Does the notion of camping in tiny teardrop trailer during the height of hot-humid summer evoke images of meat slow-cooking in a tin crock pot? It didn’t have much appeal to me, but I’d bought tickets to a late-July music festival so strategized how to stay cool… or if not “cool” at least avoid feeling sweltering hot. Here’s how things went.

Getting More Value from my Teardrop Camper

My first two years with the Teardrop, I pretty much just parked it in July and August. Favouring the shoulder seasons that retired life allows me, road touring and camp spots are less-crowded, and the temperatures more moderate in May-June and September.

But, seeing as Canadian winter is sooo long, and the temperate camping season relatively short, last summer I explored getting in more Teardrop time by venturing out a bit over summer. I did a “long way round” trip to Manitoulin Island (i.e. driving around Georgian Bay rather than taking the ferry from Tobermory which is not far from home base). And I also tried out camping at a local music festival, which was pretty successful and enjoyable outing overall (see related blog post).

Another summer, Another music fest

So this spring I poked around looking for a music festival that had camping but also allowed dogs. Luna is after all my Teardrop road trip companion—I’ve never travelled without her since getting the trailer. Though I suspect that in her dog brain she conceptualizes our rounded little camper as a rolling den that she graciously shares with me. (See also, blog post: Teardropping with your Dog)

I came across River & Sky, a long-running festival held northwest of North Bay which bills itself as a celebration of music, camping and northern lifestyle. And not only allows but encourages canine attendees. Sounded right up our alley (and it was great, more on that at the end). But, ugh, late July during a summer that already had featured almost routine heat warnings, what to do.

Location-Location-Location

Having attended a couple camping music festivals now, I can’t emphasize enough how helpful it is to arrive sooner than later. A festival is gonna be high-density camping, that’s just a given… a challenge for hermity introverts like me… but the earlier you get in the better pick of spots to set-up. And if you’re lucky perhaps something on the perimeter where you’ll have some sort of shrubbery or vegetation on a least one side rather than feeling surrounded like a fishbowl.

But as you pull-in and survey the lay of the land to seek your spot it is useful to do so with good directional awareness and consider where the sun will be at different points of the day. Ideal is to find somewhere that offers at least some shade, even if only partial, either morning or evening depending on your preference. But at the same time, enough direct sun hitting your solar panel to get a decent charge of your system batteries. This is where having a portable solar panel, especially with long cables, offers versatility.

Lastly, as you’re looking up at the sky and sun, also look down and assess the ground to ensure that should there be a heavy downpour of rain you’re not in a low point or shallow gulley that will turn into a small pond or stream.

Outdoors: Shade Shelter

Some sort of shelter, external to the teardrop camper, is a must in summer, especially at a festival with mass camping. It gives you a little more personal space (especially if large trailers or motorhomes flank you), and if it’s a screen shelter it offers respite from the bugs (northern Ontario in July, yep). And most importantly it shades you from the sun, which really is vitally important whilst summer camping. You will fry without some type of shade shelter.

Third year with it and I’m still really loving my Gazelle screen shelter. It sets-up or takes-down in a just couple minutes single-handedly. And it has panels which easily cover 1-3 sides to keep out rain and add privacy. I’ll tell you a secret, teardrop-trailer-blogosphere, just between you and me heh: In conjunction with the rain panels, I hang a fabric divider inside to get enough privacy that I can discretely use my camp toilet! Those porta-potties that dot festival campgrounds seem okay on day one, tolerable on day two, but inevitably start getting a bit ripe and grotty after that. I’d rather sit on my own private bog thank you.

Indoors: Fans!

When I ordered my trailer, I chose an option for a hard-wired 12-volt fan mounted on the ceiling. It looks lovely all nice and chrome, it is certainly sturdy, and it moves a fair bit of air. BUT it doesn’t have much range of direction adjustment, and good heavens is it ever LOUD. This is the kind of fan that gets mounted beside a school bus driver or on a trucker’s dashboard.

And when do we need a fan most when teardrop camping? Right, when we’re trying to get in an afternoon nap, or to comfortably sleep on a warm evening. To the rescue, a few weeks ahead I found an awesome USB-powered fan which is compact, portable, with versatile positions, and moves a surprising amount of air for its size. In fact, though it has 3 speeds I mainly just used it on the lowest.

My favoured positioning was near the window aimed at my head, but sometimes I had it on the cross-cabin shelf cooling my whole body.

This little fan was a serious game-changer,making teardropping in hot conditions a lot less of a concern. And, though I haven’t done any of the calculations you might come to expect (or dread haha) if you’ve read my posts on the teardrop electrical system, I am pretty certain it is using a lot less power than the hard-wired 12-volt fan—which surely has a larger motor yet is nowhere near as useful. And as a bonus, it has lots of applications outside the teardrop too, especially when coupled with a USB powerpack.

River & Sky Festival

So far, I’ve only been to two music festivals with my teardrop camper but I’ve attended many over the years. This was my first River & Sky and it surely ranks among my all-time faves. The eclectic mix of music was fun, after-dark lights and fires were magical, wondrous, but what really stood out was the feel-good vibe. The event is not corporatized like some festivals have become. As one camper, himself having attended over 10 times, said to me: there’s not a whole lot of rules here, other than just don’t be an ass hole.

I don’t know that I have ever felt quite so immersed in such a diverse range of people all feeling comfortable, accepted and safe to be who they are, how they are, and everyone just basically being kind and friendly regardless of age, orientation, or any of all the countless attributes which make us each unique human beings.

Gazing up at the dusk clouds one evening, I mused what if there could be a “River & Sky” country in this messed-up world we live in. A delightful chill oasis of mutual acceptance and respect. I left with great memories, recharged with good energies, and warmed by the people I met.