Recently my lovely wife and I loaned our six person L. L. Bean tent to a church group. There were several tents needed. They had to be set up ahead of the group’s arrival. So far so good.
With years of tenting practice under our belts we set up our tent in about 15 minutes. We weren’t in a hurry. After that we helped a second group sort out the mess they made with their tent. That took much longer.
Normally when camping we have the whole camp ready in about a half hour -right down to the bedding, kitchen area, comfy chairs and solar electricity. Plenty of people with RVs take longer than that.
Actually, one of our fun activities in a campground is to watch the new RV owner try to park and set up their rigs. We’ve seen tree collisions, picnic tables run over, power and water poles smooshed and sewer lines crushed. Could we help them? Maybe, but I’m not going to take the chance. Emotions run high and spouses speak nasty words to each other. One couple made such a spectacle of themselvesb they later went around apologizing to other campers.
Typically most people upgrade from a tent to some sort of trailer or motorhome. We enjoyed the heck out of camping out of a converted ambulance. When that was no longer reliable we sold it and went back to tents. Why didn’t we upgrade to something else?
Time and money were big reasons. A tow behind trailer needs a vehicle capable of safely pulling it down the highway. Few people are smart enough to get a small trailer that can be pulled by a normal vehicle. Instead they get a heavier trailer with more bells and whistles. That requires a sizable tow vehicle with the added initial cost plus on-going expenses. Motorhomes are horrible on fuel, are high maintenance and costly to insure.
We don’t want to sell our house to live in an RV full time.
Here’s the thing about tents. Get a good one. While they can be pricey there are often sales. We bought our L. L. Bean tent off season from one of their discount outlets for half price.
So what do you do if it rains for days on end? Go to a hotel for a few days. With the money saved by tenting a hotel room now and then won’t break the budget.
-Sixbears
I repaired a Texas state park after one on the hurricanes. I'd never been to one, but was surprised on how the facilities cater to all type of camping.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest thing that caught my attention was the areas for tents that could include power, or not. There were even area for groups to camp with covered tables and pits for fires.
The biggest selling point to me was a shower facility, which was spotless. Regardless of how "rough" you wanted it to be, you could go take a shower, and had a place to take care of your morning sabbatical.
I've never understood the large camper scenario. We had one at work, and the best description was it was a money-pit. When it had a leak, and they had to remove some of the siding, it revealed shoddy structural components that made the least expensive of mobile homes look substantial. At what they cost, that unacceptable in my opinion.
Tenting as most campgrounds is decent if you have good bathhouses.
DeleteAvoid trailers built during the pandemic. Demand was high and quality parts were hard to get.
Tents, small boats are my choice when I want to get AWAY from Idiots.
ReplyDeleteNever enjoyed the spectacle of angry spouses and drunks at the campgrounds.
At the lost costs of an RV (5th wheel, or self-contained RV) along with needed storage and repairs I can take my beloved on a yearly cruise with a nice balcony cabin.
Yeah, I did the math and unless you go cheap for drunken cruises.com you generally are pleased how polite even the kids are on our cruises.
You can stay at decent hotels for the price of RV camping these days. Sometimes just the price of an RV spot is as bad as a hotel room.
DeleteRV parking is the equivalent of Boat Ramp follies.
ReplyDeleteHa! You got that right.
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