Other Trailers

Just out of curiosity, did anyone investigate other trailers when they were deciding to buy their CI?

If so, what other types did you look at and what made you decide to go with CI?

Thanks

 

I looked and dreamed of a T@B. Love the iconic shape,they look great. Joined and read the T@B forum, saddened to learn Dutchmen stopped making them August 2009. Forum members discuss workmanship issues, obtaining replacement parts. My opinion of Dutchmen products is low.

Researched other tiny travel trailers including A Liner, Scotty, RPods, and others. Product quality is low. While reviewing Roaming Times, stubmpled upon teardrops. Spent a long month searching various teardrop websites. Easy to pick out various quality products. Noticed Camp Inn is a 3 hour drive. Traveld there for a tour and now I am an owner.

I have considered some private craftsmen who are superior craftsman. At the time AC was a high priority. Most do not install in the same method as CI. Did not want AC that is installed low near the mattress.

Rented both the 550 and 560 models. Priced a new 550, including AC. As you know they have a high price point. Debated for a while about new versus used. Have to say the used price point won.

Tiny travel trailers and tears both have pros and cons. Tear fits in my garage though, a tiny travel trailer wouldn't fit in the garage.

Long wait until Spring camping now. Will spend the winter slowly finding teardrop items. Considering having new curtains made.

Settled on Camp Inn because of quality over other commercail made tears.

Jean

 

Jean,

Thanks for the feedback. Your trailer journey seems similar to mine although I have not seen a CI.

I have to be honest, I am a little bit concerned about the amount of work it takes to 'walbernize' the trailer. My original thought was to go the patina route but not sure how that looks in the interim. How hard is it to walbernize? Is it worth the work if you start getting 'white' spots again? You said your trailer had never be walbernized before. I am assuming that it did not look too hot...or was it that you prefer the pristine look?

I also started with T@B but it is too tall for my garage and I have also heard that they have issues. I also researched Aliner and Chalets but they also have issues.

Thanks again.

 

Joan,

First keep in mind the CI I purchased has always been stored outside. I do not know the lenght and cause of the white spots. Walberizing is a messy process, not necessarily hard work, time consuming because of having only one buffer, multiple applications of Walberizing to remove oxidation and "white spots".

Why did I begin the Walberize process: hope to decrease the prominence of the white spots. The white spots will decrease. After completing the Walbeize process have not decided what I will do such as Walberize yearly, wax, or let skin oxidize naturally.

Other forum members have posted their comments about Walberizing, waxing, and natural patina. I do not have a sufficient knowledge base to make a final decision.

The rented units look good with yearly Walberizing. THey are also stored inside when not being used.

If your tear can be washed on a regular basis and stored in a garage, the skin should "age" nicely.

Jean

 

Thanks again Jean for your input.

 

Joan, now that we are home, I would love to show you ours. Let me know if that is of interest. Not sure which model you are considering, but it will give you a good idea of quality. We haven't done anything about the white spots from the trip home, so you will have to ignore that.

We also were looking at T@B and a few others. There are some guys locally who build them for folks, but we found them expensive for what they were and they didn't have everything we wanted. We have a 3-year-old, so the bunks are what really sold us (he is no fun to sleep next to). When I found that, everything else fell away. Once we saw one in person, and we knew what we were getting, it sealed the deal.

The RV show was a couple of weekends back. I wonder how many TD folks were there, if any? They might have info on their sight for other companies to compare to.

 

For some of us it's easier to ask "what trailers didn't you consider?" The only requirement I had of a trailer was that it be small, otherwise I looked at everything I could find (mostly online) and even had a custom build planned to do myself and came within a whisker of buying my axle and starting. In the end it came down to time, did I really want to spend the better part of two years working on a trailer or did I want to spend that time with my sons, no contest. It may have been different if they were old enough to build it with me. The CI looked to be the best choice I could make and the bunk beds sealed the deal.

Currently I'm waiting to pick up my 560 in the spring... and it's killing me! I've had to stop myself from calling up Cary and telling him to put it in the earliest possible build slot and ship it.

 

Jean, I saw a picture of you setup on another website. Nice!

 

Sarah,

I went to the RV show. No teardrops. Did have a couple of Aliners.

I will probably be taking you up on your offer soon. I am planning on a 560. I don't have a 3 year old but given our climate, I want somewhere comfortable to take refuge.

I actually want to see the white spots. My plan is to go the 'patina' route so it will give me an idea of what to expect.

I am also thinking about a 13' scamp. I could buy a new or used one right now whereas I need to save some more for a ci. My 'aging' parent (don't tell her I called her that) says she wants to come along. At 81 and handicapped, a scamp might be a better option right now. On the other hand, I really like the 560. Getting a look at a 'live' one will help.

