This is the Kestrel Teardrop Trailer from Timberleaf Trailers, a specialist company based in Colorado that has been building some of the world’s most innovative teardrop trailers since 2015.
Timberleaf Trailers started off with the Classic, a teardrop trailer that offered sleeping space for two and a rear kitchette for preparing food while in the great outdoors. The Kestrel is a newer model that is far more minimalist, and far less expensive, with prices starting at just $8,750 USD.
With a curb weight of just 860 lbs or 390 kgs, the Kestrel Teardrop Trailer from Timberleaf Trailers can be towed by an extensive range of vehicles, and it has a starting cost of just $8,750 USD.
Timberleaf Trailers was founded by the husband and wife team of Kevin and Paula Molick after they discovered classic teardrop travel trailers while researching which trailer they would buy for themselves. They loved the minimal aesthetic, the retro design, and the fact that the trailers were so light, and could therefore be towed by a wide range of vehicles.
A former member of the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, Kevin had thrown himself into professional woodworking after he was honorably discharged in 1976. Over time, he became one of the top people you could hire for tastefully modernizing Denver’s Craftsman-style homes.
One day an issue of Sunset Magazine landed in Kevin’s lap, it featured an elegant teardrop trailer overflowing with mid-century design cues and perhaps most importantly, it featured a largely wooden body mounted to a steel chassis. He decided to design his own version, with all the same classic style but with the inclusion of some discrete modern amenities.
After he finished his own trailer he realized that the groundswell of interest that it had generated was a good indication that there might be a business in it. He launched the company shortly thereafter and was greeted with a wall of enthusiasm after being featured on some of the top sites on the web (and also Silodrome!).
Timberleaf Trailers has been going strong since then, they managed to survive the Covid pandemic that killed off so many small companies whose bread and butter was outdoors related, and today they have three models in production, the Classic (the original design), the Pika, and the Kestrel – the Kestrel being the newest and by far the most affordable.
The Kestrel Teardrop Trailer
The Kestrel Teardrop Trailer has a price point that starts at just $8,750 USD, this is far below the normal retail cost of a modern teardrop camper, and this is because it forgoes many of the more modern amenities and focuses on providing just the core functionality you need.
Each Timberleaf Trailer comes with a welded and powder-coated 2-inch by 3-inch 11 gauge steel frame that measures in at 54-inches by 90-inches, it has enamel baked aluminum sides, and it weighs just 860 lbs or 390 kgs. This low weight means it’s ideal for towing behind even smaller vehicles (within the manufacturer’s guidelines of course), and it can be optionally equipped with three different suspension packages, including the Standard package, All-Road package, or the Off-Road package.
Unlike the other two models in the Timberleaf range, the Kestrel doesn’t have a rear-access hatch, galley (kitchenette), power system, skylight, or fan. This means it’s much less costly and less complex, which will be viewed as a bonus by many. When you fill in the order form for your trailer you’re presented with a number of options to added features you may want.
Images courtesy of Timberleaf Trailers
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
