Green Goddess Glamping: Camping After Winterizing Your Rig

First of all, there are a lot of tiny trailers that don't require any winterizing because the trailers don't have water systems--not water lines to blow out or needing the pink RV anti-freeze. Many trailers do need protection for the water systems, though, and when those rigs are winterized--guess what? Then you have a larger version of many tiny trailers, a "hard-sided tent" with, hopefully, a heating system.

Early camping with the Green Goddess

Front shelf space, electric "one at a time" appliances

Our first travel trailer, the Green Goddess, an RTTC Polar Bear, was a standy version of a hard-sided tent. There was no water system in the trailer, therefore, no winterizing was necessary. The trailer did have a 110V electrical hook-up with 12v lights, and because of the 110 capacity, we brought a portable oil heater when we camped during the fall. (With no battery, there was no electrical winterization neede.) It worked well, even though we had to "juggle" electricity by turning off the heater before turning on the induction cooktop burner or Instant Pot. The rule was one electrical activity at a time. We also had a portable toilet system that we could use if we didn't want to hike to the campground's pit-vault toilets, awkward in a tiny, one-room space. It was really an emergency system. Later we bought a little tent to use outside for the toilet. Almost all of our cooking was outside, using either our old Coleman propane stove or an induction burner.

Selling the Green Goddess and entering the Airstream travel trailer world, even though we bought Airstream's smallest trailers, first a sixteen-foot Basecamp and then this year a sixteen-foot Bambi, was certainly a step up in convenience and luxury. However, once the rigs are winterized, the similarity between our original "hard-sided tent" camper and the fully equipped Airstreams narrow considerably. We lose the shower/toilet and sink; however, we keep the heater, the cook stove, and the tiny room that houses the shower/toilet. Right now I'm camping in my winterized Bambi, so let me share a few photos to illustrate what it's like to camp in cold weather in a winterized little trailer.

Bambi cooking area

Here is our cooking area. We always bring our own drinking water, and the cook stove and refrigerator are not impacted by the winterizing process. I've been using the Instant Pot quite a lot this trip. I combine my ingredients for a one-pot stew at the counter, cook in the camper, but take the pot outside to release the steam to keep condensation to a minimum. Often I'll wipe utensils with a paper towel before going outside to wash dishes. Sometimes I set up our aluminum table outside, but it's been windy the last couple of days. I like cooking on the stove, but have been lazy this trip. Having prepped most of my ingredients at home, making my "eternal stew" in the Instant Pot is so easy and "stick-to-the-ribs" flavorful in the colder weather that I just go with what's easy. What's for lunch? Stew!

Toilet materials: bags, cedar chips, kitty litter, and gel

We're lucky to have the small bathroom (or "shoilet") in our Bambi. After winterizing, we've converted it to the dry, "bag system" for our toilet, although we also use the campground's pit-vault toilet as much as possible, a not-so-terrible option now that it's cold enough that the insects and smells are gone. The bag system in our camper works well, even if it is definitely more primitive than the water toilet. However, it is nice to have the option in the middle of the night or whenever we don't feel like taking a hundred-yard hike in the early morning when the temperature is maybe a couple of degrees above freezing. Trying to be as environmentally- and health-conscious as possible, we use compostable bags and decomposable materials.

Diswashing set-up, water bucket hidden on bench opposite

Finally, we use campground water for all our needs except for drinking water. We have a small plastic tub for heated water to use for sponge baths, and we also fill a bucket of water to use for dishwashing at the campground table outside. Sometimes I use our induction burner on a table outside to heat water for dishwashing if there are a lot of dishes and pots and pans. Since we are camping locally, we usually just head home for a shower, drinking water refill, and clothing change when we need to.

The heater in the Bambi is a propane heater which works well. It is an adjustment from our Basecamp, which had a Truma heating system that allowed for either propane or electric heating. We almost always used the electrical option to save propane consumption. With our Bambi, my wife and I have gone back to our Green Goddess heating system and brought in a portable electric heater. We do, however, sometimes turn on the propane heater in the morning to warm up the camper before getting out of bed. With the electric heater, not only do we save propane, but the system is quieter and provides a steadier heat. In the photo above are two electric heaters, a radiant heater and an oil heater. We especially bought the small oil heater for its compactness and steady, quiet heat, but the 700-watt radiator heater just didn't produce enough heat when it got colder unless we cranked it up on high all the time. We brought a Walmart Pelonis quartz radiant heater from home, which heats more efficiently. We are still careful when using several appliances to not over-burden the electrical system, even though the Airstream is wired for 30 amps. We also turn off and unplug the heater whenever we leave the camper for a walk or an errand.

Camping in the winter means paying attention to moisture in the air inside the camper. Our bodies exude moisture naturally, a propane stove can create moisture in the air, and certainly our electric hot water pot produces moisture. Luckily, even though our Bambi is little, it's not as tiny as some, which reduces condensation problems a bit. I researched and wrote an article about condensation in tiny campers a few years back, so I'll just link to that article for anyone with further questions. Link: "Minimizing Condensation in a Teardrop or Tiny Trailer."

All in all, the best aspect of camping in cold weather with a winterized trailer is that a warm, dry, cozy environment is available for shelter when there is too much wind, temperatures drop too much, or it rains or snows. Excessive cold can be draining, even dangerous, and having a safe environment to shelter from inclement weather is a definite plus. Often I'll go out for an hour or two hike and then return to my trailer. I built a fire this morning and read for a while outside beside the fire, drinking my tea. I washed dishes outside this morning with cold water--a couple of spoons and a mug. Right now, though, I'm inside our Bambi, typing this article. Across the dinette table is my wife, getting ready for a conference call for her consulting business. Our Starlink connection works well even here at Lake Darling State Park, which is pretty much a black hole of internet connectivity. I believe there is one other camper in the park, up the hill and hidden. "Shoulder season" camping is great--no bugs or humidity, few campers, and great fall colors. Camping after winterization is an adjustment and sometimes a little funky, but I'm looking out my window right now at the lake and the autumn leaves, my wife and I sharing our little camper home-away-from-home, and honestly, I'm just as happy as a bug in a rug.