Category Archives: History

Outfitting the Teardrop

Marilyn, June 2 – 20:

As Jim began to customize our Teardrop trailer, I began to conduct some online research to gather tips from seasoned teardrop and RV travelers. Getting ready involved creating the perfect plan for everything. How does that go? A place for everything and everything in its place – camp stove, bottle of bungees, Coleman fuel, locks… I even found a couple of printable check lists that came in handy. We began a show and tell tour to repurpose our camping gear that took us both down memory lane. I had worked for Eastern Mountain Sports and had quite a few items that would work. We hit Costco and Ikea acquiring a mattress topper, kitchen gear, chairs, a table and more. After reading several blogs about the perils and preparation for a successful trip, we made some adjustments. One story described the aftermath of slamming on the brakes. Two bottles of red wine and one of salsa went flying through the air, landing with unfortunate consequences. Ah, strapping everything down or discovering the beauty of plastic bins. This would prove to an important step later in the trip. Interesting issues popped up. Where do you put dirty shoes, when the entire floor becomes your bed each night?

A place for everything and everything in its place.

All Secured

Jim, June 7 – June 21:

I wanted to add my ham radio and a solar power system and we were about 2 weeks from departure. The TenTec Triton II radio was mounted in an interior cabinet and connected to the antenna ball mount. A piece of 3″ PVC tubing, mounted outside in the rear, provided storage for the whip antennas and their coils. A weekend shopping trip to Costco yielded a 15 watt solar panel and charge controller that I connected to the existing trailer 12 volt system. Although we were likely to have 120 volt “shore power” when camping, the solar panel could provide power if we decided to set up camp in a remote area. Time to pack!

Ranch foreman, P.T., supervises

Galley view of teardrop trailer

Door/side view of teardrop trailer

Ham radio mounted in teardrop trailer

Solar panel for teardrop trailer

Teardrop electrical system with solar charge controller

We Meet Our (Teardrop) Maker

Jim, June 1:

The Dallas/Fort Worth area is huge, so we had to take the Girl’s advice on a route to EZ-Toad. It turned out that Don (the maker) worked out of his home, and after introductions we got our first look at our trailer. We had seen photos during the build, but I wasn’t prepared for quite how beautiful the trailer was. Don was clearly a very skilled and careful craftsman. Self-deprecating, he apologized for having custom-made the side door. It seems he had run out of the factory-made models. To my eyes, the custom door was perfectly done with a fit and finish that rivaled the best work I’ve seen. It closed with a solid “thunk” that indicated both a good seal and lasting quality. The galley door, framed with tubular steel, was just as nicely done. We were both impressed.

Don had waited to complete one custom element until I was there to help: the antenna ball mount. I’m a radio amateur, and I wanted to mount a radio in the trailer for campground use. I helped him located the proper mount point and he quickly installed the mount. Perfection.

Jim meets Don at last

Jim tries it on for size

It’s ready!

Marilyn – June 1:

At last it was time to go to Ft. Worth to pick up our very own teardrop. We left Dripping Springs on Sunday, June 1. We headed north on I-35, the major north–south Interstate Highway running from the United States-Mexico border to the Red River border with Oklahoma and as far north as Minnesota. The Interstate had been undergoing an extensive renovation and expansion project for years and traffic on a Sunday had become legendary. Jim suggested that we stop for Kolaches to prepare for the experience, a long-standing tradition with I-35 travelers. Kolache fever is nothing new in Texas, which has been home to a considerable Czech community since the mid 1800’s. A Kolach (plural kolache /kɵˈlɑːtʃi /, also spelled kolace, kolach, or kolacky), comes from the Czech and Slovak. We pulled into the town of West, Texas and The Czech Stop And Little Czech Bakery.

Onward, fortified by puffy pastry pillows from supple dough. We took directions from the disembodied female voice of the GPS that we would soon refer to as “The Girl.” We wound our way through neighborhoods of small, one-story houses until we found the home of EZ-Toad Trailers.

