T@G MAX XL Archives - Big Guy Tiny Trailer

Teardrop Modification and Travel Summary 2nd Year

Our second year of camping has gone by so quickly. Our teardrop is a NuCamp 2017 T@G MAX XL and it has served us so well! This post is a summary of the miles we have traveled in the past year and the teardrop modification we have made.

Second Year Camping Trips

We only took six camping trips this past year, which does not sound like a lot for a retired couple. However, two were monthlong trips and one included three stops. We hauled our teardrop 10,451 miles—three times the miles traveled in our first year. We revisited three nearby states, but also camped in thirteen new states. Our hope is to eventually camp in every state.

The trips included 36 different campgrounds and 75 nights away from home. We were inexperienced newbies when we began camping two years ago. Now, I think of us as seasoned campers.

Below are links to the plans for our two monthlong trips. Our first one was out west during the winter and the second was a summer trip north. Those trips were so amazing!

Planning That First Long Trip

Summer Camping, Planning a Long Summer Trip

Teardrop Modification

Our camper is so well designed that we have not needed much in the way of teardrop modification. Our mods were really just minor changes to increase comfort and functionality of the camper.

Heater Stand

This may not technically be considered a modification because everything is removable. We needed a heater for our winter trip out west; so we purchased a Honeywell HCE 100B Heat Bud Ceramic Heater. It has tip over protection, but we soon realized that we would need a stable surface for it to operate. A Facebook user had posted photos of a stand for a heater and my husband built one that was similar. The stand has proven to work very well.

The holes on the back panel enable the stand to rest very securely upon the door handles. There is a hole in the bottom panel for the cord to flow through to the electrical outlet. Lastly, there are two piano hinge to allow the stand to lay flat for easier storage in the cabinet when unused.

Teardrop Modification Heater Stand — Heater stand

An added bonus, the stand works great for holding tablets that are being charged when there is no need for a heater.

Under Camper Storage Container

We needed a place to store my husband’s shoes and the inspiration for this teardrop modification came from another post on a Facebook group. It required drilling holes below the bed and mounting a track in which a plastic box can slide.

Teardrop Modification Storage bin — Under Camper Storage

This has worked well for the shoes. We store the bin in the cabin when we travel. We were concerned that we might forget to remove it when the camper is being pulled, but so far, so good.

Mesh Net Door Storage

We like to watch TV or DVDs before sleeping and I am the keeper of remotes. Before we did this teardrop modification, I was often searching for them. We have seen that other T@G owners have made this mod and at the rally in Ohio, we learned NüCamp is now installing mesh storage on the doors of new units. I love this mod!

We used Velcro, but noticed the factory was using screws to attach the mesh pockets.

Mesh Storage on T@G Door — Mesh Storage on Door

When the door is closed, the storage pocket is just above the bed. We installed these on both sides.

Storage Behind Television

This is another modification that many owners have made that is also included at the factory on new models. It involved removing the panel and putting hinges on the door. My husband finished the inside with particle board for ventilation purposes.

Storage behind T@G TV — Storage Behind TV

Window Rail Brushes

We learned that nüCamp will provide rail brushes for the windows to prevent bugs from coming in. You have to install them, but it is not difficult. We obtained them at no charge from the parts department.

We really saw the need for them earlier this year while camping in an area that was overrun by mosquitoes. SW Trip, Stop #2 Sea Rim State Park in Texas

The photo below shows the side of the window without the rail brushes.

The rail brushes installed below should be effective in keeping out insects.

Conclusion

Our T&G has been wonderful this last year! The modifications we made primarily added a little more storage in key areas and we are happy with them.

In this next year, we are considering getting a bigger camper. The nüCamp 400 will likely be the replacement. However, it is hard for me to imagine loving any other camper as much as Endeavor.

Our reasons are simple. We now know how much we love to travel and are willing to take it to a higher level to have something that provides comfortable daytime space inside.

We will keep you posted!

Ohio Camping: Rally, Big City, and State Park Campsites

Ohio Camping

This visit included a couple of firsts for us: first Ohio camping and first visit to the state. We had three stops in Ohio and all were quite different. Our visit was in mid-July and it was hotter than we would have liked. Our Ohio camping visits began at Heuston Woods State Park.

Hueston Woods

First, we had a one night stopover at Hueston Woods State Park located in College Corner. On the way, we stopped for a late lunch at nearby Patterson’s in Oxford. It was very good, but the highlight for me was the freshly squeezed orange juice. Delicious! There were some leftovers, so we did not have to worry about cooking that night.

