In the spring of 2022, we finally received our TC Teardrops “Overland” 5′ x 10′ camper after a nearly 18 month wait.  Camping is something we decided to get back into now that our daughters are (mostly) out of the house.   Below you find a details on our setup, which seems to be constantly evolving. It’s been fun customizing the camper to fit our specific needs!

Pickup day at TC Teardrops HQ in Wausau, WI was on April 22, 2022… two weeks before our first planned outing at a nearby state park.  Need to get cracking on our preparations!

Our color choice was RAL 3002 “Carmine Red.” At the time of purchase, we had a Yakima Roadshower mounted up high on the driver’s side.  We bought it with the goal of using it as a water source for washing dishes. We since sold the Roadshower because: a) the air pressure doesn’t seem to hold very well, making it necessary to pump it up several times to maintain water pressure, b) it’s a pain to fill with both awnings up. The above picture was taken before our ARB awning was mounted on the driver’s side by the nice people at TC Teardrops.

I designed the galley hatch graphic using some stock vector artwork I purchased online.  It was composed in Adobe Illustrator and provided to TC who works with a Wausau vinyl graphics outfit. They applied the graphic… no way I was going to mess with that!  Turned out way better than I expected.  See if you can spot bigfoot!

The camper comes with some sheets of foam under the mattress (removed prior to this picture.)  One concern that people talk about quite often is condensation building up under your mattress, which leads to mold problems. There are a number of potential solutions.  We opted to try two layers of coconut fiber bed mats.  I like the fact that it’s a natural, renewable resource.   I’m unsure how this will perform over time, so I guess we’ll see!

The bed is a “short” (RV) queen.  Most folks use a twin comforter since there is no space for the comforter to hang over the mattress.  We opted to go with honeycomb blackout shades from blindsgalore.com.  Same type of blinds you would find in a home. A little pricey, but they look great.

TC doesn’t include shelving in the front cabinets; some of their customers hack together solutions to make packing more efficient.  Since I have plenty of woodworking tools, this was a fairly simple project.  The trickiest part was creating a pattern that matches the curve of the cabin wall/ceiling.  Got it close enough with some trial and error.

Custom shelves added to the front storage area.

It’s the simple things. Bought these little crocheted pouches from Etsy for glasses and other misc small stuff that tends to get lost. The black box is a simple flip-down bottle holder.

Electrical & Solar

Upgrading the electrical system was one of my main hacks to the camper. TC only deals in traditional lead-acid deep cycle batteries.  I really wanted to go with a 100AH lithium battery that should easily last for our typical weekend outing.

This is what the electrical setup looked like from the factory; just the fuse panel and nothing else.

A look at everything installed, but prior to wiring.  I opted to build my own battery box (of sorts) out of plywood to keep the electrical gear separated from the rest of the stuff in the front storage box.  It was a tight squeeze making everything fit.

The bus bars are complete overkill for this setup, but I was past my return window so I just went with it!  I could have gotten away with something much smaller and with less amperage capacity.  In many ways this whole setup is perhaps a little overboard for a teardrop, but I’m happy with it!

Solar charger controller = Victron Energy SmartSolar MPPT 75V 10 amp 

Battery = Battle Born 100 Ah 12V LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery

Charger = Victron IP22 Battery Charger with Bluetooth (30A)

System monitoring is via a Victron Smart Shunt.  It tells you exactly how much power is going in and out of the system at all times.  This takes the guesswork out of knowing how much battery capacity is left in the system.  

After wiring was complete.  Here again, I went overboard on the wiring as well.  Wires are not terribly expensive by comparison to other components, and having too thick of a gauge wire is never a problem!  (versus undersizing wires is a safety hazard)

We typically get campsites with power, but I wanted the ability to be off-grid when necessary.  In addition, we have the issue of keeping the battery topped-off (to the extent possible) while in transit. Because I’ve read concerns about big lithium batteries sucking too much juice from vehicle alternators, we don’t even have the 12-volt aux wiring connected. Our solution for “on the road” is a rooftop-mounted Zamp Obsidian 90-Watt solar panel that we added in 2023. Many people choose to mount similar panels on the front storage box. That’s fine, but I find that’s a handy place to set lots of random stuff while camping! So rooftop is better for us. How well this can keep up with our big Dometic fridge remains to be seen.

Wires are routed under the black moulding on the aluminum strip that covers the junction between roof and walls. I was a little concerned about creating a path for water, but it appears this is the standard procedure that TC uses for rooftop solar.