The Czech Stop and Little Czech Bakery
So many Kolaches and so little time

Texas-shaped cookies with red, white, and blue sprinkles

Even the cookies are more colorful in Texas

Buying a Custom Teardrop Trailer

Our teardrop trail under construction

Jim:

We discussed how much fun it would be to go to the Red Power Round Up in June in our very own Teardrop Trailer. There were a couple of problems however. I certainly wasn’t going to have time to build one in the available time and commercial models are quite expensive. I wasn’t sure about spending so much money just to see if we liked it. The handmade model we saw at one of the RV dealers was closer to what we wanted but still a little pricey. I looked all over the Internet, but it was the same story everywhere — teardrop trailers are a boutique item and command premium prices. Perhaps a used one would do.

The unfinished interior

Craig’s List was the next stop. It’s easy to search a town or geographic region — perfect since shipping a trailer across country isn’t easy. There were always a few teardrops listed, but nothing that really spoke to me. Then I noticed a listing from EZ-Toad Trailers. There was one available, in the right price range, but with no galley. A phone call confirmed a teardrop with a galley could be ready in time and modifications could be made to suit our preferences. I thought about it for a day or two, and called Don (the builder) back to complete the deal. A teardrop in four to six weeks!

Waiting was difficult but Don sent pictures every couple of weeks as the build progressed. We would drive to Fort Worth on June 1st to pick it up. We were now the proud owners of a custom-built teardrop trailer!

galley view of unfinished teardrop trailer

Unfinished teardrop – galley view

A Little Teardrop History

Jim:

TearDrop Trailers go way back and I started with some articles from old magazines. If you’re thinking of building one yourself, be sure to build it for modern highway speeds. Some of these vintage projects don’t look sturdy enough to me! But I was looking for a small trailer that my Mazda could tow.

An online search provided articles on teardrop trailers and their origins, plans and ideas.

Trailer for two Mechanix Illustrated, September, 1947 (pdf)
Luxury Trailers create a new army of “Modern Gypsies” Popular Science Monthly, April, 1936

Mechanix Illustrated Trailer for Two — September, 1947

We met our good friends, Kyoko and Paul for a day of trailer shopping. They were also interested in small trailers. As we planned the day, Marilyn remembered a lot on the interstate frontage road that had teardrop trailers. Princess Craft RV was our first stop that day.

One small hand-made trailer caught our eyes. It was a custom-built trailer with many unique details like tile trim in the galley. Marilyn liked it right away, but we decided it was too expensive. Later that day we visited a lot with large RVs. As we looked around we were convinced we really wanted our very own teardrop. After the weekend exploration, we kept searching online and talking – Finally I decided that I wanted to build the trailer. The guys down the road who rebuild vintage cars would help. We looked at utility trailers at Tractor Supply as a base and continued to search the Internet for plans with the perfect combinations of comfort and style.

Why a Teardrop?

Camping is fun, but the days of tent camping are probably over for us. Setting up, coupled with sleeping on hard ground and dealing with weather argue for something more substantial and convenient. An RV would be nice, but who wants to invest a small fortune? With the recent purchase of a fuel efficient crossover vehicle, a Mazda CX-5, a lightweight camping trailer seemed perfect.

A Teardrop Trailer

What to get though? Most camping trailers are large, heavy and expensive. A trip to the RV store revealed another option though — a teardrop trailer. A little research on the Internet (try: teardrop trailer) reveals a long tradition with the little trailers. They first started appearing after the First World War as folks began to have vehicles that could tow. The next several decades saw many clever do-it-yourself plans published in magazines like Popular Mechanics. Some of the early designs were very clever. They often used salvage auto parts and readily available building materials as a way of keeping the cost down.

Teardrop Trail starts with Jim and Marilyn’s first, excellent adventure!

The Cast of Characters

Every production begins with a cast of characters.

Marilyn: I got degrees in painting and drawing as well as art history but have done quite a few things. I have lived in some amazing places – Vail, Northern New Mexico and Hershey, Pennsylvania before moving back to Texas. I can trace My roots to Steven F. Austin and as they say around these parts, I got back as soon as I could.

Jim: I grew up in the Midwest and have travelled extensively in the Western United States. I’ve called the Hill Country in Texas home for nearly two decades now, and enjoy the country life. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the States.

We both enjoy food, wine, gardening and the quirkier aspects of life including the Teardrop Trail.

Jim & Marilyn at the Bistro 412 in Park City, Utah

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