Early morning, the Garden Goddess awaits in the driveway
Finally, after two weeks of quarantining for my wife and me and our grandchildren's family, we will begin to interact again, and our tiny trailer will become--at least until circumstances change--not only our garden cottage but also a playhouse.
Hardly anything is up in the garden, although as I write that, we are eating some asparagus, chives, arugula, radishes, and turnip greens from the garden and our mini-greenhouse. This morning there is a north wind, and rain is expected. We seem to be past the frosts, though, and in our main garden, peas and spinach are just peeking out.
The wrens get a tiny house, too!
We've put out two beautiful wren houses that a local friend paints and sells. The one in our blossoming peach tree can be seen from our living room windows while the other birdhouse is in the pear tree, visible from our bedroom window. We hope to soon see busy wrens flitting from the houses to the garden, adding their spirited presence to our home.
We're already planning how to make our house a second safe haven for our children and grandchildren, having cut ourselves off from the world, except for an early-morning trip to the grocery store once every week or two (and we might have our groceries delivered). Some form of distancing in society is going to continue into the indefinite future, it seems to me. With the garden producing now and some food stocked up, we can go a long time with just interaction with our children, leaving the rest of the world to its own hunkering. (Is "hunkering down" redundant? Does anyone hunker up or sideways?)
The garden has been a real bright spot for me. It's a safe place for me to go and interact with nature. The earth is waking up, plants are peeking through the soil, and getting my hands in the soil while feeling the warming of the world is calming and reassuring. I've replaced the forest for my growing bed . . . and I still get to see plenty of rabbits! They've been sniffing around the garden, asking, "Hey, Tom, when are you going to open the store?" I left the door open to my greenhouse, and one rabbit momma started digging a nest in the turnip greens. I shooed her out, but she didn't want to go. It was, after all, a great place for a nest--except that I locked it up every night. Maybe she was counting on that, though. What safer way to spend the night, not having to keep an eye out for our local bobcat.
From snow to spring
Two and a half weeks brings a big change for spring here in SE Iowa. We had snow on the ground then. Although I haven't slept overnight in our camper recently, I plan to, and this morning when I chopped wood for our house's woodstove, I saved some back in the garage for a fire in our metal firepit out in front of the trailer. Next week should be warmer spring weather! With the big field across the way and my quiet little neighborhood, I plan to enjoy my world with a magnifying glass this season, rather than with a telephoto lens. Sometimes the small joys are the most rewarding. Sometimes the small joys are not so small after all.
I confess I spend too much time reading the news and getting updates on the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. What is needed is a more positive activity, and tiny trailer owner Kelly McGinnis found the perfect at-home activity with his wife and daughter--painting rocks. I haven't written an article for the Arts and Crafts category for my blog in a while, so it was with great appreciation that Kelly responded to my query and provided the following story and information. I hope inspiration hits and that we all find time for quality activities wherever we are--in addition to whatever essential routines we maintain.
New Wave Teardrop
Kelly is a tiny trailer owner, having bought a New Wave Teardrop trailer back in November. "I love it," he says. "I did buy it with the intention of using it for my kayaking/rafting trips year round. I have been a hammock camper for years."
A high school teacher/coach, Kelly lives in Mississippi, "but for the past seventeen years, I have spent my summers in Ocoee, Tennessee, as a river guide on the Ocoee River. It was the Whitewater venue for the '96 Olympics."
Kelly McGinnis, expertly negotiating white water.
"I work for Nantahala Outdoor Center and am a Master Guide and Head Guide on the Ocoee River, one of seven rivers the NOC operates on. I do train new guides, and I am a certified EMT and Wilderness EMT along with being a Swiftwater Rescue Professional. Summers I live in staff housing but my weekends (Tuesdays and Wednesdays) I am planning on paddling other southeastern rivers and staying in my camper. The Ocoee River is dam controlled and runs Thursday through Monday. I compete in whitewater events along with flatwater racing year round."
Glass, tile, and Quikcrete
Working for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality as an environmental scientist, Kelly's daughter Sarah-Kelly had been a river guide also until graduating from college two years ago. His wife and daughter are both very "crafty" and have made stepping stones and mosaics before. "The rocks we painted were not gathered in 'the wild.' We get them from a landscaper so as to follow the 'Leave No Trace' philosophy."
The paint for the stones was acrylic art paint, and then the pieces were clear-coated when finished. The McGinnises use whatever they can find for molds for the stepping stones, such as tupperware, fastfood go containers and the like. They use Quikcrete for the stepping stones and use broken glass or tiles for the designs.
"We have done this a few times during quarantine for a few hours each session. Just get outside and let your imagination run as far as designs and what to paint. It really is fun and relaxing. We have spent more quality time together on the front porch talking, playing cornhole, sitting around the firepit in the backyard and cooking outside. It really has been much better than I would have imagined."
