Hello from Florida and South Carolina

C

CynthiaC

Newbie
Hi. Mid-forties lady here who's had a lot of driving experience by myself between Chicago and SC and FL. I lost count of the times I've driven from Chicago to Hilton Head Island. Always thought it would be great to have more than a car when traveling long distances but stuck with just driving my car. And like some folks here say sleeping in less ideal places, like the back seat of a car, gets harder as one gets older. :grin: I've cheaped out a few times sleeping in the back of a '99 Kia Sportage so a teardrop might be the thing I'm looking for all these years. Just thought they were a fad for people wanting to 'be retro.' But thanks to Youtube I'm being schooled in how many people do long stints with these campers. My only experience with RV's was Winnebagos and my dad's big hauler he takes to California every winter. My other camping experience was with a Eureka Timberline 2 a decade ago. I was outfitted to do hiking and camping with a packpack. I am wondering if I'm prepared for car camping lifestyle.

Really attracted to the style and size of teardrops. Seems to have things needed to stop on a dime and eat or rest as needed. I have a Toyota Yaris and possibly, just possibly could tow a Camp-Inn or a Vestibule. I'm sort of torn between these two brands. What got me on the Ultimate level Camp-Inn is the red night lights. In addition to the small size, this was the best idea ever! (why isn't this on more campers?) But then I saw the Vestibule with all the windows. Currently don't think I can afford a trailer of this sort. They cost as much as my Yaris did. So for now it's all just daydreaming.

I'm moving from Florida to South Carolina soon. I will lose my own personal space when I move in with my mother in her condo. These little campers seem very well loved and personalized. It is very attractive to think I could hit the road and leave my troubles behind. I'd dearly love to find employment on the road to actually take a trip. Just looking for advice on this and other purchase advice.
 
Hi Cynthia,

We purchased our Camp-inn 550 special last April. This is our home as we full time, so we added a few upgrades. The quality is great and the cabin is cozy and comfortable. My husband does all of the cooking, lucky me, and he loves the galley. We tow with a Toyota 4Runner, more car than necessary. The teardrop is light and easy to tow with smaller vehicles.

I hope you will be able to go the teardrop route. We are considering working on the road. Check out the website for Workampers.

Best of luck with your move!
 
(this is just my opinion, I could be wrong and probably am). If you are tied to your Toyota Yaris, I just quickly looked it up for towing capacity; and it doesn't look like it's rated for towing in the US at all. I know that sometimes one can "get away with towing anyway"; but you may want to contact some really knowledgeable people regarding towing with a Yaris, and see what they say. For example, you might be able to tow a small trailer up to 500 lbs--but then you couldn't get a CampInn or Vestibule (they weigh more than that).

That's not to say you can't get a teardrop! it just means you may have to look into having a custom-built one made for you (or you build your own). I love my Camp-Inn 550 of course, but for you with possible towing limitations, you may want to pop over to TnTTT.com or tearjerkers (see upper left links), and look at custom building threads, or start a thread over there asking for advice, too. I've never really looked into them; but making your own "foamie" teardrop might be light enough to tow w/a Yaris?

If you aren't tied to your Yaris and were thinking of changing vehicles anyway, when you start looking at vehicles look at towing capacity as well as your other vehicle requirements.

If you haven't seen different teardrops in person yet, also over on tearjerkers you can look for what "gatherings" might be near you. You can visit a gathering and ask a million questions and get ideas on what will work best for you.
 
Sherry,
I know what you mean about the towing. The US manual says no, the Canadian page says tow 800 lbs. Maybe there's someone around upgrading from a MyPod to a Camp-Inn. A MyPod is lighter.
 
Hi Cynthia - I towed my old 550 teardrop from Florida to Oregon and back with a 2004 VW Beetle. It towed very easily. Hardly knew it was behind me! You'll love the 550.
 
Was your Beetle a TDI, or a gasser?

We pull our 550 Ultra with a VW Jetta TDI without a problem.

The diesel has lots of torque for pulling, but wondered if a gasser would do as well.
 
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