Teardrop Trailer Ingenuity

I just returned from a fun trip to Lake Shasta and the Dam Gathering. There were around 190 trailers at the gathering and the majority of them were teardrops. I spent some time walking around and taking photos of what I thought were the best bits of teardrop trailer ingenuity. These were either builds that caught my attention, camping ideas that got my brain moving or interesting and beautiful details that caught my eye. Thanks to everyone at the gathering who let me snap away with my iPhone and kudos to those who came up with some great ideas.

The Motel 2 was a popular build at the Dam Gathering and had some unique and helpful features that would make camping in the teardrop much easier. The teardrop was built to be square rather than rounded and the galley had a side opening that would make a nice windbreak. I also loved that the owners used a yoga mat cut to size to keep their kitchen items from sliding around. The interior had folding mattresses from IKEA that allowed them to create a small couch.

I wrote a previous post on the Oregon Trail'r company run by two brothers: Sawyer and Jon Christianson. I met Jon and his wife, Jamie, and was impressed on how they set up the bed for their young daughter in their personal teardrop. She sleeps in a cot above the foot of their bed and the mirror next to the cot is actually a shelf that comes down into the galley. This was made so the couple could keep an eye on their toddler when she took her teardrop naps.

Gordon and his wife's sink washing station blew my mind. It sits right next to their teardrop trailer and features a hand pump water sprayer connected to a copper tube that runs over the heating element of a propane-powered grill. The water is pumped into the copper tube and comes out hot into the sink. Gordon said that it's sometimes too hot to use right away and the couple will sometimes put the hot water into the small ice chest to keep it warm throughout the day for washing their hands.

This sink idea also had a ton of style. Randy and Sandy's teardrop sink had a vintage Stanley thermos as a faucet. These types of thermos containers were used in several teardrops at the gathering.

 

These were just a few details that caught my eye and showed that teardroppers really have a great sense of style.

I loved this storage box with the various vintage travel stickers. The Coca-Cola thermos is awesome.

I didn't get the name on this trailer, but that copper light just outside the bed area was one of my favorite details at the gathering.

I couldn't resist taking a shot of this chicken wire cabinet in the teardrop of Dawn and Dave Kappadahl.