Backyard artwork has not been their only activity, though. Their other quarantine projects have mostly been landscape updates, house repair projects, and organizing their "overflowing" outdoor gear collection. Kelly's wife Leslie also has been nailing Crocs to their fence and planting in them. "At first we were paddling every day until the shelter-at-home decree statewide. I had just returned from teaching Raft Guide School on the Nantahala River in North Carolina during our spring break when they closed school. During spring break I had stayed seven days riverside in my squaredrop."
Creative recycling of Crocs
As soon as the quarantine lifts, Kelly plans on returning to Tennessee to guide, and he'll be taking his camper. "My wife says my ten weeks on the river each year make me much more easy to live with the other forty-two weeks!"
We all have camping plans for when it's safe enough to camp again. I'm hoping to attend a Rustic Trail Teardrop Campers gathering in early October in Tennessee at Harrison Bay State Park, which, funnily enough, is only thirty-one miles away from the Nantahala Outdoor Center on the Ocoee River. Small world!
Retro Reads: This is a story about the two sisters who launched me into the tiny trailer world. I met them while I was bicycle camping and they, of course, were out with their tiny campers. They were living the good life and graciously introduced me to all that is possible if you own a tiny trailer and travel with a generous and fun-loving spirit for adventure. The article was originally published a year ago in April of 2019.
Ann Schnepf and Betty Hanscum are the Traveling Teardrop Sisters.
The sisters travel a lot together with their tiny trailers and have discovered that they create a parade-like effect. "I travel in tandem with my sister," says Ann, "so there are two teardrops going down the road. I am in the lead, so by the time a car is passing me, they have already seen my sister. The looks we get are hysterical. We always have to give tours to other campers. You can tell they are curious as they walk by slowly. The usual response is, 'Is there a bed in that small thing?' Most people marvel at how much room and storage there really is in a teardrop." Both sisters reside in Iowa Des Moines area, having owned side by side apartments in a condominium for the last two years. Both own teardrops: Ann a Rustic Trail Teardrop Grizzly, and Betty a 5x10 T@G teardrop.
I (Tom Kepler, Green Goddess Glamping's sole cook and bottle washer) know this because I've seen the Traveling Teardrop Sisters all set up in their full campground splendor. The two rigs were the first teardrops I'd ever really looked closely at, and the story goes like this . . .
I was on an overnight bicycle camping trip to Lake Darling State Park in SE Iowa, having arrived early because of a wonderful tailwind. I pitched my one-person tent, cooked my dinner over a little alcohol stove, showered, and drifted off to sleep with the beautiful colors of the sunset reflecting on the lake. The next morning while walking, I met two women, whom I later found out to be Ann and Betty, who asked me about my camping set-up. They owned two teardrops, a T@G and an RTTC. Looking at my tent, Ann said, "Well, we finally met someone with a smaller camp set-up than us!" The sisters later took me on a tour of their teardrops and their campsite, answering my questions and allowing me to peek inside. That was my introduction to tiny trailer camping and my introduction to the RTTC models that eventually led to me buying a used RTTC Polar Bear--the Green Goddess. Therefore, I will always be grateful to Ann and Betty for introducing me to the world of tiny trailer camping.
Betty bought her T@G new in 2015 in Missouri, ordering it "with some custom items on it, no stove or sink in my back kitchen galley, just storage . Mine also has an ac unit in it with a 3-way roof fan. I also have an awning for my teardrop. My teardrop is white and yellow, and her name is Lemondrop. I bought it from Missouri Teardrop, outside of Warrensburg, Missouri, great place and great guy, Dana, to work with! He also installed a double bike rack to the tongue of my teardrop because I didn’t need a propane tank." Betty has modified her trailer from a double bed to a single, giving her more storage and open space. She can stand up in her 4-foot trailer by "hunching over," since she is only 5' 2" tall! She has also added a Velcro screen door to the trailer to keep out bugs and says it works great.
Ann hit the camping scene running (or driving), buying her Grizzly in July of 2017, picking it up in North Carolina, and camping all the way back home to Iowa. Her tow vehicle is a Honda CRV, which works great for her. She camped four times in 2017 and "was only able to camp five times in 2018," which shows that Ann is hooked! Ann and her sister camp at state parks because they love the availability of electric hook-ups.
That Traveling Teardrop caravan must be quite a sight, since not only do they both own teardrops but also the same model of tow vehicles, each a Honda CRV. Betty says, "I tow my teardrop, that weighs just about 1,000 lbs., with a 2018 Honda CRV. I got a new car this past summer; my previous car was a 2012 Honda CRV. There are no brakes on my trailer and generally I get 17-20 mpg towing. No issues ever with towing in Mountains, wind, all types of weather, etc. I usually forget she’s back there. I’ve even driven through fast food drive-throughs with her behind me! The best gas mileage was 32 mpg in Texas with a significant tailwind!"
For thirty years Ann was a tent camper, but over the years the tent routine grew old. "My sister had a smaller teardrop, and I loved it. I was tired of always having to put my tent up, and in bad weather we would sit in her camper."
Betty's take on her years of camping is similar--of how her life changed over the years until she finally "grew into" the teardrop camping life.
