Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

angib wrote:Everything depends on what you're used to. Seeing my first and only wild bear in Alberta gave me a shock and I was always a little worried about noises in the woods when skiing trails in Nova Scotia - there not being any bears in Nova Scotia doesn't make snow falling off trees sound any less like a bear, in my experience.


Andrew

Andrew I think you have been misinformed! If you are referring to Nova Scotia Canada (the only one I know of) there are indeed bears in spots throughout the province! I have personally seen them!

Now to the topic... we almost exclusively drycamp! It’s the most relaxing way to camp IMO. We find a spot on “crownâ€

Doing something stupid and living to tell about it is a good thing. My wife and I were out exploring trying to imagine where a railroad was to be built just south of Greensburg, Pa. We were on a back road and we were just on a curve when my wife said "Russ watch out for that deformed dog" Humm! I said, Deb that is a black cub bear not a deformed dog and he is on his rump playing with a blue blow up ball. She didn't want to go with me on that trip but was glad after seeing for the first time a wild black bear. Anyway I stopped and (here is the dumb part) I got out DUMB! YES! to get a picture. I immediately looked to my left which was a hill but open brush and as I was about to look back across the other side while the cub was letting the ball down and walked off my wife said where is the mother. I suppose not far and Yes nothing happened. But I started to think what could have happened. Boy was I dumb.

Anonymous wrote:Have ya ever noticed how an armadillo rustling around in the leaves after dark sounds just like an axe murderer?
G

Yes, and more than once!

We started out Dry Camping in 'Rollo', my recycled Milk Truck. Sleeping Bags; a Love Seat snagged out of a Dumpster; and a Coleman Cookstove. We graduated to an uninsulated 8' x 8' Tuff Shed w/'custom' Murphy Bed on some remote CO Land @ >9,000', Livin' Large on +12 VDC. While using the Portapotty around back perched on a Concrete Block, my Avatar came back a lil shaken in the wee hours. The 'Bear' she was convinced she'd heard was a large Flag several hundred feet above us, on a rock precipice, that another Land Owner left up. In a light breeze, it broadcast a real 'bassy' tone which was hard to ID until the Sun came up.

Alstom Point, Lake Powell, was pure fun last November. Go north out of Big Water UT and 4WD it in. TTs and TDs can make in the first part, sticking to the Escalanate Staircase, which goes on forever to St. George or I-70. I also want to try the area mentioned above, north of the Grand Canyon. Nice recon pix w/elevations of all these areas are linked via 'Panoramio' on 'Google Earth'.

We can't get our new/used TT the ~20 miles back into the Lake Powell point, but we look forward to Dry Camping soon. Some new Golf Cart Batteries and a reserve Water Bladder should do us fine to start our new Camping phase in Geezer comfort.

See a Pro pic here, and my Filter-free snapshot version...

Pro Pic ~ Alstrom Point

Engineer Guy and Avatar

I was at Toweep North Rim of the Garnd Canyon in june 2002. A few years later National Geographic printed a book called " One Hundred Must See Places" or something like that. The cover photo was taken about 100 feet from where I had my tent. That was right on the rim and I have heard that those two sites are now closed. From my tent I could have tossed a rock over the edge and it would not have hit anything for about 2000+ feet. The road was not to bad when I went. No real 4x4 but the ground clearance is nice to have. But as you know a bit of rain makes a world of difference.Last I saw said trailers are not recommended. If yours has the clearance and not to big will probably make it. It is a beautiful camp even if the sites on the rim are gone. But you can still go there and look around, and over.

http://www.angelfire.com/tn3/tree_enterprises/Canyon.html

Randy

I've always referred to them as 'undesignated campsites,' but by whatever name it is the my favorite way to camp, along with primitive campsites. Fortunately there are plenty either variety near me (SE Washington State) and even more in Eastern Oregon.

My attraction to a converted cargo trailer was specifically for that kind of camping, plus the 'Stealth RV' angle when I'm on the road and can't find a good place to camp.

Speaking of, I frequently take trips that have me heading South on US 97 in Oregon. I've always had trouble finding a good place for undesignated camping between Bend and Klamath Falls. I always seem to get tired or it gets too dark around the Gilchrest-Crescent area. Should be easier on my next trip since I can just pull over on a side street, but any suggestions?

