sides are a nice insurance policy!

Teardrops were something I was familiar with and I did a search about teardropping with kids. Not much came back. Did a search for teardrops with bunks, just as a total shot in the dark and Camp Inn came up first. As I was looking through the website, I fell more and more in love. Mick was skeptical at first, but told me to call the company. I called and talked to Cary for nearly 2 hours and he put us in touch with some folks in our area. We went out and had a look, and that night Mick said call and place the order. We honestly put our list together in about 2 days. It was crazy, and I have a few things I wish we had added, but don't regret anything else (plus they are easy to add on at some point).

We are 3.5 years in and have lots and lots of memories to show for it. One of the best purchases I have made.

 

We looked at about every kind of recreational vehicle on the market and decided the Camp Inn Teardrop was for us.
I insisted on something that could fit in the garage at home.
We chose the 500 Special because we camp at Florida State Parks which have all the facilities we need (water, hot showers, electricity, toilets).
That was nearly a year and a half ago. Then we decided to get 2 miniature poodle puppies! I panicked and thought we would need something bigger that we could stand up in.
Purchased a great TICLA Mojave tent to use up close to the side door and now we have all the room we need!!!
Camp Inn makes an EXTREMELY well made product.

 

Love of outdoors + rain + sore backs = purchasing a Camp-Inn.

We have always loved camping but it was getting harder to be motivated to do all the work associated with tent camping. One day we passed a woody teardrop on the freeway. We didn't know that teardrops had kitchens, but even just a bed on wheels seemed like a good idea at the time. In my research I kept hearing about Camp-Inn. Once I saw the bunks in the 560 I was sold. Almost 5 years later we still consider SnuggleBug the best purchase we have ever made.

 

Awesome comments. Sarah, may I ask which options you wish you had? Any you got that you could live without? And BTW great blog, bookmarked. I have that spot game in my amazon cart.

Susan_Alan, yes the garage advantage. I find that a huge deal myself, will just contribute to the longevity not to mention a little safer from theft. And great tip on the tent.

Evan thanks again for setting the forum up. I totally get the work associated with tent camping comment. Even the tent trailer after a while was more setup/takedown than I wanted to do. Not to mention an extra setup/takedown step at home to dry out if we had to pop down wet. bleh.

My plan is actually make my way through every section on here in the next several weeks, trying not to ask redundant questions which I've already succeeded in doing at least once. Lots of furnace posts. I think that is the one option that is the most difficult to nail down for me, but we've got a little while. I wish we could order right away but we really want to make a trip of it and really can't do it right until next summer. So patience is the name of the game this time.

 

David, I see that you're in the WA, are you coming to the NWRU, love to compare your rpod to Camp-Inn. If you are interested in another "what led you to Camp-Inn" story check out our's on page one of "The Dew Drop Inn Chronicles" in the Adventures and Excursions forum.

Michael

 

Thank you very much! I try to keep the blog fun and helpful for all people (even if you don't have kids you are traveling with).

I have the furnace, no a/c. Have only rethought that once, in 104 degree temps in Idaho last summer. I wouldn't trade my furnace for the world. We have an ultra and everything that comes with that. Happy with my sunroof. Wish I had the bumper, and am now thinking the receiving hitch wouldn't be a bad idea either. We can install that at a later date though. Would be lost without my door screens, they are a must. We have the roof rack mounts, but have never put anything up there. Not sure what our future looks like so we may use them, but probably could have done without those. I don't really have any regrets of things we have. Just wish on that bumper...didn't even see it on the list when we ordered for some reason, then learned later it was there and face palmed. Luckily, we haven't hit anything yet, but it is a nice little insurance policy.

 

What made me choose a Camp-Inn? I have posted this somewhere but one part of the story I haven't shared is that prior to purchasing the Raindrop, my significant other and I had just purchased a house-on-wheels. We embarked on our very first trip with the house-on-wheels and were about an hour down the road when I saw a silver blur pass us. I was intrigued. "Was that a holiday trailer?" I asked. . . . No response. "Huh, now that's what we should have bought," I said. . . . Still no comment from the said significant other. A few years later, minus a certain significant other I sold the house-on-wheels with the intention of buying what I wanted in the first place. Through much internet browsing I eventually found what was very likely the silver blur that I spied on the highway years prior: the Camp-Inn. Key decision factors were size, quality, and being able to see one in person. The hardest part about deciding to buy the Camp-Inn was the necessary trek to Necedah to pick it up and then import it into Canada.

