Camper people

[buffettbride]

The fam and I spent Labor Day weekend camping in San Isabel National Forest between Buena Vista and Salida in Colorado. It's a beautiful spot near the base of several 14ers and 13ers (I don't climb 'em, I just look at them). We do the tent and sleeping bag thing, and thanks to hubby the Eagle Scout, it's not all that uncomfortable. However....

We're thinking about a pop-up or a trailer of some sort in the next few years. We'll probably try renting a few different types to see what we like best.

Camping isn't my favorite thing, but hubby and the kids love it. I've always wanted a camper/RV since I was a kid, but don't know if it would be more trouble than it's worth.

Who here has a camper/trailer/pop-up and has lived to tell about it?

The primary benefits I see from having a camper are:
--a way to keep the camping crap contained
--comfort (not necessarily warmth because hubby has warned me camper heaters aren't necessarily reliable and has terrible childhood memories of his father yelling at the furnace in their pop up)

[ph4ever]

Tell Matt that things have changed since he was a kid. Other than that I got nothing. I have officially refused to camp in a tent up here. It always freaking rains and you're cold, wet and miserable. Bailey also hogs the sleeping bag.

[buffettbride]

This was the first year Tony had his own sleeping back. He realized on night 2 that crawling into mom's is much warmer.

[pbans]

We progressed from a tent to a pop-up to and 18 ft trailer, to a 24 ft trailer and then a 26 ft with two slide-outs....loved all of them and made some great family memories.....course, now I'm back to a tent......

I love RV camping.....I would HIGHLY suggest buying a nice used one, though.....so many people buy them and just don't use them after the first summer and you can get some great deals.

[buffettbride]

We progressed from a tent to a pop-up to and 18 ft trailer, to a 24 ft trailer and then a 26 ft with two slide-outs..

I think we're gonna need a bigger truck.

I think hubby's major point of concern is that he likes to go places where you have to 4-wheel to, not places that are filled with camper people. And also, he likes to drive fast, and hauling something behind us would definitely slow him down. You'd think the suggestion to consider getting a camper was like asking him to turn in his man card.

[srkmrd]

We have a 24 ft camper with no slides. It is not fancy even though I redid the paper and the bathroom to be a bit more tropical than the standard. We love it........we camped in tents for years and being able to have everything at your fingertips not to mention AC (in Texas) is wonderful.
I would not mind going bigger with slides but for what we use it this works great. We have a very comfy queen size bed. A couch that makes do for those that want to crash with us and also tabe makes into a bed. We keep a stocked liquor cabinet in it and all towels and sheets and some clothes are perminant. So nice to come home from a trip and not have all that gear to unload!

Don purchased the camper used and got a great deal, it had been well taken care of before we got it.

EDIT: BTW we have also been known to carry it to friends homes that live out in the country when they have partys so we do not have to worry who is the DD!!

also ........... not recomended I am sure but I have seen Don tow it at a very high rate of speed..........(a whole other story )

[Salukulady]

I have been a camper my whole life. My hubby and kids and I did the tent thing for many years. My hesitation with RV's is, when I have used them, I tend to not go outside. I love to cook and I love to cook outside. Also, most RV"s are built poorly and I really didn't want another engine in my life and I didn't want to tow. So built my own motorhome.

We bought a 15 passenger van. It had the front two seats and four rows of seats in the back. I took out all the row seats. I ordered two lay down seats and installed them right behind the front two seats. When you lay them down you have a 54x80 inch bed. When they are upright I can carry 8 people. My Dad built me a cupboard in the back with a pump sink, I bought a port-a-potty, and installed a hefty battery under the back of my van and bought a small fridge. Then we bought one of these and put it on the roof.

http://www.autohomeus.com/products/maggiolina.php

We sleep upstairs and our kids sleep downstairs. The autohome comes with a very comfortable matress and is very weather tight. This vehicle is my everyday car. Except for the gas mileage I absolutely love it. It is my dream car. Anywhere I go I have my house on wheels.