"I have been camping for over forty years, starting with my ex-husband going to Yellowstone camping in tents, every year coming back with a bigger tent until we bought our first pop up trailer. We pulled that little pop up with a 4-cylinder car (no ac) into the mountains! No problems. We had our first pop up for about 14 to 15 years before the roof rotted out. After that, we didn't camp for for about 2 to 3 years. Then we bought another pop up camper and had that one for eight years before we sold it. About 10 to 12 years ago my ex decided that he no longer wanted to go camping, so I packed up my son and my sister, and we went every year to lots of different places. After my son graduated from high school, the pop up was too large for one person, so I started looking into getting a teardrop. I was able to rent a teardrop from Missouri Teardrop to see if I liked the little trailers, and it was love at first sight! So I ordered one the following spring. I love the size and tow abilities of a little trailer; also I could hitch up and go by myself and didn’t need any help at home or at the campground,. I felt very secure and safe if I was camping by myself."
The sisters have traveled throughout the Midwest and Southeast, state parks being a common destination. "Ann and I," says Betty, "belong to a group of women campers--Midwest Glampers. We attend several events every year with this group of over 250 women campers. Members set up camping events, usually starting in April, and we camp until October, depending on where in the Midwest and when. We usually camp on-grid in campgrounds, usually state or county campgrounds. We usually have electricity but not much else, and need a bathroom but have taken our portable potty a few times with us! The thing that bugs Ann and me the most is that so many campgrounds make us get two campsites. Even though we aren’t as big as some of the big rigs and use hardly any electricity, they make us set up in two sites! Missouri has what are called family sites which have worked out well for us, but it is still two sites!"
Ann has also developed a particular style or look that has developed over time. "My camper had a short queen bed. I am single and do not need that size, so with the help of my sister and brother we modified my camper to a single bed, which gives me more room for storage. I love it. I've also decorated [my trailer] with pictures and quilts." Ann and her sister have a camp routine that works well for them. "Betty and I love to cook, so we have a screen room that we put up between the two campers. This is our kitchen. We put the picnic table in there. This is also an area to play games or retreat to when it is raining."
"Trailer trash." Where's the fashion police?
The sisters and their Midwest glamper group do enjoy glamping it up a bit for fun, hangers and pictures that can be changed out according to the holiday or glamping theme. Their club often has a theme which is common for a particular campout, such as Halloween to Trailer Trash to Christmas in July! Ann and Betty have several buckets of fun lights and decorations that they just pack up and go with. And although they have crazy fun, they also have their more personal and heartfelt memories. Betty says, "My main theme in my camper is one of outdoors, wildlife and basic camping. Years ago when I still had my pop up, Ann made me a mountain outdoor wilderness-themed quilt that I still use today. Putting curtains inside the camper also helps make it homey and comfortable, with extra pillows for comfort."
Although their camping norm is the comfort of a state park, there are some qualities Ann especially looks for in a campsite. She feels a lake or a stream is a plus. "I did tent camp in Canada by a lake and it was beautiful, until the moose came through our camp site!" Her favorite time of year is the fall when "the weather is cooler and the leaves are turning." Betty remembers her first time camping alone. She was in southern Missouri, "going to meet with fellow Glampers but was going to be by myself for two days. The campground was empty, no owner, no campers, no neighbors, no cell service--this remote part of Missouri was very scary, but I survived and have a great story about my 'Deliverance' camping experience!"
One interesting trip Ann and Betty took last summer was to Indianola, Iowa, for the balloon festival.
Betty feels that new campers should invest in good quality products. "Cheap doesn’t last long and just frustrates you when trying to do what you want to accomplish. Also a really great camp chair is important. You’ll be sitting in it for a while, so invest in a really good one." More advice from experience is that "quality cookware and stoves pay for themselves over time. Start with the basics and then look around camp to see what others do and start stealing ideas from others to build up your campsite." The sisters aren't afraid to let go of stuff they no longer use, frequently swapping or shopping out their equipment with other campers.
One useful tip is to take everything out of your trailer at least once a year. It helps you discover what you aren't using and what you need--and keep a list of what you have and where it is! An important recommendation is to also to pack warm weather clothes and blankets, "no matter what the temp, you never can tell when you might need it!"
The Midwest Glampers group always checks with Ann and Betty if they need something because between the two of them, they usually have it, the two tiniest campers having the most stuff! Since Ann and Betty camp together most of the time, they don’t have to duplicate a lot of items, which saves a lot of space. One sister carries some stuff, the other sister carries other stuff! Permanent equipment and supplies stay in the campers, replaceable or temporary supplies go in the cars, which makes it easy to get up and go. "Just load up the cars, hook up the trailers, and go!"
Lake Darling, Ann and her sister Betty's campsite in the background, where Tom Kepler first met the sisters
As for future plans, Ann and her sister belong to several camping groups. Starting in January the groups they belong to start organizing different camping trips, so the sisters begin scheduling a camping calendar or destinations and dates and who they will be camping with, trying to schedule at least two camping trips every month from April till November, some close to home, others bigger trips, some with one camping group, some with another camping group, some just with the two sisters.
