[2KIRKS]

my faithful pal rusty and i packed up the new teardrop over the weekend and drove to missouri.

on friday night we stayed at onondaga cave state park in leasburg, missouri. the high for friday was 55 and the low was 26. we didn't do much upon arrival other than walk around the campground and start our fire. we were one of four campers there on friday. i ended up using a small ceramic heater with a thermostat at night. i started off not using it, but i woke up at one point at my poor dog was shivering, so i turned it on. we were out of the park by 8:00 saturday morning and spent the day driving thru the mark twain national forest. the element towed the teardrop just fine and we traveled up and down several hills and around sharp turns. we arrived at the trail of tears state park in jackson, missouri around 3:00. we were one of three campers on saturday. the high for saturday was 58 and the low was 22. i once again used the heater on saturday night. i slept with the roof vent open both nights and i ended up cracking one window saturday night because i was getting a little warm.

sleeping in the trailer was comfortable, however i definitely need to add some padding to the mattress some how. of course, i totally forgot to pack a pillow so i had to use a balled up sweatshirt to sleep on! other than the pillow, i didn't forget anything major.

i need to construct some sort of small shelf to place the heater. i didn't feel comfortable placing it on the floor in fear of knocking it over. aside from that i don't foresee any major mods needed.

i had one couple stop and ask about the trailer and several other vehicles drive by slowly to check it out.

if the weather is nice i may go out again this coming weekend.

HC - i've got the itch to look into painting the trailer the same color as the element... white is just too boring!

onondaga cave sp

onondaga cave sp

onondaga cave sp

trail of tears sp

trail of tears sp

trail of tears sp

trail of tears sp

 

[Jojo]

Looks fun and cold!
I'm trying to get out next week, unfortunately it's spring break so I'm struggling to find a campground opening.

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[GUMP08SC]

Great Post

Thanks for the post. Looks and sounds like it was a good time.
I would like to be a "Tear Dropper" before too long.
I'm tempted to build one myself....
Although, the purchased ones would be more "instant gratification".

Again, thanks for sharing 2Kirks

 

[hiker chick]

HC - i've got the itch to look into painting the trailer the same color as the element... white is just too boring!

Ha, ha -- yes, you have a blank canvas just begging for expression.

I think Little Guy does custom graphics, you may want to consider that as a personal touch that does not incur the expense or maintenance of a complete paint job.

I think a couple contemporary decals with your E's color dominant and then outlined in black would look really sharp.

LG once asked me what the paint code number is on Galapagos Green Metallic because a customer wanted a graphic in that color.

Looks like you had a great time. Takes dedication to get out this early in the season!

Coleman sells a sleeping bag for dogs. Gidget has an exceptional coat but when it got down to the teens she was climbing atop my sleeping bag so after that I threw a couple more sleeping bags in for her use and mine in the future, if need be.

 

[2KIRKS]

i wasn't able to get out for the whole weekend, but i did manage to get away saturday for a one night outing. i traveled to southern illinois and stayed at giant city state park. the temps were hanging around 60 during the afternoon... it was cloudy all day and finally started to rain during the night.

i didn't take too many photos due to gloomy weather...

 

[Jojo]

Have you given out any tours yet?

The camp host at our last trip asked if he could be our manager:grin:

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[Mrs.Anthony337]

Too kool; so jealous! Thanks for sharing!

 

[2KIRKS]

no tours, but i've had several slow drive-bys and a handful of stoppers.

 

[MoonDrop]

Too Cool

Nice set up. To me, the E and the Little Guy match. Nice motif. I try to match mine up too, but its hard depending on your materials and spray painting abilities. The hitch mounts are nice and convenient. I came off my hitch with a double tongue to hall bikes and teardrop. A lot of play but hasn't broke yet. We been itching to get out camping up here in PA and we are looking forward to this weekend. Have you checked out your local Tear Jerkers Chapter??

 

[2KIRKS]

i'm taking the teardrop out again this weekend to a "north central" group outing in missouri. i believe the chosen campground is pershing state park. this will be my first official outing with a tear jerker crowd. i'm looking forward to it.

i'll post some pics next week.

 

[itsanEgirl]

i love your setup! a teardrop is on my wish list....maybe one day!

 

[Foxy's mom]

TOTALLY COOL! Glad you had fun. I hope next time you get out the weather is PERFECT.

 

[MoonDrop]

Tear

Hey there Itsanegirl, I can help you build one if you want. Check my pics at my profile page. They can be real inexpensive or they can be expensive..

 

[2KIRKS]

here's some pics from the tear drop gathering i attended in missouri over the weekend. there were several custom built trailers there... it was neat to see the variety of tear drops.

http://s666.photobucket.com/albums/vv28/kcdr18/tear%20jerkers%20-%20pershing%202010/

 

[hiker chick]

Great pics, thanks!

A wide array of great looking teardrops.

 

[Jojo]

Nice pics, some pretty cool looking TD's there:roll:

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[marksbug]

while I was camping in GA this last week there was a TD get togeather there also.about 8-12 TD's. some new some old some hand made some not. & there was a 29 model a ford towing one also. there was one nice big one that we liked, I'm tring to remember what the mfg was, but my braincant forget shiet and wont remember anything importaint (like spell check witch to me is like salt, & I don't use it either ) sorry no pics ot the td's. but I was wondering why do you have a TD camper and then put it in the tent????:razz:

 

[hiker chick]

why do you have a TD camper and then put it in the tent????:razz:

Are you referring to a screenroom or canopy that shields the kitchen galley from rain and sun?

I run a canopy off the back of my Element for the same reasons. My teardrop does not have a kitchen so I often cook on the trailer tongue box. And I like to lounge on the Element's tailgate.

Someone had their teardrop in a tent?


:?

 

[2KIRKS]

a lot of tear drop campers use a canopy or tent-room of some sort for either protection from the sun and/or a place to change clothes.

i own one of the tent-room things, but i don't like to use it because of the set up time. i usually take it with me just in case though. if i do utilize it, it's to provide me with some shade during the day.

 

[MoonDrop]

Side tent

I use a tent off the rear of my tear. It originally was bought for my VW van to go around/ off the side door. I also add an outdoor carpet, 2 chairs and the E rear table/spare tire cover. If it rains the whole weekend , I don't feel cooped up in the tear. It also adds a little of security or to not make the alcohol so obvious in a camp ground:grin: