Recently my wife and I decided to take a road trip to the Redwoods with the added bonus of camping in the teardrop trailer we had just recently built. We were undeterred despite the fact that our trip fell at the end of the wettest March since Noah. We kept telling ourselves it was just "scattered showers". Certainly we would have plenty of time to hike and gaze up at the world's tallest trees. We learned the hard way that Doppler radar doesn't lie.
A teardrop trailer is very small. Our TD is 4' high 9.5' long and 5' wide. Inside is a queen size bed and cupboards for our clothes. The rear of the trailer contains a full galley. Think Apollo space craft meets old west chuck wagon. I use the Apollo analogy because I did the math and our TD is just slightly smaller than an Apollo capsule. Remember the movie Apollo 13? We were about to discover that their trip was more enjoyable than ours.
Except for the few minutes it took us to set-up camp it rained non-stop. It averaged over 2 inches per day. And this was not a dry rain. An important part of our construction process was ensuring everything was watertight. I am happy to say that everything held as designed. But if you leave the roof vent open you defeat the purpose of spending lots of money on silicone sealant.
Remember that the Redwoods are the world's tallest trees. That means to truly enjoy them we needed to turn our gaze skyward - into the deluge. On our next trip we hope to see the top 250 feet of these beautiful trees.
We did our best to remain outdoors and keep out of the rain. But when 3 inches of water accumulated under our awning we were forced indoors. At that point I began to appreciate the Apollo 13 Rec Room — the lunar module. Ever tried playing the dice game Yahtzee on a bed and blanket? The dice didn't roll well, yet my wife managed a record number of Yahtzee's. I have suspicions.
Ironically the highlight of our trip involved more water. The campground had coin operated showers. Since there were no other people crazy enough to be camping, we had unlimited hot water. My wife still talks about her wonderful 50 cent shower. I spent 75 cents (she doesn't know).
—Mike Loftin · PLA Supporter · Volunteer