What options did I get that I could live without? There weren't too many options that I didn't get. The sunroof is one option that I wouldn't repeat.

A less than optimal decision was to get the Dometic fridge/freezer. I chose the Dometic on the basis that I thought I would camp mostly at electrical sites but when I wasn't the solar option would do the trick. As it turns out I camp mostly camp off the grid. I have found that the solar system just can't produce enough energy to keep the trailer's battery level up and the Dometic purring - I like to camp in heavily forested areas so the solar system just doesn't get optimal sun.

I recently added a Yeti cooler to my camping supplies for use when I am relying on solar power. Although having the Dometic fridge/freezer unit is really nice (and I will continue to use it when at electrical sites), I probably would have been better served to just have the Yeti Cooler and one 30 Watt Goal Zero panel.

What options did I not get that I wish I had? The Alcove cover - I am getting that added to the trailer very soon.

 

More great info thanks.
Michelo we've had reservations for a family camping trip since late last year so I don't think we'll be making it this year but possibly next. I did read your story on the chronicles, great read, I identify your RV sentiments.
Sarah thanks for the great info, gold. Sunroof seems to have pros/cons but I don't recall seeing much about it in the options section, I think I read the whole thing. I may start a thread there about that.
Ceallach, funny story. If you don't mind why wouldn't you repeat the sunroof? Also how many watts is your solar panel? Your plan is something similar to what I've been tossing around in my noggin. We do plan on a super efficient cooler for dry camping, I just ordered a pelican but haven't received, they are on 3 week backorder. I was actually just recently clued in to the existence of these super efficient coolers, such as the Yeti and that other name here. I am all over that because that is something we can use right away. We've always had cheepies.
Great stories.

 

I'll send you a PM.

 

Why did I get a Camp-Inn?....I looked for something to keep me from setting a tent for a quick one or two day hunt. I wanted a tent on wheels. After looking at a few different brands,I found the Camp-Inn website and knew this product was special. I called Cary and we talked. He got us in touch with a 550 local to middle TN. This camper had many more extras I was not interested in. My wife liked what she saw. I explained my goals were not to have, water, propane, a/c, tv, two doors. Well we got water, propane, a/c, tv and two doors. Since we bought the camper, I have added bumper, galley windscreens, receiver hitch, and screen doors. We have had our camper five years and it still is special. Steve

 

Why did we choose Camp-Inn? Hard sides + outdoor kitchen. Once we knew we wanted that, we compared different brands of teardrops. We looked around online, and Camp-Inn was the name that kept coming up. While not custom, we liked that we could make some changes to configure it more to our needs. A quick visit to the factory confirmed it was the right choice for us. Good luck!

 

quality and good looks of camp inn

 

We saw one at a camp ground in Wi about 5 years before we ordered our 560.
When we got ready to order we never looked at another brand. Just figured we be wasting our time.

 

While we have not ordered yet, we will be in the coming weeks.

Why CampInn?
I am a stickler for research. I have to feel confident in what I am buying...I NEVER suffer buyers remorse because I have done so much research before buy anything.

We knew we wanted something with hard sides. We knew we wanted something small enough to fit in the garage and not have to store off site (like we do our boat). We knew we did not want a camper for our truck (we did consider it briefly) or an RV (my entire family all have big RVs). We knew we wanted something that was light and easy to pull and easy on the gas mileage.

All this lead us to a Tear Drop. So, I then started researching various options including building our own. After comparing models from different makers, we found that most models were nowhere near as well thought out and laid out as the CampInn models. Only a small handful seemed to have the same quality of manufacturing as the CampInn. When comparing costs, the CampInns were more expensive but not that much more.

So it really came down to build vs. buy. wife and I have a pretty good woodshop in our garage and my wife actually builds furniture all the time. So, I know we could get exceptional build quality from any unit we built. But CampInn has years more experience of what really needs to go into a Tear Drop. Therefore, I know we could not build one that is fully thought out based upon years of experience. In other words, we would likely end up building, learning, selling and building again. CampInn just has those little details you don't think about until you have done it multiple times.

