How do we pack our ice chest?

Teardrop trailers have very little space and this goes double for our ice chests. Some teardrop galleys are lucky to have a little refrigerator and maybe an ice chest for extra food and drinks, but face it, we will never have as much room for food as the bigger trailers.

Our only way to keep food cold while traveling is with our Igloo bear-proof cooler (similar to this guy here) that we lash onto our tongue cargo rack. Over the years, we have gone through numerous ways to pack as much food as possible without having our fresh eggs swimming in melted ice water with random bags of lunch meat.

The best solution we have come up with is to use several storage containers from Walmart to hold the food in separate compartments, while the ice surrounds the containers. This keeps the melting ice from soaking the fresh food. The top container holds fruits, veggies and other items that don't need to be very cold, while the bottom container holds meat, dairy and frozen items that tend to keep the cold items colder. The surrounding ice can hold more breakable items like beer or soda bottles.

Since plastic container products and sizes are always changing, the best way to accomplish a similar setup is to bring your ice chest to the store and try to fit several containers into it. We were able to find a set of containers with handles that nested into each other. When we want to do some cooking, we will just pull out the container and carry it to the stove and our picnic table.

Friday Teardrop Photo

This photo is not of a teardrop trailer, but of our car packed up for a typical teardrop camping trip. We like to keep the teardrop bed free of dirty camping items like chairs and tables, so we travel with them in the back of the car.

I also like to have items tightly packed and organized so they don't fly around while en route. Here we have our folding table, two Alps folding chairs, a 10x10 E-Z Up shelter, a five gallon container of water (desert camping), a small outdoor rug and our "tool box" which holds bungee cords and straps, a small hatchet/hammer combo, metal stakes and some hand wipes.

Everything is a little dusty from past camping trips.

What clothes do you carry in the teardrop?

I carry a full set of clothes in my side of the teardrop trailer cupboards at all times. Having all my clothes in the teardrop makes packing much easier, and all I have to do is grab my hiking boots (or I just wear them) and maybe a puffer jacket for colder temps and off we go.

Flip flops for hot weather and public showers. My camp shoes were $5 at a sports store clearance.

 The space for my clothes is very small: about 25 inches wide by 11 inches deep. The vertical space is barely another 11 inches since it slopes down at the back. The cupboard shares space with our two small towels, our toiletries box, and my husband's clothing. His clothing consists of just some sweat pants and a sweater, a couple pairs of underwear and socks, his camp slippers, some shorts and a T-shirt. He's REALLY minimalist, but sometimes lacks items for extreme up or down temperatures.

I keep several pairs of undies, sports bras, socks and a hat in a small sunflower bag.
I also have a swimsuit and a small packable shopping bag that we use for laundry (the strawberry).

Even though I don't like to have a lot of things in the teardrop, I tend to hang on to a lot of clothes. Where we camp tends to have crazy weather, and in one day you could change your clothes two or three times to stay comfortable. However, I'm surprised how much I can fit into a space about 275 square inches.

My outer layers consist of a Sierra Designs rainjacket and a Patagonia fleece.
We are lucky to have a Patagonia outlet where we live.

I think the key might be in the folding, I tightly roll or fold all my items and stack them according to temperature needs. Unfortunately, even during short trips, I will find myself sitting on the teardrop bed, pulling all the clothes out, refolding them and stacking them back in again. I'm pretty bad when it comes to putting clothes back in the cupboard while camping. When rushed, I'll just toss them in and close the door really fast.

Other warm items include a puffy vest that folds into its own bag and some long (very colorful) underwear.

I will store a few items under my pillow. Usually a warm puffer or fleece jacket will go under my pillow, or I'll put socks or hats in the netting above the bed. Having a wide range of clothing that can be used in all situations comes in handy when traveling through various locations.

I have a few items for sleeping including two long sleeved T-shirts and a long, fleece bottom.

Having said that—my teardrop wardrobe won't really take me to a fancy restaurant or a ball. I actually went to the thrift store to shop for my teardrop wardrobe to keep the cost down and I don't carry any "nice" clothes for going out at night. In fact, dressing up means putting on our clean jeans and knocking the dirt off our hiking boots.

Clothing for warm weather includes two tank tops, three T-shirts and two shorts.
I'll sometimes sleep in the gray shorts if it's hot at night.

I only bring one other pair of pants. I'll usually be wearing my hiking pants while traveling,
but my comfy jeans wait for me in the cupboard. These are for "dressing up."

