How to prepare for a teardrop trailer trip

We are still getting snowstorms in the mountains, but that doesn't mean we can't start planning for our summer and fall teardrop trips. Even though us teardroppers don't have to prepare as much as someone with a larger trailer, we still need to tick a few things off our checklist:

Where to go?

Now's the time to pick and choose where you want to travel. Do you want to explore a new part of the country or your own state? Why do you want to see a particular area? Asking these questions can help define what you want out of your travels which will save time, fuel and money in the long run.

Check out detailed maps or the Roadtrippers site for your locations and find trailer friendly roads, campgrounds and rest stops. As you are doing this, you might want to see if a teardrop rally is being held in the vicinity.

Prepare the trailer

This is also the time to check that everything on your teardrop is roadworthy. Check the tires, the lights, all bolts and connections and have the trailer bearings greased. This is also a good time to check that you have a full propane tank, a full water tank and that all stoves, refrigerators and other appliances are in good working order.

Stock up

If you have not already done a spring cleaning of the trailer, get that out of the way and then stock your teardrop with everything you will need for a season of trips. This can include the following:

• batteries for flashlights and headlamps
• extra canned or boxed food
• updated sheets, towels, clothing items
• fresh toiletries like toothpaste and shampoo
• broken items that need replacing

Photo by Little Guy Worldwide

Four Ways to Plan for Your 2016 National Park Trip

This year marks the centennial of the National Park Service and parks all over the U.S. will be offering opportunities for visitors to learn more and be inspired by "America's Best Idea." Most likely many of us teardroppers will be visiting at least one National Park this year and here are five ways you can plan for your upcoming trip.

WATCH: "Rock the Park"

Rock the Park is a TV series (currently showing on Netflix and Hulu) featuring two enthusiastic young men tackling the backcountry of our nation's National Parks. They do everything from whitewater rafting and rock climbing to learning about how Yellowstone National Park recycles waste. While you might not want to go everywhere they do, their energy and the scenery is infectious.

LISTEN: NPR Road Trips: National Park Adventures: Stories That Take You Away 

NPR's Road Trips Series takes the excellent reporting of NPR into story formats that cover any type of road trip you can imagine. The National Park Adventures CD tells the stories you don't normally read about in guidebooks. The CD also cover lesser known parks.

ORGANIZE: Build Your Trip with Recreation.gov

Recreation.gov has a Beta version of their Build a Trip planner where you can discover and reserve camping, lodging, permits and tours at the National Parks, National Forests, monuments and public lands. You can add each location to your trip planner. You will need a Recreation.gov login and password.

FOCUS: National Geographic Illustrated Trail Maps

Nothing gives you a better view of a National Park than its hiking and walking trails. Be prepared for these trails with a waterproof National Geographic trail map. You can choose from illustrated maps that show trails, roads and landmarks or topographic maps for more experienced hikers. All proceeds from the sale of these maps are donated to the National Geographic Society.

Roadtrippers Profile Pages

I've written about the fun Roadtrippers website and app before, but now the travel planning site has updated profile pages where you can search for, save and edit the places you want to take your teardrop trailer.

After you've filled in your profile with specific locations, hotels, attractions, restaurants and outdoor recreation sites, you can share it on any social media site and embed it on a website. You can also print your itinerary before a road trip. The profiles are searchable on the Roadtrippers site and you can leave reviews of each location you visit.

Teardrop Trailer Trips | My Collection itinerary on Roadtrippers.com!

Teardrop Camping: Plan It or Wing It?

Tiny Yellow Teardrop reader ML recently asked this question:

"I'd be interested in discussing how much itinerary planning goes into your travels with your teardrop. I'd like to venture out with no particular route in mind, but I feel the need for reservations so I can drive along with confidence. Kind of keeps me from using the camper to the full extent that I should during good camping weather."

I'm also curious how often teardroppers plan out their camping trips or if they just wing it. We have done it both ways and I think it comes down to both timing and where you will be camping. A little bit of luck can be thrown in for good measure.

Our "lucky" campsite at Twin Lakes in California.

We recently got back from a teardrop camping trip down to the Mount Whitney area (trip post coming soon) and left on a Wednesday afternoon with about 300 miles to go. We had our reserved campsite for the Whitney area, but knew we would need to stop for the night somewhere along the way. Many of the campgrounds in the area along the Eastern Sierra can be reserved, but we were not sure where we would be at around sunset. We were planning on heading to our favorite campground at Convict Lake, but were so tired after a long day, we didn't make it. So we winged it and headed into a campground 10 miles off Highway 395, Twin Lakes. Luck must have been on our side because we pulled into the campground way after dark and got the very last spot next to a bubbling creek.

Our long-term reserved spot at Madison Campground in Yellowstone NP.

This doesn't always happen. There have been times when we've tried to wing it on a Thursday or Friday afternoon and have had to drive around to different campgrounds to find a space. This happened to us on the Oregon Coast. We went to four different campgrounds before we were able to squeeze into a space at Humbug Mountain State Park.

Our spot at the Gros Ventre Campground in Grand Teton.
In fact, I don't think the campground ever filled up over the weekend.

Some locations just don't warrant the "wing it" option. Some very popular areas like Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and areas with amazing views like the Gulf Coast or the Pacific Ocean require reservations way in advance. When we went to Yellowstone National Park, we had our spot reserved about seven months ahead. However, when we went to nearby Grand Teton National Park on our way to Yellowstone, we winged it and arrived at the Gros Ventre Campground around 11:00 on a Friday morning and got a great spot just before the weekend groups showed up.

Another "lucky" site we got on Friday before Memorial Day at Silver Lake near Lake Tahoe.

Teardrop cuteness and the "tribe" factor has also gotten us into very last minute camping spots. We wanted to take a quick weekend trip up to the Blue Lakes near our home and left on a Friday after work. We drove through the campground and could not find any open sites. However, just as we turned a corner, a couple was just starting to pack up their own teardrop trailer. We stopped and chatted with them about our darling trailers and they offered to give us their site when they left in about an hour.

So I think my advice to ML would be to first look into where you would like to go and then look up the available campgrounds in the area. Check out Reserve America and Recreation.gov to see if these campgrounds are very popular or can be reserved. Sometimes having a site reserved ahead of time can take a lot of stress off your trip. If they are not popular or cannot be reserved, then just head out and try your luck. Sometimes the hunt for a great campsite is part of the fun of teardrop camping.