They may be completely mistaken by the untrained for something else, but the beauty and practicality of a teardrop trailer is something that you just got to experience first-hand.
These are something of an homage to the 1959 Fisher Holivan Junior Caravan for me. For a 5×8, I really like the little touch of retro in how these trailers feel. And with the advantages of current technology built in, I’m all set.
These are really starting to make more and more of ana appearance in camping areas, on the road, and even down some long and winding tracks that you wouldn’t expect. But maybe that’s just me noticing them more and more. I guess, after all, I’ve completely fallen in love with them!
Teardrop Trailers are the way to go!
What is it that I find draws me to teardrop trailers, and why are they gaining in popularity? More and more of these cute little trailers are popping up all over the place.
I believe that it’s just a matter of time before the #vanlife on Instagram is given a serious run for it’s money with #teardroplife. When you see the numbers of these trailers out there increasing, like I have, it’s a pretty good sign you’re onto a good thing.
Apart from their gaining in popularity, what else is there that is a draw card for these? The biggest thing for me is the space. It’s amazing what you can fit inside, and just as mind blowing how little room they take up.
Let me walk you through what I have found really ticks the boxes for me with these. And in the interests of being objective I’ll also cover some of the things that you might find you need to weigh up on the flip side too.
The Pros of a Teardrop Trailer
Let’s get straight into what I love about camping with a teardrop trailer. For what they offer in such a compact build, there are so many pros to unpack, and they seem to just keep giving and giving.
Easy to tow
Because these little gems sit lower than a normal trailer, or caravan, they have so much less drag when it comes to the wind resistance. So you’ll find you’re not burning anywhere near as much fuel when towing these.
They don’t bear down on you when breaking and push your vehicle forward under their momentum. If you’re the owner of a decent motorcycle trike, these can be fitted to your tow ball, and away you go. No need to cram tents and camping gear into pannier bags.
Go anywhere
With a compact build it is so much easier to fit into places that a full size trailer or even and RV can. This means you have just opened up the road to adventure like never before.
Light weight travelling is the way to do it, and a teardrop trailer makes many places that are otherwise hard to get to so much more accessible. Feeling like I’m not constrained makes this the right choice for me to be able to blaze a trail and just get much further away than others.
Easy to store
If you have space in your garage, or a small storage unit, you’ll easily be able to pop your trailer in and keep it secure over longer periods of time. Mine fits nicely in my garage with enough space for me to put my car in next to it.
Affordable
With a much lower entry price compared to even the lower end RVs or trailers, these make getting out on your next long adventure more attainable.
Built to order, you know you’re getting what will meet your needs. That way there is no fiddling around with expensive modifications and aftermarket additions.
Customizable
This is a big tick in the box for me. When your trailer is able to be built with a full, half, or no galley you can save on space in a way that is unbeatable.
Having everything set up right from the start helps ensure that the quality of the work is top notch.
Pure Essentials
Dropping the distractions and taking just what you need to find the peace in nature is so appealing. With a larger trailer I found that I was dragging stuff around that kept me from being able to immerse myself in nature.
No Netflix or Prime, just what is needed to unplug and watch the world around me do it’s thing. Getting into some remarkable locations with these little beauties makes embracing nature so easy.
The Cons of a Teardrop Trailer
For me, there really aren’t many here. In fact, there is just one.
Reversing
Like anything in this size, they can pop up at right angles until you get to know how these handle when reversing. My years of practice with a 6×4 has helped me with this.
Pro tip; keep the wheel arches parallel with your vehicle as much as possible when reversing in a straight line to keep the trailer backing straight.
Once you’ve got the knack, you’ll never have an issue reversing back into tight spaces.