Starling Travel

I really liked this quick video from Chevrolet about how to tow with their pickup, the Silverado.

While I love the backup camera, seeing that they have a switch for tow and hauling mode made me want to look at Chevy’s for my next tow vehicle.

Via: RV Education 101: New technology

This photo of a teardrop trailer has been floating around the RV forums and the Pinterest boards, but no one had a link to what it was and who made it.

I finally found it online and you will never guess who is selling it! (Continue Reading…)

Joe Barrett, owner of Aqua Terra Toys designed this pop up camper, called The Ark.

It starts out nice and flat for easy towing.

It sets up in about ten minutes into a nice pup tent-shaped trailer with a shelf on the back for your galley.

I’m sure you could design something very similar to this on your own using a flatbed utility trailer and some ingenuity. I absolutely love all the different ideas that are out there for tiny trailers.

YouTube videographer, FilteredInc, posted this video of a very unique little teardrop trailer that pops up.

I took some screen shots to showcase it fully. When popped up, it’s completely hard sided.

It looks like it folds up almost as flat as a tent trailer, except for the rounded bit. It’s unfortunate that the rounded bit isn’t on the front of the trailer, instead of the back.

This is the best view of the passenger side of the trailer. It looks like it has a door and a window. It’s probably a cozy place to sleep.

If you notice, the trailer was parked (and deployed) at a Walmart for overnight camping. I never tried to boondock at a Walmart because I didn’t have a bathroom in my teardrop trailer, but I guess if the Walmart was a 24 hour kind, we could have just used their facilities. I prefer to stay in a campground, usually, but I like the idea of being able to sleep at a Walmart if we are desperate.

I found this trailer in my local classifieds: 1964 14′ CAMP trailer with custom tip-out: ksl.com

Here is the description:

14′ camp trailer with a tip out that has a dinette that seats 6 adults and folds in to a large bed. this leaves you with a open floor space of over 4 by 8 feet. Ther is bunkbed overhead in back. Kithcen area with sink, stove, and ice box in front. It comes with 3 new tires and rims. This is a small lite trailer with ground clearance to get up in those tite spots on dirt roads with stream crossings.

I can’t really tell from the interior shots where the tip out tips in.

I do love the retro colored stove, though.

I can’t tell from the photos and I couldn’t find anything online about a trailer like this that tips out on the side. I LOVE the design, but I’d be worried about leaking. What keeps the rain and the snow out of the trailer when it’s stored and when it’s tipped out?

Ever since I owned my Barbie Star Traveler, I have fantasized about hanging out on TOP of a motorhome. Right on the box, it showed Barbie and Skipper laying out in the sun on top of the motorhome.

Well, they have finally made a camper that can allow you to do just that: the Kabe Royal Tower.

Click more to see other photos: (Continue Reading…)

I love this camping setup on YouTube: Glamping Bedroom from Glampingqueen.

This is a Broadstone Beaumont Cabin Tent and it has it all:

• A front porch where you can take off any wet gear or muddy shoes.
• A bedroom with a queen sized inflatable bed
• A den where you can sit and write or a separate room for children
• A bathroom with a port-potty, vanity and sink

I love her ingenuity. I have a camp kitchen very similar to the one she is using for a vanity in her bathroom. I never once thought of using it for a bathroom sink and vanity. She is using the cupboards for storing towels and toiletries instead of food. Brilliant!

She also has a video tour of her showerhouse. I LOVE that tent and I’m wondering what brand it is.

Update 12-09-12: She got back to me and it’s a Broadstone Privacy Shelter.

She also has great ideas for easy ways to fetch water while you camp. Since we camp at many primitive camping sites in Utah, we are lugging water jugs all the time. This is a wonderful idea to make that chore easier.

Here is her camping kitchen tent. I prefer to cook in the outdoors, but when it’s raining, it makes cooking a miserable chore. She has a pretty good setup for that situation.

Glampingqueen also runs a blog about camping and ATVs. You can read it here:

• Clamping Info

I’ve talked before about tiny trailers that also double as toy haulers here:

• Starling Travel: The Utilitoy: The Perfect Toy Hauler and Teardrop Camper Combined

It looks like a craftsman in Utah has created a similar thing for himself. I found it on the KSL Classifieds.

It might look simple from the outside, but Eric has gone to a lot of trouble to design a trailer that is useful as a toy hauler AND a camper. You can see more after the break… (Continue Reading…)

Last January, the first cruise ship to sink in a century was capsized off the coast of Isla del Giglio. It was the Costa Concordia and I talked about it here:

• Starling Travel » Costa Concordia: The First Cruise Ship To Sink in 100 Years

Back then, I said:

My first cruise was on a ship with broken stabilizers, so every other cruise has felt smooth as glass. During that bumpy and lilting first cruise, I kept reassuring myself that we could not possibly sink because the last ship to sink was the Titanic. I had convinced myself that it was impossible for the modern cruise ships to sink. Then I heard about the Costa Concordia sinking just off the coast of Italy last night and all my fears resurfaced.

It has been almost a year since that wreck and the boat is STILL there. Its salvage has proved to be quite a difficult problem.

• Costa Concordia: World’s Biggest Ship Salvage : Discovery News

The disaster, which killed 32 people, left salvage teams facing the unprecedented challenge of removing a ship with a gross tonnage of 114,500 GT without spilling its rotting contents into the sea.

The ship has been sitting there so long that you can now see it on Google Maps:

The lawyers for the captain of the Costa Concordia, who is said to have abandoned ship, is placing the blame for the wreck on Carnival and their policies. Here is a news clip from October when they talked about his pre-trial hearing.

Here is another clip highlighting how difficult it has been for their passengers, seeking retribution.

All of this has made me feel less willing to go on a cruise. I think I’ll stick with epic road trips across the U.S.A. and not give our money away to Carnival.

Many times, I’ve thought about building my own teardrop trailer, but my skills are lacking right now. When I was looking at the local classifieds, I came across this camper: $3,000 Custom built trailer Murray, UT

This looks EXACTLY like what I was looking for in an inexpensive trailer.

I AM worried about how the roof is attached, however.

It doesn’t have a full sized door, but it does look much more roomy than a teardrop.

According to the description:

This trailer is 11′ long, 5′ wide, and 6′ high. The table folds to a queen size bed. Lots of storage.

It looks like there are lots of cupboards for storage in the trailer.

Here is the view from the outside, looking in.

The reason I decided to look for a teardrop trailer instead of building my own is because I don’t think I could have built anything better or cuter than this. Instead, I found the American Teardrop Outbacker and fell in love with it.

Sometimes it’s better to just buy the camper of your dreams rather than try to build it yourself.