Tools and Gear - Camping

Timberleaf Classic All-road Teardrop

In June 2015, Patti and I drove around Iceland in a camper van. After that experience, we started talking about seeing the US and Canada in a similar way, with lots of flexibility and going at ones own pace, setting up camp without having to plan too far in advance.

We really like the camper van model for this, but a couple of issues arose for us. First, a camper van isn’t practical for one’s only vehicle, so now you have two vehicles with all the liabilities that attend them. Second, it’s challenging to plop full-sized hard-sided sea kayaks on the top of a van.

So we started looking about for campers that we could tow behind our Subaru Outback. And that means small. Teardrops seem to fit the bill, but we needed one that I could fit my 6’3” self into, narrowing the field any further. We happened to find Timberleaf Trailers, and reached out, around the start of COVID.

The process was really great. They sent a link to a form to customize all the features we wanted, and the lead time was about 6 months (It’s currently 12-14 months). They helped us get the right hitch setup on our car in preparation.

We drove out to Grand Junction, Colorado in May to pick it up (even though the owner offered to drive it out to us, since he has friends who live in the same town as we do), and stayed the first night in Colorado National Monument before driving back home and camping along the way.

The interior finish is wood, and it is basically just a queen-sized bed (with some storage underneath). There’s a small cabinet at the head, and more full-sized cabinets at the foot of the bed. Ours has a door on either side, and a max-air fan to keep air flowing. It has a propane heater that we’ve never had to use. We got the all-road package, which means that the trailer can go anywhere the Outback can.

The back opens up into a very well thought out galley (with a single exception, that I’ll get to). On a sliding shelf, there’s a Cook Partner two burner stove. This stove is indestructible. On the other side of the galley, a custom built cooler slides out which has the same surface as the main galley work surface. So one of us can be prepping, while the other cooks. Lots of room. Cabinets on the main surface hold all our dishes and utinsels, and a large drawer under the stove holds all our pots and pans.

That’s the one misfeature of the galley arrangement: Once you’ve pulled the stove out, you can’t really get into the drawer, so you sort of have to plan ahead and get everything out you’ll need in advance. Not my strong suit.

It came with an awning and mount on the back door to cover the work area. It’s good for most rainy conditions, though the shape of it really wants to become airborne in really windy conditions). We also put an aftermarket awning from Cascadia Vehicle Tents over the door on the right side.

A deep cycle marine battery powers the fan and the interior and exterior lights. It seems to last about 4 days when running the fan all night, and it is charged by the car when travelling. We decided to forego the solar charging option given we projected most of our adventures would be in the Pacific Northwest.

Gazelle G6 Gazebo Tent

One of the first things we learned about the teardrop trailer is that it is really challenging to change out of wet gear inside the trailer, which is more or less just a bed on wheels. Also, in really foul wether, you’re liable to spend a little too much time inside the camper.

We noticed on one really windy Thanksgiving day trip another gruop of campers set up a giant hexagonal gazebo tent in merely a couple of minutes, in the wind and rain. I was impressed. What they set up was a Gazelle G6. I had to have one.

Aside from 3 poles that frame the door, all of the poles are pre installed in the tent. You take it out of the bag, get oriented, then start pulling handles built into the doors to pop them out. Once all the walls are out, you go inside and push the center of the roof out, and POP—the tent is now rigid. It takes a few more minutes to install the door poles and stake the tent out with the very robust stakes, but after popping up the roof you have a dry spot out of the wind to work.

The ease of setup (and teardown) comes with a price. The tent, poles, stakes and guy lines weigh around 50 lbs. All packed up in its duffel the tent is 6 feet long. We’re able to put it in the back of the Subaru, or, if it’s clean enough, put it inside the camper.

All of the walls have both a screen side and a roll-up waterproof panel. The door screen panel is split in two with a zipper up the middle and a zipper up either side. The outer door panel can be used as an awning propped up with 2 poles and guy lines. Most of the screen panels are sewn in with the exception of a zipper in the panel opposite the door that allows opening a triangle-shaped section to get in and out.

There is no floor, which is preferrable. To prevent water from running under the walls, a 6 inch skirt runs the circumference,

This tent can be set up over a full sized picnic table, though we have a smaller collapsible camping table that we use inside.

Big Agnes Bix Six Camp Chair

You gotta have some place to sit in camp. There are many camp chairs. This one is mine. I am a big guy, and many lightweight camp chairs don’t make me feel secure. This one does, and it packs down to a package about the size of my upper arm.

On a week-long trip to the San Juan islands, we were camped up in the trees, but wanted to spend mornings and evenings on the beach catching the comings and goings of the Sun, with time-appropriate beverages. It was great to be able to pack up our chairs, and carry them back and forth without it being a chore.

Until you get good at it, setting up the frame is a bit of a puzzle, but once you figure out that the various holes in the poles are shaped to accomodate a similar crimp in the pole, it goes much faster. The first time you try to set up this chair, it will take a bit of strength to stretch the seat onto the last pole, but once it’s been sat in, even for one… sitting, it goes much easier, so don’t flip out and send it back right away.