Solo Woman TRANSFORMS Camper Into Cozy Retreat!

one of the problems you may encounter is that a small camper trailer might not have enough space for you or your family well wait until you see how much space Lynn creates within such a small footprint you're going to see how her creativity and Ingenuity transforms a basic affordable small camper into her perfect little home on Wheels hi my name is Lynn Berry and I had just the most utmost pleasure of meeting Drew from playing with sticks and I'm very happy because I get to Showcase Camp ins Road toad which is their newer model they've been around 20 some years and I'm a retired single woman in my 60s and I want to really start traveling big time almost to the point where I would like to live full-time in this camper is my dream so I needed something lightweight um because I have a Kia Soul I love that car I like the gas mileage and I wanted then something that I could tow within its capacity and also a big part of it was that I could park and also just wheel it around on that third wheel in the front big time that was helpful for me the other part that intrigued me so much about this was first the cost it was very low cost and that was important for sure for my needs and then also that it was composite when I learned that this was all aluminum and composite I quickly realized wow so no rotting no rust no breakdown so for me not wanting to do worry about all that maintenance for something that was the ticket that that filled it it weighed only 400 pounds dry weight this model because this is the open tote model they have two one is the Abode this one's the tote I said yep that's the one for me when I backed in the other day my wonderful camping neighbor said hey I can help you uh just roll that in and I said thanks but I'll show you how easy this is I love to design and do things I I was a bed and breakfast owner and actually loved always decorating my rooms and you know the kitchen and all the functionality of it so that filled my passion too to have a blank canvas that I could make it my own I can have a lightweight trailer and load it up actually with many pounds of gear equipment even I want to travel with my sewing machine I would like to bring my bicycle maybe even the massage chair because I do that and I play keyboard it just allowed then a lot more room for the extra gear because that'll add up quickly everything you see on the sidewalk in this photo fits into Lynn's trailer all at one time this particular one came with options that I could order the Shelf as an add-on because I didn't get the built-in Abode model and I'm so glad I did this personally it is removable it just Clips in both sides so if I still wanted to take everything out of here it even comes with six tie-down spots in the floor for cargo for strapping down cargo and I like that I love a lot of Versatility and multi uses for things that I have can you explain that Abode versus this like what would the what would that be what's in there yeah the Abode has a built-in wall that would be right about in here because it uses that same shelf size I'm pretty sure so it would come down to here and then cut in of course for foot room down below and give you about 12 inches of space below the Shelf but it would all be built in like that like a tip more typical teardrop design and then on the inside they would have some modular shelves cabinets so to speak I decided to just go with that more open feel and not closed in that I could also camp in areas and be if I felt safe enough to leave this open so stay right in my bed or sit up in my bed and work and look right out the window at the view and the openness that meant a lot to me and I am enjoying that this summer as I've been camping and it also was plenty of room for me to put on my own module storage shelves in there so it's all just working so beautifully just very passionate about my little baby I'm so grateful too that Craig and Carrie of camp in were the ones that were making this and even though yes it's a very inexpensive entry level trailer they have had the integrity and standard set for years with their other camp in models right right here right oh yes indeed and then that one over there the raindrop this one is their teardrop and 560 550 model so that that speaks volumes for me again adding to that confidence that I'm a single woman I'm not a mechanic and I don't want to worry about those things I Just Want to Have Fun living in it I decided to add the options of a full deluxe package electrical package so it does have the outlet coming in you don't have to slam it in the door or the gourd and a nice heavy duty battery in there you know it was just kind of fun the way to modulating this out for my needs right now this tote is just turned on its side with actually a shoebox wrap or a shoe rack put in there all lightweight which is good and it's also tilted back automatically so things stay put where they're meant to my water container here it's very handy and It just fits everything just fits within the door coming closed and then when I kind of walk around I wanted to be able to create a living space within this 10 by 10 footprint it's actually very easy for me to set up this 10 by 10 and when I use the stakes in the posts and the guy lines I'm pretty confident with even mild to Fair Winds that it's stable I have used it that way this was a thrift store buy which I love the thrift store and repurpose things it's a towel warmer I originally wanted it to be the framework for a shelf table that would come all the way out and use these for the support that I needed to keep it stable across the fender but since then I thought well I don't know I kind of like this setup instead because I have a table a desk here a very versatile desk that changes positions and Slants and and that which I can also use then in the night time or on a rainy day inside the trailer which I'll show you but show you how I can sit straight up on my