The "Dew Drop Inn" Chronicles

Susan and I are heading east next week to visit family in Toronto and to pick up our 550 Ultra "Dewey" in Necedah on or around the 19th of November. I'll post as we go so those of you who are interested can keep track of our whereabouts as we journey to bring "Dewey" home.

But first the back story

Susan and I have enjoyed off season camping for years, cooler temps and fewer crowds are reasons for this. But it can get downright cold at night and also after a day of cool weather hiking it would be nice to have a warm space to retreat to. Tough in a tent. We have returned home after many outings either sick, worn out or both. It would be nice to have a warm space indeed, but how. We just couldn't bring ourselves to the point of acquiring a conventional RV. They are too big and yes ugly, where do you store it and they are cruel to mother nature, they're carbon footprint is huge. We didn't want to be trapped inside either, cook inside, eat inside, sit inside, we could have stayed home for that. And did I mention that conventional RVs are ugly with a capitol UG!

So we gave up on camping for a good ten years. In that time we bought a very traditional sailboat, very beautiful that we love dearly and live aboard full time. We have sailed her in California waters, we have also had her on the east coast and have cruised her from Nantucket to Georgetown in the Exuma island chain in the Bahamas. We now keep her "Talelayo" in the Pacific Northwest on Sequim Bay. We lived aboard her last winter at Point Hudson Harbor in Port Townsend. That winter dragged on pretty good. We decided to get a four season tent and escape to Southern California for a short time just to break up the winter. So we got the tent but for whatever reason we never made it to California.

Come spring and I mean early spring, as in the last week of March, along came a beautiful north Pacific high that parked itself on the coast of Washington. Full sun for almost a week was forecast. Great! This was our chance to check out the new tent. So we packed all our gear into our Mini Cooper wagon and off we went to Kalaloch campground right on the ocean. The weather was glorious the whole time we were there... during the day, but at night it got down to freezing. Even though we had our four season tent, sub zero sleeping bags and thick foam self inflating mattresses the nights were long cold and miserable. In the morning we were stiff as boards and could hardly lift our sorry middle aged butts off the ground. After 3 nights of that we were ready to sell the new tent.

When we got back home we again started to talk about RVs. We checked out several units at the local RV lots but could not imagine ourselves being happy with the ones we toured. We even went to the Airstream dealer on the far side of Seattle because everyone knows that Airstreams are not ugly, right, I mean everyone knows that those silver streaks have the wow effect factored in, right. Well... maybe not. The smallest trailer they make is the 16 foot Bambi. Adorable right, but you still have to have a sizeable vehicle to tow it. Our Mini could not tow it. So here we go, buy the Airstream and a truck to tow it and sell the Mini, nope, can't do that, we ain't gonna sell the Mini, we love that car.

OK, so that's a good point of research, how much can a Mini haul. From the web I found that the Mini can tow 1400 pounds with a tongue weight of 200 pounds. A quick search excluded the T@b, MPG etc,etc.

But wait, somewhere in the fog of a long ago memory, I could recall a strange recollection of something we had seen in a campground, I remember someone said that what we were looking at was a teardrop travel trailer. I mean this must have been twenty years ago and we haven't seen one since. I do remember that it was way cool, it was tiny, I mean really tiny. It had room for a double bed forward and a kitchen under the rear hatch, that's it. The use of space was pure genius. I wondered if our Mini could tow one of these teardrops.

I searched the web and immediately discovered the renaissance that these small trailers were experiencing and just as quickly I discovered the CampInn web site. Impressive teardrop, their apparent quality just oozed from their site, the birch wood cabinets, the stainless steel galley counter tops. What a great start I thought, I wonder what else was out there, but my search never got any better than that first encounter with the CampInn site. I did find teardrop trailers that had more exotic woods, but did not seem as functional as CampInns. I found bigger trailers but they didn't utilize space as well as the CampInns. Some trailers were lighter but were not big enough to accommodate 2 tall adults like Susan and I.

We were on our way to Toronto from Port Townsend WA last spring and Necedah was right on the way. So we stopped in. Cary met us at the door. Cary was a most gracious host, he showed us the fruit of his labors , the 560 Raindrop trailer and the 550 Teardrop trailer that were on the showroom floor, with obvious and understandable pride on his part.

Susan and I poked and prodded, we lay on the bed to see if we fit (did I mention that I stand 6'5" tall or short depending on your perspective)
We ran our hands over the smooth wood, we checked out the function and efficiency of the galley, the fit of the doors, I got down on my hands and knees to peer under, I looked and yes marveled at the finish INSIDE! the cabinets.

The overall impression I got was that the CampInn was a well thought out trailer, it was made to function right out the door, it could be enjoyed from the day it was made with very little tweaking from us, that appealed to me greatly.

Cary took us into the factory proper, we saw the CNC machine cutting out perfect fitting trailer parts. He showed us the varnish rotisserie whereby each corner of the trailer can be coated and sealed. We continued on and saw row after row of trailers being slowly and carefully crafted. Standing back observing the process reminded me of pictures I'd seen of the factory floors where fine sports cars like Morgans and Ferraris were born. But of course these CampInn beauties were within reach of mere mortals like ourselves. We enjoyed our visit to CampInn very much.

We had every intention of checking out other teardrop manufacturers but after our visit to Necedah, well, we went ahead and ordered our very own CampInn 550 Ultra that we will Christen "The Dew Drop Inn" Dewey for short. I understand completely why owners name their trailers, like a fine wooden boat or a seaside cottage on Nantucket (the houses on Nantucket have names) these trailers are special and and it is wholly appropriate to name them as you would a member of your family. But then again Susan and I name almost everything we own, our cars, bicycles, our computers, we even had a freezer named Fifi once.

