Kris Lives Full Time in a Teardrop - Bushwhacher 10HD

[@joanndavis4843]

He's got a bedroom, front room, outside kitchen and living area, and a dog🐕. He's got a lot👍.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

I agree, seems pretty free and happy!

[@lorettomccartney6295]

The outside kitchen is great in good weather, but I am a wimp and would be bothered by bugs or rain. My TD has a two burner propane inside so when I need to I can cook something. Honestly I am so lazy the fact I can roll out of bed and make coffee three feet away then hang out in bed while it boils is great, like making coffee and breakfast while still in your sleeping bag when backpacking.

[@lorettomccartney6295]

It gets cramped pretty quick, not days maybe but over weeks. I was glad to upgrade to a cabin 14 by 28, still small but more room for the dog and me to walk around each other. And in these TDs when a dog is wet and muddy you are wet an d muddy also. My girl swims or goes in the creek about every day, so glad I can shut the door and leave her on the porch to dry. But I don't travel as much since I bought acres and put up a cabin. We still venture around but I found I don't like a lot of driving. What he is doing is actually pretty demanding as you can't store much, need laundromats and I don't mind a bucket toilet but then you have to deal with it the right way. I found after a long summer fall adventure I wanted a base camp.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

@@lorettomccartney6295all great ways to enjoy the outdoors!

[@WardiDeWet]

The dog adds 50% of the fun

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

At least 50%, possibly more

[@mkkrafts9261]

I could totally live full time in my teardrop! Love seeing this!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

He's been all over the US this year, from west coast to East... pretty awesome!

[@jimfisher7114]

Love the dog ramp. Cool idea!!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Yea, I thought that was sweet

[@neverwin2518]

That galley was great; awesome setup!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

You can tell he was a cook for a couple decades!

[@shirleymatthews6692]

You have created a wonderful comfortable home for yourself. Thanks for your service to our country and how wonderful you are taking some time to travel and enjoy the country you served .

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Amen

[@lorettomccartney6295]

I lived in my teardrop one summer on land i bought while it was prepped an a tiny cabin built and hauled in. Off grid and pretty out of the way. I have about the same amount of solar, also got a camp chef , coukdnt get the pro , out of stock got the premium or whatever. Works great. Just put the campchef on a counter in the cabin when it was ready. Just one big pantry cabinet build by a friend, and yes an ice co dual zone 78 qt. And this year i bought a generator after Maine was waterlogged last year. 3 days of rain today so far so i ran it 4 hours, charged the bluetti 100% and it will last another 3 days on that if sun isnt strong. I take trips to different areas in north and west maine, some to the coast up around Lubec and Machias. Love tiny living, no tv, i removed it, i do have a tablet , but i use my fishing pole alot more for entertainment. Same size generator, guess the camper kind of dictates the sizes of stuff. Have a great Audi heater that runs on propane or battery. I leave it on propane and set it real low cause i love to sleep cold. The bluetti, the oven and the ice co were bought big enough to serve the cabin but can be loaded into my truck and i can travel. My tear drop is probably twice the size of yours but i need the room for my 140 pound dog, so i set it up for queen size bed , take out the swivel table and use the bathroom that i only used once and said nope, for storage. I use the outdoor shower, the tiny sink and two burner stove, the tiny square frig that is 3 way power when traveling. Staying as dispersed as possible, which is easy up here. Nice to have a base, but nice to leave when the bugs get bad, go to the mountain tops or coast to blow them away. I love how my stuff switched to cabin life, love having my teardrop for a spare bedroom went i am in my camp. I feel like a kid again building a much better fort than i ever could as a child. The advance in electronics and solar have really spoiled me. No more stinky lanterns that need mantles, fans and phones, refrigeration thru solar, that is really neat. I can now make ice rather than needing to buy it, can freeze meat and even keep some Houlton dairy ice cream around. Life is good.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

It's so nice to see you get it, life is good indeed! Seems like you have a great set up and have developed a good routine. Thanks for tuning in!

