So glad to find this forum!

Wow! There is so much information here. It's going to take me days to sort through everything but I've already found answers to so many of the questions I had.

I am leaning very heavily toward buying a teardrop next year, but I'm not one to just make decisions (of any kind, even which coffee to buy) without thoroughly researching everything. So I'm really glad to have found this site!

 

Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride. This is a great site. I started reading in August and still don't think I have read everything.

 

Welcome, Tisha. Happy reading, and if you've got any questions, fire away!

 

Tisha, I researched for over a year, perhaps approaching two. It was quite a task. Then I looked at a local 560 and placed my order within 48 hours. Whew!

Kent

 

Welcome Tisha yes there is some great stuff on here and sometimes you have to look in to some odd posts and find little gems of info or pictures that do not jump out at you from the forum menu.

Keep looking

 

That's good to hear! I'd never even heard of a teardrop until a few months ago, and at that point it was one of those "oh that's cute" things you tuck away in the back of your mind. And then I took a tent camping vacation a couple weeks ago, and it rained on me constantly. I'm planning to take a several months long tour of the country next year and the thought of setting up and taking down a soggy tent was very disheartening.

I've never actually seen one in person though. I did drive past one on the interstate during my vacation, but I've yet to see one up close and personal. And now I really wish I'd been thinking about it more seriously before my vacation because I was within a stone's throw of the Camp-Inn folks and didn't realize it.

 

Tisha

Have a look on the members location map there are a couple of 550's in Florida and I'm sure on your travels you would go past other owners.

It seems to me that most teardrop owners would gladly show you around.

Thats annoying that you were so close to the nest on your travels and did not know of its location.

I did not see you on the map but I'm sure Evan has already or soon will send you a message asking for more specific location so he can include you.

 

Well I guess I'll get started with my first question. It's probably something that should be blatantly obvious, but I've never owned a trailer before, so I'm going to ask anyway!

The AC outlets are only operational when you're plugged into power at your campsite, right? And the DC outlets run off the battery? They're completely separate circuits?

And the solar power hookup would charge the battery, so that would help power the DC outlets?

I have a little device (I almost failed physics because of the electricity part, so forgive me for not knowing the correct name for it!) that lets me plug an AC device (like my laptop) into my car's cigarette lighter, so I could use that if I were operating off the battery, right?

I'm mostly interested in being able to run small kitchen appliances like a blender or toaster oven off the battery if need be.

 

Hey, heres a link from the " Camp-Inn " home page.

Small Appliances - Many DC
http://www.compactappliance.com/

There's also another option " Generator ". It will allow you to run a few items (AC) & charge the battery (DC) @ the same time, depending on the wattage load.. ?

Gear & Equip: Generator
http://www.campinnforum.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1099#Post109

L.M.

 

Tisha,
I called Camp Inn and talked with Cary about how to view a 560 and he told me of a couple that owned one that were 5 hrs. away from us in Arkansas (they were in Missouri.) We decided to take a weekend and drive over and see it (after calling and making arrangements to see it.) Spent the night in a hotel, spent 3 hrs. with them and "chewed the fat" regarding do's and dont's and fell in love with it. I would have ordered one that evening had the finances been available to us.

Camp Inn has a program of reimbursement that is great. They give the new owner brochures with their personal code on it that they can give out to other potential buyers. (When you're camping people will come and gawk and talk and you can give them out, answering lots of questions.) If the buyer purchases, they reimburse the person as a thanks for showing their teardrop. No show rooms. Lower overhead and word of mouth advertising. Since I've seen one, if I decide to purchase they have on record that I have seen "Joe's 560" and will send him a check when I buy mine. Works for me! I'm glad I was able to see one and touch and feel and smell and "figger out" out the in's and out's. So my suggestion to you would be to call Cary and see if someone lives close enough to you that you could go see it.

 

Oh that's really good to know. I will try to do just that!

 

Tisha, you write that you're considering a several months long tour of the country next year.

Somebody posted the following link elsewhere in this forum (Sorry, I haven't taken the time to look for it, so I apologize for not crediting the poster). It's the very well written blog of a young woman currently camp-touring the country in a Camp-Inn she purchased partway through her journey. According to one of her more recent posts, she actually stopped in Camp-Inn's Necedah hometown to have some alterations done to the trailer. You should check it out for inspiration, ideas, caveats, whatever:

http://girlreinvented.com/

 

I did see that link from the forum. It sounds like her story is a lot like mine. Thanks!

 

Tisha,

You are correct about the AC and DC being two separate systems.
Besides the DC outlets, the 12v system also will power your lights, TV/DVD, fan, furnace, and water pump. The only thing that will not run off the battery is the air conditioner, and the AC outlets, of course.

The little inverter that you have will easily run a laptop, but you may have trouble with the toaster oven or the blender. I'm guessing that these would need too much juice. I'm sure Cary could tell you exactly what you could expect to run off of an inverter.

A solar panel will charge the 12v (DC) system. The only way to power the AC system without actually being plugged in is with a 2000w or higher generator.