The original teardrop trailers of the 1930s or 1940s were sized to fit a 4-foot x 8-foot sheet of plywood. Even today, most are 4 to 5 feet wide and 8 to 10 feet long, and 4 to 5 feet high inside.
Teardrop trailers are lightweights, compared to other trailers. Typical empty weights range from 500 to 1,200 pounds. The more features you add, the more it weighs. Insulation, metal skins, electrical systems, water systems, paint, glue, and closets and cupboards all add weight.
The original teardrop trailers had a front 4 feet wide and 4 feet tall. That’s 16 square feet of frontal area, less than most any other travel trailers that don’t fold up. Frontal area is important because it produces drag. It takes engine power to overcome drag. So, the less frontal area, the less drag there is, and the less fuel you use towing the trailer.
Some teardrop trailer builders take great effort producing teardrop trailers with smoothly rounded compound curves. Because teardrop trailers have a streamlined shape, like a teardrop seen from the side, you’d think the streamlining would have a great effect. But behind a vehicle, airflow is turbulent. There’s no telling whether the teardrop’s streamlined shape has any effect. The only way I’m sure the streamlined teardrop shape would be effective is if you pushed the trailer instead of towing it!
In a teardrop trailer, there are one or two small doors up front. You sleep in front on a mattress on the floor. There’s an outdoor kitchen, called a galley, under a hinged hatch in back. When you lay down to sleep, your feet are under the galley. Teardrop trailers have one or more windows, so you don’t feel like you’re sleeping in a cave.
