Starling Travel

I found this homemade teardrop camper in KSL Classifieds and I was attracted to the bright yellow.

See their description and more photos after the break: (Continue Reading…)

For the first time in months, I want to drive for hours and plunk down some money on a cute little trailer I saw on KSL Classifieds.

Here is their description: (Continue Reading…)

I found this trailer for only $500 on KSL Classifieds.

The ad was a little sparse. It only read: (Continue Reading…)

I love this design for the Squidget Pop Top. Technically, this trailer is bigger than a teardrop, but it is so compact and small, it can fit in a garage.

The detailed plans are available on their website for about $40 for electronic download.

If you really want to build a luxury teardrop, I think this might be the best design yet.

I was looking through the Google 3D Warehouse for interesting campers and I found a good one. It’s called the Air-O 10W Sport Compact Camper.

There are more snapshots of it after the break: (Continue Reading…)

I found this 1974 Roadrunner on KSL Classifieds the other day and I had to save it here for posterity.

Excellant condition. Oldy but Goody. (Continue Reading…)

While we were in Sand Hollow State Park, I snapped a quick photo of my rig. If you click on the picture, you can see it full-sized.

We have been towing small trailers with the Prius for almost a year now with no ill effects on the car or troubles scaling the Utah mountains. We waited until our warranty on the Prius was up until we started towing with it, but we have had no problems mechanically. This commercial I saw the other day made me literally scream obscenities at the computer screen.

It’s Volkswagen making fun of Prius hybrids and I had so many reasons to scream.

That’s complete bullshit! I can climb the Rocky Fucking Mountains towing a 1200 pound trailer and stay at the speed limit!

My Prius has needed NO major repairs and it’s damn check engine light has NEVER turned on in the five years that we have owned it, unlike my LEMON of a VW BUG!

I have over 130,000 miles on my Prius! That damn Bug never made it past 75,000!

And we aren’t the only ones. Just check out these videos of other people towing with their Prius cars.

Every time we go camping, someone comes up to us and asks how the Prius tows a trailer and are surprised when we rave about how well it handles. Plus, we get about 29 mpg when we tow, so we spend hardly any money on gas getting around.

I first saw a Jumping Jack Trailer at Sportsman’s Warehouse.

I never really saw the benefit of it because I don’t need to haul four wheelers or any other toys. When I saw it at Sand Hollow State Park a couple of weeks ago, however, I was surprised at how good it looked.

I spotted it from a half-mile away and it looked so good silhouetted against the red earth of Southern Utah. I could tell that the owners had hauled a four-wheeler with it.

I used to wonder why anyone would want a tent trailer because I couldn’t see the benefit of it over just a plain old tent that I could stuff into my car, but the benefit at Sand Hollow is clear. Tents aren’t welcome at that particular campsite and there are no tent pads where you can pitch a tent. A trailer is the only way to stay there.

I looked online to see how much they cost, but all I could do was find this KSL Classified Ad for one: 2003 Jumping Jack ATV Trailer $4000

By contrast, I found this homemade tent trailer and toy hauler for MUCH less: ATV / TOY HAULER / POP-UP TENT TRAILER $1,250 or OFFER

I found two others for less than $4000, so toy haulers are pretty rare, but there are other options than the Jumping Jack. It was interesting to see it in the wild, but I just don’t have a use for one.

Update 12-14-14

I finally fixed this awning and made it much more sturdy and easy to put up. You can see it here:

• Starling Travel – A Better Homemade Awning

A couple of weeks ago, we went camping down at Sand Hollow State Park in Southern Utah. It was the first time I got to test my homemade awning. It looked GREAT!

Unfortunately, it didn’t hold up well in the wind. Just a short burst of wind sent it toppling down. There are two points of weakness in my design: the connections at the top and the connections at the trailer. On the trailer, the poles (stolen from my Springbar tent) just slide onto this PVC connector.

They worked great in the garage, but there was no wind there. Even the smallest of wind gusts can pop the pole off this connector, so I need to drill a hole in both the pole and the PVC pipe, and add a pin to keep the poles in place.

At the top of the awning, it is held on with a pin, but the pin just kept popping out of place, so I need a different connection there as well. I did a pretty good job sewing the awning, so I’m proud of that. All I need to work on is the hardware and this puppy with look good AND stay in place.

I found this camper on KSL Classifieds the other day and the headline didn’t lie:

Drop Dead Gorgeous 1958 Fireball Trailer

Ready to go camping, title in hand. It is 15 ft. long and lightweight. Easily pulled with SUV. (Continue Reading…)