Texas family with a new TT

[Texasblue]

Hello! thank you for all the great information you share here on these boards. I have spent many hours on here lately researching our new purchase and have learned so much.

We are a family with three girls, ages 8, 11, and 13 who have enjoyed camping for a long time, in tents and in pop-ups we borrowed. We've finally decided to take the plunge to get a hard side travel trailer. Summer heat and humidity plus difficulty sleeping on the ground are the primary reasons, but a hard sided trailer will definitely enable us to get out there more frequently as I do not have to do so much prep and gather work to make it happen!

We put our deposit today on a 2014 Surveyor Sport 295 through our local dealer. It has the perfect combination for our family: 3 twin sized bunks in their own room, a u-shaped dinette, an outdoor kitchen as well as being light enough to tow behind our vehicle. Plus it even has the folding bike rack, a solution that was frankly a relief after we scratched our heads at other dealers trying to figure out how to get 5 bikes on/in one.

I also appreciate the available second year warranty. We originally thought we'd be looking at used, but being travel trailer newbies and the lack of used trailers in the floor plan we prefer drew us into the market for a new one. Two years of warranty coverage makes that easier to swallow the bigger price tag.

I'd love to hear stories from other families with teens/preteens camping. Our biggest obstacles to getting out is their activity schedules, but we hope to manage at least once every month or two and more during holidays/summers.

[Iwannacamp]

Hello. Welcome from Arkansas.

[simplyrwc]

Welcome from California...

[EdJunior]

Welcome from East Texas. What part of Texas are you in? There's lots to see and do and it sounds like y'all have a great start on it already.

[mjones12]

I think you'll love the Surveyor. There are a lot of us on here with Surveyors similar to yours, and that will help if you have questions or issues. We are on our second one and have been very pleased with both. Have fun.

[maconandk]

Welcome, enjoy your new tt.

[NanaKaren]

Welcome to a new chapter in your family's adventures! May you have many many happy journeys!

[bobcrowder]

Trying to get out and use your TT when you've got busy kids is hard sometimes. The best thing to do is plan those trips/weekends 2-3 months in advance and everthing else will just have to wait. I've known families that wait around all summer until the "time was right", and it never is. The next thing you know, it's fall and the TT still has the anti-freeze in it.

[nofitpitchin]

Congrats on the camper plunge! And welcome! I just recently joined the Forum too. We have been camping for 15 years and have evolved from tents to pop-ups to now our 2nd hybrid. (2014 Shamrock 233S) We started camping w/ 2 toddlers....Now we have 4 kids in tow...(ages 17y to 8y) Camping is "Who We Are" and it bonds our family. No doubt that camping w/ little kids is so much fun. They are entertained by rocks, bugs, and delight in all that nature will gladly give them. The pre-teen yrs were still good for ours, especially if they were allowed to bring friends. That made it quite the adventure no matter where we went they giggled and had a blast. Now that they are older, we have to be careful not to demand this time from them in efforts to "recreate what once was". It's just different now as everything is when they become teens. (sniff...sniff...) One has a job and they are honors students so they are loaded w/ school work. Last month was the first time my husband and I went without them. GASP! Yep. They had too many activities so we chose a campground very close to our house where our boys and hubby and I could still swim and have fun and I could come and go keeping an eye on all my chicks. It worked out very well. The girls even came by the campground and had dinner w/ us and swam. Now, of course, we did make them come w/ us last week on our family vacation. (not ready to give them too much freedom!) No friends...just us 6 up to KY and TN. They did have a good time and I try to be aware of what is around for them to enjoy. Just parking it and swimming/biking is no longer "fun". We will find white water rafting, an amusement park or even a local town square to explore. So, we enter a new chapter. I do have one regret from our last trip...I let them bring their phones and didn't manage it as well as I should have...lesson learned. However, we still were together as a family...still having fun....still making camping memories for however few are left to make with them. Enjoy! It goes by too quickly.

Me (42) Hubby of 20 years! (44) daughters (17), (15) Sons (9), (8).

TV 2008 Expedition
TT 2014 Shamrock 233S

[mjones12]

Originally Posted by nofitpitchin

Congrats on the camper plunge! And welcome! I just recently joined the Forum too. We have been camping for 15 years and have evolved from tents to pop-ups to now our 2nd hybrid. (2014 Shamrock 233S) We started camping w/ 2 toddlers....Now we have 4 kids in tow...(ages 17y to 8y) Camping is "Who We Are" and it bonds our family. No doubt that camping w/ little kids is so much fun. They are entertained by rocks, bugs, and delight in all that nature will gladly give them. The pre-teen yrs were still good for ours, especially if they were allowed to bring friends. That made it quite the adventure no matter where we went they giggled and had a blast. Now that they are older, we have to be careful not to demand this time from them in efforts to "recreate what once was". It's just different now as everything is when they become teens. (sniff...sniff...) One has a job and they are honors students so they are loaded w/ school work. Last month was the first time my husband and I went without them. GASP! Yep. They had too many activities so we chose a campground very close to our house where our boys and hubby and I could still swim and have fun and I could come and go keeping an eye on all my chicks. It worked out very well. The girls even came by the campground and had dinner w/ us and swam. Now, of course, we did make them come w/ us last week on our family vacation. (not ready to give them too much freedom!) No friends...just us 6 up to KY and TN. They did have a good time and I try to be aware of what is around for them to enjoy. Just parking it and swimming/biking is no longer "fun". We will find white water rafting, an amusement park or even a local town square to explore. So, we enter a new chapter. I do have one regret from our last trip...I let them bring their phones and didn't manage it as well as I should have...lesson learned. However, we still were together as a family...still having fun....still making camping memories for however few are left to make with them. Enjoy! It goes by too quickly.