Check out the autohomes, I can't recommend them enough. They are built in Italy and are very well constructed. We got ours from a distributor in central California. You rarely see them here but I have seen several on top of four wheel drive vehicles if your husband wants to keep his 4 wheel drive truck. We have the largest model (Magiolina) but they make them for many different size cars.

[Coconuts]

We had a pop up growing up. Every trip, without fail, a tire blew on it. I spent so much time in Walmart snack bars with Slurpees that I was 25 before I figured out that the song said "They stopped at several raw bars where they slurped a dozen each" and not that they had slurpees at Walmart.

You have different reasons for wanting a camper, but my parents got rid of it once they realized that between the tires, insurance, extra gas and fees for the campsites, they weren't saving any money versus a hotel room.

Do you have someplace to store it? If you don't, that'll be another $30 (minimum) per month.

The pop up was considerably more comfortable than a tent. I will only sleep in a tent under extreme duress.

[Skibo]

A really nice tent with really nice accessories might be the lowest cost option. Those things on wheels end up requiring a lot of maintenance. My parents shovel out big $$ every year to prep their RV for snowbird season in FL.

[buffettbride]

We can store it at our house, so that's not an added expense. Camping is free in the nat'l forests here, so no extra charges there, either.

Since there is no more LDOL, we've kind of picked up a labor day camping trip tradition with some of Hubby's work friends.

I guess in theory it seems like a weekend away should be more like a vacation, but camping is so much work, it isn't very vacation-like.

[caly]

Well....I wasn't born camping, but according to the baby wheel I was made camping.
I have camped all my 42 years and love it.
Parents had a 18 then a 23 foot trailer, but as I became a teen I wanted to tent so I slept behind the trailer in my own tent. After we got married and tented a few times hubby said he couldn't do the ground anymore. We bought an old used tent trailer or as you Americans say a "pop up". Had 2 double beds, an ice box and I think that was about it.
Leaked a few times and we decided we wanted to do more camping so we bought a brand new one. Furnace, fridge, queen on one end and double on the other plus 2 can sleep on the table when folded down.
WE LOVE IT. I had always wanted a TT so I am very happy with it. Easy to store and tow. A bit time consuming to put up and down, but well worth it in our minds.
Just cleaned it out today ready to go for 4 days next week with my last vacation days for 2009.
Enjoy ............... they hold their re-sale value too.

[SMLCHNG]

No help here, Mal. I'm SO not a camper, but good luck. I know how much it means to you that the kids and Matt enjoy it.

[nutmeg]

My husband and I own 4 tents between the two of us We camped a bunch until a couple of years ago. My hubby HATES campers and motorhomes. I insisted that after I reached 50 I wasn't sleeping on the ground anymore. So we are kinda at a stalemate. I think once he retires I can bring him around to a pop-up.

The weather is always so unpredictable when camping and I want a place I can comfortably sit and read or play games or work a crossword. A tent is sooooo confining unless you want to be laying down all the time. I can only stand so long in the tent and we camp in places where there is no place to go. (National forest or state forest campgrounds with no facilities other than a pump and pit toilets.)

Our dream vacation was to camp around Lake Superior. It turned into a nightmare of constant rain and constantly packing up a wet tent.

hmmm I'll have to find the vacation nightmare thread and read it again. If I remember correctly it was rather entertaining.

Best of luck Mal. I know just what you're facing with your hubby. There is something about a tent that makes the camping experience real for them. Cooking over a soggy fire pit and sitting the the rain can be a little too real for me.

[ph4ever]

No help here, Mal. I'm SO not a camper, but good luck. I know how much it means to you that the kids and Matt enjoy it.

Don't tell me - your idea of camping is Motel 6

[Brown Eyed Girl]

I've been wanting a Teardrop Trailer to tow behind Finnegan 4Runner....

[bravedave]

I've been wanting a Teardrop Trailer to tow behind Finnegan 4Runner....

'snot a camper. It's a rolling wet-bar!

[Brown Eyed Girl]

I've been wanting a Teardrop Trailer to tow behind Finnegan 4Runner....

'snot a camper. It's a rolling wet-bar!

And the problem would be????
(Plus it comes with a place to pass out...Brilliant!)