The appeal of RV'ing

[acadianbob]

The great outdoors. The more primitive the better as it is more private and more natural. We love the Bighorns in Wyoming. We can hike all day and never see another person. Maybe 3 campers in the whole campground. Cool at night with low humidity.

Cons: Some tough dirt roads to navigate; no electricity; often have to hand pump water and carry it to the trailer; pit toilets; limited trailer length.

All worth it when the moose wander through the campground in the evening.

[okiecowboy]

I enjoy the journey also. After sitting behind a desk for 35 years, driving provides a welcome escape. Having said that, I find that pulling a travel trailer is somewhat stressful. I do enjoy spending a few nights in one spot once we get all setup and enjoying the scenery.

[magpi26]

I have always admired truck drivers who spend their career on the road. I have a couple of friends who have spent years driving a rig and crisscrossing the U.S. They tell me stories about the winter storms in the Rockies and crossing the plains in winds that nearly blow them off the road and I wonder how in the world could you enjoy a job like that. It is a perfect example of how each of us have different tastes and enjoy things that others have no interest. For me, the driving is interesting and enjoyable depending on traffic, construction delays and not having mechanical problems during the trip. But those times have been few and far between so far (knock on wood). Like so many others, my relaxation really begins within minutes after I am set up and have that first adult beverage and begin enjoying the surroundings and people in the campground.

[ChipBruce]

My wife just retired so for us camping is a new adventure. I still have at least 6 more years before I'll retire too. We thought about a lake home but then realized we would be tied down to the same place all the time. Camping gives us the opportunity to explore new places whenever the urge hits us. We are loving this new life!

[bentbev]

Originally Posted by acadianbob

The great outdoors. The more primitive the better as it is more private and more natural. We love the Bighorns in Wyoming. We can hike all day and never see another person. Maybe 3 campers in the whole campground. Cool at night with low humidity.

Cons: Some tough dirt roads to navigate; no electricity; often have to hand pump water and carry it to the trailer; pit toilets; limited trailer length.

All worth it when the moose wander through the campground in the evening.

All you're missing is the baling wire!

[DreiHunde]

Yep, the trip there is just as much fun as the destination! We also prefer the smaller campgrounds over the resorts and that sentiment goes all the way back to when I was a kid, has nothing to do with being "older"!

[matwiyj]

I have a popup and school-age kids so we are a long way from the freedom of retirement and months on the road.

We do travel a few thousand km and are away for 2-3 weeks each summer and love seeing new places with the camper. We love the whole experience of driving days, destination campgrounds and attractions.

We stay in the KOAs when travelling if they are on the way. They are easy to find and always have a decent pool. For local weekend trips it is provincial parks all the way. Nice private sites and lots of trees.

My favorite times are lunch stops in the middle of a long drive where you find a city park with a playground, picnic tables in the shade near a parking lot, and we unload our cooler and other stuff onto the table and make lunch while the kids play in a new playground. Very good times.

[wbdavey]

Ten years ago we got our first 5th wheel, then a larger 5th wheel with the intention of touring the country until we found a retirement home. Ended up buying a winter home in southern Florida and sold the 5th wheel this spring. Figured we were all done camping and would just stay in motels. Went on one motel trip to Lake George and hated it. So we bought a Rockwood 2604WS for our summer camping fix. So I made it 3 months without some kind of camper.

We like being outdoors, having a campfire, walking around, seeing and talking to perfect strangers that share this hobby. At motels, nobody comes outside, the doors are always locked, nobody want's to talk.

[David Providence]

I no longer own a FR camper but I love this Forum! The posts on here are so interesting and educational! Most are so courteous and helpful. I'll visit here for a long time.

We're fairly new to RVing but last year we made two big trips from Colorado. One to South Jersey and one to Malibu RV Park in CA. The getting there part was fine on both trips, but the being there part was the best in Malibu with a site that overlooked the Pacific Ocean. The fish and chips place on the road below the RV park did a good bit of business while we ere there too. The trip back to CO in December was a little tricky over the mountains, but not because of snow. The road was wet and we did the mountain part at night. Won't make that mistake again.

[mikel68]

I don't mind the driving much, I better not I'm the only one doing it. I don't mind 3-4 hours. But if we have some long haul, 6 hours or something like that it's torture to me. Especially with all the electronic gizmos telling you how far you are, and how much gas you need all the time. As soon as we get where we're heading, that's my time to relax. I drive no more. The toad comes off the hook and I'm a passenger.

