
AMAZING DISCOVERY: The ground is a lot harder when you have arthritis, even if you do have an air mattress. And a small, 4-foot-high tent in which the air mattress takes up 90% of the floor space is not a good place to try to read during a rain storm!


THE PROBLEM: How to continue to camp without 1) needing a winch to get up off the ground, 2) falling off the mattress while trying to sit and read, 3) mounting an armed guard against marauding squirrels, or 4) having the kids and grandkids constantly worrying about whether I would survive all alone out there without a lock between me and whomever/whatever might decide to do me in!

THE SOLUTION: You have probably figured this part of the story out - a TEARDROP, of course!






GERTRUDE COMES HOME: It appears that my trailer was "Made in Indiana", so it seemed fitting that it should come back to Indiana and take up residence in my driveway. (Hence the "Back Home" title to the intro!) The first time I took it out, it "galloped" along behind me. The galloping provided a nickname - "Galloping Gertie" - because I was certain it would cause me to wreck! Seems that it was a tad too tongue heavy and was pulling down on the back of the tow vehicle! Once I got home I adjusted the weight and the hitch and have had no problems since. And the name seemed ALMOST right. Expanded to "Gertrude", it fit the trailer just fine. So "Gertrude" it is.
PROBLEMS SOLVED: Gertrude has taken care of all my camping problems. Most important, from the family's standpoint, are the door locks! I can get out of bed without a major production. There is plenty of space inside, complete with reading lights and comfy bolster pillows, so that I can read without fear of falling off the mattress! And, most importantly, Gertrude is squirrel-proof!





Hope to see you out and about!