Hello from Georgetown, TX

Hello everyone. My name is Paul and I'm a Camp-Inn addict. I haven't made the plunge to buy one...yet, but I do know I will be buying one. I hope to have either a 500 or 550 in my garage by this time next year. I've been lurking on the forums for a few days and have really picked up a lot of information and good ideas. You're all a great bunch of people and I like that you're willing to share your experiences with the Camp-Inn trailers. I know I'm going to be busy for the next few weeks reading all the posts here. The rest of the time I'm going to be daydreaming about the coming day when I get to place my order for my own trailer.

A couple of questions right off the bat.
How long does it take to build the trailer from the time you order it (roughly)?
Other than the two front windows, extra door and rounded corners, are there any other differences between the 500 and 550?

 

George - I have always loved the platypus, don't know why. And, my dream vacation would be a month spent in New Zealand and Australia.

Thanks for the welcome.

 

Hi Paul,
Welcome - as an addict you are in good company here.

Regarding your question of how long from order to until complete - I think the answer is it depends on time of the year you order. We ordered our 560 in late Jan of this year. Our build started in mid-March and finished at end of April. There is a good chance ordering in summer or fall there might be less wait time, as many people want a trailer in time for start of summer camping season. Cary from Camp-Inn can better advise on current wait time.

In terms of your second question on difference between 500 and 550, CI website has a really nice table summary of features including all different configurations:

http://tinycamper.com/features.htm

Best of luck with your decision!

 

Paul,

You have it exactly right on the differences between the 500 and 550. Those are significant differences, especially the single door, and we see very very few orders for the 500 because of it (somewhere around 2-4%).

As for lead times. Like Bob said it varies greatly depending on the time of the year. Closing in the last Sept completion slot sometime in the next couple of days and then taking orders for Oct. Sept is typically our busiest time of the year for orders so it will get more and more busy over the next couple of months. If you want one for next spring I always recommend ordering before the end of Oct before we change our model year pricing. We store anything we build in the winter months free for spring pickup.

Cary

 

@ Bob - Thanks for the reply. I've done lots of research on the Camp Inn website already (I've bookmarked the site).

@ Cary - Thanks for your reply. If only I could, I'd order right now. My wife and I have reached an agreement on when I can order my camper. (Notice I typed 'when', not 'if'). So, if things work out for me you can count on me placing an order 9 - 12 months from now. I don't think that I'll be able to clear up my finances to beat the Oct deadline, but that might be something I can tell my wife and maybe she'll relent and let me fudge a little on the agreement she and I have. Your reply about how few people order the 500 really helped me decide. I think I'd be happier with a 550. I can see how having that extra door (with the optional door screens) would really help with ventilation and cooling of the sleeping area. And summers in TX can get pretty hot and stay hot for a few hours even after the sun goes down. Having the extra door will help alleviate that.

All in all, I do know that having a Camp Inn will be a big step up from my Tent Cot. I'm all about smaller is better as long as it can be comfortable.

 

FYI: We were in 92 degree heat with humidity of 58 last week. We were able to be very comfortable with the fantastic fan pulling the air in the windows and out the ceiling fan. After 20 minutes the temperature in the cabin was 74 degrees. We set the thermostat a little cooler and the fan went on and off during the night and kept us very comfortable.

 

That's good to know. I've tent camped in 30 degree weather and plan to go camp next month in the Big Bend region of TX. I haven't camped that part of TX in the middle of summer so I'll see how it goes. This is just another reason why I'm looking to step up to a Teardrop. If the fan alone did that then that's a good temperature drop. Thanks Pat.

 

Paul,
We bought our 550 SUV last year about this time. We picked it up over Labor Day. We love it. I thought to buy it to hunt out of but we moved up to alot of extras. I was a closet Tear lover before I showed the CI website to my wife. After we saw one, we were hooked. Good luck and welcome,
Steve

 

While on our last camping trip, a guy stopped by to look at our 550. He said that this is what he REALLY HAD WANTED, but his wife insisted on something bigger. He kept looking and as he left, his comment was "its built even better than it looks on the web, this is what I had really wanted"....
Tim felt so sorry for the fellow.

