I recently purchased a used T@B
It’s a 1994 model with no frills but otherwise in very good shape. I paid $5200 for it. I’ve had it out twice in the past month or so. The 1st time for one night, the second for five. So far I am very pleased. It has standing headroom for me (I’m 5’7") and a queen sized bed. Ventilation is good. A few frozen gallon milk jugs keeps the icebox cold. At the end of five nights the battery still had the lights burning bright. One of my next projects is to build canoe racks for it. If got a design in mind, now to find the time to build the prototype.
Marc Ornstein
Dogpaddle Canoe Works
Custom Paddles and Cedar Strip Canoes
towing…
I can’t answer that question as I don’t have any experience except with the Explorer. My Toyota Sienna Mini-van has the trailer towing package, and I think it’s rated to tow 3500 lbs. That doesn’t mean I would. I have seen mini-vans towing casitas, but I don’t know the effect on their vehicles.
I realize that the original poster is looking for something a small engine can handle, and that the Casita is not the answer for that. However, my personal opinion is that a unit like the Casita is more useful than the pop-up campers.
If we stopped for gas, I could use my own bathroom in the Casita. We could also pull into a parking lot and quickly fix a snack or meal, and have a place to sit down and eat. Once we got home, I could do the laundry, put the sheets and towels back in the casita, and we were ready for the next trip. Dishes, utensils, cookware, etc were all left inside.
It was small enough we could park in campground tent sites instead of the RV sites. By doing that, we could avoid being parked next to huge RV’s with their satellite dishes and generators. It was great shelter from the rain. Having our own shower was almost heaven. A small ceramic heater was adequate in very cold weather. It was just a great, fun, camping trailer. Maybe not the right one for a small car, but it served our purposes.
Jill
Curious?
Which Casita did you have, the 13’ or larger one?
17 ft.
We had the 17 foot model.
Hey mornstein…
– Last Updated: Aug-08-09 12:22 AM EST –
you may want to rethink racks on T@B.
I also looked at them when they first came out. The early models came out they had leaks,and delamination issues on the top due to heavy snow loads on the roof during winter storage. Found that on a tiny trailer web page. I think the early models had little or no internal roof structure,just a sandwich construction of the roof. Any weight or air lift from boats,could cause roof structural failure. Check with dealer,factory,about this for verification. Why haul boats on the trailer, the vehicle goes to the water{unless you are very lucky to get water front sites} not the trailer. I had a teardrop trailer and hauled the boats on the tow vehicle.
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2239487350050436027VinxyS
billinpa
Have leak problems been solved?
I was thinkging the T@B looked like a possibility, depending on cost/storage issues. Have the leak problems been solved? It is a problem if you keep it in a garage for storage (city ordinances won’t let me keep it in my driveway over the winter – which is why I probably won’t consider it unless I can fit it in my garage).
LittleRed…
I read on a small trailer message board{not the link I posted,but a Yahoo small trailer group} this happened to a few snow belt owners when T@B’s first came out out. I read that and decided against the T@B until they were out a few years to work out the bugs. I had looked at one,and had a larger trailer at the time. I was looking for something smaller,easier to tow. The T@B was more expensive then 18’ with bathroom & shower,I already owned,and almost twice the price of the teardrop I eventually bought. I abandoned the reasearch on the T@B since it didn’t fit what we were looking for. Do a web search on T@B,and any T@B or small trailer message boards. I am assuming a dealers will deny any problens to sell units,and owners will give you better insight. The problem may have been very well fixed in later models. I would talk to a dealer,or factory and see what they say,however I tend to lean towards someone that actually owns & uses the product for insight rather then those who are trying to sell it.
One such owners message board in which one owner mentioned constant replacement of roof trim:
http://www.roamingtimes.com/rvreports/tab-teardrop-trailer.aspx
Good Luck
billinpa
Darn you, LittleRed ;^)
I was perfectly happy with my Coleman sundome tent, till I got to reading this thread. Now I’m dreaming about this:
http://www.leesurelite.com/
and thinking about a new Honda Fit to tow it.
Saw one in South Dakota
I saw one of those little tent trailer setups in South Dakota near Mount Rushmore, pulled by a motorcycle. Looked nice. We stared at it a long time but no one invited us in.
Did you watch the video?
Really easy set up for one person.