An 'RV' campground has no appeal to me. I camp to get away from civilization, not to be more crowded than I am at home. Besides, I'm cheap.

After years of motorcycle camping, often with little more than a hammock and a backpacking stove, and frequently alone, I'm embarrassed to admit I finally succumbed to feelings of being insecure out in the open.

So... The CT conversion is something I think of as a hard sided tent. Can't wait for it to arrive. The Forest River people who make it, added windows and insulation and other amenities for less than it would have cost me to do it myself. It's a 7 X 10 with V-nose and if it seems too big, I may order one more af a Tear Drop size. I already have mixed feelings about getting one big enough to stand up in since sitting room is all I really need.

all of my previous teardrop camping has been dispersed , a lot around stanton michigan. i built my trailer for my dog and i to go squirrel hunting in.

free camping, a good dog,,, and all the squirrel stew and cornbread you can eat? i have seen heaven,,,and i say to ye ,,,it is good!

Great thread! I'm an old Army guy, camping to me is not staying at a KOA. 30 days out would mean 300 to 450 in camp fees from one place to another, that's alot of gas to take you further down the raod. Not that I'm cheap, just frugal....LOL

I'd like to go with a group or another crew, but sometimes it seems that being out by yourself is the most refreshing way to go. As with others I always called it primitive, now I know!

Getting in the hard to get to areas is my primary goal with my trailer, so my build will have to be with that in mind. Thanks for the tips!

Funny, but what's being described in this thread is what I've always heard called "Boondocking." The article linked in Mike's first post was right - dry camping means different things to different people - I'd been told that dry camping meant camping in an improved campground with no hook-ups.

As to where to "dry camp" or "boondock," don't overlook BLM land. Depending on who you listen to, somewhere between 85% and 89% of our state (Nevada) is owned by the federal gov't, and the majority of it is open to public use. The portion owned by the BLM is open to camping, and there are a few regulations (so far away from a road, no more than 14 days at one site - things like that,) but other than that, it's free.

We tend to camp on a friend's private property here on one of our local lakes. We know we'll always get our favorite spot, and anyone approaching our camp is a trespasser. There's another lot out there that does see a little bit of use, but it's so far away that it doesn't matter. All of our camping is boondocking, and we love it that way.

Out here in the desert, about the only wildlife we hear are coyotes and the occasional rabbit running through the brush. Scorpions and snakes don't make a lot of noise...

This is a very good site for Boondocking-dry camping. Most campsites are free or very low cost. Very good friends of mine are full time boondockers. Johnny and Jen made this website to help camoers find that prefect free site. It tells you about sites all around the country.
http://freecampsites.net/

They also did an article about our Cute little TT the CAVERCAMPER.
http://freecampsites.net/blog/

Tells a little bit about what my hubby and I do for fun.

^v^

Thanks for that web sight. I also like the looks of your TT.

I have been in some of the lava tube caves near me here in Southern Idaho. Not to mention a lot of Park Service caves around the western US. Now I am to old, to rotund and stiff to go in most of the local lava tubes, but who knows?



I know I can't go in some that I use to when I was a scrawny runt.

Randy

I designed our trailer for dry/dispersed/boondocking camping, solar, water pump and filters to draw water from lake or stream... Crown Land is available to us across the border and water is easily available (filtered).

When I lived in the eastern US, most remote camping required backpacking-- get on a long trail through a national forest or park, walk for several hours, then set up camp a somewhere nice. Out west there is so much open public land that we can do the automobile equivalent, driving old tracks and remote dirt roads through the mountains or deserts to find remote places to camp undisturbed. The big national forests, all that BLM land-- there is an abundance of open, public land to camp on.

We generally avoid developed campgrounds unless it's late and we're just passing through for the night. Boonies camping is what it's all about!

--Mike C.

Amen to that Mike.

Last summer camped in a place in the north west Utah desert. At night could not see a single light for as far as I could see. And I didn't hear another man made sound ( other than me ) from about 6 pm to sometime the next morning.

Randy

Pack it in and pack it out is the only real back to nature camping there is. About the only thing that has not happened to us in 30 some years is the bear in the tent thing. But we have watched them spend hours trying to get the food stash down out of a tree. Short of that we will do the dispersed camping on BLM land or National Parks. We avoid campgrounds like the plague. It is a lot harder and you will have a lot less to make you comfortable but the rewards and wonders of the wild make up for it.