Going RV'ing
- Thread starter havingfun
- Start date
somdfunguy
not impressed
ask a boat owner how they like owning a boat.
goughrmak
New Member
My family and I LOVE to go camping. We have been to several campgrounds around the MD/VA/PA area. It is a good time, especially when a group goes together.
What kind of camper are you looking for? I actually am looking to downsize from my 28ft tow behind. It technically can sleep 10, but we don't need that much space any longer. My family is downsizing (one going to college next year). Along with that, I am wanting to downsize my truck as well. If you or anyone else may be interested in talking about the camper or truck/camper combination, let me know.
bcp
In My Opinion
Owning a boat sucks.
however, I have had campers since the mid 80s, and they just keep getting bigger and nicer every time we buy a new one.
I have owned a class A motorhome for 5 years. So far I have visited 25 states.
My 2 best road trips were to Yellowstone National park and Alaska. Going to Yellowstone wasn't so much a road trip as it was a destination. Alaska, on the hand, was an incredible road journey. I took 4 weeks to get there, doing a few hundred miles a day and spending a few long weekends at various campgrounds. I saw all sorts of wildlife and even spent a day in a hot springs along the way.
As far as campgrounds, I prefer the state parks or BLM sites. I don't need all the amenities with a private campground. Western Maryland has some really relaxing locations like Rocky Gap and Deep Creek.
You may want to rent an RV for a long weekend and see how you like it. I saw tons of them in Yellowstone and the Tetons. This way you can make a more informed decision when it comes time.
Some of my Alaska road trip pictures:
Myroadtrips: Canadian Rockies
Myroadtrips: Road Trip to Alaska 2009
My 2 best road trips were to Yellowstone National park and Alaska. Going to Yellowstone wasn't so much a road trip as it was a destination. Alaska, on the hand, was an incredible road journey. I took 4 weeks to get there, doing a few hundred miles a day and spending a few long weekends at various campgrounds. I saw all sorts of wildlife and even spent a day in a hot springs along the way.
As far as campgrounds, I prefer the state parks or BLM sites. I don't need all the amenities with a private campground. Western Maryland has some really relaxing locations like Rocky Gap and Deep Creek.
You may want to rent an RV for a long weekend and see how you like it. I saw tons of them in Yellowstone and the Tetons. This way you can make a more informed decision when it comes time.
Some of my Alaska road trip pictures:
Myroadtrips: Canadian Rockies
Myroadtrips: Road Trip to Alaska 2009
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Those are awesome photos! We may do the rental thing on a road trip we were planning to New Orleans. Thanks for sharing!
Larry Gude
Strung Out
Try and figure out what kind of camping 'style' you like.
You need to choose a 'class' A, B or C which are all self contained variations on a theme; they are both camper and vehicle in one and the most expensive way to go. There are sub choices in there as well such as diesel or gas, number of slide outs and length to consider.
Then, there is tow behind trailer or 5th wheel trailer. This is predicated on what vehicle you already have unless you choose to have a dedicated tow vehicle which then gets you into the same cost class as the A,B and C's.
First decision is self contained or tow? Do you want to go to a campground and stay for a week or so? Or, do you figure to stay in one place only for a night or two and spend a lot of time on the road? Some of both?
Self contained is cool because you can go pee and get food and drinks as you travel as well as go take a nap, work in the kitchen, stretch a bit, etc.
Tow, you're in your truck or SUV and have no use of the camper unless you stop.
Self contained sucks if you want to set up at a campground and then go explore around by vehicle; you'd have to unhook everything, electric, water and sewer, every time you wanted to go. You can tow a vehicle behind for this use.
Tow is cool because you drop the trailer, set it up and use your tow vehicle to get around.
So, start there; what would most of your camping look like?
You bring up very good points. I like the idea of the large RV that you drive. I really like the idea of meeting up with other friends that have them. For instance the people I was hanging with on the weekend meet up every year for the music fest and rent the two spaces next to each other. As my husband would say, I am just dreaming. I am just looking for something to get into in the future. We have committments with elderly parents which make it hard to get away, much less one weekend.
Nobody has mentioned them, but the wife and I absolutley love our pop-up. We have all the comforts needed for the two of us and two dogs. It tows great behind our V-6 Equinox, 19-20 MPG, takes 1/2 hour to set up, is dry and warm or cool as needed. Eventually we will get a hardside trailer but not until we retire. The nice thing for a pop-up is not needing a large gas guzzling tow vehicle. For anyone considering getting one, a few recommendations: A/C is a must down here, heat is an option if you late fall/winter camp, toilet/shower unless you camp at campgrounds with facilities, memory foam mattress topper, outside canopy. Our unit weighs in at 2200 lbs with all of our camping equipment. We bought it used at a great price and added 500-600 in "necessities". There is a great website to learn more: popupportal.com
Larry Gude
Strung Out
Well, may as well mention tents then, too. And renting cabins at camp grounds.
Hey, a popup qualifies as a type of RV! It is kinda like living in the projects vs living in an estate!
Bonehead
Well-Known Member
Our solution
Has been a Toyota Tundra pickup (20 mpg solo) and a 28' travel trailer. This combination allows us a great deal of room (for two of us) and the versatility to drop the trailer at a campsite and see the local area.
There are numerous state parks and bureau of land management areas that allows camping with full hookups (water, electric and sewer) or no hookups, called boondocking. You have to be a little careful with water and power use in this case or you could run a small 2Kw generator for a couple of hours to charge batteries and provide 120 Vac for whatever use (coffee pot, toaster etc.)
There are many good on line resources as well Woodall's website is very informative and is a good place to learn from people that have BTDT (been there done that).
Really though I have to laugh when people call it camping.
I was fortunate enough to hike the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in the late 70's. So camping to me is back packing.
I hope you find something here that you can use.
Has been a Toyota Tundra pickup (20 mpg solo) and a 28' travel trailer. This combination allows us a great deal of room (for two of us) and the versatility to drop the trailer at a campsite and see the local area.
There are numerous state parks and bureau of land management areas that allows camping with full hookups (water, electric and sewer) or no hookups, called boondocking. You have to be a little careful with water and power use in this case or you could run a small 2Kw generator for a couple of hours to charge batteries and provide 120 Vac for whatever use (coffee pot, toaster etc.)
There are many good on line resources as well Woodall's website is very informative and is a good place to learn from people that have BTDT (been there done that).
Really though I have to laugh when people call it camping.
I was fortunate enough to hike the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in the late 70's. So camping to me is back packing.
I hope you find something here that you can use.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
No. It's a tent. On wheels.
I've got no knock on pop ups. Very cost effective way to go and, damn, some of the new designs, it's like a clown car wherein you start to open up the pop up and, before long, you've got an estate!!!