They are planning a few trips to southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, in Iowa, and a big trip to Florida in November. "We plan on kayaking with the manatees down there!" says Ann. Travel dreams include trips to the Northeastern US, and also to North and South Dakota, and Colorado. "Wherever we can and for as long as we can!" The joy of camping for the Traveling Teardrop Sisters is infectious. They take the love and support they feel as sisters and radiate it out into the world, making the world a better place. The best way for me to finish this article is to say that I know that meeting the Traveling Teardrop Sisters has changed my life, and I sincerely hope our paths cross sometime during this next camping season.
(To read all the Green Goddess Glamping owner profiles, check out the Owner Profiles page. Click the link or the Owner Profiles button beneath the header photo.)
I can't find my tiny trailer anywhere, but I have found this small garden hut in my driveway, beside my garden. It has wheels and is rigged to tow, but it's blocked in front by bales of straw. It could be a tiny trailer if I could travel and camp. It could be my tiny home away from home if Iowa's campgrounds were open. Right now our tiny trailer is our meditation retreat, our mobile office, and our dacha beside the garden (which I've written about before).
A second snowfall today, April 17
We have very close family interactions here in town, and we've been trying to understand and to redefine how those connections work and will work in the next year or two. Can two households establish safe measures to interact? Can even one household establish safe measures? Do we need to have food delivered? I think these questions are being asked by many when long-term lifestyle changes are reckoned for our future as individuals, families, and communities.
We are working to create a safe environment--one self-contained family living at two locations, food eventually delivered. Right now I am going to the store about once a week, early in the morning, wearing a face mask and packing alcohol hand-sanitizer. We may cut that out or lengthen the time between grocery runs soon because my greenhouse will begin delivering greens in about a week. We have always kept a supply of food on hand since we cook mostly with bulk, unprocessed natural ingredients. Sandy and I can pretty much hole up here at home and pull the hole in and disappear. If we can create that same situation for our daughter and family, then can we carefully interact--being ready to invoke a two-week quarantine if the protocols are compromised?
It's a day-by-day situation with a recognition that the worst is yet to come in Iowa, expected in May. Right now our county has had four confirmed cases of COVID-19, with no deaths. Other places in the state have higher infection rates. Today the governor just announced the K-12 schools would be closed for the rest of this school year. Several meat-packing plants in the state have had major virus outbreaks among the employees. Meanwhile, I'm focusing on staying at home and tending my garden.
There's this sense of loss, though, a sense of discomfort and sadness, even though sickness and death from the coronavirus have not struck our community yet with a heavy hand. One article I read that provided perspective for me was from the Harvard Business Review, "That Discomfort You're Feeling Is Grief." The article introduced some new perspectives for me, one being that we are experiencing loss of our normal lifestyle, economic loss, and loss of connection--several kinds of grief. One concept that I hadn't heard of before was that of "anticipatory grief," that unpleasant feeling we get when we are anxious about the future.
It's especially difficult for my wife, who feels an obligation to help out with the children and grandchildren. My years as a school teacher have helped me, I feel, deal with the separation. Teaching is a career-long process of giving everything you have to the children before you, of completely dedicating yourself to their inner and outer wellbeing--and then letting go and allowing them to go on with their lives without you. It's tougher with family, but the same principle applies: they grow up and leave the nest. Sure, I'm grieving, but the pain is worse for my wife.
I've written a long introduction to finally arrive at discussing my tiny trailer. Sandy and I have just taken probably the shortest drive to a camping site ever. I hooked up the trailer and moved about ten feet forward so that I'll have space to put up the awning without having the guy wires block the walkway. Our camping will take place in our driveway in front of our garage and next to the garden. For my nature inspiration authors this season, I'll take less inspiration from Thoreau and Muir and more from my gardening books. Rather than oak, maple, sycamore, and juniper, I'll be communing with kale, lettuce, peas, and green beans. And lettuce, arugula, cilantro, chives and onions, okra, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes (red and yukon), asparagus, chard, spinach, squash, and a few other vegetables, I'm sure. I shouldn't forget the flowers either, the day lilies, peonies, irises--and the annuals, the cosmos, zinnias, and marigolds. And, of course, our peach, cherry, and pear trees . . . and raspberries. Hmmm . . . sounds like I'll be busy this year!
A photo from the kitchen window, after the first (and lesser) snowfall
I'll be able to set up our mobile office so that Sandy can work outside while I putter and plant in the garden. Not today, though, because we got about 5-6 inches of snow last night, our second snow in a week. It will melt soon; it was thirty-two degrees at dawn, but wow! The ups and downs of spring! I'm writing right now in the early morning, the sun up but the day gray with a canopy of cloud and white with a blanket of snow. In the next couple of days, it will warm up enough so that I can plant peas outside and possibly even transplant some of my kale starts that are up in my mini-greenhouse.
COVID-19 Iowa
We'll start living more outside. And with our family situation? It's a time of hard assessment. We may decide for our households to continue our quarantine of households with groceries delivered and no other interactions before (or if) we interact again. Increased pressure from the environment may determine that we continue our quarantine. Or we may decide that we have created two safe "bubbles" in this COVID-19 polluted sea. The entire world is working this out, trying to determine long-term liveable solutions. We all know the short-term protocols.