For us I guess the destination is the reason we're doing it. But thinking back to some of our longer trips with the kids, driving definitely had it's moments.

[coastal camper]

I can totally relate to the original post. My husband is a truck driver by trade. I am not afraid to drive with the trailer although I do not like backing it up. Our first trip with the new to us Rockwood was through 30 states and 16000 kms for 32 days. We had 5 children and their spouses and 7 grandkids and a beautiful home waiting for us but we felt no desire to return home. We could have kept on going and why not, all the comforts of home were right behind us.

[Sallen80]

I love driving, road trips are the best. I work in the airline business and i see the country from the air all the time, so on my off time i drive and camp. Camping is a great getaway from the work life.

[B and B]

I started Camping at the mere age of 4 years old. Dad bought a local built tent camper hitched up to the 65 Mercury Meoter and off we went to the east coast. We travelled all over Canada and spent many summers in Northern Ontario, memories of catching a 30 lb channel cat fish in the French River on 7 lb test, that was when i was 8 years old. We had 3 other travel trailers. Spent time with Citation Caravan Club at Rallys, NCHA camps and on our own with my two Uncles and Grandmother. Made memories with my own kids tenting then a travel trailer towed behind a myriad of TV's. Now both of use nearing (10) years retirement and enjoying seeing Canada and USA.
Cheers to everyone and maybe we will see you on the road or at a rally. Look for the big red Ford, not hard to miss!!

Never did catch the Muskie in Sturgeon Lake! Some day!!

[Ford Idaho]

I am deep in a forest of pine trees right now, the CG blows but to walk outside in the morning just at sunrise with a fresh cup of coffee, the smell of real pine and the silence only an early riser can hear makes it worth it to me.

[Pauls Toy Hauler]

Man......thanks for indulging me. I love this thread and reading about peoples adventures and your personal appeal to RV'ing. It gives me goosebumps at times and only makes more anxious for our next trip. The DW and I just returned from a week long vacation in Manitou Springs, CO. we drove a total of 1945 miles there and back and loved every moment of it.


Keep the stories coming please.

[aceinspp]

My wife retired 2 years ago and that is when we started to plan trips though out the year. It's been fun now that we can get awhay from local trips. Next year we hope to start exploring the west. Couple of weeks at a time. Later RJD

[Cyclone Rich]

Paul, our stories are very similar. My Dad has been driving truck for 35+ years and I used to tag along on summer trips with him all the time, starting when I was 8. I remember spending the night in questionable parts of LA with the trailer backed up against a pole so the trailer doors couldn't be opened. We fished in Chicago and attended a Milwaukee Brewers game. We hit up amusement parks all over the US and saw parts of the country that most kids will never see. When I was 14 I drove my Dad's semi across the Utah salt flats while he took a cat nap in the passenger seat. Things were different back then.

I was probably the only 12 year old on the planet who had every Alabama song memorized. I'm currently 38 years old and we still talk about those trips all the time. I'm grateful to have spent that time with him.

That's the reason I fell in love with the open road, and this beautiful county... and that why I try to share similar experiences with my family as well. We feel blessed that we can camp and enjoy good clean outdoor fun. Video games are replaced with bikes, and TV's are replaced with fire pits. I'd take a week at our favorite state park over a week in Vegas any day of the week.

[Big Red and 30WR]

Originally Posted by bentbev

Walter and I enjoy traveling and want see the country when I retire (19 days and counting!). We actually enjoy seeing how cheap we can do it. Also, over and above costs, I know just how clean the sheets and bathroom are!

Happy retirement, Wishing you many years of relaxation
with your husband .

[Gaberdeen]

I love the planning, the tinkering with the trailer, seeing new places. I also like being part of the RV community which I am newly joined this year. I look forward to going to work and talking about the RV experience with co- workers.
Another big draw for me is giving my family experiences they will cherish. I remember camping with my parents growing up. Especially a trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon back in 1974.( hope to recreate that soon with my wife and children!). I think with the advent of cell phones, Internet, and instantaneous news we as a society have lost something in our busy lives. Camping and RV'ing allows me to slow down and smell the roses and get back to what's important.

[Radio]

The appeal of RV camping for me is the solitude of an almost empty park. I don't mind a well mannered crowd, but I prefer the quiet.

And the companionship I choose to bring along. And the absence of those I left behind.

It's not the road, the destination or the equipment. It's who you go there with.