How to Sleep in a Gateway Teardrops Camper

     One of the fun things about camping is that there is always something new to learn.  You'll always find people with great ideas about how to do this or that - and usually they'll be very happy to share their knowledge and wisdom with you.  

     Here's what I've learned about camping in a teardrop so far:

     Less is more.  Specifically, the less you have inside the camper with you, the more room you'll have for YOU inside the camper.

    When it's time to turn in after a hard day on the trail, I open my duffle bag and pull out my PJ's (sometimes) and the clothes I plan to wear the next day.  These go into the cabin with me and get placed on the open shelf above the lower part of the bed.  I also change out of my hiking boots trading them for some convenient slip-on shoes.  The duffle bag and the hiking boots stay in the vehicle.  Depending on the weather, I may also leave my jacket in the vehicle.  It's a lot easier to take it off outside the cabin right before I go in than inside where things are a bit tighter.

     I try to make sure that I have everything inside the cabin that I will need during the night and when I first awake the next morning.  If I don't need it for those specific times then I leave it in the vehicle.  The vehicle is my staging area;  the camper is for sleeping.

     Once I climb into the cabin, I can easily pull off my slip-on shoes and place them on the shelf.  They'll be handy if I need them and I don't have to worry about some raccoon absconding with them in the middle of the night.  I peel off the clothes from the day and "slip into something more comfortable" and sit back with a good book or check the responses to my latest blogpost.  The next morning is easy:  my clean clothes are on the shelf alongside my shoes and my glasses are right there where I left them the night before.

     Here's another tip:  Pullovers.  Buttons and zippers are great but pulling a sweatshirt or t-shirt off in a teardrop is a lot easier and it doesn't really require that much planning.

     Clearly, I think the open shelf in the Gateway Teardrops interior design is awesome.  Cabinet doors look great and provide cabinetmakers with fine jobs but when it comes to getting the most out of your teardrop interior, we think the open shelf is a lot more useful.  Everything you have inside a teardrop with you is there temporarily.  Something you plan to wear two days from now or that you wore two days ago is just in the way.  It's all about NOW and shelves work great.... right NOW.

      Maybe some of these tips will help you on your next teardrop camping trip.  If you've got a favorite teardrop camping tip, send it to us.  We might include it in a future blogpost and make you famous in the process!

Happy Camping!

James

www.GatewayTeardrops.com