The Fine line between Camping and Rving..... - Page 3

great white · 03-17-2011, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crocus

If someone just does the same things they do at home, what's the point of hauling a camper somewhere to do it?
When it rains, we often visit other campers in the park and socialize. That is part of the camping experience.
I feel sorry for those who hide in the unit.

Nah, they're just doing what they want to do. Maybe they're just private people. Maybe they have a job where they have to "socialize" all week long and just want to get away from it. Maybe they just want to look out the window and see the trees, or ocean, or mountains, or whatever.

If it means enjoying their $150,000 MH or $40,000 trailer from the inside, so be it. Camping is just getting away from your normal life in a manner which lets you relax.

To each his own brother, to each his own.....

ken0042 · 03-19-2011, 07:26 PM

For myself; I just look at why I bought a TT. It was to take some of the negatives about tent camping away and to be able to enjoy my time out; and to be able to spend more weekends out as well.

I always dreaded the packing and unpacking of the vehicle; making sure we had everything. Now all my gear stays in the trailer. I also hated the setting up and tearing down; also eliminated. My wife often works late on Fridays so that meant getting to the campsite near dark and rushing to get the tent setup.

I also wanted to extend the camping season. In Alberta it isn't uncommon to have overnight lows below 10 degrees C; or 50 F. Especially in the mountains; and even in the summer. Now instead of waiting until June we are looking at going out in April. Owning an RV is just going to enable me to do more camping.

RANGERBOB · 03-19-2011, 08:35 PM

First I looked it up in the Dictionary. Then I consulted an expert; the writings of Patrick McManus. I've concluded you are RVing if you have to pick up the dog poo in a plastic sandwich bag if not you're camping!

socref01 · 03-21-2011, 05:27 PM

Just finished two days at the local state park in the 19ft. Surveyor hybrid. On the way home, stopped for breakfast, the waitress says, "Were you just CAMPING, I can smell campfire on you?" Why yes, yes we were!

dretired · 03-21-2011, 06:08 PM

I promised myself to never sleep in a tent again. When my son needed 2 more nights in a tent to earn his "eagle" in scouts . the temps dropped to 22 degrees without heat.

campnqueen · 03-21-2011, 06:23 PM

wwwwwhhhhhhhaaaaa! Ya'll have made my evening! What a wonderful topic!

My engineer frined Tom is a "minmialist".. he says when we go in our TT we are NOT camping... I beg to differ!!!

I think camping is a state of mind... YES to being outdoors, YES to making a fire and YES to having fun!!! MY other firend is a resource manager for a loacl state park... he say " Rain on fiberglass is better than rain on nylon!" SO TRUE!!!

I have tent camped and RVed for years...and when I tent camped I still had all the comforts of home... its just easier to take it all in the TT.

Either way... it conecting with friends and family. Took our 13 yr old niece camping last summer... she had never been... she had so much fun we went for two extra days...time we will always remember.

The point is...either a tent or big fancy MH...just get out and DO IT!!

Pilotdaddy1 · 03-21-2011, 07:50 PM

We went from a tent to a 35' TT. Our first night lying in bed (a nice queen sized comfortable bed) my wife looks at me with a big smile on her face and says, " This Ain't Campin'" To which I reply..."I know, and I LOVE it!!!" My daughter, I think, enjoys it more because she can bring more friends, and she loves the bunk beds...Our tent was only a 6 person tent...which translated to 2 adults, 1 kid, and 1 dog (when it was raining). What ever you want to call it, we're hooked!!!...Happy camping..errr...RVing....uhhh....

**Terier** · 03-21-2011, 09:10 PM

[QUOTE=crocus;89184]If someone just does the same things they do at home, what's the point of hauling a camper somewhere to do it?[/QUOTE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crocus

When it rains, we often visit other campers in the park and socialize. That is part of the camping experience.
I feel sorry for those who hide in the unit.

Our family has been through a lot in the last 4 years and life has become a lot more stressful. When I go camping I feel so relaxed. Just getting away makes a big difference. Sometimes I seek social interaction and other times I need peace and quiet.

In my older brother final stages of fighting colon cancer he still took trips in his fifth wheel. While he didn't get out much he still found the surroundings to be calming.

I guess what I'm saying is that "Camping Experience" may vary from one person to the next. It may come down to what we are seeking at that moment...

wolfcat1 · 06-12-2011, 07:55 PM

I' m just a dumb ole country boy..We started out in tents, went to a two different pop ups, and now in a 25 foot travel trailer. With the TT, we are able to be on our site more, less set up time etc..We fish, swim, set around the fire, visit, tell lies, drink beer, grill stuff, watch the wild life, go for boat rides, talk about the day, admire the stars, convene with God, and question our place in the Universe...The only difference I can see, is each one had a more comfortable bed than the other, and a increasingly better bath room area...As long as you are outside and one with nature...what does it really matter what you call it...: )...wolfie

DF5.4 · 06-12-2011, 08:17 PM

To me camping is getting away from home with the family. We get away and meet some new friends from other parts of the state/country/world. Having an occasional campfire. Seeing something we haven't seen before. My wife and I started in a tent. After Hannah was born we moved up to a popup. Then we had Brian. A few years after that we moved up to a TT. Brian is in Boy Scouts now and he is tent camping once a month with his troop. Hannah was in Girl Scouts for a while and she tent camped with them. We have all done that. Now we are just a little more comfortable doing it. We are still camping.