Our site, B25, had electricity. It also had some shade and was very near the bathhouse and a laundry room. A water source was nearly, but was not on each site.

We had some downtime, so it was a good opportunity to do laundry. The park has a lake and horseback riding, but we did not utilize them. In fact, we did not even unhook. We just hung out at our site and planned for an early morning departure for the rally at Sugarcreek.

Ohio Camping Hueston Woods Site — Hueston Woods Site B25

We drove to the Lodge for breakfast before heading out. It was a decent breakfast. Lodge and cabin guests also have access to an indoor and an outdoor pool. I inquired about access for campers and our server informed me that campers can purchase a pass.

Hueston Woods Lodge — The Trailblazer Dining Room in the Lodge

Acton Lake at Hueston Woods State Park — Acton Lake

After breakfast, we headed east to Sugarcreek. We enjoyed staying at Hueston Woods, but it was a bit too hot. We needed the air conditioner on on all night to be comfortable.

üCamp 18

Our next opportunity for Ohio camping was at a rally near the nüCamp factory in Sugarcreek. Since our T@G Max XL was produced at this factory, we were excited to see it. In fact, the rally was the initial destination for this trip and there is a separate post for it.

Winklepleck Grove in Sugarcreek was the campground for the rally, which is in the heart of Amish country. Our site was right by the road and we saw many Amish carriages go by each day.

Teardrop camper at Winklepeck Grove Campground — Site 1B, Winklepeck Grove Campground

Amish carriage in Sugarcreek — Amish carriage

The town of Sugarcreek was fun to visit. It boasts the world’s largest cuckoo clock, which took twelve years to build at a cost of $50,000 in 1975. The clock has an elaborate display on the hour with music.

World’s largest cuckoo clock in Sugarcreek, Ohio — World’s largest cuckoo clock

While in Sugarcreek, we also purchased a nice quilt in one of the shops to use for future camping trips.

The Amish countryside was beautiful. We saw many farms and narrow rural roads.

We also took a tour of Yoder’s Amish Farm. The tour included very interesting information about the Amish and their lifestyle. Two homes that depicted their beliefs and customs were included in the tour. A barn and schoolhouse were also on the tour. The tour was reasonably priced and very interesting.

Ohio camping at Winklepleck Grove was the highlight of our entire trip because of the wonderful experience meeting other nüCamp trailer owners and our wonderful interactions with the factory.

Cleveland Camping

Next, we camped for two nights at American Wilderness campground, which is about thirty miles southwest of Cleveland. Our site was very nice and had electricity and water. However, it was raining a good bit of the time. The roads were made of gravel and had some large potholes. The bathhouse and laundry facilities were quite far from our site. Vault toilets were nearer to us, but were not nice, so I made the hike in the rain one night to the bathhouse.

The campground had a swimming area, but it was cold and raining and was not being used while we were there. Our site was nice, except for the long hike to the bathhouse.

Swimming area at American Wilderness Campground — Swimming area at American Wilderness

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

We wanted to see the Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was the main attraction for us. There is ample parking nearby, but they were having a run in the city when we arrived. The city had closed several blocks near the museum. It was very frustrating trying to find parking! We ultimately had to walk about five blocks which was not good for my husband’s bad knee.

Once there, however, we enjoyed the museum.

Couple seated outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — Outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The museum featured films, personal items, musical instruments, and photos of rock and roll legends.

Beatles Exhibit Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — Beatles Exhibit

Young Rolling Stones — Very young Rolling Stones

It took about four hours to see the museum. This is something not to be missed in Cleveland.

Christmas Story House

My favorite Christmas movie is Christmas Story and the house that was used in the movie is an attraction in Cleveland. We took the tour and it was fun.

Christmas Story bathroom — Lifebuey soap & Little Orphan Annie decoder ring

It was great to see so many details from this sweet movie, which reminds me of the time when I was a child! It is also a relatively inexpensive tour that I recommend if you are a fan. For my husband who is not a fan, it was not so great. However, he was a good sport.

Favorites

Campground: Hueston Woods had the nicest facilities.

Camping experience: üCamp 18 was the most fun we had at an Ohio stop.

Nearby attractions: American Wilderness was best for its close proximity to Cleveland.

Food: Our best meals in Ohio were actually breakfast. The breakfast prepared by nüCamps president and his wife was amazing. Rebekah’s Bistro in Walnut Creek was also very good. For lunch, Patterson’s in Oxford was the best.

