Dominant Factors Influencing Your Camping Choices and Experience

[campdohbrew]

For you longtime campers and perhaps newcomers too who did not start with every gizmo known to man. Do you find that satellite, sewer availability, and etc. have become dominant factors in your camping experience, mainly campground and site selection and locality to other conveniences?

I remember when we just happy to go camping. It did not matter if we had sewer hookup or used the dump station, if we had a concrete pad or gravel, and satellite television was not even an option. It did not matter how far we were from conveniences such as stores and restaurants.

Our experiences changed after we started camping with others.

I know these things are easily remedied – you just stop allowing them to influence you.

I am just curious if others find that these influences have become factors in your experience – especially over time?

[SKnight]

It depends somewhat. Just me? I don't care if there's even power. In fact, my very favorite cg is stone primitive. No power, sewer, water at the sites, nothing. They do have a well pump they'll let you use to fill your tanks.

Now, if the kids are going, heaven forbid if we're outside the range of cell service or not plugged in so they can charge their phones ten times a day.

So if it's just me, no, I'm not worried about such things. With the family? Then yes, I've got to keep them quiet.

[Crabbyguy]

I gotta have electric now for the AC. Other than that, I'll manage. I could care less about TV, internet or phone. That's what I'm getting away from in the first place. I like larger sites too, can't stand being cramped in on both sides. The less crowded the campground is the better. I usually stay away from camping during July and August. Considering what I'm pulling now, it's hard to call it camping.

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Our camping lifestyle is modeled around the concept that our rig is the "condo on wheels"...with that said, modern amenities and activities are where we head to during family trips...really makes life easier with two young kids while enjoying the RV lifestyle

[nducker23]

all we need is electricity. we mainly use the camper to eat sleep and get out of the weather. we will bring the internet along and some movies for the night or bad weater. during the day we are either out fishing or trail riding with our friends

[Wiscampsin]

Our camping style has changed alot over the years. Starting in a tent, then a popup, hybrid, TT, and now a 5th wheel our needs/wants have changed along the way. A site close to level, water and electric have always been important. Never cared about a sewer hookup as long as there was a dump station. We don't go camping to watch tv so cable was never important either. As long as I could get a local OTA station to keep up with the weather I'm fine. We bring along a couple movies in case we're stuck inside on a rainy day or night. When the kids were with us campground amenities were important. We have a pool at home so that was never a deal breaker when looking at a campground.

[BamaBob]

I think our "requirements" have changed over the years more as a function of age than anything else. Back when my wife and I were in college, a pup tent and a few cans of this and that + sterno and we were good to go. Need to wash up? Isn't that what that waterfall & stream are for?

Over the ensuing years we have camped with our kids in ever increasing sophistication to the point where we were ina Cabela's Alaskan guide tent and all the other "necessities" of a well rounded tent encampment.

Somewhere in our early 40s we "discovered" pop-up campers and wow that was a game changer - never looked back to tent camping - especially after that one extended weekend in the popup camping next to our tent camping friends in a constant rainstorm that flooded out just about every tent camp. We, of course, were high and dry

We graduated from the pop-up to a travel trailer when we discovered that a lot of western campgrounds (bear country) frowned or prohibited pop up campers. Now as we look toward retirement we made the final purchase of a 5er that is just set up for the two of us. We did get just about every option available and with 2 TVs, surround sound, a ceiling fan and electric fireplace and dual A/C we are pretty much dependent on a full hookup/sewer. Internet & WIFI, absolutely. Satellite , not so much because we can get most of our content off the internet.

Honestly, now that I am approaching 60 I have absolutely NO desire to go back to "roughing it" - I paid my dues in the Military and our early tent camping years. Danny Glover said it best: I'm getting too old for that $*it

[Wiscampsin]

Originally Posted by HSVBamaBob

...Honestly, now that I am approaching 60 I have absolutely NO desire to go back to "roughing it" - I paid my dues in the Military and our early tent camping years. Danny Glover said it best: I'm getting too old for that $*it [/SIZE][/FONT]

X2. I'm 62 and there's no way I could go back to tent camping and sleeping on the ground, even with an air mattress.

[jbrostek]

it depends on my trip and length of stay. Anything more then 3 days I prefer full hookup. Since I have dogs and prefer to take them with me usually power and a level site is the minimum requirement. I never boondocked in an RV, I never tent camped anywhere but state parks tenting sites.

So my absolute must haves for camping is a site with power, hopefully some shade, at a clean and maintained location with at least something I want to do nearby if its not an overnight stop. Overnight I want cheap, level, easy access and exit. Everything else I could care less about.

[tanddc]

All I require is power but getting TV stations nice but by no mean necessary. At Red River gorge we were lucky to have cell phone service and I can't wait to go back again.

