I to am very interested in the AT or socal tear drops........... The AT Horizon is also a darn cool set up ..... do any of you have opinions on the Pros and Cons of each ?........stuff to consider that someone might overlook when deciding . I have no experience with either of these trailers.......... but have been trying to do a lot of research .................. also.... anyone selling a used Horizon or Tear drop ?
I think you might want to contact AdventureDuo directly - they had an AT Horizon they used for many years, and recently changed over to a Teardrop, so they have experience with both. Probably some good insight there.
We have a Horizon, but no experience with a Teardrop. So, with that limitation noted, here are my observations about the tradeoffs between these two approaches to an offroad trailer:
1. The teardrop probably has more comfortable sleeping arrangements. No need to climb up and down a ladder to get in/out of bed, no tent fabric flapping in the wind, perhaps a more comfy mattress. This may be the crucial advantage of the teardrop.
2. I like the kitchen facilities in the Horizon better. The door on the side cabinet folds down and makes a very convenient working surface. The teardrops have a shelf in the kitchen that could be used as a working surface, but it looks hard to reach when you have the stove and fridge freezer pulled out. Mind you, I've not used the kitchen facilities in the teardrop, these are just my observations from looking at them.
3. One of the nice things about the Horizon is the cavernous storage area inside the main trailer box. You can use it to store most anything you would camp with, including stuff that may be a little grungy or smelly. The teardrop has a lot of interior storage as well, but because you are storing stuff on top of your bed you need to give some thought to what you really want to store there. Also, it's all got to be emptied out before you go to bed, whereas with the Horizon the sleeping area is seperate from the gear storage area. What all this means to me is you need to give some thought to what you bring with you on your trips, how & where you would store it, and whether having gear storage seperate from your sleeping area is important to your camping "routine".
4. One last note, I really like the airbags that AT uses in their suspension system, and not because of their performance on the trail (although that is exemplary as well). It's an in camp convenience thing. It's well nigh impossible to find a completely level spot of dirt to camp on. We almost always use the airbags to help level the trailer for camping. Yes, there are other ways to accomplish that: a little strategic digging under one tire or the other, putting a wheel up on a block of wood or other platform, etc. But, none are anywhere near as convenient as letting a little air out of one side or the other. We carry a CO2 tank in the back of the FJ, so when it comes time to leave camp it's an equally simple matter to break out the air hose and refill an airbag to it's correct height for travel.
Good luck with your decision!
