Camp rehearsal

[beverlyt]

We're finally going camping tonight... in our own backyard.

It's suppose to rain most of the weekend so we decided to at least give the teardrop a try tonight. We'll also be able to see how well the dogs take to sleeping in the teardrop.
I've taken some pictures. We've set up our pop-up screen tent. Would fit about 4 chairs easily inside. The knats right now are terrible and we couldn't live without a screen tent in Michigan most anytime of the year.
The camo tent is the port-john/dressing tent. What I like about it is the very dark lining inside that makes it very private. Zip down windows open a inch give some light.
Will tell the outcome tomorrow.... it's going to be 42 degrees tonight...we'll see how that goes too!
See pics of backyard campout at
http://www.freewebs.com/kc8jwa/camping.htm
Bev

[mikeschn]

Looks like fun! Tell us your results tomorrow, especially how you handled the cold temps!

Mike...

[beverlyt]

Well, we survived our first night in our 4'x8' teardrop. Temps did dip down to the low 40's, but with just two fleece blankets, we stayed warm under the covers. (That's with the windows and vent cracked)
Insulating the trailer was well worth it... we had NO condensation and the sound quality is good...doesn't feel like you're talking to each other inside a box.
A couple of points:
The 45" wide, 4" thick mattress from Knox Foam was VERY comfortable. As for the width of the trailer, we found it to be comfortable.... IF not for HANK! Our mattress is just wide enough for us....our rat terrier is going to have to figure out other sleeping arrangements!
In my opinion, if you have any thoughts of bringing a pet along, you may want to rethink a 4' wide trailer. Or train your dog to sleep at your feet. Hank wants to sleep with his head practically on my pillow. (at least his breath isn't a problem)
The only other problem I found was the shelves over our heads. It would be VERY easy to bonk your head on them if not careful. No jumping in to the trailer at a running sprint.... not a good idea either to suddenly be awaken in the night and forget you have a shelf over head. One has to really keep in the back of your mind a bit that the shelf is there. I think we would still have put one there though for storage purposes, which are in short supply within the trailer.
Bev

[mikeschn]

Hey Bev,

That's a good report of your camping trial. I would have probably left off the above head storage, and tried to find some other place to store those items, like maybe a tongue chest.

As for the temps, how cool would you guess the inside of the teardrop was above your blankets? Would you figure somewhere in the 60's, or lower?

We dry tested our teardrop last night too. But we tested using a ceramic heater at the door handle height. Sleeping was very comfortable, a fairly constant 68*. But when we got up and put our feet down on the floor, it was very cool down there. Probably in the low 60's. But the cold did not penetrate the mattress to trouble us. I wonder if an oil filled electric baseboard heater would be a better bet for campground use? At least we could keep that at floor level.

As for your rat terrier, sounds like you'll either have to train him to sleep at your feet, or build him a bunk bed above your feet. Maybe a dog hammock? :king:

Mike...

[Ross Wade]

Hi Beverly,

I'm glad your first night went well. We have two small dogs that sleep with us. This has always been one of my concerns when we sleep in our tear. We will put ours to the test in a few weeks. We do not have our matteress yet, but we're looking at getting it through Knox Foam. Do you have the Grade A Firm foam? That is the one we are thinking of.

Ross

[mikeschn]

We have the grade A medium from Knox Foam, and it's plenty firm for us. I would not want to go any firmer.

BTW, we got their new fabric covering, and it's way nicer than the cotton ones we had the first time!

Mike...

[beverlyt]

We went with the Grade B foam and it feels more firm than my regular bed. I don't think it comes in "Firm".
We also bought the cover that Mike mentioned, the "stretch knit and waterproof". The cover is very nice.
As for the temperature inside the trailer while camping...I'd say it stayed pretty cold. It certainly wasn't in the 60's...but comfortable enough to stick my toes out.
Bev