cot and it works great as a single person take advantage of that and and I do it this under here is my keyboard stand music keep you know piano keyboard stand that I threw in just this week for this outing and thought I'm going to try this out to hold this piece of wood next to the fender so that then my cooler is secure here it's very stable and I can use this too for my hot plate cooking outside of the galley area which I do prefer you know I don't when I want to travel in Bear Country I would prefer not to create any splatters and smells of food in the galley especially because it's all open uh I did add some vinyl pieces you know you can got them at Home Depot or Menards just these simple things to protect the top surface because that surface was like this and I also had them raise the position of it four inches typically it's going to be 15 inches from this floor 15 inches high but because I decided to go with the cot that raised my feet and I said hey could you uh put that at like 19 inches just even four more inches Will Make It or Break It for my ability for the feet to lay on my back and stretch fully out to the 78 inch cot with my toes up and have that room and he said no problem certainly again very customizable the cranking carrier just the most beautiful people to work with if you look below the countertop Lynn has added pegboard and some board where she made little cutouts and she's putting bug netting behind it this way bugs can't get in but the air can go through I like to prefer to either use butane I don't need for me I realize I don't need the heavier two burner Coleman but I do have it if I was visiting family and we were going to be having some bigger cookouts I would bring that just trade them out but I also when I have electric realize oh this is very lightweight I've had this in my storage I love using that because I'm not having to use butane then either or propane this trip I even brought my instant pot for now when I travel I do have to take this apart but I lay these down flat that one inside comes out here too next to that this comes in the middle and it creates a nice tight secure fit across and I just repack things in it upright this way so they're all secure they're not going anywhere and it secures it all within this lip because it has the lip on it it's a very nice feature for not having things be falling off and when I'm traveling you and I talked about if we if you ever did get into a system after three years and you know exactly what you want you could bolt this down you could secure everything in place but the beauty of it now is it can move weekly and change with your needs and as you evolve as a camper this back end evolves with you unlike being forced into a design that somebody else created yes yeah you have to do it and live in it to see hmm that works but I'm going to change this you know and you get to do that then I like also to have some privacy I'm still modest and I've experimented with a couple different tents but I did the same thing to both of them I ordered whatever I could get that was off the frame not a you know pop-up modular with a frame in it because I wanted to sew a sleeve onto the hole that I would put into the side that would accommodate then a casing and a paracord tied tight at the bottom securely tight around the door I live in mosquito country and I don't want you know bugs and everything getting in there flies certainly whether it rained last night good and nothing came in and it's large enough to sit in if honestly if I was in an area where I knew the weather was going to be real bad especially windy I would not set up the 10 by 10. but if I could just pop this up which is a 4x4 it came with the walls I'd be good you know that's protective enough and even cook from the inside because I can access my galley from the inside too which is another feature of the open tote style so then here I do have my my potty system right now that works for me dry shoes something to you know a table to set some things on Lantern then again I can open the door and it's all very secure around there I left enough room just so that if I had to have it a little away from the trailer or turn this way or that because of the ground level it would accommodate that some and because this open model does not have the the Cabinetry the storage you know built-in shelves up there I knew well that's great for me because I didn't want that closed in feeling myself but it also gave me the ability to just put two simple you know modular plastic units right here which I really like they're easy to access they're secure inside the drawers um then because I just mentioned how many mosquitoes are in the area that I live in Wisconsin I thought okay I need to since I want this open I'm just going to create a little netting which is just mesquite just tool netting from the fabric store and I created a casing on it and put it right on a suspension Rod lightweight nothing biggy about it but it did the trick I've had it in so many situations already with the lights on that attract a bunch of bugs right to this area they do not get through here so then I can sit up on the bed I chose with to go with a a cot that was just eight inches off the ground and that just happened to be in Ozark Trails model because I didn't want it so high that I couldn't sit on the edge of the bed I wanted to find something for that so I do have a wedge pillow that I carry in the car that I bring in if I really want to sit like this for a while so I can actually sit back against the wedge pillow support my lumbars behind have my legs you know pretty good position and if I want I bring that little desk in from outside that's adjustable all the way down to here with a slant if I want and I've worked with my laptop I've read things written things very comfortably and still as you can see I could sit straight up and not hit my head there's still I've got a cap on but there's still an inch there where