[@cgillit]

Main takeway for me is a full timer believes in investing in top of the line awnings. The detachable rear awning in a great idea. Thanks for the inspiration, Kris.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

I agree, full-time in a teardrop has you outdoors in all sorts of weather.

[@Sam-xt5gb]

And also redundancy for electricity!

[@brucesmith9144]

@@DIYOutdoorLifeand the screen room is absolutely a game changer to keep annoying insects away.

[@RamAlambaDingDong]

Alright this is what I needed to see. Also an Army retiree and I am bored where I am and miss moving around like I did for 20 yrs.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Kris is living a good life here. he keeps things simple & cheap and has made a goal to keep him occupied. His goal is to travel to the highest point in every state.

[@brettm1118]

Great set up. That guy's got it all figured out!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

It was really cool to see how he built out his full-time set up.

[@CherishAlejan]

Love the setup, very organized. Good job!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

You can really tell how much time hes spent with his set up, being full-time at all.

[@kellyhickman6117]

Dude your sewing skills are on point! That kitchen was amazing the organization and storage made my OCD sing sweet music. Now my singing isn’t for s$@t but it sounded so good in my head. It really is an incredible setup. Thank you for sharing it and thank you for your service my hat is off to you sir!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

I agree, Kris is a great guy and his set up was impressive!

[@J4Julz]

Cool Kris! What a great set-up and to be able to be free and clear all the time is really good. Totally self-contained.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

He has a pretty sweet set up. It was amazing to hear all the places he's been living on the road.

[@OutdoorTXs]

Very nice set up!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

👍. Solid dude

[@lorettomccartney6295]

I live in Maine for 5 to six months out of the year on my acres off grid. The tear drop got a little small, but I bought a large screen room and like you very comfortable chairs and a camp chef camp oven as I got tired of building fires to use a cast iron Dutch oven. I have the outdoor shower but reallly usually just use a the deep creek on the acres to bath with Dr Bonners soap.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

I'm with you, most of us make those same changes. Campfires are fun once in a while, they usually don't last long when you're spending months out there. The Dutch oven is nice, it becomes a challenge to use regularly.

[@tomfowler3653]

Great video Brian! Love seeing a fellow soldier living his best life! Well deserved! Thanks for your service!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

He's got it made in the shade now, pretty great set up! Thank you both for your service!

[@connietanner3863]

Really enjoyed the tour Brian and Kris. Nice work Kris, glad Brian gave us the full tour. Love these videos of what everyone does with their trailers. Didn't know NOT being in the video was an option until I saw you video David Elliott's.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Haha... next time! I would love to show your camper off.

[@applesbighatranch6906]

Almost 7 mins into this vid and yours is the first! time I've heard the cameraman/host ask intelligent questions and make appropriate comments. Bravo. Can't tell you how many vids I've bailed from because of cringey hosts. Really liking this one. I have subscribed. This particular trailer feature interests me because I'm about to take my almost-finished 5' X 10' cargo camper out for four nights for the very first time. Thanks for this one. Cheers.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Thank you, I appreciate that! Good luck with your new rig, happy camping!

[@WoodyWillisIII]

Great set up. Really enjoyed the vid.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Thank you, I appreciate you watching!

[@brethowell2311]

Nice setup,

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

It's great to see people out, enjoying their travel on the road. Full-time in a teardrop is the real deal!

[@jessys9868]

Great video that’s a wonderful galley set up. Enjoyed your video very much.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Awesome, thank you so much for watching!

[@girlmeetscamper]

Congrats on retirement! Love everything you have done with the bushwacker!!!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Me too, thanks for watching!

[@lorettomccartney6295]

I love that campchef so much I bought one for camping and one for the house when electric goes out as happens often since we live in heavy woods. The electric stove takes so much off the generator and the propane lasts so long.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Everyone who one raves about it!