Hybrid21SS · 06-23-2011, 09:41 AM

We bought the Hybrid Shamrock 21SS just to make in a little easier on us than tent camping. We had a shower tent and port-o-potty plus 17x10 tent and 10x10 canopy tent and chairs, tables, 4 bikes and what not it takes a long time to set up and even longer to break camp down and get in all back in the truck. We hope the Hybrid will make it easier and more relaxing than it is now...

BC Camper · 07-10-2011, 12:32 AM

I agree with most that camping is more about getting out there....it is not what you sleep in. I just moved up to a 31' With quad bunks from a 23' foot 5th wheel that slept 4. I consider myself camping regardless if I am in a tent or my new rig. Being a family of 7 and one of the kids in a wheelchair with CP.... and two dogs...having the 31' TT with all the amenities makes it so we can all go out and be comfortable.
Once we are outside we are still doing the same "camping" thing everyone else is....having fun and being together!

Just Call Me Bobbi · 07-11-2011, 05:26 PM

The way it was explained to me: R.V.- recreational vehicle (can even be the vehicle you put your tent in); camping- what you do every now and then to "get away from it all" for a while; RVing - where you are stuck camping all the time no matter your set-up.

bill8972 · 07-30-2011, 07:30 PM

It's bittersweet to read the the comments from those of you who grew up camping with your parents. My parents instilled the love of travel in me by taking me to Hawaii, Europe and a bunch of places in the USA. But never camping. Camped (really small pop-up) with the ex and her kids (in tents) a few times. As my career progressed I was fortunate enough to do A LOT of flying/hotel traveling and got to see some amazing places.

A couple years ago (as we downsized the lifestyle) my new DW and I decided to buy a tent and all the camping stuff and had a blast on a couple of trips but realized we were just getting to old for the bones to be in such close proximity to Mother Earth. We recently bought a little pop-up A frame to get us off the ground, keep us dry, and still get to the places we want to go a whole lot cheaper than flying and staying in overpriced hotels.

Now I'd rather do camping chores than than stay in 4-star, take a shower in a bathhouse that's been used a few times before me than take my shoes off for airport security.

Camping's a state of mind and a means to an end...no matter how you do it!

jerry1909 · 08-01-2011, 10:55 PM

Just bought a new Georgetown 37 foot motorhome, it is pleasurable. We have experiened every kind of outdoor living. Backpacking and forest sleeping. Ice camping. Boat/cove camping on Lake Mohave in AZ; cots under the stars on a dry lake in NV (without a moon the stars lit up the lake bed); cots at Lake Isabella with skunks walking underneath, tent trailer in the Eastern Sierras near Bridgeport, CA; a Class C in Port Hardy, BC, trailer in Mojave CA where Patton trained troops during WWII and others. Having grown older our physical mobility has become more limited but the desire to be with nature is still strong and gives us pleasure. The wonderlust is part of the American culture and what brought our ancestors here and is what it is. Whatever it is called RVing or camping makes little difference but the experience and sharing with others helps make life complete.

Jerry1909

kablair · 08-04-2011, 07:36 PM

I call it 'camping', but the Mrs. says that needing 50amps to run the AC is 'not camping'.

trudinator · 08-08-2011, 06:29 PM

It's still camping even if you have a/c. As long as you cook outdoors, sit around a campfire and put up with bugs and critters, it's definitely camping"

TimeFurnace · 08-08-2011, 07:08 PM

It doesn't feel like "camping" to me if I am at a place that has grass, hookups, or more than minimal pavement. We had to schedule some places at the last minute recently and one of them was at an RV park. I didn't like that experience. I would rather be in a place that is more spread out. Those typically don't have hookups.

tkephart1 · 09-27-2011, 06:14 PM

I started out in the girlscouts along time ago, in a tent the size two people could barely get around in. We had to dig the trenches and walk a mile to the latrine. I then got married and we started one day in a tent and that was for my husbands sake of learning the difference in sleeping on the ground at our age and in a bed. We then bought a pop-up, loved it and then it got too much to put it up and I was tired of dealing with canvas! We now have moved up to TT, and have our bathroom and the comforts of home, even TV when it is raining cats and dogs outside. I love it because we are outside enjoying the stars and a good campfire you built from the sticks and limbs you find, and a good butane lighter! I love to cook on that campfire and have given my girlscout years of cooking on a campfire, wonderful meals, given to my husband who never thought you could cook that on a rock! That is camping to me..love love love it!

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