Regrets

We were within blocks of Lake Erie in Cleveland, but did not see it. The weater was bad and I wanted to get to The Christmas Story House before it closed. We will have to return to Cleveland because I am sure there is more to see besides Lake Erie.

In conclusion, Ohio camping was a great time for us! Michigan is our next state to visit.

SW Trip, Stop # 1 Natchez State Park in Mississippi

We are taking a winter trip along the southwestern border of the United States in our T@G MAXL camper. Stop number one was in Mississippi.

Natchez State Park

Natchez State Park was the first stop of our first long trip in our teardrop camper. Our longest prior trip was seven days and we expect this trip to last about four weeks. We don’t really know what to expect as we have never spent so much continuous time in our tiny camper and have not driven in most of the areas. Lastly, although we will be south of most of the country, we will be traveling in the winter. Exciting—but scary!

One of the trip goals was to limit driving hours to 3-5 hours each day. Natchez was a five hour drive and on the long end of our goal, but it gets us well on our path. The post regarding how we planned this trip follows.

Planning That First Long Trip

It was our first time to camp in Mississippi. We reserved site 46 through Reserve America. It was pretty inexpensive, only $16.05 for the night. The campground was nice with typical state park facilities. Fishing and hunting are big activities in the area and it is my understanding that the fishing is especially good at the lake in the campground.

Rain was expected that night, so we did not really set up camp. Therefore, we just moved items that were in our camper to a picnic table and plugged in the electric cord. We had a couple of places to visit and were having dinner out, so it would be dark when we returned.

Items removed from our teardrop — Items removed from our bed

Long wood

Natchez is a city with a very interesting past. I was surprised to learn that before the Civil War, more than half the millionaires in the entire country lived in Natchez. Consequently, there are an abundance of very elegant mansions that still exist from that time.

Longwood, an Oriental Villa, is the largest octagonal house in the United States, designed by famous Philadelphia architect, Samuel Sloan. Construction began in 1860 and it was to provide 30,000 square feet of living space. It had been under construction for about eighteen months when it was halted in 1861 as tensions rose regarding the Civil War. The owners, Haller and Julia Nutt, had the basement area completed early and were living in it while the remaining construction was occurring. The owners never completed the remaining interior levels.

Longwood’s wealthy owner became sick and died while in his 40’s, but his wife and their children lived in it for many decades in this unfinished status. Longwood was often referred to over the years as Nutt’s Folly. The Pilgrimage Garden Club acquired Longwood in 1970. It was designated a historic landmark in 1971.

The estate has many beautiful live oak trees such as the one below. A link to the Longwood website follows.

http://www.stantonhall.com/longwood.php

St. Mary’s Basilica

Another amazing architectural design in Natchez is St Mary’s Basilica. The See of the Roman Catholic Church in Mississippi designed the church and began construction in 1842. Most noteworthy, it is the only church built as a cathedral in Mississippi and designated a minor basilica.

It is a beautiful building. Unfortunately, we arrived at a time when mass was just beginning, so we did not get to take photos of the interior. I would have loved to be able to just sit quietly in all that beauty and splendor for a few minutes. Our schedule did not allow for a return to the basilica on this visit, but we want to see it again if we are in the area.

Main entrance with papal coat of arms on the left

Roux 61 Seafood and Grill

Dinner was at the highly-rated Roux 61 Seafood and Grill and it lived up to its reputation. We arrived at approximately 4 p.m. and the parking lot was full. We had some incredible chargrilled oysters! Our favorites were the oysters, slaw, hush puppies, and bread pudding. We shared a seafood platter and the fish and seafood were also good. This was a very,very good meal!

After dinner, we returned to our camper and watched a movie. It was raining, but we were dry and cozy and the temperature was perfect.

There is still much more to see in Natchez and we hope to return.

Next stop, Sea Rim State Park in Sabine Pass, Texas!

First Year Summary and T@G Modification

Year one of camping is under our belts! We bought a new T@G MAX XL and it was pretty much good to go. However, we have made a few modifications.

First Year in our T@G

We purchased our teardrop, a T@G MAX XL, in September 2016. So, it has been a year now since we became teardroppers. Being new to camping in general and never previously having owned any type of camper. We learned a lot in this first year and have implemented T@G modification. Additionally, in the past year, our camper has been towed 3,430 miles on eight camping trips to five different states (AL, GA, FL, TN, & AR).