Teardrop Trailer Food

When teardrop camping, we have a tendency to bring along the same types of food. This is really because we have limited storage space and usually we want to spend our time outside hiking, kayaking or enjoying other outdoor sports. We don't want to spend our time figuring out new recipes. So we have gotten into the habit of bringing along our favorite things every time we head into the hills.

Most of our dinners are cooked in a dutch oven which goes hand-in-hand with teardrop camping, and which I will cover in a future post. However, a lot of our meals are also cooked over the propane stove or over the campfire, and because we've been out and about all day our favorite foods and drinks tend to be high in calories.

Our camping standbys are:

Breakfast

Bagels (toasted on the stove or over the fire) and cream cheese
Grapefruit
Orange juice
Eggs (sometimes mixed with cheese or sweet peppers)
Bacon
Toast
Tortillas
Pancake mix and syrup
Coffee

Lunch (usually eaten on a trail or on a kayak beach)

Tortillas (we love quesadillas with turkey or ham)
Bread and cold cuts
Tunafish salad
Pickles 
Apples and oranges
Cheese

Happy Hour 

Tortilla chips and salsa
Olives
Hummus and veggies
Crackers and goat cheese
 
Alcohol

Pre-mixed margaritas (and a few limes)
Beer with twist caps
Wine with twist caps

Dinner

Various dutch oven meals (stews or pizza are our favorites)
Steak
BBQ Chicken
Steamed veggies in aluminum foil on the fire
Grilled veggies 

Desserts

Jiffy Pop popcorn
Roasted Marshmallows or S'mores
Hot Chocolate
Dutch oven brownies or upside down pineapple/peach cake


No matter what we bring, it always tastes much better out in the fresh air.

Teardrop Trailer Simplicity

I found this photo, taken by another teardropper, a few years ago and thought it epitomized the simplicity of teardrop camping. Most tent campers don't really deal with this much stuff, but over the years I've unfortunately seen many ladies of the camp having to pack up her family's tent camping "necessities".

What do you carry in your teardrop?

Teardrops are great, little trailers where you can carry everything that you need in a small space. However, it's best not to carry too much or you will find yourself constantly reorganizing or re-arranging your tiny trailer. Teardrops are also great because you are always packed up. We don't spend too much time packing or unpacking the teardrop trailer when we go on a camping trip. It takes us about 15-30 minutes to grab everything we need before we hit the road.

When we are out camping, people will ask me what I carry around in my teardrop. Here's a comprehensive list of what I usually keep in my teardrop all the time:

In the bed space:
fleece sheets
2 fleece blankets
1 12 volt electric car blanket
2 pillows each
1 sunflower pillow (I like to sit on this pillow on hard picnic table seats)
1 small 12 volt heater
sunscreen
bug spray
games (dice and UNO)
hairbrush
small notebook (for writing down lists and details about each camping trip)
several paperback books
water bottle
toiletry box with shampoo, soap, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste and toothbrushes, medical kit, aspirin and Advil

In the storage area under the bed:

clothesline and clothespins
12 volt sunflower string lights
extra medical supplies
campground plug
campground plug adapter
shovel and axe
bungee cords
camping hammock
extension cord
emergency tow light kit

Clothes (my husband and I keep a small supply of clothes in the teardrop):

2 fleece sweaters
down vest
two t-shirts
two tank tops
shorts
long johns and pajama bottoms
long john top
long sleeved top
4 pairs of underwear
4 pairs of socks
warm hat and gloves

In the galley (kitchen):

Coleman stove with grill
cast iron skillet
regular skillet
coleman grill pan
pots of various sizes
2 plastic dish washing containers
dry food box
propane tank, connector stick and 2 connector hoses
2.5 gallon water container
4 kitchen towels
2 rags
2 oven mitts
2 wine glasses
4 coffee cups
1 camping French Press
2 spatulas
1 paper towel roll
salt, pepper, sugar, Italian spices and BBQ spices
4 cereal bowls
2 mixing bowls
4 metal camping plates
2 appetizer/serving plates
5-6 forks, spoons, knives
lighter and matches
dish soap and dish scrubbies
sunflower trivet
2 cutting boards

On the front grill:

Ice chest with food, and most importantly, beer

What we carry in the car:

2 camping chairs
folding camp table
Dutch Oven, lid lifter and galvianized pan to hold the coals
extra water
foldable shower screen
folding REI shelter (in case of rain)


Photo by Christina Nellemann