What is odd is how integral to our plans our tiny trailer has become. It's there in our driveway, just waiting for some time inside or a chair or two out front. We can build a fire. We can watch the sun go down. It's a world apart, even on a journey of only ten feet.
"Subie vs. Barbed Wire. You can see who won this round." Photo Annie Wynn, 2020.
We plan for the expected, but sometimes that isn't enough. This was Annie Wynn's experience recently while pulling her trailer through west Texas. She could see storming in the nearby mountains, and the prediction was for winds of up to 15-20 mph, which she'd driven in before with no problems.
Wind is unpredictable, though. Mountain ridges can begin far apart and then narrow, creating a funneling effect, concentrating the movement of air, creating a blast of wind as you turn a corner while rounding a knob of ridge. Other factors can also apply, all resulting in a sudden, concentrated gust of wind sideswiping your camper and creating trailer sway. That was Annie's experience as she was negotiating her way down the road, dealing with the 15-20 mph winds--a sudden blast.
"Then the trailer started to sway. I felt it before I saw it in my rear view mirror. My right hand moved to the trailer brake and hit the panic button and I kept an even speed. I’d visualized this situation, so I knew what I was supposed to do. For a few seconds, I felt the trailer falling back in line and I thought I was going to be OK. Then what felt like a big hand hitting the back of the trailer pushed it to the right and I felt the car go left and it all went wrong."
Annie Wynn was the subject of one of Green Goddess Glamping's Tiny Trailer Owner Profiles recently, on December 13, 2019 (Annie Wynn's Wonderful World: 3 Years on the Road). She's an experienced full-time camper and also an excellent writer, maintaining her blog Wynn Worlds, where she writes about her wind experience, "Going Off the Road." The article's worth a read. It includes experienced-based knowledge, and it's also just plain compelling reading. In an email to me she said, "The tow vehicle weight/tow capacity would not have made any real difference, according to the state trooper and two deputies. They have seen many sway accidents on this road over the years, and it's random, big and small rigs have gotten blown around. The root cause is bad weather up in the mountains comes sweeping down a few passes and if the winds are strong enough, they hit that section of road with no warning, and no visibility."
Reading Annie's article motivated me to research more about the subject of loading your travel trailer, hitches, and trailer sway. I decided to go to experts for my online advice, so I chose insurance companies, hitch manufacturers, and trailer rental companies for my information base. Below is a compilation of the information I gleaned, plus a couple of videos and some links to excellent additional information.
At this point, it might be good to provide a video of an actual towing "sway" or "whipping" event.
A good introductory article, "Trailer Towing Tips: How to Prevent Trailer Sway," is available at the Nationwide insurance company's website. The article includes a brief description of what causes trailer sway.
"Any trailer towed with a hitch set behind the rear axle of the tow vehicle can sway or fishtail while driving. The hitch acts as a pivot point in-between the centers of gravity of the two vehicles. Any trailer sway or side-to-side force will turn the vehicle and create an unexpected steering force. If that sideways force is strong enough, it can be more powerful than the road-tire friction for the drive wheels on the vehicle. This can cause the tipping over or separation of the trailer and maybe even the truck or car too."
The article continues with more explanation that sway can be exacerbated by trailer weight, balance, and weight distribution problems. The Nationwide article also links to an RVTravel article that further mentions how a poor match-up of trailer and tow vehicle can also cause sway problems, along with wind gusts caused by terrain or by large semi trucks.
Every article I've read stresses the necessity of having enough weight forward a trailer's axle so that the majority of the weight of the trailer load is to the front. From what I've read, the tongue weight of the trailer should be 10-15% of the trailer weight, or some say the trailer's load distribution between front and rear of the trailer should be a 60-40% ratio, with 60% forward of the axle. A concise article by Fastway summarizes this information.
Weight distribution is vital, and you have to be aware of how you are loading up your rig. This includes freshwater tanks and holding tanks--where are they situated on the trailer in relation to the axle? Are the holding tanks full and the freshwater tanks empty? The video below demonstrates the important of having a properly balanced distribution of weight front to back.
The Nationwide article includes a list of tips from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for lessening the possibility of trailer sway.
Use the manufacturer recommended gear when towing.
Slow down. Moderate driving speeds produce less strain on your vehicle and trailer reducing the chance for trailer sway.
Don’t make any sudden steering maneuvers.
Release the accelerator and keep a firm grip on the steering wheel to control sway caused by large passing vehicles.
Check the tire pressure. Under-inflated tires reduce the load-carrying capacity of your vehicle or trailer, which can cause sway.
The NHTSA recommendations for dealing with trailer sway are basically four actions, which Annie mentions in her accident account and which are mentioned in later articles: let off the accelerator, activate manually the trailer brakes (Annie's "Panic" button), don't use the tow vehicle's brakes, and keep the tow vehicle's steering wheel straight ahead.
