The idea for launching a new teardrop trailer design formed gradually over a period of 6 or 7 years. The initial inspiration came from illustrations in old Popular Mechanics magazine of the teardrop trailers of the 30’s and 40’s. There was just something about the whole concept that appealed to me. We have always loved camping, all except the seemingly endless packing and unpacking, setting up and tearing down tents, all the hassle. A properly designed teardrop eliminates all of that. Fully equipped, it is ready to go at a moments notice. Just a quick stop at the store to fill your cooler. Well quick isn’t guaranteed because your going to have to get used to attention. Every stop someone will want to talk to you about your teardrop. Get ready to show off! There isn’t one place we’ve stayed where our teardrop wasn’t the most eye catching trailer. We met some amazing people and had a lot of fun. Once at the campground, set-up and tear down are reduced to minutes.
The other major consideration is that as a successful building contractor, and generally obsessive tinkerer over the last 30+ years, I have accumulated all the necessary skills and tools required for the possibly daunting task of producing a safe, reliable, and well-built trailer, that would meet the strict requirements of RV certification and road-worthiness.
First on the agenda was education: to research everything written and published about camping trailers, who the competition was, what kind of product do they offer, how did they present it on websites and the media, and most importantly, what did they do wrong? My goal was to avoid all the mistakes and bad design issues that I was seeing, and include a few innovations of my own that I was not seeing in the market, to make my Odyssey Teardrop stand out from the competition.
The biggest fault I was seeing was that most teardrops offered were set up to sleep only two people, with some designs, at best, offering a small bunk suitable for young kids, or an awkward roof-top tent. I wanted to incorporate a 6″3″ twin-size bed, with it’s own tent. No other competitor has this feature. Another common fault was the poorly thought out galley kitchens. Some designs have no galley at all, which makes a teardrop just a very expensive hard-sided tent! My galley is a fully equipped chef’s kitchen, every item easily reached, nothing blocking access to another. I saw designs where the cooking stove, when set up, blocked the utensil drawers from opening. Or the very heavy ice cooler had to be physically lifted out and set on a seperate table for use. Little thought went into these designs. My galley eliminates these flaws and adds many other useful features, like tons of storage, a three-way fresh water system, ample lighting and USB outlets, an optional gas grill, two side tables easily attached, super insulated cooler with electric option, even multiple secret compartments for hiding valuables. All encased in an elegant custom cabinet arrangement.
The sleeping cabin also was given much consideration. The biggest bed area of any teardrop I have seen- a California-King mattress, split in to two seperate halves that can be screened from each other, and reconfigured into seperate sofas for sitting up, reading, watching TV, etc. . Multiple A/C and USB outlets are incorporated, as well as various shelves and clothing storage cabinets. A large star-gazing window brightens the interior, and side screened windows are adjustable for ventilation, along with a powered roof vent.
The electrical system consists of a deep cycle battery kept fully charged by three methods: by DC converter while connected to shore power, by the towing vehicle while on the road, and by an optional solar panel. Fresh water storage is 7 gal., as well as a 7 gal. grey water tank.
Air conditioning is offered as an option, as well as a small dinette table that stores under the main bed when not in use.
Odyssey Teardrops 