When I get too old to sleep on the ground, I’m going to have to get one of these.
I’m aware of the delamination issue.
Mine has some delamination of the interior headliner. I’m working on a fix for that but it has not affected the outer portion of the roof, cosmetically or otherwise. The roof does not leak and I’ve towed it through some horrendous downpours. The design I’m working on will spread the strain over a large area and transmit most of the forces to the sidewalls. It will also involve no holes in the trailer skin.
As for why; I often need to carry more boats than can readily be put on the truck. I can put three solos on the truck without double stacking. Double stacking is a pain that I avoid as much as possible.
Marc Ornstein
Dogpaddle Canoe Works
Custom Paddles and Cedar Strip Canoes
No towing with a Honda Fit…
I have an 09,and manual states “towing is not reccommended” Yes they make hitches,but they are used for receiver bike racks only.
billinpa
Well, isn’t that stupid?
I used to tow a motorcycle trailer with my 1974 VW Beetle. I don’t know whether it was recommended or not, but I did it without any problems.
Blame lawyers & society
billinpa
On the Fit
– Last Updated: Aug-10-09 7:58 PM EST –
Their recommendation not to set it up for towing may actually be rooted in the fact that they don't have an issue with it towing a very light trailer, but handling it and stopping it in a quick braking scenario. I also have been looking at a very wide selection of vehicles from small trucks and small SUV's to cars with good gas mileage to give me something affordable to run yet flexible as a utilitarian vehicle. Some of the vehicles I have looked at I was told by others who are more knowledgeable then I that the braking systems and lightness of the vehicle itself that negated them as towing vehicles.
Other vehicles that were a little more robust, but rated extremely low for towing didn't get nixed because of their inability to handle the braking issue, but got nixed by that manufacturer's marketing division because they were told to promote the bigger and far more profitable vehicles in their lineup and they did that by taking some of their lineup out of the towing equation forcing customers further up the financial food chain. Unfortunately if you tow with a vehicle that isn't rated or exceed its' rating and have an accident, your insurance policy becomes null and void on the spot and your liabilities become a money tree for somebody else.
T@b garage fit
LRed- I have seen the Tab camper in person, I think it was in Pontiac–it won;t fit in a standdard 8 foot garage. I then decided, were I to get one, I’d get a teardrop. Definitely into garage (maybe with a boat on top–and even if boat not strapped on top, can still winter “store” a boat on top just to get it out of the way once the thing is in the garage.
I think billinpa, who has neat pics as you can see–has the experience and the ticket on this one–teardrop, a Quick Up awning for your card party, and keep that boat on the truck. As he says, you’ll want to leave the camper–any camper–all set up when you go to the water. Highly unlikely, even at Moraine View, et cetera, that you;d have a campsite immediately and portagably on the water.
I considered Aliner, but I wanted to get into it anytime (not have to pop it up every time I wanted a roadside nap), I don’t like hinges on waterproof roofs (hinges fail and leak–although this is a guess on my part—not known fact–the more mechanically complex, the more prone to failure), and I recognized that for all the cuteness, it is very hard to sit up in it except in the center where roof is highest. I adore the teardrop concept of cooking outdoors, actually, so grease can go aflyin’ and I ain’t wimpering. It just falls on the ground. And it never stinks up the trailer. I doubt cooking in a Aliner or Tab is something you;d honestly do often. The only downside I see to any of these rigs is the loo issue. Hard to have a sloshing messy loo pottie tucked in there unless you enjoy the scent of chemicals at night—so pooping is an issue and requires a Wal-Mart or a truck stop.
Unless you have a potty under a tableclothed table, like the little old lady on the youtube video I linked above! Haa ha. I wish I had the teardrop that man has with the boat on top. Fishing in an instant!
Good information, thanks.
I just have to believe that there is some small car out there that would meet my requirements, but beginning to realize it won’t be easy to find.
Some of your small SUV’s
Ford Escape,
Rav4
Subaru Forester and new Outback
are examples of some of the medium to smaller vehicles that will be able to handle towing. When you drop down to things like a Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Scion, Toyota Corrolla etc. that you are looking at 1500lbs or less, Usually less to not rated for towing at all.
Another small camper
http://www.bf-specialties.com/
One thing to consider on some of these small campers that are packaged and sent directly to you is the packaging and freight charges. They can add up to 1k to the final cost.