We have patiently waited for Dewey to be born for 4 months now, we have another month to go, but as I said at the top of this long post, on or about the 19th of November we will be in Necedah to pick her up and bring her home (the long way via warm Florida)

Return here for more of "The Dew Drop Inn" Chronicles

Michael

 

Well,
All I can say is,
You nailed it!!!
A most precise and accurate narrative.

 

Michael,

Say good bye to stiff boards and sorry middle aged butts!
Jean

 

Yep, that pretty much sums it up... nice... Love the camping part.. hehheh, I used the "Ground is getting harder and the pads are getting thinner..." I switched for the same reasons as I'm sure most have done...

See ya on the Highways...
cheers..

 

Michael welcome and great story your going to love your new Camp Inn everyone does.

 

What a great story! I LOVE a good backstory. Hopefully we'll meet up in Necedah or on the road some day! I'd love to hear more about living on the boat, from the simplicity point of view and how you got to that point!

 

Thanks for the kind words everyone, glad you enjoyed the post. Dan and Vanessa, yes living on a boat teaches you about the essential comforts, cold beer, hot showers and clean sheets on your berth, ha ha. Probably good training for enjoying the teardrop trailer lifestyle. Hope to see you in Necedah next month. That would be great if our trailers were side by each (old Newfoundland expression "Newfie speak") at the 4th annual NW Roundup Jenn. Happy trails y'all.

Michael

 

Susan and I loaded up yesterday and hit the road heading east just in time for a major wind storm, the ferry ride to Seattle was a hoot, we're used to heeling on our sailboat but a ferry! The Interstate 90 pontoon bridge was taking water over the guard rail from the huge waves on Lake Washington, I understand they closed the bridge shortly after we crossed. We are heading east way early to avoid the snow in the mountain passes and of course that's what we had plenty of in the mountains east of Coeur D'Alene, when we saw the first of the snow plows we really started to worry but I suspect we were at the leading edge of the storm and we drove out of it, and the rest of the day was just light snow flurries. We're spending the night at a Motel 6 in Bozman hoping the storm won't catch up with us before we getting going in the morning.

Stay tuned here for more updates...

Michael

 

Yah, I got caught in a snow storm on my way back picking up 'Le Droppe'... messy, but just following the big ole truckers stayed in their tracks, well for the most part, with plenty of stopping distance... in case they miss something... plenty of trucks were on the other side of the road... NOT Fun..heheheh..

 

Michael- Safe travels! Yikes!

 

Michael and Susan, safe journey to you both!

Bev and my four-legged buddy, Biscuit

 

I remember Bozeman, Montana from about 28 years ago when there was only 1 traffic light!! Stayed at Chet Huntley Lodge and skied Big Sky. Man o' man was that ever in the middle of nowhere!! Mike Tyson was having a huge fight on TV and the TV in the bar was playing local girls high school volleyball!! Unfortunately the town probably isn't like that anymore....I would appreciate it alot more now in my "later" years!!
Travel slow and safe...keep us all updated!

 

Well the storm caught up to us, we woke up to find our car covered in ice and snow, the scrapper that we've never used will come in handy now. Bozeman is now a happening outdoor enthusiasts Mecca, new arts center, brew pubs, big box camping stores and plenty of traffic lights. We're gonna take it slow today and see how far we get

Michael

 

My daughter lives off exit 350. Wave when you go by.

 

Pat we did wave as we went by. I remember your daughter saying that she had a big spread in Montana north of Yellowstone Park, a lucky girl indeed, that is truly beautiful country. We left Bozeman yesterday with temps in the 20s but thankfully clearing skies and mostly dry and by the time we got going ice free roads. By the time we ended our days drive in Miles City we had a cloudless sky, perfect travel weather. Today we made a point to leave time and drive the scenic loop road through Theodore Roosevelt National Park, recommended by Evan and Lena in one of their posts. Thanks Evan and Lena. Great park, great slice of badlands country, lots of wildlife, we saw wild turkey, pheasant, white tail dear, pronghorn, huge prairie dog cities and lots of bison. We'll continue our journey from our Motel 6 room in Bismarck ND tomorrow.

Michael

 

Sounds like a great trip!

 

It sounds like you are having fun already. It will be even more fun when you get your teardrop. I'm anxious to hear about your adventures and what you do right and wrong as far as getting set up and on the road after pick up. Any tips to help me have a better experience?

 

Well we made it to Necedah today and got a look at our new teardrop as she was being built. "The Dew Drop Inn" has her aluminum skin, her galley looks to be complete, the sleeping cabin cabinets are in but no TV yet, the mahogany paneling is in place, (very cool) front window openings are cut and awaiting the windows, she is coming along beautifully. They were installing the door jam/ trim today. We talked with Marty and he said that they are running a tad behind, so Susan and I will have to remain patient for a while longer yet. We made a point to check out your trailers Bev and Dan n Vanessa. Bev your trailer is in the row behind ours awaiting her aluminum skin, they were working on the cabinets in the cabin, soon Bev soon! Dan and Venessa yours looks almost complete but still missing her galley hatch, not long now,

We stopped in at the Leinenfugel brewery in Chippewa Falls Wi for a tour before getting to Necedah today. They brew one of our favorite beers, Big Eddy Imperial Russian Stout, it's outstanding. They have been brewing beer there since 1867. It's well worth a visit next time your up that way?

We'll be on our way to Toronto tomorrow to visit family.

Michael

 

So exciting to get a peek while it is in production. I'm living vicariously through you guys.

 

Michael and Susan, it's very exciting to hear you are actually there seeing the build process in person. Thanks much for the update on mine, really appreciate it (BIG smile on my face).

Enjoying your posts, as I'm sure others are too!

Have fun visiting your family.... cheers, have another beer!

Bev