Eileen

 

@ Steve - Thanks, I really am looking forward to the day I can go from wannabe to being an owner. Reading the different topics and posts on the forum isn't helping me any. Well, it does help confirm that Camp Inn makes a great product and one that sets the bar very high. I can't wait to get my own.

 

Eileen - I won't be that guy, I know what I want and it's a Camp Inn. I looked at others before I stumbled on the Camp Inn website. Boy am I glad I found their site. After researching (extensively), there is no comparison and other TD's just don't measure up.

 

Hi Paul,

I bought a 550 earlier this year and I love it. I live right down the road from you in Round Rock, so if you haven't had the chance to see a Camp-Inn in person just let me know and we can setup a time for you to check it out. You will definitely want to get the air conditioner if you are camping in Big Bend (or anywhere else) in TX during the summer months.

Good luck to you & glad you found this site!

Steve

 

Paul,

Welcome to the forum! We just got back from nine days in our 560, and I can tell you having just one door would have been a real pain. You wouldn't want to be climbing over your wife to get in and out, so for that reason alone the upgrade to the 550 is worth it.

Here's one other thing to consider: For us, the couch in the 560 makes it possible to spend a weekend lounging around in the tear during the winter months or in bad weather. I suspect that many people don't consider the 560 because they don't have kids, and so don't need the bunk. However, apples to apples, the difference between the 550 and the 560 is only about $2,500. In my opinion, the value that the couch brings is easily worth this - especially if you plan on having your Camp-Inn for more than a couple years. Of course, if you only camp during good weather, and only plan on sleeping in the tear, then it may not be worth it... Being from the NorthWest, our tear has become our second home - all year round. (10 trips out in our first 6 months.)

 

I got to see my first CI in person. TexBix was nice enough to allow me and my wife to come see his 550. Wow!!! Just what I expected and then some. My first thought upon seeing it was that it was not as tall as I expected it to be. Dang, but it's a nicely built camper. TexBix bought his used and he was fortunate that the previous owner had a lot of upgrades added. My wife finally understands why I so desperately want to get my own. First hand discussions with him made me realize what upgrades are a must...back to change the list of upgrades on my wish list..again.

She snapped this picture of the camper



What a great experience. I think the fact that TexBix let me come by just shows that everyone who's on this forum, and by default CI owners, are a friendly bunch of people.

 

Evan,

Hi, nice to meet you.

I briefly considered getting the 560, but since it will only be me (my wife doesn't camp) using the trailer I don't know that I'd need the extra room of the 560. And, like you suggested, I'm the type who is out and about most of the time and would only use the tear for sleeping a majority of the time. Also, I think being the only person in the camper that I'll have plenty of room in a 550 to get comfy if the weather turned bad.

Not that I'm totally against the 560. I haven't really pondered the pluses of the 560. Your post pointed some of those out. One question about the 560 couch. Is the cushion on the couch even with the bed cushion? I can't really tell from any of the photos I've seen if there is a height difference between the couch and bed.

 

The cushion on the couch has two positions - flat with the bed, and raised/inclined. Some people who are very tall use the couch in the flat position to add a couple feet to the bed. If you are going to sit on the couch then it goes in the raised position.

When I had only seen photos, I thought that sitting with your feet straight out on the bed wouldn't be comfortable. But with the incline, the couch is just like a recliner chair - very comfortable. I always tell people to get in and sit on it, and they are always surprised. We just had a couple come by and look at ours. They were planning on getting a 550 until they sat on the couch. Now they are getting a 560.

One other note: It wasn't until after we had our trailer that we realized that we could use it all year round. Originally, we were only considering 'camping' in nice weather. But now, my wife says that when we go away for the weekend during the winter, we're not ever camping anymore. We're just hanging out in our 2nd home.

Perhaps a woman who doesn't do camping might even enjoy this.

 

I was very close to pulling the trigger and getting the ball rolling on a teardrop. But, I decided to refinance the house instead. It came down to paying for a camper or saving many tens of thousands of dollars and cutting almost 6 years off the length of the mortgage, the refinance won out. However, once the refinance is done I'll give it a couple of months and then get the ball rolling for a camper. My day is coming, teardrop nirvana will be attained!