There are some fantastic new compact caravans coming onto the market, so we were excited to see the new German-made Teardrop when it made its UK show debut.
It promised retro design, a proper double bed, innovative access to the kitchen and storage from the outside – and all for under £10,000 (plus delivery and inspection). So should you buy one?
Compact caravans have lots of plus points
The Teardrop, made by by Kaiser Fahrzeaugbau, is dinky and light enough to be towed by almost any car – 650kg and 1.9m tall. There are six colours for the doors, wheelarches and cabinets, and the roof is aluminium.
There’s a surprising amount of storage space inside the Teardrop Caravan, with four cupboards made of birch plywood with aluminium sliding doors on the rear wall, a full width shelf across the front wall, two aluminium storage compartments under the sleeping area, plus storage nets and clothes hooks.
Outside kitchen…sort of
The ‘kitchen’ has a stainless steel sink with tap, 12-litre tanks for fresh and waste water, plus two large storage compartments and a drawer for a cool box. Inside, there’s 12V LED lighting, 60Ah leisure battery, two mains sockets, a USB socket and mains hook-up.
You’d be hard-pushed to think of the back area as a kitchen (hence the scare quotes above!). There’s no cooker or fridge included in the £10,000 base price. A very basic cooker is available as an option, along with a bike carrier, roof-mounted rails for a roof-rack, alloy wheels, an electric fan heater and an awning.
You’d certainly be better off buying a Cadac stove and a decent compressor fridge to add to the base kit.
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To buy or not to buy?
We said a definite ‘maybe’ veering towards ‘no’. The model we looked at felt cramped and awkward to get into.
The internal fittings are quite basic and there’s overall a very tinny feel (which, I suppose, is what makes it light to tow).
We had trouble sliding the storage doors and everything felt a bit unrefined.
The big concern for us, though, was that you’re basically buying a bed inside a trailer. Using the ‘kitchen’ in anything but good weather would be unpleasant and, once you’ve attached the awning, you’ve blocked your route from kitchen to sitting area that would get a bit annoying after a while
Look at alternatives
Lots of alternative teardrop-shaped caravans to choose from
This caravan is the same price as the Teardrop
Why pull dull?
Certainly don’t buy till you’ve looked at what else is available. There are teardrop-shaped vans these days from lots of manufacturers and some of them cheaper than this one.
Have a look at our Why Pull Dull? article for an ever-growing round-up of the most interesting compact caravans, trailer tents and more.
We also have some favourites, including our best-buy compact caravan and stunning trailer. Have a look before you make your mind up.Agree or disagree? Have a personal recommendation for a small caravan? Let us know.