The most comprehensive article I found on setting up your tow rig, loading your trailer, and towing safely was on the U-Haul website, "Trailer User Instructions." The article is comprehensive and uses good titles to provide information in a clear manner; therefore, I'm not going to try to duplicate the information in this article. Providing overall topics on the U-Haul towing instructions page should provide an incentive, though. The article defines "whipping" and "swaying," how to load a trailer, how to drive, weight distribution, hitches, and maintenance. You should read this article. However, at the risk of contradicting myself, here is a brief list regarding "combination disturbances." Capital letters usage is used for emphasis by the U-Haul site.
A “combination disturbance” is improper handling, whipping, sway, over-steering or other deviation of the tow vehicle or trailer from their intended path, due to one or more causes (improper loading, steering inputs, excessive speed, cross winds, passing vehicles, rough roads, etc.).
If a combination disturbance occurs:
Let off the gas pedal. NEVER speed up to try to control a combination disturbance.
DO NOT apply your brakes.
HOLD THE STEERING WHEEL in a straight-ahead position. DO NOT try to control the combination disturbance by turning the steering wheel.
An area that I am still learning about has to do with equipment, namely weight distribution hitches and sway bars. When I buy my new trailer, a lightweight Safari Condo Alto, the company recommends a weight distribution hitch with sway bars. The new hitch system will be installed at the travel trailer factory when I pick up the trailer. Some Alto owners have questioned whether the trailer, with its 1,867-pound dry weight, really needs the system. My Nissan Pathfinder tow vehicle has a towing capacity of 6,000 pounds and a tongue weight capacity of 600 pounds. I've chosen to err on the side of caution, though, and plan to include the weight distribution hitch with my purchase, and to have the Safari Condo factory team match up my trailer with my vehicle.
I do know that when towing my little standy trailer over the Appalachian Mountains last summer, there was one point when descending on a 12% grade and rounding a shoulder of a mountain, I wondered if the centrifugal force of negotiating the turn, combined with a gust of wind while edging around the mountain, would put me in danger. Annie Wynn certainly found herself in such a situation. Small decisions can matter. I do notice, for instance, that my trailer seems a bit more stable if I store my Yeti cooler in the camper door entrance walkway (in front of the axle) rather than storing the cooler in the back of the car. This is especially true if I have my bicycle rack and bicycle mounted on the back of the trailer. I intend, finally, to make friends with a large, established RV sales center in the town next to me. I'll be able to go there and have my weight distribution/tongue weight determined, which will provide me with some concrete data to use when loading up.
The towing equipment company, etrailer, lists on their website common questions and answers relating to weight distribution hitches. Below are the questions the etrailer article answers.
What is a Weight Distribution Hitch, and How Does It Work?
When Do You Need a Weight Distribution Hitch?
Does a Weight Distribution Hitch Increase Towing Capacity?
Can Weight Distribution Be Used with Surge Brakes?
What Are the Components of a Weight Distribution System?
One last hitch system and trailer brake safety feature I've run across relates to the placement of where on the tow vehicle the release cable should be secured. One article pointed out that securing the release cable to the hitch receiver (typically where the chains are connected) won't work to activate the trailer brakes on a disconnect from the tow vehicle if the receiver connector breaks off. The article takes a while to get to the point (to heighten suspense, I suppose) but does eventually show photos of the weld breaks and the unreleased trip cable. (Article from Camp Addict.)
My feeling is that if a trailer "whipping" event can happen to Annie Wynn, it can happen to anybody. Her cool-headed reaction to the event, which included activating her trailer brakes (she had practiced that maneuver in case it would ever be needed), minimized the danger and damage caused by the accident. Annie is taking this moment to replace her Suburu for a Honda Ridgeline, something she had planned to do anyway a year from now. "It's not because I don't think the Subaru is not a good tow vehicle. It's fine, especially for people who do occasional trips. For a full-timer though, I was always struggling with stowing stuff and then having to empty it out if I wanted to take passengers somewhere. The Ridgeline has almost twice as much storage space and can handle longer, bulkier objects better. So rather than wait a year, I am switching vehicles now."
Annie also added in her email a description on a driving experience that happened after the accident, involving her hood flying open while towing at 55 mph.
"There is an aftermath to the accident that I had not anticipated, and that was that what looked 'fine' was not in one important case: the hood latches. Eight hundred miles after the accident, driving on I-10 in a construction zone that was really bumpy, the hood latches released and the hood went flying up against the windshield as I was going 55 mph and towing. The hood had been opened and closed three times since the accident, with the usual solid thud as it slammed shut, so I had no reason to think it was damaged. But it was. So I guess the takeaway would be that after an accident, a complete car inspection would be my recommendation. I had the car up on a lift twice after the accident (check and tire fixed the day after, and wheel alignment a week later when I found a place to do it since I could feel the wheels were off) but no one, including me, thought to do a full check of everything. Maybe a Subaru mechanic would have spotted it, but their 17-point check doesn't include hood latches, either. So who knows if anyone would have caught it before the hood unlatched at speed."
As usual for me, I learn by interaction with experience and through research. Learning about trailer sway and how to handle it is just one more step in my growth as a tiny trailer owner. I'm thankful to all individuals and websites that added information for this article. Safe travels to everyone!