[MeepMeep]

We kinda came the same route as BamaBob......did the whole progression and went one step further. We bought our 38FL with going full time in mind, so it pretty much had to have all the amenities of "living" in it rather than "camping" in it. The one we had before this (Flagstaff Ultra Lite 8289 IWKS) had a lot of amenities but was a lot smaller and more suited to shorter trips.....

[OldCoot]

We now go for full hookups and prefer level concrete pads when we go to FL for 3+ months. We always get full hookups and 1/2 the time while in FL, we have the level, concrete pads with concrete patio. Started out in a "pup" tent in 1960 and have gradually gotten older and a lot lazier and like all the amenities we can get.

[Kaadk]

I started out in tents, did the tent trailer, the TT with no bathroom, etc... all as a kid. Then again, I grew up in a scouting family. Did the scouts thing until 10 years ago or so when the job got in the way of being a leader.

Now that I've got a family of my own, we've jumped into camping straight into the TT with bunch of amenities. The younger me would be ashamed to have things like TV, DVD player etc.. along as we camp. The practical me recognizes my life goes a lot easier if I have ways to distract the kids.

So, for me, boondocking away from everyone else is a dream.
My family? Need Power, Water, Sewer and things for kids to do at a minimum.

[wyo700]

We do nothing but boondock camping and never in a campground out in the middle of no where hopefully in some trees. We have never had power water sewer of any kind hooked up while camping. But I do have an on board gen and a fairly good sized fresh water tank. We go camping where we can trail ride with our sidexside. So after a long day of riding a hot shower is great makes you feel like a new person. So although we do nothing but boondock we are set up quite well.

[HONDAMAN174]

Our fav dry spot has been closed for renovations for about 18 months now but supposed to come back online this fall. So lately all of our trips been around spots that have hookups- which is good cause getting to the dump station at our storage lot is a PITA.

I've added charging stations so the kids can play with their phones when they don't want to hang with us. Have a cell booster that I use occasionally. Other than that, just "roughing it" watching Blu-Rey movies!

[bikendan]

none of these things are that important to us.

what is important is where we camp. we prefer more natural settings, whether forested or coastal or riverside/lakeside.

we are prepared to dry camp, so we don't really need hookups or cable or wifi. we consider a lot of this kind of stuff as distractions.

now, since we're retiring, our current style of camping may change some and we made like to have these things, since we will be on the road for 2-3 months.
doesn't mean we won't still prefer the natural setting type of camping. just not sure if a 29' TT or 34' 5th wheel will still allow for much of that.

[Night Stone]

For us, electricity to run the ac, DW can't handle the hotter weathers, sewer hook ups would be nice but not necessary. Other than that we would choose a cooler climate if we have to dry camp. Everything else is secondary. I mean what more can you ask for, you are basically towing a motel to the middle of no where, you have all the comforts of home already.

[boondocking]

Boondocking most of the time (total of 95 days camping last summer - 85 days boondocking in the wilderness). My wife and I tented for 30 years until we were 55 years old then purchased our first trailer 10 years ago. That was like going from being homeless to living in a penthouse.

We are quite self sufficient with solar, generator for the microwave, fresh, gray and black water totes etc. so we really have no need for hookups. We do enjoy the peace and quiet that boondocking by ourselves provides.

It is nice though once in a while to go to a campground with full hookups (long showers is one benefit).

[OL Creeker]

We go to "full hook ups" only CG's if it's for two nights or more. We have Dish. Pet friendly CG's aren't important, Cooper stays inside when necessary. Whether the CG is "treed" or not is also a moot point since we like the SW US so much.

[raspivey]

I like to be able to just drop the trailer just about anywhere and about 1/3 of our camping is dry. I absolutely hate generators and run on battery when not plugged in. I can still run everything but the TV and AC and microwave on battery so 110V isn't really a concern for me at all. Having said that Texas has a large number of state parks and we usually spend the other 2/3 of the time in those. Water and electric sites...I don't bother with sewer since most of our trips are 2 - 4 days. Being in S. Texas during the summer makes AC very nice even though I don't HAVE to have it. TV....never had it until last summer. Same with the microwave. Do I use them? Sure. The merits of having a DVD player became very evident on our shakedown trip when it rained it's butt off for the whole first day. Do I need them? Absolutely not.

Guess I'm getting a little off topic....usually electric / water sites if in a campground if only so I don't have to watch battery usage or if it'll be more than 2 nights or so. If we have electric we'll use things but not having a microwave doesn't keep us from going somewhere and I don't go camping to watch TV. If we spent more than a week straight in it that would probably change but for shorter trips I just don't see the need.