Why Choose a Teardrop or Tiny Trailer?

Why or how to camp in a teardrop or tiny trailer was a recurring writing theme for Green Goddess Glamping  in 2018. And that's not surprising because owners of small campers have a specific view of what constitutes an enjoyable camping experience, a view that is a balance of simplicity and comfort, ease and elegance. The more I write about minimalist camping, the more I realize my somewhat intuitive choice of Green Goddess Glamping for this blog's name was actually insightful and accurate.

For most teardrop or tiny trailer campers, the little rig is a step up from tent camping. Most are seeking a safe haven for sleeping and getting out of extreme weather conditions. On the other hand, most minimalist trailer campers what to structure their camping experience to include a closer connection with the outdoors, to blend the inside/outside living space rather than sharply defining it. Cooking outside but having the option of cooking an inside lunch if a rainstorm is passing over is one characteristic of tiny trailer camping. Having a portable heater inside the camper yet spending quality time sitting by the campfire is another quality tiny camping experience. Having a soft, home-style bed in the camper yet trotting outside at night with the stars wheeling overhead to visit the utility tent and the portable toilet is another tiny camping experience. Inconvenient? Perhaps, but so many minimalist trailer campers comment on the beauty of the sky at night and the deep, rich earth smells, something we don't normally experience at home in the middle of the night when we get up to take a leak.

Three articles I wrote during 2018 speak (at least for me) about the unique blend of luxury and nature that small camper sojourns provide: in other words, down-home glamping. One article researched why teardrop and tiny trailer owners chose their camping style, another article defines "glamping" in terms of small trailer camping, and the third article discusses the camping experience in the light of quality rather than quantity. Looking at these three articles as a group pretty well defines the tiny trailer camping experience. Each title is linked to the original if you'd like to see more photos and read the full article.

Why Such a Tiny Trailer? Teardrop Owners Speak Out

After I had bought my tiny trailer or "tall" teardrop, I wondered if my reasons matched others, so I went to social media and asked owners why they camped tiny. The over-riding reasons for choosing small were cost, comfort, simplicity, and lifestyle. One owner mentions the comfort of owning "a bed on wheels," and another owner, who tells the experience of almost being trampled by a herd of cows when tent camping, cites that extra little safety of being able to get inside. "Small needs, small space" is how, with few words, one tiny camper explained the experience.

How the Green Goddess Glamps

I've read articles about glamping that include a resort experience of fine dining and appointments for after-hike massages. Nothing wrong with that, but my wife and my experience of glamping at the local county park is somewhat more modest. Exploring this concept led me to other articles about glamping and a final list of how choosing a tiny trailer over a tent or an RV apartment has improved my camping experience. These seven qualities are included: cozy bedding, touches of home, some form of electricity or light, increased comfort of living space, good food and ease of cooking, "stations" for camp chores, and enriched entertainment options unique to the environment. My article uses REI's definition of glamping of a spectrum of glamour from "uber-luxe" to "cozy." Within that spectrum, I definitely find my niche.

It's Not Just How Many Miles or Places

I really liked thinking about and writing this article, which is about visiting one campsite more than once and finding a deeper appreciation of a particular place. The article explores how a familiar camping location can be more relaxing and how a more thorough experience of a place deepens our connection to nature; again, the theme is one of quality over quantity. I find real pleasure in discovering new hiking trails at a campground I return to, find the joy of tree identification and slowing down and cooking better meals. "Where do we want to camp this weekend?" doesn't have to be a new place. It can be our old friend just down the road.

For myself, writing this blog is a way of deepening my appreciation of my experience of tiny trailer camping. I've tent camped, bicycle camped (and still do), and I've done the travel experience of staying in a motel. Each has its utility and charm, but I do have to say that spending time outdoors with my wife, not having to make a huge investment in an RV and then have to transport it, and adopting Henry David Thoreau's creed of simplicity is deeply satisfying. As I write this, I'm sitting in my home next to my woodstove. It's January, and the temperatures will be in the teens for as long as the weather forecast is willing to predict. I am so eager for warmer weather and my next camping experience. Funnily enough, though, my wife and my choosing the simple path as campers has also led us to enjoy simplicity outside of camping. I guess what I'm trying to say is that sitting at dawn in my cozy house, next to the warmth of the woodstove, the beauty of a snowy field out my north window, the grays of fog and first light--well, maybe "camping" isn't so much a place but a state of mind.

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