[@twloughlin]

Kris has it going on, all right! I wonder where he spends his winters. Seems like he's ready for anything. I hope he shares with us how he keeps his Tesla solar charged! 😁🌞

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

He needs my set up! LoL

[@TimTamRipple]

Wow what a great set up! You have really put some time and energy into this lil beast and it's working for you. I love it. I might do something similar with mine. Thanks for the ideas. Happy camping!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

I agree, he really built out a nice mobile home for himself.

[@stauffer65]

Absolutely awesome vid! Thanks.! Always informative!!!👍🏻👍🏻

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Thank you, appreciate you tuning in and commenting!

[@falconxvid]

Amazing setup taking into account the money the guy spent on everything, loving it

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

I agree, he's definitely spent a lot less money on everything totaled up, than the average tiny camper costs just to buy alone.

[@GordonKern]

Thanks

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Thank you for watching!

[@mfhairstream6812]

cool stuff. happy dude

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

I agree, nice guy with a nice set up. He's going to appear again in a future video soon.

[@davidsqvbcn]

Awesome 😍😍😍😍

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Great set up for sure!

[@RM0818]

No talk about him towing with the Tesla??? :D (kinda curious about the tongue weight he's got going there with that battery and the genny.) Great setup - he really has everything covered and nicely executed. I couldn't nitpick anything even if I wanted to. Best wishes on your continued travels Kris - was great meeting you at the Boil!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Shhh.... he has a whole video devoted just to his tow vehicle

[@RM0818]

@@DIYOutdoorLife I should've known better! !!

[@burnsn2002]

I thought not discussing was a missed opportunity and egregious omission. Especially since that big assed fridge has to be towed somewhere somehow as well. Gotta see this other video. Excellent cliffhanger!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

@@burnsn2002 LOL... no omission, it was obviously a standalone video in and of itself. So many questions to ask about EV towing....

[@twayland6186]

Teslas have a surprisingly high tow rating

[@evanthews-wassell8495]

Great set-up. Quick question: how is the C channel handle connected to the slide-out locking tabs?

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

It can basically just snap onto the plastic handles and hold. Some people drill a hole through the C and put a small screw in the bottom.

[@evanthews-wassell8495]

Appreciate it. Thanks!@@DIYOutdoorLife

[@toolman4816]

I wonder what the weight of that camper with all that gear is. I ask because it's hard to tell, but that looks like a Tesla with a hitch on it, lol. FYI, the unofficial tow cap on Tesla Model 3 is 2000lbs.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

He's under 2000 but not by much. I'm guessing he's driving around at about 1800.

[@dorisshanks7295]

The only thing I do not see is a power station or "Solar Generator"? They are in so many sizes and configurations that a gasoline or propane generator is no longer necessary except as another layer of power.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

If you know me, you know I DEFINITELY asked him about that. We talked quite a bit off camera on the topic. He has a high capacity lithium battery with a very high quality inverter, it is essentially a home built power station in his tongue box. Despite lacking portability, he preferred it because of the quality of components and serviceability. Although I think it's hard to beat the ease-of-use and portability of a small PPS, he made a good point as to why he would rather spend his money building out his home made system in the tongue. Good catch! Thanks for watching.

[@ajf5823]

Where does he put all that gear when he’s traveling between destinations?

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Everything fits in the trailer interior!

[@lifewithpugwinkle]

What is the link to his channel? Love your videos!!!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

He doesnt have a channel, should we talk him into it?

[@lifewithpugwinkle]

@@DIYOutdoorLife absolutely! He could go indepth about so much of his build. I would love to hear so much more.

[@mustasheolll2020]

I would love this due to the affordability, but I’m concerned about safety. What do you think?

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

What safety are you referring to? Being out on the road? I feel like its just as safe as living anywhere. Theres some best practices to follow, but I wouldnt worry about being out there, probably a lot safer than living in one place in most cases.

[@seymourwrasse3321]

good to see camp chef finally put a thermostat on their oven

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

He has the pro model, I'm not sure if it comes with the standard model... you would think it would right?

