Do you like to operate portable or as a rover but hate sitting in your Automobile or Truck? Have you looked at the latest RV's and noticed how expensive they are? Yikes! Modern Campers come in two forms, Pop-ups with canvas sides so your light duty automobile or truck can pull them and the hard side Camper that requires a heavy duty tow vehicle that is expensive to buy, gets lousy fuel mileage, and you hate to drive even when pulling the Camper. My Father had a Pop-up when I was a kid; we figured out really quick that you might as well be in a tent when it's raining or the wind is up. They require some setup time so for portable or rover ham type operation they're not suitable. The huge Campers are just too much work for a weekend much less a short trip over a county or state line to be that "rare rover station". For me an RV is just out of the question for several reasons. Initial cost, fuel mileage, Taxes (In Alabama an RV is considered a home that just happens to be mobile so the yearly property tax would be $1,200 a year in addition to the road usage tax and tag.), and finally the size and where to park the thing between trips. Most HOA's would not let you part the RV on your property so you would need to park it in a storage lot and incur even more ownership costs. So what's the solution? Easy! Build yourself a Teardrop or "Can of Ham" Camper! (NO, The term "Can of Ham" has no relation to the use of this type of camper for use by Ham's!) These Campers were popular starting in the 1930's and were home built from articles in Magazines of the time. It's didn't take long for commercially made campers to hit the market soon after due to their popularity. Would you like a look at some of these articles? No problem! Here is the link.

http://www.tinytears.cc/scans.html

So what's the difference between a teardrop and a Can of Ham camper? Not much as length is concerned but the Can of Ham is obviously larger in size. A teardrop simply looks like a drop of water and a Can of Ham looks like the Can of Ham you would buy in the grocery store.

Here is a picture of a classic teardrop. Check out the tow vehicle, a 1950's era "oval window" 36 HP VW Beetle! Two people can sleep up front (if they're really friendly) and a kitchen is in the rear under a lid. A dedicated Ham would replace the kitchen equipment with an amateur radio station! Some of the new Teardrops can be towed with a Motorcycle!

A Can of Ham camper is a little larger and the kitchen is located inside and also has standing room. Here is a typical Can of Ham camper.

This camper is going to require a tow vehicle with more power than a VW Beetle but its weight is less than 1,000 Lbs. so the tow vehicle requirements are not very high. The "comfort" level is much better than a Teardrop and well worth the extra weight if you do overnight camping and "rover runs". Best of all there's plenty of room inside the camper so foul weather won't hamper your operation. In both cases these campers are small enough that they can be parked in a standard garage. This is critical if you live under the requirements of a HOA. Building your own Teardrop or Can of Ham will allow you to install antenna transport and support brackets. Don't want to build your own? No problem! The old saying of History repeat's itself, what's old is new again, and what goes around comes around again shows these truisms to still be with us. Teardrops and Can of Hams are becoming as popular again as they were in the 20'Th century! Check out this Modern Teardrop made from plans available from http://www.kuffelcreek.com/teardrops.htm

Another site that has teardrop plans for sale.

http://www.tinytears.cc/

They also have plans available from all the old magazine articles, which includes the larger Can of Ham campers. There are simply too many sites to list with plans and kits so a google of Teardrops or Home made Campers and other search terms will have you looking at Camper articles and information for days! Don't care to build your own? No problem! Check this site to links of manufactures of modern Teardrop campers. Some links are good and others are not, just click and find them as you can. Not all manufactures are listed so google for them.

http://www.teardrops.net/mfgs.html

Want something larger? Maybe a lot larger?!

The link below will take you to an area where you can obtain scans of complete books on the subject of trailers. Don't even think of trying to download any of them on a dialup connection! Even with a high-speed connection it's going to take a while.

http://www.tinytears.cc/Campground%20Reading/campground%20reading.html

Before you go out and buy an old camper there are some things you should know. First of all that old camper might have rotten wood that you can't see due to the way they're built. It can leak and the water drains between the roof and interior paneling and drops out the bottom for years and you never see it until the entire structure falls in. Parts availability, enough said about that when you're talking about anything that's over 20 years old. Safety devices on old trailers maybe non-existent or the steel frame of the trailer is rotten and rusted away. If you've just got to have that collectable Serro-Scotty Sportsman http://homepages.wmich.edu/~kroes/scottys/ Can of Ham camper be prepared to completely dissemble it and replace almost everything even if it looks fine sitting in that yard with the "For Sale" sign taped to it! If it was in good shape after all count yourself lucky. How do I know this? Yes, I bought a 13' 1961 Serro-Scotty Sportsman with classic " rotten roof drop". It took over 200 hours of labor (It's a good thing I am retired) to repair it and around $500 of wood, aluminum sheet, and hardware. I am happy with it but building a Teardrop from scratch would have cost me less money. Then again, wherever I tow my Can of Ham camper everyone wants to see inside and the antique car and Hot Rod people turn green with envy.