Now, we will likely build one at some point for our daughter and her family just because we want the experience to say we did it. Wife has already asked me multiple times if she could fly to WI and help build ours when we place our order but I won't let her go for that long. LOL...though I know she would love it. She loved working in her Dad's shop making radio control sailboats for years...she dying to get back into a workshop again.

 

Lovely story, she sounds like any husbands dream, a wife who loves building!

Jean

 

After 27 years she still puts up with me so she probably deserves an award just for that LOL.

As for wood working, she is pretty good and getting better. Here is the table/chairs she made for our daughter.





If she is not sewing something, she it building something. Get's it from her dad...well, not the sewing part.

 

Jenny and I love to camp and have been tent camping for years. Every year we go to Wisconsin to visit family and we end up at Petenwell campground, My sister, brother-in-law and mom in their nice trailer camper (they currently have a 26 ft towable), while Jenny and I are again in the tent. After the trip each year, Jenny and I talk about getting a large camper, but we always have the same problem. Living in the middle of the city, we don't have the room to store the unit when not using it. Another issue we have is the need to have a large tow vehicle (and the lousy gas mileage) needed to tow a large trailer.
Then one day, like many of you, we saw a teardrop at a rest area which was owned by a retired couple who were more than happy to show off their camper. They stated that some of the best reason they liked the teardrop over the comfort of a larger campers is that they could go to more "off grid" locations, that they felt just as comfortable camping with the teardrop as their large camper counterparts, and that they get far better gas mileage. ( not sure what make the teardrop was, but Jenny said that she thought they built it themselves).
So I started reaching teardrop campers and found the CI site. After realizing the CI plant was just miles from the Petenwell campground which we visit every year, we decided to visit. Once we saw how well they are built and comfort they provide, we were sold on the idea.
Besides, a teardrop (we plan to eventually purchase a 560) can actually store it in the garage, once I clean it out of course.
JP

 

I like to plan adventures (meaning I work up a rough plan and refine it over and over for a couple months). Then when I take to the road, I follow the general guidelines of the plan, hit the must do parts, but ad lib a lot. (Yes, a couple characters on "The Big Bang Theory" were model about me). I love seeing different places that only driving can achieve (flying is for the birds) and I appreciate history (more and more as I get older). At night I like to enter a log into the computer of the day's experience.

When I travel, finding a place to stay has been somewhat problematic. I don't like hotels where you park in a lot and haul all your cargo up the elevator to a room. I prefer old style motels that you park in front of the door of your room (or cottage), and can easily unload and load the vehicle. It is becoming harder and harder to find these motels, especially ones that are clean and well maintained. Besides they want to charge almost as much as a chain hotel.

My most recent trip was a genealogy research adventure. The idea of a tear drop trailer (didn't want a large heavy unit to tow around) was more intriguing each day. I had been looking at a tear drop from an 'unnamed' manufacturer in Ohio, which seemed build a pretty good one, but it seemed something was missing. A couple weeks ago decided to internet search other light, low, solid skinned trailers. To my surprise I found Camp Inn. The couch concept of the 560 model will be ideal for sitting up and using the computer to input genealogy research notes and/or journal log. I was smitten.

I have read through many posts, and appreciate the insight and decision others have shared. Thank you.

Therefore, today I ordered my new future 560, but sadly I have to wait until July to take delivery. Apparently many others are seeing the benefits of this little gem, so I'll just wait patiently in line.

 

I too first looked at the "unnamed" brand in Ohio. Once I saw one in person, I was not impressed...seemed like the same construction materials and process as your typical truck camper. When I saw the CampInn in person, it was night and day difference and that was the final factor...I knew then that I my search was over and then it was just about saving the money up to make the purchase. After 9 months (wow, talk about symbolism) of scrimping and saving, we finally had the funds together to adopt our trailer. After spending that kind of money, one might have some 2nd thoughts but this is one time I can say I have not 2nd guessed my purchase or decision. I am completely happy with the trailer, the quality of construction and the support from CampInn and this community. Certainly one of the better purchase choices I have ever made.