There were not any exceptionally long trips this first year for two reasons: 1) we had to figure out what we were doing and 2) we are actively working toward a knee replacement for my husband and it precludes long trips planned well in advance. Our longest trip lasted a week. We expect much longer trips next year.

Our T@G is really well-designed and is comfortable and functional, despite its size, but we did make a few minor changes.

1) Removal of the Headboard:

We had our dealer remove the headboard at the time of purchase. My husband is 6’3″ and he really needs the extra space. The headboard was nice, but comfort trumped utility in this instance. He is able to sleep very comfortably with this T@G modification.

2) DVD Light-Blocking Panel

My big guy cannot stand any light while sleeping and the light on the DVD player is quite bright. One of the first things he did was to make a panel to block the light. It attaches with Velcro and works very well. This T@G modification may appeal to those sensitive to light while trying to sleep.

3) Head Protection, Cabin and Galley

My husband’s height has caused some pain on a couple of occasions because the open shelving over the head of the bed had some hard edges. Bumping his head motivated him to look for a solution. He installed foam padding attached with glue strips. There have been no injuries since this was done.

He also shortened the length of the hex studs on the galley door. They were longer than necessary and he had scraped his head on them before the mod.

4) Greywater Drain Access

Having to crawl around on the ground to attach the hose to drain water from the sink was not one of my favorite things. A lady on one of the teardrop Facebook groups posted that she has a solution to provide easy access and I immediately requested the modification for our camper. Her solution was lower to the ground. We raised ours upon the recommendation of a plumber so it would be less likely to get caught on a curb or on uneven terrain.

5) License Plate Holder

The original way the holder was mounted was flimsy and hung low to the ground. One of the first things we did was to purchase a black plastic tag holder and mount it appropriately 1 1/2″ higher to the lower frame using the existing screws.

6) Naming the teardrop

We had no idea how camping would be for us and did not have a name for the trailer initially. After a little experience, we named it Endeavor and had the name installed on the back. There is an older post that describes the naming process and installation.

7) Inexpensive and easy air antenna

We purchased an air antenna at the time we got our camper and tried to use it several times. It did not do a great job, but we were often not in high reception areas. I saw a post on a Facebook teardrop group a where a gentleman was using a co-axel cable about 6″long to attach to the cable receptacle with the outer insulation stripped off by about 2.5″. It worked fairly well the one time we tried it and is more compact than the one we purchased. I am not sure how useful it will be as reception is not usually strong at campsites, but I like its simplicity.

8) Memory Foam Cover

As many campers have suggested, we installed a memory foam cover over the mattresses Ours is a 2″ cover and we also use a mattress pad for comfort and an added layer of separation from the memory foam itself for allergy reasons. It has made our bed quite comfortable. I don’t think the mattresses alone would have been adequate.

T@G Modification Reversal

We had a diffuser over the air conditioner because the constant blowing of air directly on us was annoying. It was a plastic traylike apparatus that was rather flimsy and stuck out quite a bit. However, we seemed to have more issues with condensation using it and it was an obstacle to be avoided. I managed to knock it down and break it the second trip it was used and we decided to not replace it.

Under Consideration

My tall husband has to stoop when under the galley. We checked with our dealer about the possibility of adding the Outback wheels to raise the overall height. This would get us electric brakes as well. It is a little pricey, but the bigger issue was a concern about the width and getting it into our garage. We still may do this at a later date.

Summary

In conclusion, our first year in Endeavor was wonderful and we have not make a lot of changes. We are happy with our T@G modification. Looking forward to year two!

Hello world!

My husband and I are newly retired. We have never really been campers, but have purchased a T@G MAX XL camper as an economical way to travel and see this beautiful country. My husband is 6’3″ and the camper is a teardrop, hence the name of my blog. We hope you will follow our adventures!

I have have worked full-time for the last thirty-six years and was quite concerned about how I would fill my time in retirement. I do not have it all figured out, but teardrop camping is a pretty big piece of the puzzle. Camping in a teardrop allows us to travel just about as often as we wish, the blog is a technology challenge, and the writing is a bit of a creative outlet.

Also, everything you need to know for this kind of travel has a learning curve. We hope to share what we learn to help other new campers and to provide useful information about the places we visit.

Most posts will be about camping as it will be our most frequent mode of travel, but there will also be road trips and posts about retirement in general.

We hope you will follow along in our adventures!