We took our first trip with our DIY teardrop recently. We drove up to the upper peninsula of Michigan all the way to Copper Harbor. Quite the shakedown trip, it totaled about 1500 miles. The trailer overall worked well for us but we definitely ran into some issues. We came home with a new project list of things to fix/adjust before heading out again.
Here is what we learned:
1. Weight
Adding all your gear and food and water will add more weight than you might realize. This additional weight will affect how the trailer sits and pulls behind your truck or car. Seems obvious, we know! Before our trip, we did a quick trip around the block and then drove the trailer at speeds up to 70 miles per hour, everything went great. But we did this trial without anything in the trailer. Our suggestion- fill your water tank, add all your gear to the trailer then take it on the test drive around the block. You may find you have a suspension issue…
2. Overbuild Everything
We bought a suspension that was rated for up to 1,200lbs. The next option up cost approx $200 much more and was rated for us to 2,000 lbs. We didn’t think we needed that option. Maybe we didn’t and it was just a fluke but we ended up blowing out the right side of our suspension before we even left the driveway. Must have happened when we loaded everything into the trailer, adding a bunch of weight. The other side didn’t fail the whole trip, which was good, so maybe it was a product issue. Either way, the tire was rubbing the fender so we had to remove the fender early in the trip.
3. Check for water leaks before you leave
Again obvious we know! We sealed everything very well and we were fairly confident it would be sufficient. We also checked the weather forecast which looked dry – no rain forecasted when we left. We had intended to put the trailer in the driveway and shower it with the hose before leaving to check that it was watertight but life got busy and we ran out of time. It ended up raining alot during our trip and we found several small leaks. Small leaks are enough to make your stuff very wet if it is raining hard. We were able to stop and buy some silicone and repair some of our leaks along the way. Our suggestion- Actually do what we planned to do, shower/hose everything down and really check that it is water tight before you leave 🙂
4. Water use was about what we expected
We have a 20-gallon water tank (we dumped some of it at the beginning of the trip to reduce weight). It still lasted us 5 days, being very conservative with our water use. We used the water for dishes, showers, and drinking every day. We did stay at some campgrounds that had showers this trip with more rustic/dispersed camping sites mixed in. When showers were available we used them. In total, we used our water tank for three very short showers. Everyone’s rate of water consumption will be a little different but this will at least give a general idea of how long water will last you.
5. Solar power is awesome
We have one solar panel on the top of our trailer. This was plenty of power to support our water pump, rooftop fan (turned on most nights), small bedside LED lights, and charging our phones. That is really all we used our power for.
6. Propane for cooking
Originally we planned to hook our 5 lb propane tank we have for our shower water heater and use that for cooking as well. We changed our mind and used the small green 1lb canisters which ended up being much easier. Using those allowed us to move our camp stove and grill to wherever was most convenient around our campsite and the small propane canisters are very easy to store away when you are not using them. Also they can be purchased at a variety of stores so if you run out you can easily purchase another one during a longer trip as needed.
7. Have a plan for rain
This was always in our minds as something we needed to do but we didn’t have a plan in place when we left for this trip. We intend to buy some type of rain shield/cover that we can put up so that if it is raining we can still cook in our kitchen and sit outside to eat without getting wet.
8. Showers
We have a propane water heater mounted to the side of our trailer, a 20-gallon water tank and a pop-up shower “room”. This set up did work well for quick showers during our trip. We would recommend getting some type of bath mat or grate to stand on since the pop up “room” doesn’t have a floor. If it has been rainy at all you could be standing on muddy ground as you shower (bring flip flops).
9. Bring tools/spare pairs you think you might need
Save yourself some stress and bring some simple things you may need if you have to fix something. Even with the best-built equipment stuff happens on the road that you might not expect.
10. Throw your trash out every night
This was a lesson we learned on our second trip in the teardrop. We were running low on trash bags so we had a very full bag in our back kitchen area. Well a clever little mouse got into our trailer somehow. We woke up to mouse droppings throughout our kitchen and multiple holes chewed threw our trash bag. Try to get rid of your trash each night and keep no food items in the trailer.
11. Take time to Relax
You have a teardrop and part of the allure of that, at least for us, is that you don’t have to pack up a tent before you leave in the morning. You can wake up, make breakfast, and drive away. That makes road-tripping all over and staying in new places each day very easy. We are always trying to get in as much as we can during our trips since we are still working full time and have limited time off. But we would recommend at least for part of any trip, stay in one location/camp spot for more than one-two nights and take some time to just relax and enjoy the location! We are working to be better at this ourselves.
What tips/suggestions for overland travel do you have? Anything we missed? Leave us a comment below!