Everyone’s gotta go sometime, and if you have kids onboard, it’s way more often than sometimes. The only other perennial question besides “are we there yet?” that parents tend to get on road trips is “can I go to the bathroom?”
You might be thinking of getting a shiny, new teardrop trailer for your family adventures. The price is right and you like the idea of roughing it at campsites. Well, that is, until you think about where your family will end up using the bathroom.
Do teardrop trailers even have so much as a toilet or will you be forced to find onsite facilities to use no matter where you go? In this article, I will answer that very question so you can decide whether a teardrop is right for your needs.
Do Teardrop Trailers Have Bathrooms?
Before I get into the answer, let’s first define what a bathroom is in trailer terms. This space often just includes a toilet. Rarely is a shower part of the deal, but it does happen on occasion. A sink may be attached to the bathroom nook or you may have to wash your hands elsewhere onboard the trailer.
With this definition, do teardrop trailers have bathrooms?
For the most part, no, teardrop trailers do not have bathrooms. That’s not to say every model doesn’t. Later in this article, I’ll show you several teardrops with all the fixins’. Generally, though, as you begin shopping for teardrop trailers in your area, you will be hard-pressed to find one with a full bathroom.
Why Not?
There are two great reasons bathrooms tend to be omitted from teardrop trailers. The first of these is space and the second is pricing.
Let’s talk about the space issue first. Most teardrop trailers are incredibly tiny. Maybe they can fit four or five people max, but many are made for up to two passengers. There’s room for a living space, a bedroom corner, and other essentials, but sacrifices must be made. The kitchen will tend to be outdoors and retractable. That leaves little if any room for a bathroom. What space remains would be reserved for a cassette toilet. This is a portable, often plastic toilet that you can connect to some hookups to get water in the bowl.
Besides space, there’s pricing to think about. Teardrop trailers are among the cheapest trailers you’ll find. That’s because they’re the smallest. To keep costs down so you’re not paying more than five figures, teardrop manufacturers have to cut some things. These often include luxuries like a full bathroom.
Three Great Teardrop Trailer Models with Bathrooms
Again, it’s not always true that teardrop trailers won’t have bathrooms. It all depends on the brand. If you want to go on springtime adventures, summer road trips, and autumnal excursions with your family, you will probably need a bathroom onboard. These three teardrops fit the bill.
The Happier Camper
The Happier Camper will make your family happier as well since it has a bathroom. Do keep in mind that not every floorplan does. You’ll want the Sleeper or Premium models for a toilet and sink.
Weighing just 1,100 pounds dry, The Happier Camper is 13 feet long and seven feet, four inches tall. It’s made of double-hull fiberglass with stylized panoramic windows. You get a range of fun hues to choose from, among them Silverlake, Topanga Turquoise, Pacific Blue, Mammoth White, Mojave Sage, Sequoia Orange, and Bishop Red.
You can fit up to five people in this diminutive trailer, which features solar paneling as well as electrical and power components.
Jayco Hummingbird
Jayco is a brand better-known amongst travel trailer owners, but they’re synonymous with quality teardrops, too. The Jayco 2019 Hummingbird may have an outdoor kitchen (complete with a TV, by the way), but inside, you get your own small bathroom with an indoor shower!
The bathing space has a showerhead that you can detach. There’s also a cabinet for keeping all your bathroom essentials dry during shower time. Other floorplans include a toilet and a sink in the bathroom as well.
Once you step inside and see all the luxury offered in a Jayco, you might not ever consider another teardrop trailer brand.
Homegrown Timberline
Our final pick is the Timberline. Homegrown Trailers makes this impressive solar-powered teardrop. It has panels that can generate between 600 and 800 watts of power. There’s room for up to five passengers, making it an ideal family trailer.
Besides that, the biggest perk of this wooden teardrop is the indoor shower. This wet bath area is fueled by a freshwater tank with a capacity of more than 23 gallons. Did we mention you get a composting toilet, too? You do!
The external height of the Timberline is eight feet, 11 inches and the internal height is six feet, two inches to six feet, 11 inches. The external width is seven feet, 11 inches and the internal width is seven feet, five inches. Its external length is 23 feet and the internal length is 18 feet, 10 inches. The camper weighs between 4,150 and 4,350 pounds dry.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, most teardrop trailer models don’t come with a bathroom. If these small, streamlined vehicles do have a hygiene nook, there’s typically room for a toilet and that’s about it. Teardrops are designed with minimal features to save on space and lower the overall cost.
If you have a bigger family and you want a teardrop with a bathroom, that doesn’t mean you should give up the search. If you look hard enough, you’ll find there are some teardrops out there with bathrooms. Some of them even have indoor showers, sinks, and toilets!
The three teardrops I have outlined above are great options to consider. There are more models still with potties and showers for you to discover. With so many wonderful teardrops, you’re sure to find one that fits your budget.