The compact, Canadian-built Droplet is more than just a place to hang out. The mindfully designed travel trailer is influencing a new camping lifestyle
It’s tough to find a tiny trailer that’s friendlier to those who use wheelchairs for mobility or an RV manufacturing company that’s as keen on community and sharing as Droplet. The Langley, British Columbia-based company, and the 950-pound (dry) flagship teardrop by the same name, make traveling at one’s own pace and pleasure almost effortless.
Living Area
A 6-inch-thick queen-size mattress fills the interior and provides comfort and support. Two cabinets and shelves at the foot of the bed provide storage for electronics and some clothing. The entry doors are some of the biggest in the tiny-teardrop industry.
Droplet’s ergonomics were designed to make it easy for anyone to enter or exit through the two large side doors. The height of the queen-size bed is ideal for transferring from a wheelchair, or sitting and swinging your legs to stretch out. The Droplet has numerous interior storage nooks and drawers, along with convenient 12-volt DC LED reading lights.
The Droplet is well-insulated, bright and airy, with the warm interior sporting a sailboat-style vented skylight and large windows providing an open view of the surroundings to the front and sides. The acrylic side windows are tinted, and if more privacy is needed, magnetic window covers are an option.
The bright, airy interior reflects design and construction cues gleaned from the yacht and sailboat world. Side and half-dome front windows are tinted, and open to allow natural ventilation. The skylight/vent is straight out of the yachting realm.
Kitchen and Storage
Galley space is limited but quite functional. The slide-out refrigerator is a nice touch, as is the acrylic countertop.
The exterior kitchen at the rear of the trailer is efficient in design. The sheltered cooking space has LED touch lights, and an acrylic countertop and backsplash, along with a handy 12-volt DC fridge hidden in a slide-out compartment under the countertop.
Beneath the two-burner camp stove is a wide pull-out drawer to store pots and pans. A hand pump from the onboard 2.6-gallon freshwater tank provides water to the sink. Here, too, Droplet designed the galley to be wheelchair-user-friendly.
Fixing meals in the rear galley is easy with the two-burner camp stove and the 12-volt DC fridge in a slide-out drawer. A second drawer stores pots, pans and cooking utensils. A 2.6-gallon hand-pumped closed-loop water system eases cleanup.
Special Features
The majority of the Droplet’s structural wood-fiber and aluminum composite construction is assembled using the same high-strength adhesives applied in building boats and aircraft, which means no worries that staples, screws or bolts will vibrate loose after years of use.
The Droplet is constructed of an insulated exterior aluminum composite that is vacuum-laminated to Liteply poplar panels. The trailer’s frame is powder-coated steel with a Flexride torsion axle designed specifically for the Droplet’s light weight. Wheels are 12-inch to keep bed-access height minimized.
Soft-touch LED lights and wide side doors make a nice seating area next to a campfire. When the day is done, the doors can be closed and the comfortable queen-size sleeping space can be enjoyed.
FIRST TAKE: The Droplet’s light weight makes it ideal for towing behind vehicles tow rated at 1,500 pounds or more. Its build quality appears top-shelf, and the company’s direction toward “community and sharing” the RV experience is inspiring. And get this: Droplet sets aside 10 percent of sales revenues toward building free off-grid campsites for its owners/users, as well as designing a P2P web portal so owners can rent their Droplet out while the company handles all insurance, booking and management aspects of the rental program.
Manufacturer’s Specifications
2019 Droplet
Exterior Length: 13′ 5″
Exterior Width: 6′ 7″
Interior Height: 3′ 9″
Exterior Height: 5′ 6″
Freshwater Cap.: 2.6 gal.
Black-Water Cap.: N/A
Gray-Water Cap.: N/A
LP-Gas Cap.: N/A
UVW: 950 lbs.
Hitch Weight: 95 lbs.
Axle Weight: 1,400 lbs.
GVWR: 1,400 lbs.
MSRP, Base: $15,450 (U.S.)
www.droplet-trailer.com
A respected automotive and RV journalist and longtime Trailer Life contributor, Bruce W. Smith has held numerous editorial titles at automotive and boating magazines, and authored more than 1,000 articles, from tech to trailering. He considers his home state of Oregon a paradise for RVing and outdoor adventure.
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