January and February Cool Tears and Tiny Trailers

I've been taking a little time off from the Tiny Yellow Teardrop blog, so I'm a bit behind on getting out some new information. Have you seen the January and February issues of Cool Tears and Tiny Campers? These two issues feature some great restorations and new builders, including Richard Hawkins' Trail Hawk Campers.

Are you as tired of this winter as I am? Check out how to camp in the winter (in Iowa) with Gary Roys and his wife Elaine in the February issue of Cool Tears. In fact, the Sunflower is getting dusted off this week for an adventurous trip to Yosemite National Park in the middle of one of the biggest winters in California history. We'll just have to see what happens.

Friday Teardrop Photo

Last Thanksgiving the Sunflower spent the night in the snowy forest of Sierra Hot Springs. Her owners went off to enjoy an amazing dinner and a dip in the steaming springs. She had to stay in the campground.

Friday Teardrop Photo

I loved camping in the snow so much that I went looking for other hardy snow campers and found this photo from Teton Gravity Research. What a great way to get an early start on the slopes.

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

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

Friday Teardrop Photo

Even though it's almost march, winter is still beating down on some parts of the U.S., so I just had to put up this photo from Links Teardrop Rentals in Orange County. Links is a new company that rents out several Little Guy and Cozy Cruiser teardrops for a two-night minimum.

January/February Issue of Cool Tears & Tiny Campers

The latest issue of Cool Tears & Tiny Campers is out on the virtual newstands now. This issue includes a story on tiny trailers and Model A cars, an interview with Dylan DeHoff of Little Guy Worldwide and a feature story of a 1966 half-dead teardrop brought back to life by Randy Higgins.

Friday Teardrop Photo

The Sunflower is nicely tucked under her cover for the winter snows.
Happy Holidays to all the Tiny Yellow Teardrop readers and may your teardrop trailer also be protected this winter...or heading to Florida.

Friday Teardrop Photo

 The Sunflower in the first snow of the season. Whoops! I'd better get that winter cover on.

What do you do with your teardrop in the winter?

Unfortunately, the teardrop trailer season is coming to an end here in my part of the country. It's getting down into the teens at night and the snow will soon start to fly. We are hoping to take at least one trip this winter to a hot springs area, but for now the Sunflower will be put to bed. So what do I do with the teardrop in the winter?

The first thing I do is clean both the inside and outside thoroughly. There is nothing worse than opening up your trailer in the spring to realize you had left some dirty, campfire smoke filled clothes in the closet. I also keep a checklist of things we will need for an impromptu trip in the winter or for our first spring trip. This usually includes new batteries for our flashlights, new bulbs for the lights, a new propane tank, updated clothing, some new books to read or a few new games to play. I also go through the toiletry kit and restock it with new Band-Aids, Advil, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste.

I then take out the marine battery and store it in the garage on a trickle charger. This keeps the battery from going dead in the cold temperatures. I will sometimes take the charger off and on over the course of the winter season.

The last thing I do is cover up the teardrop. The trailer is not parked in a garage or under a carport, so this protects the color, the laminate and the tires from sunshine, cold, wind and moisture. I use the All-Weather Cover from Little Guy. These are made to fit all their various teardrop shapes and sizes and as long as your teardrop fits within the size parameters, this type of cover should fit. The cover is waterproof, durable and stays on even during our nastiest blizzards.

Photo by Little Guy

How do you stay warm in a teardrop trailer?

Unfortunately, we live in the mountains where we are not able to do a lot of winter camping. We would love to, but many campgrounds and BLM areas are usually covered in snow. So we have to save our camping fun for the summer and fall months. In addition, camping in the mountains can be cool or cold even during the warmer times of year so we sometimes wear long johns, hats and other warm clothing items when we go to sleep in the teardrop.

Fortunately, a teardrop sleeping area is so small that usually just body heat will warm the space up in a short amount of time. If you don't like getting into a cold bed there are other ways to stay warm while teardrop camping. If you are lucky enough to have a battery installed in your teardrop, or if you are hooked up to power there are a few heating options. On cooler nights we will use a 12-volt electric car blanket just to warm up the bed. These cost about $30 and don't drain your battery. They will heat up for about 20 minutes before shutting off.

If it's really cold, we will plug in small 12-volt ceramic heater that warms up the sleeping space. This heater with a fan will drain your battery much faster and you'll notice that any lights you have on will dim while this thing is running. You only need to run it for about 10 minutes to warm up a teardrop bed area. We have also used our friends' propane heater for heat. The Mr. Heater Little Buddy can be placed on a shelf or stable area of a teardrop bed to heat up the space. Don't keep it on all night since a propane heater will deplete the oxygen in a small space very quickly.

Another way to keep warm is with a good, old-fashioned hot water bottle. A teardropping friend of mine has several in her bed: one for her back and one for her feet. She says they are still warm by morning.

One time while camping in 20 degree temps with some fellow teardroppers, we were so cold that we heated up foil-wrapped river rocks in the campfire and then placed them in our beds to warm them up. The hot rocks proceeded to melt my friend's sleeping bag.

This is not a recommended method of staying warm in a teardrop trailer.

Winterizing the teardrop battery

Unfortunately, I live in an area where we really can't go camping all year long. So in the winter months I cover up the teardrop, take the battery out and put it on a trickle charger. If you leave the battery in a teardrop trailer all winter long without using it, the power will drain and it won't hold a charge...putting you about $250 into the hole for a new battery.

The Sunflower's galley and battery cabinet (which it shares with my pots and pans)

The battery on the charger

A bad photo of the Battery Tender

So I take out the battery and hook it up to an inexpensive trickle charger I bought at an RV store. The charger is called the Battery Tender and runs off a regular power strip. When connecting your battery to the charger, be sure to connect the positive and negative connections first and then plug the charger in. It will take a few days for the battery to charge up (depending on the size and how much of a charge it needs) and then you can unplug it. Plug it in a few more times over the course of the winter to maintain your battery's charge.

Photos by Christina Nellemann