Our First Teardrop was a “Silver Shadow” 5’x8′ model. It was manufactured in the Amish Country of Northern Ohio by Pleasant Valley Trailers (now called nüCamp RV) who used to make Little Guy Silver Shadow trailers and now mainly focus on making  T@B and T@G trailers as well as Cirrus Truck Campers. We bought it from the super nice folks at  Miller Trailer Sales in Perkaskie, PA. Little Guy trailers are now made by Liberty Outdoors and you can find out more at Go Little Guy. Unfortunately, no one is currently making the Silver Shadow models at this point, though the T@G is not a bad alternative.

Our Shadow had a queen sized bed inside and beautiful birch woodwork and cabinetry throughout. The main cabin has a ceiling window with a fan and four cabinets to store towels and clothes. There is also a shelf under the cabinets that is just right for drinks, tissues, lights and various small stuff. There are two roof lights and electric inside. One of the cabinets has a mirror that is perfectly situated for hanging an iPad that can be used for movies and TV. Under the mattress on each side is access to about 4 inches deep of underbed storage. It isn’t easy to get to, but it is perfect for storing tarps, spare blankets and other things you don’t use often.

The trailer has an aluminum outer finish that is a combination of materials. Doors with windows and screens on both sides make it easy for two people to be about to get in and out of bed.

There is a simple kitchen galley in the back that can be accessed by popping up the back hatch. All of our cooking gear, dishes, cleaning supplies, water and lights were stored here. It made a great food prep area both at camp and on the road. You can also access the power inverter from the galley in order to charge devices. You can get these trailers with much fancier galleys, but we found that this simple one was perfect for us.

There is a metal storage box in the front on the trailer hitch that is a great place for storing all the tools and gear that we didn’t want to keep in the kitchen.

There is a marine battery and an electric hookup so that we have electric for the ceiling fan and other devices regardless of whether we are on or off the grid. We also carried a couple of solar panels and another battery for those times when we need to be off the grid for more than a few days.

You can get Silver Shadow models that come in a slightly larger size (2 ft. longer) or with more amenities (kitchen sink and stove). But we found that we like using a mix of tent camping and trailer camping methods and we prefer cooking outside the trailer to keep things clean. The short length made it easy for us to pull across two parking spaces in a lot and easily park where a longer or wider trailer might present more challenges. The Silver Shadow isn’t currently being manufactured, but there are still recently made and used ones available.

For 10 years, our Silver Shadow was perfect for the two of us (and our shih tzu!) and pulled easily behind our Subaru Outback.

Eventually, we wanted an upgrade and 2020 was a great time to get a new T@B 320S where we could have an indoor bath and stand to change clothes. We sold our Shadow and hopefully it has a good long life with another happy camper.