I'm not rubbing my head at all and yet sitting straight up and with your eight inches of cot is there a little storage under there there yeah so that was it too I thought okay I need more storage places so that definitely adds a nice area between each support leg for plenty of storage well I'm going to plug some of the things you're doing here so this is something I talk about I think one of the greatest things you can do with a teardrop is after you purchase it buy a mattress that's smaller than the floor space of that teardrop because what you've done here is you now have what I call the mud room you have a place to take off shoes and store them you have an area to make an end table if so a lot of people even if you just went a little smaller just a foot smaller than the room you now can set your water down your iPhone to charge have a little place to move but if your entire teardrop like most of ours is a bed you know if you have a dog coming in or if you're just coming in on a muddy wet hike day it's really hard to keep that area clean and now you have essentially a home you've made by doing this right yeah for me personally if I saw these mattresses that go right to the door I just kept thinking I wouldn't I wouldn't want that I I would like that space and that's what we see with the hiker owners and The Runaway owners now the road tote owners they're looking for a trailer that can be modified to meet their needs so many of us with our teardrop trailers because it has its own drawers and cabinets we have to buy items that specifically fit into the that trailer but what I'm seeing you doing you're buying an item that you like and then you're making the trailer fit around it right exactly yeah interestingly when I asked Craig co-owner of camp in I said so before I try to figure out how to design a curtain that would cover these windows on this sort of an upside down slant um he said well first of all you can do quite a bit because this carpet that they do use in every road toad you get your choice of gray or tan certainly helps with the condensation big time it's the ticket but it also is like one giant Velcro the um you know fuzzy end whatever you would call it so I thought oh okay great then so I just created this indoor outdoor fabric kind of stylish you know design knowing oh I'll just put velcro tabs along this end in a and then a casing in it to hold a very lightweight Cafe Rod so it's stiff and at night time then I just pull it down so it just pulls right off the velcro I go like this and stick it on down here and you can do that you can add pouches up there to hold your headlamp and you can accessorize this out with all that space yep you talked about the condensation so that leads me to the non-insulating quality of this trailer is there an insulated version do you know not of this one of the road toad no this is it yep and so we're looking at kind of three season camping are you going to try to go for I am but I would go south I'm not like you being in Alaska like no I'm not that tough yet um but I would go south and Tool around the southern states I'd love to see them anyway you know and hang down there during the winter time and create a um I still have to work so but I'm I'm still confident that I will Cobble it together I will figure out a way so yes the night before last it was I think it was 39 degrees and that was the coldest night I've been in it I think before that it got down to 52 so that's quite different but I was cold that first night and I had a little ceramic heater there but it doesn't it's not on a thermostat it's either on or off and I did use that to take the chill off but then I realized ooh it didn't take long a few hours where oh I think it's as cold in here as it is outside and I didn't have enough blankets to add so I was a little bit chilly that night that's when in in my case again the cute story about the towel warmer came in and Jen next door suggested why don't you just bring in your towel warmer tonight which was last night and see how that works and sure enough I did plugged it in back there right through the opening again nice to access the power package right through and plugged it in just set it right up here and it just added just enough radiant heat to make it perfect not too warm not too cold however this morning then because of the temperature difference I do know that the carpet is beautiful because it's picking up a lot of moisture but there was right you know what certainly on this side where I sleep this metal part of the door was damp it was you know wet you could see that that was wet of course I'm laying right here so I'm breathing right into this area the walls though I touched the walls and they were fine so oh that's not bad so that's pretty normal even an insulated Teardrop trailer you're going to get condensation there that's the spot so it seems like it I mean you're getting some pretty cold temperatures and it's doing pretty well check out this video on the left for a detailed tour of the road tote Abode this will give you a much more in-depth look at how this trailer was built and designed and if you're interested in other trailers that can be customized like this road toad check out this video on the right which features the affordable hiker trailer as usual stay safe on the road and we will see you in the next episode

Channel: Playing with Sticks

Views: 132,867

Keywords: camper, van life, small camper trailer, teardrop trailer, camper remodel, trailer remodel, tiny house, camper van, tiny home, small camper remodel, living fulltime in travel trailer, travel trailer, full time rv living, camping, camp, road toad, camp-inn, best teardrop trailer, budget trailer, budget camper, small camper living, small camper, camper tour, off grid, bob wells, tiny house tour, solo female travel, solo female van life, tiny homes on wheels

Id: FZEy_PbIp4A

Length: 19min 51sec (1191 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 27 2023