[@lorettomccartney6295]

@@DIYOutdoorLife I have the mid level deluxe cause the pros were out of stock everywhere. It isn’t bad I back up with a separate one that hangs on the rack. I have lots of the same stuff , and live on my camp acres for 6 months off grid. I found all the solar and lithium system I have I hardly need any of it. Took the tv out as I am fine with my iPad. The biggest thing I love is the Aldi heater my camper has. Not forced air and the heater element is under my bed so it heats the mattress like a heated blanket. I sleep better in my camper than I do at home.

[@chrisb6866]

Talking about the battery charging reminded me of a question I have always wondered about. Here is a scenario... Boondocking with a small travel trailer with a built in charger/inverter, an AGM battery, a small generator, and an automotive style 15/3 amp automatic separate battery charger, can you run the generator and plug the trailer into it to charge the battery while simultaneously charging the battery with the separate charger? In other words, can you charge the battery with both chargers at the same time, or just do one or the other? Thanks

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Simple answer, yes, you can do that and it works fine. There is a much, much, more detailed explanation here that would lead to me generally telling people not to do this, even knowing its fine most of the time. What kind of battery, capacity, internal converter charger etc etc matter here. Most AGM batteries have a limit on the amount of current they recommend charging with, it's almost always relational to the size of the battery… Around 1/5 to 1/4 ... in other words, 100 amp hour battery charging with 25 Amp. In this case, you would want to know the size charger that came with your camper. Adding 3 A to it is not gonna make much of a difference, but attaching an additional 20 amp charger to it might. Kris has a 200ah lifepo. Those batteries can accept a current up until their listed BMS... it could be as high as 150 A ! In that case, you can throw whatever you want at the battery, but it should be set to lithium charging parameters, which will be different than the charger you're talking about. You get the point here, it's both simple and very complicated. In your case, you could definitely add 3 A and speed the charging up a little bit with no problem. Hope this helps and didn't unnecessarily complicate things .

[@chrisb6866]

Thank you sir!@@DIYOutdoorLife

[@chrisb6866]

Thank you very much. One follow up question.. Same scenario- Would it be better to run both chargers as above, but install a cutout switch to isolate the battery? That way, the travel trailer runs off the generator/inverter at night (mainly just the heater fan load), with the separate auto charger only charging the battery overnight? @@DIYOutdoorLife

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

@@chrisb6866 for me, I would stick with the WFCO charger/converter for the lion share of your charging. Like you said, I would use the trickle charger for when you turn the camper off with a disconnect switch, you could install the trickle charger directly to the battery. For the majority of your charging, the WFCO onboard charger will be more than enough. On rare occasions, when you have to speed up the charge, you could use both simultaneously.

[@chrisb6866]

Thank you very much. @@DIYOutdoorLife Can I get your opinion on this situation please? I bought a brand new Weize brand 12 volt 100 AH deep cycle AGM battery about 2 months ago. Used it for 4 days while camping (only got down to maybe 30 degrees). It never got below 50% discharge rate before charging it. Got home and charged it fully and let it sit in the travel trailers battery box (in Arizona desert area, so might have seen a low of 50 degrees). Went back 5 weeks later to check it, and I obviously left something small on, because it was only at 5 volts! I immediately charged it up fully (with an AGM battery charger), and after 2 days, it is at 13.1 volts, so it seems fine?? I heard never to discharge them down past 50%, (maybe 30-40% once in a while) but 5 volts is waaaaay past that! Did I destroy the battery, or only shorten its life some, or what??? Thank you, Chris

[@gwrulzmylife]

Would like to see another close view of these mods and updates.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Which mods do you want to learn more about, I'll try to help anyway I can

[@EverythingRVbyPat]

Brian, I can't imagine that I am going to be coming to the east coast anytime soon. Do you have any plans to be in the southwest? I would love to show off my rig on your channel. Great video and love this channel. All the best, Pat

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Man oh man... bad timing. I left New Mexico yesterday. Im in Kansas now. We will definitely hook up to do that video, that would be fun. Id wanna check out that 4xe too!