The Green Goddess at Ground Zero of the informal Jomeokee music festival
Retro Reads: On the longest trip I've taken with the Green Goddess, I traveled from Iowa to the Carolinas and back in October of 2019. I pulled into a nearly empty private campground, among the quiet pines, only to discover that there would be a music concert there that weekend. A fun and innocent time, something we can all enjoy reading about now.
Not literally Woodstock, of course, since I'm in North Carolina, not New York--and since it's not 1969. The party I've crashed is the Jomeokee 2019 Gathering, an informal music festival get-together that's been happening in one form or another and in one place or another for the last forty years. They've chosen Jomeokee Park Amphitheater and Campground for the last few years, about fifty families showing up in small and tiny trailers, quite a few tents, and a couple-or-three larger rigs.
Jomeokee is perfect for the tents and small rigs. One smaller double-axle trailer did manage to squeeze in and one medium-sized Mercedes-Benz RV, but they either were off the grid or just plugged in at 15 amps for 12v lights. The rest? A pop-up tent-van, a couple of Scamps, and a Coleman tent trailer. One single-axle trailer found a spot but couldn't use the slide-out because there were too many trees.
See what I mean? Jomeokee created spots among the trees for camping but allowed the trees their space; therefore, we're camping in the woods. The miserable alternative is that trees are bulldozed, a chevron-patterned campsite strip laid out, and then trees replanted where and if space allowed. So I'm cozied up with many neighbors after five overnighters while traveling--four in the camper and one in a motel while the camper was getting a new roof because it was bashed by a tree limb during a storm. I had expected a quiet Thursday-through-Saturday rest before hitting the road again, but instead--I've camp-crashed Woodstock!
Everyone shared dishes with a Mex/Tex focus
Although a few folks showed up Thursday, everyone else arrived on Friday, and it was really fun to watch all the folks arrive with their different rigs and vehicles, helping one another set up--the greetings and hugs and assistance with backing the trailers or figuring out tents and tent poles. By dark, everyone had arrived, and I was invited to a potluck taco dinner. It was an expression of the friendly, neighborly composition of the group, and also a kindness. "After all," said one of the organizers, "we've pretty much invaded the campground!" And I'm happy to share this space with these long-time friends who have come together to enjoy one another's company along with some good music. I even met a member of the band!
I've had quite a few folks ask questions about my Rustic Trail Teardrop Campers trailer, a Polar Bear model. Yes, the Green Goddess looks sharp with her new roof and, as one comment put it, "those shiny chrome wheels," (aluminum, actually, but you get the idea--green, silver, and bright white, a shining light at the top of the hill).
This Saturday I spent time cooking a full, late breakfast of home fries and scrambled eggs, followed by a late lunch of kitcherie, an Indian curry with dahl, grain, and vegetables. Then this evening I'll wander over for a snack at my camping neighbors' potluck.
Pilot Mountain and Interstate 52
Today I walked the overpass to Pinnacle, the local hamlet but never really saw any "downtown." Two gas stations, one on each side of the freeway, told me they had no gallons of water (picking up a gallon the "task" of my walk). Each told me, though, "There's a Dollar General just up the road," so I kept walking until I could see the road round and crest a hill before disappearing. Then I realized that their "just up the road" was predicated on the assumption that I was driving a car. I had no immediate need for water, so I turned around and headed back to camp to see what was happening.
Colorful tents and a Scamp in the background. (There were two side by side.)
Mostly, I wanted to check out the different camping arrangements, and there were all kinds. Since almost everyone knew one another, people packed in and shared tables and campfires. It had cooled today with the temperatures actually dropping as the day progressed, so the 60s temps created a more cozy environment.
A well set up Jimmy van, in great shape
Dianne with her Honda van with tent package, celebrating her recent retirement.
A classic tiny trailer with California plates. I couldn't locate the woman owner regarding the make and model, but one neighbor said it was made in 1969.
Darkness fell, and after dinner the concert began, featuring the Willy Douglas Band. After listening to a few songs, though, I just got tired--and nothing to do with the music, believe you me. The group had both male and female singers and played a variety of rock and roll. I had met the keyboard player, Russ, and his girlfriend, both of whom made a point of making me feel included . . . but I was just plain tired. My solution was simple, since I was traveling again tomorrow--go to sleep.
A wonderful night of rock and roll
Then a strange and wondrous thing happened. I slept for about two and a half hours and woke up to music--and not music up the hill but music outside my door. I peeked out and saw a small venue set up across the road, maybe thirty yards away, max. I remembered then being told earlier that after the stage concert at the amphitheater, a smaller concert was happening later right in the campground, and this explained why someone had earlier called my campsite "Ground Zero."
While I had been napping, Cooper Pearce and the Jam Cooperative had set up outside and were playing, happy campers had lit a campfire in my site's ring, and a happening was happening outside my door! I thought it only reasonable to get some good out of my nap, so I got out of bed at 12:30, dressed, and joined the party. The trio playing was highlighted by seventeen-year-old Cooper, who has great "chops" with the guitar and sings with a stand-out, original voice. I was lucky enough to hear a half hour of the group's music, soaking up the "this is happening outside my door!" experience.
