Owner Spotlight

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Jean and Matt miller

From

Indianapolis, Indiana

Year and Make of your Happier Camper?

2020 Happier Camper HC1

What’s your tow vehicle?

2013 Subaru Outback V6

Why did you buy a Happier Camper?

Jean was one of the lucky ones who won an HC-1 in the Sam Adams sweepstakes! She had been looking into small campers and teardrops, which likely caused the sweepstakes entry to show up in her Facebook feed. She entered the contest and then promptly forgot about it. Meanwhile, she and Matt made plans to purchase a used teardrop from someone in Missouri. Two days before the teardrop pick-up weekend, she found out that she had won a Happier Camper! After doing some validity checking (because surely this could not be true, right?!?), she found out that it was indeed true! Her advice now is "you gotta play to win!"

Tell us about your camper!

Well, we had a pretty nice budget from the Boston Beer Company, so we have the kitchenette, propane heat, AC, solar, the inverter, the Shady Boy awning, 6 grey cubes, 3 single table tops and bases, the curbside bar, and custom color cushions. We are former tent campers and love to be outside, so we do almost all of our cooking outdoors on the fire or a 2-burner Eureka stove (which matches our camper!).

What are your favorite HC features?

We love how it looks, the rear hatch, and that it's fiberglass. We appreciate the flexibility of the modular components - we've used the camper as trailer to move our college-aged daughter into her apartment, and Jean has used the camper as an office while working from home. The countertop bar is great - we've done a lot of "driveway entertaining" using it this past summer. It's been nice to have the sink for camping during the pandemic - using the sink plus a privacy tent, porta-potty and simple shower pump has enabled us to be self-contained while camping.

Best camping trip you’ve taken with your Happier Camper?

In the 5 months we've had the camper, we started with some weekend trips to get the kinks out. Then we took a lovely week-long trip in the Daniel Boone National Forest in KY - stayed in several places, great hiking, gorgeous leaves, deserted campgrounds, and had the most awesome lake-side campsite for a few nights. We bookended the trip with overnight visits to family members (camped in their driveways), which was great because we would not have been able to visit them otherwise.

What’s your next planned camping trip?

Likely a winter get-away weekend at an Indiana State Park - a change of scenery for what is sure to be a long winter.

What camping destination is on your bucket list?

A month(s) long trip around the US and Canada. In the shorter term, we'd love to go to New England for the fall colors.

Any advice for new owners?

  • Utilize the Facebook owners page which has a wealth of good information and helpful fellow owners!

  • Be prepared for it to take some time to understand how everything works, the best way to pack, the best way to utilize the space, etc. Have fun learning and experimenting!

  • Have realistic expectations about the (small) size. Expect to do your main living outside. We find it to be the perfect size for us and our two dogs.

  • Don't expect the inside of your camper, while camping, to look like all of the beautiful Instagram photos. Camping life is messy. And that's OK.

  • Things we didn't order but wish we had: the double tabletop and the curbside concession window.

  • We're on Instagram as @happiest.campers. Feel free to DM your questions!