Five Tips for Your First Teardrop Gathering

If you're seeking out your own teardrop trailer, or are a new teardrop owner, sooner or later you will go to a teardrop gathering. Teardrop gatherings are held all over the U.S. and abroad and are places for teardrop lovers, owners, soon-to-be owners or curious folks to check out the tiny trailers, chat with new friends and eat lots of Dutch oven cuisine.

Gatherings are great places to see other trailers, meet other teardroppers and even camp in places you may never go to on your own. Above, you will see a photo taken at a small gathering on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. Most people will never get a chance to camp in such a unique location unless they are part of a gathering. So, if you are heading out for your first teardrop meetup, keep these five things in mind:

1. Clean up and put out some information on your trailer
At least one or two days of the gathering is dedicated to "Show & Tell". This is where you clean up your trailer, put out your best linens and the great grill you found on Craigslist and tell the story of your teardrop to anyone who drops by. If you are not around to tell the story, have a flyer or some printed cards in the open galley that tell your visitors where the trailer came from, the date, the weight, the size and any other tidbits of info they will find interesting.

2. Be prepared to chat...a lot
Most conversations at a gathering will revolve around teardrops, tiny trailers, camping and gear. Be prepared to talk to a lot of folks about those subjects. If you don't feel like chatting, close up your trailer and hide out inside.

3. Bring food to share
Most gatherings will include a potluck or Dutch oven dinner night. Bring snacks, a good Dutch oven or skillet recipe and unique beers or wine to share with your fellow gatherers. Some gatherings will even have a group cooking area.

4. Bring good shoes, your camera and take notes
A gathering is your chance to get tons of information for your own teardrop trips. Visit dozens to hundreds of trailers with a good pair of shoes, a sun hat if it's hot, your camera and a notebook. Don't be afraid to take lots of photos of interesting details or designs and file your notes away for when you return home.

5. Explore the local area
Get away from the gathering for a day or half a day to visit the local area. Is there a cool beach nearby? A ghost town or hot springs? Or maybe like Treasure Island, you can take a quick jaunt into The City. Tell other teardroppers what you find and tell your friends back home what they missed.

Teardrop Camping in Someone's Backyard

This weekend, my husband and I went down to Sonoma County, California to do some camping in the beautiful Cali weather and to visit with Kent Griswold of the Tiny House Blog. A friend of mine shares a large property in the small town of Sebastopol with some family and offered to let us camp in the backyard. The property has redwood trees, cool, funky artwork, chickens and goats and lots of flowers, grapevines and the plants that make up this lush area of coastal California. It's a perfect place to go camping.

There will be times in your teardropping life when you'll be camping in someone's backyard and it's a great way to visit an area for free. However, there are a few things you should take into consideration. My friend's family was very kind in letting us camp for a few days in their yard, so we changed up our camping style and schedule to accommodate that kindness.

Plan out your bathroom visits

Our hosts offered us the back bathroom of their home and we used it once or twice, but tried to utilize public bathrooms as much as possible so we wouldn't bother them or their two dogs.

 Be water-wise

We did have access to the hose in the backyard to fill up our water container for drinking, cooking and dishes—which was great. However, if you're in a desert or drought area, try to keep your water use at a minimum or purchase water from a store.

Clean up after yourself

Don't leave a mess behind, even if you're going to be back to camp. During our everyday teardrop routines, it can look like a bomb went off in the teardrop and plates, pots, pans, food and clothes will be everywhere. Tidy up and put everything away (especially in a wind-prone area) and keep a clean camp.

Show your appreciation

You are most likely staying at your friend's home for free. Show your appreciation by inviting them to a teardrop trailer breakfast or dinner or offer to do some yard work. Since our hosts were working most of the weekend, we bought them a bottle of organic Mendocino county wine to relax with.

Friday Teardrop Photo

 

The Sunflower and Stargazers teardrops at the Glory Hole (unfortunate name) campground 
near Angel's Camp in Central California.