 

Joan,

Scamps have a smaller bed then the CI. If Mother comes along, where will you sleep? Granted in the tear, you both will have to sleep in the same bed, at least both would have your own door.

How handicapped is your mother? Can she step up into the scamp with the narrow door. How wide is the narrow aisle in the scamp, will the aisle pose any mobility issues for her? Can strong grab bars be added to the outside of the Scamp?

Handicap bars are available for Camp Inn.

Jean

 

Jean,

Those are all very good questions. I have not seen a 'live' scamp either so I don't know the answers.

I was thinking that I would get the scamp set up with the bunk beds at the other end. A little on the narrow side but having slept in the upper bunk of a sleeper, I think I could manage. I am 5'8" so it might be a little bit tight lengthwise.

Mom gets around the house with a walker. We use a transport chair for longer distances. She can still do the flight of stairs in my house to get upstairs so I don't think getting into the scamp would be an issue. I don't think that grab bars in the CI would really work for her. She really can't raise her arms above her shoulders. What I envision if we get the CI is that she will sit in the doorway, lie back and swing her legs in and kind of scoot down a little to sleep or up to sit in the couch. Getting out would be the reverse. (Probably the way I would get in too as a matter of fact.) All done with my assistance of course.

 

Just let me know when you are ready!

 

We saw T@B trailers advertised somewhere a couple years ago and became interested in that. We live near two HUGE camping stores, and they had a couple T@Bs, so we took a look. Overall, I liked them, but they didn't seem "quite right" for us.

We've not seen a teardrop in person -- yet -- but I'm sure this is the right thing for us. It's not a huge investment, and it means we can use our small car (and we have no desire to own anything larger).

 

We were also looking at fiberglass--especially the Casita. The bed is definitely smaller than any of the teardrops we looked at. We saw one in person last month. Casita trends larger than the Scamp units (according to the forums I've read on-line). The fact that the galley in these tiny units is a tight squeeze helped steer us back to teardrops. Also, we can tow the teardrop / raindrop with our Forester. Even when we upgrade to a minivan for the kids, Casita prefers a bit more towing capacity for any of their larger models. We are currently considering the 560 and have arrangements to see one next month.

 

We look at the Casita and others and found the fiberglass ones to be very chemical smelling - especially in hot sun. We found our Camp-Inn trailer to have very little odor after its first airing.

 

Everyone I show the trailer to comments on how nice it smells inside. It was something we notice too, when looking at them. Not sure if it is the varnish or what, but it brings back warm memories, and makes it feel even more homey.

 

We looked at Casita,great product but decided on a 550 Classic from CAMP INN.

 

When I first started figuring out how to "See the USA in my Chevrolet" I looked at Class A's (the big dogs), fifth wheels and Teardrops. I researched for two and a half years. A teardrop ALMOST won out cause they're so cute and we like to CAMP. But in the end we bought a fifth wheel 3 yrs. ago. We downsized from the big (5/3) house to live in the 33 ft. fifth wheel and we love it. BUT...due to some physical problems we can't tow it around even though we did for a while. It's just TOO MUCH....so we're back to the teardrop...

I started looking at tears sort of in addition to Casita's, Scamps, A-frames, pop ups (we used to have one and loved it.) Then I stumbled onto the CI site and FELL IN LOVE ONLINE! It's an online romance! I called Cary, he set us up with someone who had a 560 about 5 hrs. from us 2 yrs. ago. Once you see one you WILL be sold - no question! The quality is phenominal, the convenience oustanding, the beauty is beyond compare, literally. So now we will have both - the 5th wheel and the 560. Live in one and travel with the other. Which one am I proudest of? The 560 Raindrop of course! We live in a campground and when it's delivered we will be the "talk of the town" so to speak.

We will be going to the patina look, not the pristine, shiny look. It will be stored outside but with a cover over it. What we plan on doing IMMEDIATELY upon receipt (in about 2 wks, we hope): We will use 000 steel wool (NOT in a circular motion) but in straight lines and rub it all over in long straight lines, completely, all over. Then wash it, dry it and use Woody's wax on it. We will do this about twice a year. The Woody's wax will protect it. Ask yourself this: What do all the people who own an Airstream do? I'm not afraid of the issues with keeping it looking nice. As small as they are it's not going to take that long.

 

Joan,
re: getting in and out of Camp-Inn. I had polio and much of the time use forearm crutches. We have a 550 and I can easily sit in the doorway and get in and out. I find it easier than the ones we looked at where you go up a step or 2. I think the bigest issue with anyone who is handicapped is physical flexibility. We have a side tent so I can sit in the cabin doorway and stand in the side tent to change clothes, etc. I chose the 550 because I could pretty much reach everything on my side of the cabin without moving.