Call them the retro-revival spin-off of the “tiny home” movement, the growing interest in simplifying, minimizing and going small. Or call them an inexpensive and easy solution to camping in Colorado’s unruly weather this year. But business for Boulder-based Colorado Teardrop Campers is surging, even as temperatures soon will be dropping, the Daily Camera reported.
Above-average rainfall this summer might have been good news for farmers, but it was bad news for campers and outdoors enthusiasts like Melissa Chairman.
The Golden woman nearly canceled her annual three-day camping trip in August because it was expected to rain. And it did.
But at the last minute, Chairman said she ran across the website for Colorado Teardrop Campers and learned she could rent the lightweight campers for $85 a day, fully stocked with supplies, water, dishes, pillows, gas and even a first-aid kit.
She didn’t want to drop a ton of money on an RV, which she feared would isolate her from nature and the other campers, anyway. A Teardrop Camper was a middle ground between a tent and a mobile home, she said.
“It rained and it poured, and (the camper) never gave us a hard time,” she said. “It made the camping 100 times easier.”
Moody Mother Nature has helped fuel the new local business’ demand, said Dean Wiltshire, founder of Colorado Teardrop Campers. And, as many campers realize they didn’t get their fill of roughing it this summer, he expects an increase in the number of winter campers — along with the number of camper rentals.
“It only takes one downpour while you’re sleeping on the ground to put a damper on your fun,” said Wiltshire, who founded the company earlier this year, as a fusion of his background in woodworking and building custom homes. “Plus, they extend the camping season.”
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