Drilling holes in stuff is always an unnerving experience… even with a storage box that naturally seems prone to leaking. (Hate the Better Built box!) Wires are routed to a Zamp single-port roof cap.

The panel itself was mounted to the roof rack with 3M UHB tape… at first. Im 99% sure the tape alone is fine, but I’m always paranoid about stuff flying off the camper while driving down the highway. So I added some stainless bolts as extra insurance!

For at the campsite we have a Zamp Obsidian Series 100-Watt portable panel (unregulated) that helps keep things charged. We have a y-adapter to plug in both panels if desired. But we often pick shady spots, so I’m guessing the rooftop solar won’t add much to the equation while on site.

We have three power-related ports on the drivers side of the front storage box.  On the left is shore power for the Victron battery charger.  In the middle is a standard 12v power outlet that we had added for powering external accessories.  On the right is a standard Zamp power input for the solar panel, which is no longer in use. I wonder what the annual caulk budget is for TC Teardrops?!

Air Conditioning & Heat

Yes, it’s a luxury! We were able to get an EcoFlow Wave 2 heat pump on sale. These are pricey units for sure, but it does a great job cooling down the interior on hot and humid days. I made a little platform to keep the unit up and out of the dirt.

In addition, I constructed a window insert using a 3-D printed bracket attached to a 1/8″ thick piece of acrylic. This allows for a nice way for routing the Wave 2 air hose into the camper.

Exterior & Awnings

We have a Rhino Rack 270-degree awning mounted on the passenger side.  It extends from the front of the teardrop all the way around to the back to cover the galley.  This is very handy for providing shade.  It does okay, but not great, with anything but light rain.  Water tends to pool up in the low spots, requiring an every-so-often “push” on the ceiling to force water off. Bit of a pain when it rains all night.

On the driver’s side, we went with an ARB Touring Awning w/ light, paired with an ARB side room.  The side room is really a must-have in my opinion.  The teardrop is good for sleeping and lounging, but if you want to spread out (or just change clothes!) you have limited options.  This 8′ x 8′ extra room was a lifesaver during our second outing when it rained the whole weekend.  While we still got wet, the room made the experience much better.  If you are in the market, I highly recommend getting a side room to go with your awning!

In addition to the ARB side room, we also haul along a Clam 108″x108″ 5 Sided Quick Set Venture Screen Tent. This is very fast to set up, and does a great job with our ongoing battles with the bugs!

Leveling System

Okay, this is a total luxury and overkill for a teardrop, but man it’s cool!  After some calibration, the LevelMate Pro tells you exactly what you need to raise or lower in order to get things level.  Super simple to use, and works extremely well.  Well worth the money in my opinion.  Ours in mounted up high in the rear galley.

The actual leveling operation is accomplished in our case with a set of “Anderson Levelers” on one side. Put the leveler down, pull forward, and jam the second piece in to hold things tight. Super easy.

Galley Setup

This is an area where I think we will be continually tweaking to find what works best for us!

Our typical weekend setup. The Coleman collapsible tables are awesome… light, pack easily, and strong.

Dometic CFX3 75 Dual Zone Powered Cooler.  It’s a beast, but it sure is nice not having to deal with ice.  We burned all of our REI rewards points on this baby, and then some!  It’s divided into two halves, so you can use one half as a freezer and one for refrigeration, or both for refrigeration. Just barely fits, but there is still plenty of room for it to breathe.

To make better use of space, I added a couple of shelves below the stock cabinet for pots and pans.

While I was brainstorming how to create some sort of DIY sink solution for washing dishes, I came across the Hottap v2 by Joolca.  Instant hot water!  More importantly, everything stows in the blue carrying bin that doubles as a sink.  Nice!

Notice the bin inside the bin! This is because using the full storage bin as a sink utilizes a lot of water. The double-bin method makes things a little more efficient in my opinion.

We typically use the 12v pump that comes with the Hottap to draw water from our 5 gallon Frontrunner water can. Grey water drains into a 5 gallon can that we can easily haul to a camp bathroom or dump site. the picture below was taken at a site with a water hookup, so no pump needed.

Eureka camp stove. I have nothing to compare it to, but it works well for us.

The overhead light in the galley area is a very slick LED strip light that is operated by a touch-sensitive switch with a dimmer function.

One of the very few problems we’ve experienced with our camper was a leaking rear hatch. It appears the source of the problem was a warped hatch… very odd. The nice people at TC Teardrops replaced the hatch at no charge even though it was out of warranty. Wow.

An 11lb propane tank is mounted on the passenger side, and fuels both the Joolca water heater and our camp stove. We have a y-valve (not shown) to split into two lines.