Teardrop Trailer Snow Camping

For Thankgiving this year, we decided to skip a family dinner and head up with two friends to Sierra Hot Springs with for their amazing Thanksgiving buffet. All hotels in the area were booked so we thought this would be a great time of year to do some teardrop camping in just a few inches of newly fallen snow.

We were not the only ones in the simple, meadow campground at the hot springs. Several other trailers, and a daring couple in an MSR backpacking tent, also braved the 10 degree overnight temperatures. We were lucky that several of the beautiful springs were just a short walk away and we did not have to do any cooking in the galley.

We realized a few things while camping in the snow with a teardrop trailer:

1. It was wonderfully warm at night with just a some fleece sheets, a feather comforter and our 12 volt electric blanket from Roadpro. It also helps to have a warm partner. :-)

2. Beware of any door locks, galley locks or hitch locks that could freeze when the temperature drops. We had an issue getting our key into the hitch lock the next morning. Use an ice prevention spray or lubricate the locks with Vaseline or grease.

3. Dress in layers and don't worry about sleeping in your clothes. It was actually warmer not to change from day clothes into pajamas, so we just slept in our daytime thermals.

4. Keep your shoes where you can jump right into them. I kept my winter boots under the trailer so I could grab them and put them on right away without having to keep the door to the trailer open and let out any residual heat.

5. Keeping water in a tank or bottles from freezing is challenging. Don't fill up your water tank before heading out and keep drinking water in the bed with you to keep it from icing up.

We were not allowed to have a campfire at this particular campground, but I see teardrop camping trips in the snow in our future with a campfire and some simple cooking in our future. It was so beautiful waking up in the morning to near silence with just the hooting of a few owls in the trees.

Friday Teardrop Photo

Shoes just seem to be too large for the teardrop trailer. I usually store my shoes either under the trailer or on the fenders. I've actually seen some teardroppers build fender boxes that hold shoes and other small items that can be outside, but should stay protected.

I do envy teardrop trailers with separate compartments for shoes. Where do you keep yours?

Featured Teardrop: High Camp Teardrop Trailers

If you are looking for an extremely well designed and well built teardrop trailer, the High Camp Teardrop Trailers of Portland, Oregon are built like the Mercedes of the teardrop world: in limited quantities and with care and attention to every detail.

The High Camp is also a nice, big trailer: 7 feet wide by 12 feet long. The streamlined design is a classic shape built on a 2x2 inch square steel tube chassis. The tongue storage container holds the battery and a retro styled propane tank. All the interior wood components are CNC milled from domestic birch plywood with a formaldehyde-free core and finished in a durable, zero-VOC clear coat varnish.

The galley includes a pullout stove with a top that acts as extra work space, a pullout shelf with a Coleman cooler, plenty of storage and beautiful hinges and wood details. The interior bed is a standard queen size and while there is a good amount of storage, the designers did not want to overload the space with too much overhead cabinets—making the bed area really just for sleeping.

The High Camp can come with optional accessories like a Victron battery monitor ($230), a two room shower tent ($125), or an all weather storage cover ($280). The cost of the base trailer is $15,895 and comes with the Coleman stove, Coleman cooler, IKEA mattress, deep cycle battery and Fantastic fan.

Photos by High Camp Teardrop Trailers

Friday Teardrop Photo

Perfect for wintery weather (just kidding). This 1932 Kozy Kamp Tent Trailer is owned by James T. Gandley. He posted it and its summery accoutrements on the Vintage Camper Trailers Facebook page. Even though this little camper is not a teardrop trailer it was a prototype for future hard top tent trailers like the Coleman, Apache and Ranger brands.

Cool Tears and Tiny Campers Jeep Issue

Cool Tears and Tiny Campers magazine just came out with their special Jeep issue. The online zine features an article on Front Range Gear, Jeep camping through the decades with some great photos, and the rugged Hiker Trailer. You can view the special issue on their website.

Friday Teardrop Photo

The Sunflower enjoying the first snow of the season.
The little solar panel is keeping her battery nice and warm.

What's on our teardrop trailer interior shelf?

I thought I would do a little video on what we carry on the interior shelf of the bed area in the Sunflower. This area tends to be the most widely used (besides the galley) and holds those little items that we seem to need every time we go camping.





It's also the most difficult area of the trailer to keep organized. Usually after every trip, I have to take everything off the shelf, clean it and re-organize it. It also tends to be a catchall area for everything from dirty tissues to wallets and keys. I think this is the cleanest it's ever been!

Friday Teardrop Photo

This photo of a handmade bamboo teardrop is actually a "Missing" post. The trailer, owned by Bryan and Jen of TheDangerz blog, was stolen in August in Portland, Oregon. Keep an eye out for the trailer and contact Bryan and Jen on their Facebook page if you see it.

Rent (or Rent Out) a Teardrop Trailer on RV Share

The sharing community is going way beyond companies like Airbnb, Uber and Lyft. Now anyone with an RV can offer their rig for use by someone looking to take a short or long camping trip. RVShare is a website where you can conduct a search for campers and trailers to rent. You can even put your own camper or trailer on the site as a rental. This includes Class A motorcoaches, travel trailers and even teardrop trailers.

Matthew of RVShare told me that teardrop trailer owners are more than welcome to post their trailers for rent. They would be classified as a travel trailer.

"What I would suggest when listing a teardrop trailer on RVshare is to provide a very detailed description on the listing," he said. "You can classify it as a travel trailer, but I would go in depth with the description and make sure that you upload high quality photos of the RV."

If you are looking for an RV to rent, you can do a search for the area you will be traveling from and your pickup and dropoff dates. Your request will go directly to the owner. Rates range from around $25 a night for a two-person van or VW bus to about $200 a night for an RV that sleeps six to eight people. Several teardrops on the site were renting for about $150 a night. Both owners and RV dealers can list an RV on RVShare.

If you do decide to rent out your teardrop on RV Share, Matthew suggests that you make sure whoever is renting your trailer has the correct insurance.

"Insurance is an area that we are constantly working to make easier for owners," he said. "Presently, owners ask renters to secure what are called binder policies from their own auto insurance companies. We are also working on a more simple, turnkey solution."