After the set ended, I grabbed my camp chair and joined a group set up around my campfire (well, my fire ring--their campfire). It was easy talk about the night and the Jomeokee Gathering, as the group has come to call their get-together which has met at Jomeokee Park for the last four years. I was told that I was going to be put on "the list" and would be invited next year. I said if I came, I'd bring my wife.
Then I noticed a man with a half gallon of some pale amber liquid in a bottle, the bottle in one hand and a beer in the other. I asked him what was in the bottle.
"Fig brandy," he said.
"Did you make it?"
"Yes."
"Did you have to buy fresh figs to make it?"
"No, I've got a fig tree outside my house."
"Well, how long does it take to make fig brandy?"
"It only takes a week or two to make beer or wine," he said. "Of course, it tastes better if you let it age a bit."
He asked me if I wanted some, and I replied that it was a bit late for me. "Late! It's past 12:30. You mean it's a bit early!" I agreed that it was indeed a bit for me, whichever way you looked at it.
The talk moved around the fire, stories about living on a mountain, about cleaning up after other rock concerts, about how one young woman of twenty-six was actually seventeen. "I'll take that!" she said.
Then our gentleman of the two bottles said, "Hey, somebody drank all my moonshine!"
"I think that was you," I said.
"You're one perceptive dude," he said. "You can't get anything past this guy," he added to the gang around the fire.
We all chatted a bit longer. Then at about 2 A.M., the group broke up, heading for bed. My camp-crash of the Jomeokee Gathering was over. What a wonderful happenstance, though! As one woman said to me, "Music has brought us together, and it's been bringing up together since 1980." And the Gathering so warmly gathered me in and made me a part of their weekend. I thank them for that and thank Tom Pace, owner of Jomeokee Park, for developing this rustic park with so much personality and heart.
I leave Pilot Mountain with wonderful memories of my trailer being fixed for free by its builders, Rustic Trail Teardrop Campers, of a great four days of camping, and of the welcoming band of brothers and sisters who included me in their family. I am truly blessed.
It's funny how articles come into being, how I am motivated to write on a particular subject. This post was inspired by the above photograph. I've been holding back this image for about seven months, waiting for the right moment to write an article--waiting for the right angle.
The tow vehicle and RTTC Grizzly camper is a great match-up, and sitting there before the trading post in that dramatic light is really a "picture postcard" moment. Kathy Hancock wrote for her August 2019 Facebook post, stating that their summer tour of the West was going well.
"We stayed in the most 'Enchanted' RV park in Albuquerque (just outside of the city). It originality was a trading post built in 1940, and it thrived during the Route 66 boom. In 1970 it was converted to a campground. It has a pool, nice showers, trees and a laundry and clubhouse furnished with some quality antiques! I would recommend Enchanted Trails, very reasonable rates. We’ve had a great trip from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Washington State, through California and heading home. Fifteen national parks, and we’ve had NO PROBLEMS with our 3 1/2 year old Grizzly. (We’ve also taken it to Maine.)"
I have a RTTC Polar Bear, and even though my wife and I have an Alto R-1723 on order that will better meet our family and business needs, there is a great appeal for me about owning a rig for which the most complex task in the camp set-up is plugging in the 110-volt electricity extension cord. There's a lot to be said for simplicity, and in some ways I'm already missing that, even though I'm also looking forward to a slightly larger and more complex teardrop for next fall.
Kathy Hancock and her husband discovered an RV park that had a retro theme that went along with the Route 66 history. The Enchanted Trails RV Park and Trading Post has 135 sites with all but eight pull-through. They offer full services, including a laundry facility. The park also includes an exhibition of retro cars and travel trailers. The trailers can be rented for a sleepover. If you go to the Vintage Rentals page for the park and click on a trailer image, a great "Ken Burns style" slideshow features the exterior and interior of each trailer.
In addition to the website slideshows are a couple of YouTube videos about the park, one from New Mexico True TV and one from the full-time couple from the Drivin' and Vibin' YouTube channel. In a follow-up blog article, the Bradys from D & V mention that the interstate creates noise for the campsites at the front of the park but is not a problem at the rear.
The Hancocks continued on with their 10,000-mile odyssey after hitting the Enchanted Forest, looping up and west until arriving back home in Tennessee. "Ten thousand miles later we’re home!" Kathy said. "Our Grizzly performed flawlessly! We visited 15 National Parks and 2 NRAs. I posted the first set earlier in this group. Enjoy!"
Mount Rainier National Park
North Cascades
In addition to their camping activities, the Hancocks also volunteer for disaster relief work with a church group.
Although hoping to use their tiny trailer, the Hancocks ended up traveling on the bus.
During this time of staying more at home, it's good to remember the good times we've had, the great places we've traveled, and all our future camping plans. Whether it's prairie, ocean, forest, or desert, let's all hope and plan for enchanting camping destinations in the future!