[@EverythingRVbyPat]

@@DIYOutdoorLife Oh that's too bad. Please keep me in mind if you are out this way again. Happy travels, Pat

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

@@EverythingRVbyPat will do! Where is home for you?

[@EverythingRVbyPat]

@@DIYOutdoorLife We live in Lancaster, California, but please don't hold that against us. LOL!!!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

@@EverythingRVbyPat cant beat the weather!

[@chilblain1]

🏆

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

👍

[@doctorkayak]

Dude did you say "redundancy, redundancy, redundancy"??? Oh lord!

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

LoL... yes

[@mysticalmisfit1332]

Less than 4 mins in but i have to ask, are you towing the bushwhacher with a Tesla???

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Towing a Teardrop with a Tesla kzbin.info/www/bejne/on-YeZl6aKZljqM

[@CC_Marauder]

Poor Chris

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

He seems to be doing well

[@prestonwheeler959]

2019

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

👍

[@barbarafarrington7146]

Who is interviewing? You need a lot of practice and preparation. I don’t know what is so darned funny. A lot of work to set up so you must stay for awhile at each location. You have it going on and I love the shelving idea because I have 2 short legged dogs who are velcroed to me. We are a family.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Thank you for watching, sorry that you didn't appreciate us laughing during the interview. I'm not Larry King, I'm a guy with a cell phone camera trying to share some cool camper set ups. Glad you liked Kris's teardrop set up, I appreciate you watching!

[@dennisw.truman3325]

Great for one person but not for two.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

We have two people and the dog in ours. We basically view it as a small bedroom to go to sleep, definitely not a space to hang out in during the day.

[@dennisw.truman3325]

@@DIYOutdoorLife yes I’ve seen a lot of your videos but I was talking about living full time on the road. Maybe I should have said too small for my wife and I if we were full time on the road.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

@@dennisw.truman3325 i hear ya, definitely not for everyone. We've spent over a month a couple times, you end up renting an Airbnb after a while... lol

[@jim-se5xc]

That's a little honey.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

👍

[@jonathansmith-hz7eu]

80k car 20k house.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

or… If you live on the road, just $100,000 home

[@dennisw.truman3325]

I can understand not wanting to be on camera 🎥. Some people like their privacy.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Agreed! I meet a lot of great people on the road that don't want to be on film. I was happy that this camper let me jump in to show his camper. I think this comment showed up on the wrong video, but I know what you're talking about.

[@Sam-xt5gb]

Is homeboy towing with a TESLA???

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Yes sir!! Haha. We have a whole video just about his Tesla tow vehicle.

[@tylerg6241]

& he has a Tesla this is going to be me in 6 months

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Good for you, thats going to be fun. What kind of camper do you have?

[@prestonwheeler959]

I'll trade you 1:24

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

lol

[@prestonwheeler959]

No lol about it

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

@@prestonwheeler959 Are you talking about the chair?

[@prestonwheeler959]

@@DIYOutdoorLife campers I have a 2019 pioneer 27ft 1 slide out.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

@@prestonwheeler959I think he would have trouble towing that with his Tesla 😂

[@gsp49]

Id prefer a cargo trailer, something I could stand up in.

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Never a bad idea. Ive seen some really nice conversions of cargo trailers.

[@sancho........]

Dont vote for whay you left

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Say what?

[@Big-xh3dk]

I feel like this turned more into a video about a solar set up

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Since he lives full time in his trailer, an off grid battery set up was pretty key.

[@Big-xh3dk]

@@DIYOutdoorLife pretty key feature maybe, but just a simple feature none the less

[@seymourwrasse3321]

sorta a shame to spend all that money on the teardrop then have to remodel it

[@DIYOutdoorLife]

Certainly a fair point. The beauty is getting to customize it to be your own. There is nothing done to this trailer that's not super DIY friendly. Even with all the modifications, it's still a fraction of the price of most teardrops sold today.