Great post. Your historical account reflects some of the very best things about camping. I enjoyed reading it.

[Texasblue]

Originally Posted by nofitpitchin

Congrats on the camper plunge! And welcome! I just recently joined the Forum too. We have been camping for 15 years and have evolved from tents to pop-ups to now our 2nd hybrid. (2014 Shamrock 233S) We started camping w/ 2 toddlers....Now we have 4 kids in tow...(ages 17y to 8y) Camping is "Who We Are" and it bonds our family. No doubt that camping w/ little kids is so much fun. They are entertained by rocks, bugs, and delight in all that nature will gladly give them. The pre-teen yrs were still good for ours, especially if they were allowed to bring friends. That made it quite the adventure no matter where we went they giggled and had a blast. Now that they are older, we have to be careful not to demand this time from them in efforts to "recreate what once was". It's just different now as everything is when they become teens. (sniff...sniff...) One has a job and they are honors students so they are loaded w/ school work. Last month was the first time my husband and I went without them. GASP! Yep. They had too many activities so we chose a campground very close to our house where our boys and hubby and I could still swim and have fun and I could come and go keeping an eye on all my chicks. It worked out very well. The girls even came by the campground and had dinner w/ us and swam. Now, of course, we did make them come w/ us last week on our family vacation. (not ready to give them too much freedom!) No friends...just us 6 up to KY and TN. They did have a good time and I try to be aware of what is around for them to enjoy. Just parking it and swimming/biking is no longer "fun". We will find white water rafting, an amusement park or even a local town square to explore. So, we enter a new chapter. I do have one regret from our last trip...I let them bring their phones and didn't manage it as well as I should have...lesson learned. However, we still were together as a family...still having fun....still making camping memories for however few are left to make with them. Enjoy! It goes by too quickly.

Me (42) Hubby of 20 years! (44) daughters (17), (15) Sons (9), (8).

TV 2008 Expedition
TT 2014 Shamrock 233S

Are you in the southern states? A quick trip to KY and TN makes me think you might be in AL. My husband's family is out that way, definitely on our list of places to go.

Our biggest "justification" for a purchase of this amount is the knowledge that the years that they will be at home are fleeting and of all the things we could "buy" them, this one creates the memories that they will keep for a lifetime. It is a lifestyle choice that we thought a long time about because the numbers do not necessarily add up to "less expensive", just relative ease in making it all happen.

[Ford Idaho]

Greetings from Idaho and welcome to the FRF.

[nofitpitchin]

Originally Posted by Texasblue

Are you in the southern states? A quick trip to KY and TN makes me think you might be in AL. My husband's family is out that way, definitely on our list of places to go.

Our biggest "justification" for a purchase of this amount is the knowledge that the years that they will be at home are fleeting and of all the things we could "buy" them, this one creates the memories that they will keep for a lifetime. It is a lifestyle choice that we thought a long time about because the numbers do not necessarily add up to "less expensive", just relative ease in making it all happen.

We are in North Ga. But lived in Nashville when we started camping. Yes, I completely understand the "justification" process for the actual cost of camping...not the cheapest route for sure! We joked about averaging the cost of our new camper to as many nights as we have camped in it...so that means we are at about $2,000 a night at this point! lol! (just purchased it last mo....we only do this calculation after we have had a glass of wine by the fire!)

We have camped in AL quite a bit and KY only a few times. (All over GA and TN...some in FL) Desoto State Park in AL is one of our higest rated parks. Great park and very good sites! A cute town close by. There is an awesome 2 hr hike through the woods with huge rock formations and a few water falls to see. The kids loved it.

Hope you make it to the southeast soon...we have some beautiful scenery here!!

[Eklc]

Welcome from central Illinois! We just purchased our first TT this July, a 2011 Puma 31BKHSS with the bunks and outdoor kitchen. Our layout is very similar to yours and we have really enjoyed it. We camp with our daughter, any foster children that are in our home, and any of their friends that want to tag along. This forum has been a great help to us as we learn the ins and outs of owning and maintaining a camper. Scheduling has been a bit of a challenge, but we steal every chance we get to spend time with the kids. They grow up fast and we want them to remember the times we spent together as a family. Be safe, have fun, and go make great memories!

[slide5r4fun]

Welcome from Euless, Texasblue! Congrats on the new Surveyor and welcome to the forum.

[pacin]

Welcome from northwest PA. HAPPY CAMPING