Last camping season, we moved from our 10-person Coleman tent to a Kodiak Stealth Teardrop Camper. We were so excited to finally have hard walls surrounding us so that we could venture into bear country without as much fear or camp in colder weather in comfort.
For the most part, tiny camping has been an upgrade for us. However, we have encountered some issues that have been more difficult than we imagined.
Here are 8 Unexpected Difficulties of Tiny Camping:
1 – Sleeping
If you talk to any seasoned campers you’ll quickly learn how important it is to get this aspect of camping dialed in. It’s difficult to enjoy your trip if you aren’t sleeping well.
This is also true in a tiny camper. We have tried lots of different options to try to make it easier to sleep. The cushions that came with our camper didn’t provide much support so we could feel the boards beneath us throughout the night.
We brought in an extra foam mattress to place on top of those cushions and that was definitely better but it took away some of our head room. So now we plan to try removing the cushions that came with the camper and just using the extra foam mattress.
Don’t be afraid to try lots of options until you’re able to find a solution that works well for you!
2 – Lack of Storage Space
Obviously, we didn’t buy a tiny camper thinking there would be bunches of storage. But it’s actually shocking how quickly the storage space you DO have gets filled up.
And the vast majority of the space that we have in our camper isn’t accessible when it’s in bed mode, which means you have to be very strategic about what you store in the remaining cabinets.
With our current setup, we have found that we end up piling things on the bed and on our countertop more than we should. We have plans to try to maximize our storage space by adding some command hooks and more shelving inside our cabinets. But until then, we just do the best we can knowing we’ll have to deal with a few piles.
3 – Going from Table Mode to Bed Mode
We used to snicker a bit when we heard Van Life people complain about going back and forth from bed mode to table mode. I mean, come on. How hard can it really be?!?
Well, making it into a bed or a table isn’t the worst part.
The hard part is having to take the bedding on and off of those mattresses while you’re kneeling on them. That is a full body workout!
So, when you’re doing it twice a day, it can get old fast. I really don’t have a solution for this problem other than to just keep everything in bed mode, which is what we tend to do as long as the weather is nice enough to do most of your living outside.
If you’d like to see a more detailed explanation of how we do this, you can watch our Tiny Camper Tour video below.
4 – Living Space When Weather isn’t Ideal
Tiny campers are tiny. No doubt about it. So, when you’re camping in inclement weather, there isn’t much space to spread out in.
We like to set up a canopy and chairs outside and spread out on the picnic table so that we can do most of our living outside. But if it’s cold or rainy that isn’t an option.
5 – Bathroom Facilities
When you are using a tiny camper you have a few options for bathroom facilities but none of them is quite as convenient as if you were in a larger RV.
If your camper has a spot for it, one option is to bring along a cassette toilet to stow underneath the bench seating. This is a life saver when it comes to those middle-of-the-night bathroom needs or for young children.
Another option is to set up a privacy tent in your site. This allows you to bring along any kind of toilet you would like. A cassette toilet, a composting toilet, or a seat with a garbage bag attached. Do your research and choose something that will fit your unique needs.
The last option is to use whatever bathroom facilities are provided at the campground/park. This can quite literally be a crap shoot. Some bathhouses are fantastic and some certainly leave something to be desired.
We have a cassette toilet in our camper but we use the public restroom for everything besides nighttime visits. This has been working pretty well for us.
6 – Nighttime Snacking and Coffee Making
Most tiny campers don’t have kitchens, either. Which means you will do all of your cooking outside.
Most of the time we don’t mind having our kitchen with us in the truck. However, it does make nighttime snacking a bit more difficult as you need to figure out what you want so you can bring it into the camper before you retire for the evening.
Making coffee in the mornings was more difficult for us at first as well however we figured out that if we bring along a coffeemaker rather than trying to warm up water on a camp stove and use the pour-over method, it would save us a lot of time and frustration in the morning.
Well worth the counterspace that it takes up, in our opinion.
7 – Temperature Regulation and Moisture Control
Tiny campers are small so they heat up quickly and cool off quickly. This is a blessing. Bring along a small electric heater and an air conditioner and you’ll be able to make it whatever temperature you would like inside your camper.
The one caveat to that is that tiny campers are prone to condensation when it’s colder outside than inside. Plus, you need to keep your windows cracked at least a little bit no matter how hot or cold it is outside so that you don’t use up all of your oxygen in the night.
This means that every night is unique when it comes to temperature regulation. You may have to click a heater or an air conditioner on and off a few times in the night to make it comfortable in the camper.
Either that or bring along extra blankets that you can put on and remove as you get warm or cool. It isn’t as easy as choosing a temperature on a thermostat and going to sleep.
8 – Feels tight
This probably goes without saying but tiny campers are tiny. If you are claustrophobic, they may not be the best RV choice for you. Ours is a bit larger than a traditional teardrop but the walls and ceiling can still come in on you a bit when you’re bent over trying to change your clothes.
If you’d like to learn even more about some of the difficulties we have encountered while tiny camping, check out our video below.
As you can see, the majority of these issues do have solutions that help them not to be quite as difficult over time. But it definitely takes some adjustment to make tiny camping more comfortable. At least it has in our experience.
We’d love to hear what you think. What have been the most difficult parts of tiny camping that you have experienced? Please leave a comment below!
