Our Scotty Junior on the N. California coast!
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- Our Scotty at home in the Pinnacles National Park campground, amidst the behemeth trailers and fifth-wheels. All those owners want a tour of our little trailer!
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- Rear galley with plenty of storage room; some teardrops have built-in gas stove or sink, this one does not.
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- The back interior cabinets of our 58 Scotty offer lots of storage space; and, yes, you can sleep in there!
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- Our 58 Scotty Junior repro teardrop, with builder Tom Scott of W. Virginia, who constructed this trailer in 2011
I have been writing travel stories and posting several travel blogs for almost two years; we have been touring with a teardrop travel trailer for over seven years. These little trailers, besides being conversation starters (“can you really sleep in there?”), are easy to tow, keep your gasoline bill down (we tow with a compact car), and store easily in your garage or yard (no storage expenses).
We actually have two teardrops, a reproduction 58 Serro Scotty Junior that we have used extensively the last 1.5 years, and a classic 64 Serro Scotty Sportsman needing a lot of work, jammed inside my garage while inspiration comes to me. Hence, the Scotty Junior sits under a tarp, behind a fence so as to not violate the sensibilities of our neighborhood homeowner’s association.
But you really appreciate these little travel trailers when it’s time to hit the road. For us, it’s pretty simple since the trailer is already loaded with Coleman stove, lantern and other camping gear like chairs and small tables, bedding is ready-made and the interior cabinets are loaded with other camping miscellany like headlamps, wet weather gear, CDs, batteries and such.
Our first move; unlock the gate beside the garage, pull the tarp off the trailer, and push it to the driveway. Since the teardrop only weighs about 750 pounds, loaded, and has a tongue-wheel, its easy for my wife and I working as a team. Hook it to our Ford Focus tow vehicle and we’re about ready to hit the road.
We merely have to load a few other items: ice chest with food and drink, a plastic storage container loaded with dry goods, canned goods and non-perishable food, our clothing duffels and a backpack. Most of these are also pre-loaded; we merely check to be sure our supplies are up-to-date (would not want to get to a national park without binoculars, or a corkscrew!).
A question: Can you cross the USA by auto, California to Florida and back, spend 30 days on the road for $2,000, including gas, food, lodging? Well, pretty close. We recently completed a 30 day tour, from Stockton, CA to Florida (including Key West), toured the “old South” – our costs for gasoline, 16 nights in campgrounds, seven nights in inexpensive motels (and seven nights with friends/family). We made many lifelong memories and spent about $2,100. Not bad for seeing the country, up close and personal!
So, off we go, with our “motel behind us”; getting 27 mpg and smugly passing giant pickups and monstrous fifth-wheel trailers lugging along getting 8 mpg. We often camp next to them in the campground; we pull out our portable chairs and tables – and sit right beside them! And, yes, if the fifth-wheel owner has six kids, I can understand the need for size. But often, it is a retired couple, who strain to back their behemoth into a parking spot, then hit the button so their slide-outs pop out, up goes their satellite dish – and we don’t see them until they depart the next day.
That, as any small trailer aficionado will attest, is not camping!
Watch this travel blog for weekly tours of California’s National Parks, many other destinations in the west and throughout the USA (sometimes, even Canada!); go to http://blogs.esanjoaquin.com/valleytravel. And, happy travels!
