Travel trailers, anyone?

[tom turner]

My wife wants to take a three day holiday this week and stay in a state park cottage . . . for about $130 a night + $40 pet fee. Then we can hike around and enjoy the great outdoors.

To save money and have just as much fun . . . I suggested staying instead in my 1967 Frolic 17' camper trailer on my hunting club.

Heck . . . we can walk all over that area for three days and never cover it all . . . maybe find some fresh deer sheds and shoot a bunch of guns! Plus . . . it won't cost a THING! Electricity, running water, a comfortable bed, a toilet, a stove, a microwave and coffee pot.

Paradise . . . retro style!

She wouldn't even think about it! So . . . I guess I'll go off and p___ away some good money going to a place where I can't scout for turkey season or shoot my guns.

Some things . . . I just can't figure out!

Here's my '67 Frolic . . . my favorite "home away from home," during last deer season. The only thing missing is my sweetie. She thinks it is too small to enjoy.

T.

 

[tyusclan]

We tent camped for almost 30 years, and bought a travel trailer a little over a year ago. We have absolutely loved it. You're right, it's very nice to be able to have the camping stuff all in one place. All we have to do is throw in the perishable food and clothes we're taking, hook up, and take off.

I REALLY love having my own bathroom and shower. That's worth the price of the trailer.

Ours is a 2006, 26' Four Winds.

 

[jeffsmith]

Snip Here's my '67 Frolic . . . Snip

Thats Exactly Like the first trailer my Dad bought
sure brings back memories of a lot of summer vacations

Saw the Apollo 11 moon walk on a battery powered Sony B&W TV
while camping near the Thousand Islands in NY in that Frolic

 

[zercool]

Feralmerril - you really should write a book! Thread drift not with standing....I don't think the OP was looking to save a penny, per se. Sounds like he is looking for a quick, comfortable, convenient getaway which is a very large piece of the equation for us and our A Liner.

Yep, Feral, you've got stories to keep up with Charlie and Caje! Start writin'!

Steve nailed it - we may not save money on gas/tolls/etc, but we hate motels. I like sleeping in my own darn sheets and cooking my own food. Not to mention we tend to get pretty far off the beaten path, and driving to the nearest restaurant for dinner could be 45 minutes or an hour.

 

[BarbC]

Men and women mostly see camping differently. My view is I'm on vacation yet still doing everything I had to do before but in a tinier and more inconvenient way. I realized this during the first marriage when my then-husband asked if I was going to bring the iron along. We had started off in a little camper on a mini pickup truck, then a 15' trailer and then a 24' trailer and then I knew no trailer was ever going to be big enough.

This all came back to me when looking at a teardrop camper with my 2nd husband, and then we were in the Class C's, and then found ourselves climbing into big Class A deisel pushers.

I would still like to have a little teardrop camper for daytrips but you'd find it parked outside the Hampton Inn at night.

 

[truckemup97]

Barb, an acquaintance of mine, who is likely older than most of your residents, used to have a very nice Prevost RV (luxury RV built on a new bus chassis). He and his wife traveled in it a lot, but every night she insisted that they stay in a hotel. Note that I didn't say a motel.

 

[gunlovingirl]

Like so many others, we started out in a tent. It didn't take long to buy a small, I believe about 18', camper. Toilet, fridge, stove, etc. I loved it! We mostly stayed at the state parks. Until they decided that if they made more lots by reducing the size of them, they could make more money. I don't enjoy camping when there's campers so close together you can hear each others conversations. The camper was sold. But I sure wish I had it now! As long as the ex doesn't come with it!
I enjoyed Tom Turners pic. Looks a lot like our old camper. Brought back memories!

 

[feralmerril]

Do you remember that movie with lucille ball and dezi arnez, "The long, long trailer"? That was hilarious! Covered just about every bad aspect of trailer life! More funny to me as I knew every mile and scenic location.

 

[CW Spook]

Barb, an acquaintance of mine, who is likely older than most of your residents, used to have a very nice Prevost RV (luxury RV built on a new bus chassis). He and his wife traveled in it a lot, but every night she insisted that they stay in a hotel. Note that I didn't say a motel.

I guess if you could afford a Prevost, you could afford to stay at any hotel you wanted also.

 

[bnkrtstk]

This is actually my sister-in-law's but it now resides in my driveway. Her husband bought it new in '03 and they used it one summer, and one weekend then parked it in a storage lot. I told them I would trade storing it for unlimited use of it.

Here it is at my hunting camp. 33ft Fleetwood Mallard with quad bunk in the rear, queen in the front, sofa bed, dinette, stand up shower.

 

[feralmerril]

What always got me is looking at maybe 10 year old class Cs, and A,s, and seeing what equates out to about 2,500 miles a year put on them! That has to be a money hole for what little use!

 

[Sven]

We've pulled the 16' Scamp over 30K miles and have camped for as long as a month at a time in it (and my wife and I have stayed friends!). We've seen overnight temps as low as 20 degrees and have stayed warm. Usually take steps to keep the water system from freezing, though.

 

[m657]

I factor in the additional use for friends staying overnight as an extra bunk house. And it works fine as a sensation of 'being able to get away' for a while whether at home or towed to the nearest camp ground.

We couldn't get along without a hard wall camper. Once they are paid off, it really is cheaper, more convenient, more luxurious, to enjoy your own cooking, not pay $100/night, etc.

Don't overlook the advantages of the 'Golden Passport' as it gives 50% off in certain camp grounds. That means rent often is $8-10/night for those of us with enhanced chronometrics. While eating out may represent a rare treat, campfire cooking is a welcome art form that contributes to our own sense of relaxation.

There's a ton of RV and TT answers out there for any kind of perceived need imaginable.

 

[BarbC]

Well, I do know of someone who separated from his wife on the cheap: He lived in the camper out back for a year.

 

[ingmansinc]

I appreciate your wanting to stay small and convenient, I camped for years and if it didn't fit in a backpack it didn't go with me. No stove or lantern and where I went you couldn't take a vehicle. This is how I found tranquility and beauty. When you are ready to move you pickup the backpack and make sure the fire is out.

 

[tyusclan]

...they used it one summer, and one weekend then parked it in a storage lot. I told them I would trade storing it for unlimited use of it.

Now that's what I call a deal.

 

[m657]

Years ago I gave my to-be wife a small hand bag and told her to pack everything she needed for our 3 week trip in it. It was about the size of 2 bread loaves. She about flipped.

We had a 1969 Datsun Roadster with a trunk about the size of a small suitcase [less room taken by the spare tire], that all camping gear/clothes/trade beads fit in. Sleeping bags barely fit behind the front seats.

To give idea of how tightly our stuff was packed, the tent (a marvel of then-new high tech stuff) kept us perfectly dry overnight in a night-long Yellowstone Park cloud burst. Packing it the next morning, it wouldn't fit as the pores had become filled with water and it wouldn't compress enough. (sigh.....the good old days.....)

 

[Wayne02]

I've owned some sort of RV since I was 18 years old. Started out small, then went really big, then small again, then kind of big, and now small again with a 22' trailer. I used to go camping (tent or camper) all the time when I was single, and it didn't let up when I got married and had children. Camping with the family is a good time, and a campfire at night is good for the soul.

I started camping at an early age. Do you like my crib?

 

[feralmerril]

Wayne, I hate to be a wet blanket, but looks to me like a fellow could camp on hollywood and vine and not have much more people around you?

 

[Wayne02]

Wayne, I hate to be a wet blanket, but looks to me like a fellow could camp on hollywood and vine and not have much more people around you?

Those are all family members and friends. There are two other rigs not shown in the picture. Camping with family and friends is good.