Amazing the number of.

[Daniel A.]

So here I am camped in Pentiction BC the number of big 5 th wheels amazing me. I just don't know about these people they pull in with 36 feet of trailer plus two or three slides. Talked to one guy the fact that I'm sitting with my 17 Foot Bigfoot in the middle of these units, I told him that I consider this my man cave and have everything he has just on a smaller scale.

Pointed out that I don't need a special pickup to pull plus I have everything he has at a smaller scale, full bath, four burner plus oven, Air conditioning, heater' , fridge& freezer, hot water, and I don't lose on the value of my unit.
Plus I never need to worry about leaks.

Dan

[Glenn Baglo]

And, what did he say?

[Talia]

Eh, as long-distance backpackers say, "Hike your own hike". Which basically means that nobody has fun in exactly the same way as someone else, and who is to say what way is the right way? I'm sure the people in the big fifth wheels think we're as crazy as we think they are.

[Dave Fish]

Then there those of us that live in both worlds. Our 17 Casita hat too crowded and my wife wanted to snowbird so we sold the Casita and bought a 35' class A. There are pro and cons. It's a lot of trouble to get ready for travel, it's a pain to drive and fuel, and it's definately not nimble, but it's very comfortable when you get to your destination.

So we recently bought the Campster for "real camping". It's small, fits in the carport, easy, to tow and very nimble. It lacks most of the comforts, but that's OK for short quick trips and for a mobile ham shack. Yes I am installing antennas so I can use the solar panel to operate off the grid when I need/want to.

1970 Trails West Campster
2008 Honda Ridgeline

[Mike Magee]

For 2-3 week trips, a small FG trailer is dandy for me. But if I were staying out longer, I would want a few more amenities. A place to put a really comfy La-Z-Boy, a real medicine cabinet in the bathroom, more clothes, more storage space, a printer, and extra bedding are a few things that come to mind. I wouldn't mind having a washer and dryer, either.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Daniel A.

...Plus I never need to worry about leaks...

Wouldn't say I exactly worry about them either. But I do check every now and then after a heavy rain.

[Harvey]

I've always been somewhat mystified by those folks who denigrate others for their 'style' of camping (or whatever they choose to call it). I've owned RVs from a homebuilt teardrop trailer to a 32' fifth wheel & emjoyed them all immensely. I've owned over the last 40 years or so at least a dozen truck campers from basic 8' box with cabover bed, icebox, dinette, & cooktop, to a 12.5' floor size, truck camper with side entry door & dry bath (we drove the Alaska highway in that one & towed a small 4wd Toyota pickup). I've also owned a couple of small (18') self contained 'travel trailers' in addition to the 32' fifth wheel. Once I helped 'build' a used school bus into a camper in which we 'toured' much of the SW USA. We currently have in addition to the teardrop trailer, a Ford Super Duty Supercab diesel P/U & 8.5' Sun-Lite pop-up cabover truck camper, a 1985 13' Scamp, a 2001 Casita 17' Spirit Deluxe, & a 1995 Starcraft Meteorite pop-up trailer. ALL get used at various times of the year for either travel, hunting/fishing, or just enjoying a few days at local lakes. I plan to gift my grandaughter & her husband with the Starcraft within the year. They have 3 girls & it'll sleep 'em all just fine. I built our TD in 2006; we've towed it almost 30K miles & enjoyed it every minute but, at our age we find ourselves 'needing' more comfort than the TD provides most of the time. Our grandson-in-law has 'laid claim' to it so they may end up with it also. We use the Casita quite a lot & the Sun-Lite truck camper gets more use nowadays since it has its own toilet (that's important at our age for those nighttime nature calls, & getting up'n out of the TD at 2am is no longer fun, even with a porta potti shelter set-up next door). I use the Scamp & the Starcraft for hunting/fishing trips & have taken the TD on occasion. We've camped in locations surrounded by huge motorhomes & 5th wheel trailers, & never encountered the occupants. That ain't my idea of camping but probably my idea of 'living pretty good' would be 'small potatoes' to lotsa folks. We try never to intrude & just enjoy ourselves, however, & are grateful for the good folks we do meet, & try not to judge their lifestyle harshly even when it doesn't match ours.

[k corbin]

A few years back I did a 21 day camping trip to Normandy France. The small FGRV size of unit is their normal. Most of them have nice canvas shelters to put on the side as they have many affordable choices for them in Europe.

[Daniel A.]

I my mind its sort of like the family that really thinks they need a 5 thousand sq. home for two kids. Back in a day having 1500 - 2000 was plenty if not to much.

Driving around in a small condo just does not seem like much fun, when I retired several years ago I thought long and hard about what my needs were.

Funny that I don't see much of my new found neighbors hiding away in their big units.

[Jon in AZ]

I was tent camping in Oak Creek Canyon near Sedona many years ago. It was early October and I was looking forward to a fall hike on the West Fork Trail- one of the few places in Arizona where you can see maple trees in color.

To my disappointment, an early winter storm moved in, bringing rain, hail, fog and wind. For a damp and cheerless hour I wrestled with a tent, canopy, and assorted paraphernalia in the early darkness.

In the midst a motorhome pulled in next door. I heard the jacks deploy, a genny sputtered to life, lights came on, and soon I could see a screen flickering in the closed blinds. No humans, just a large machine.

My feelings were a bit complicated in that hour. Resentment, superiority, a faint hope I might be invited inside for dinner.

At last my camp was complete, a dry bed waited, water sat steaming on the stove, and dry firewood, carefully protected, was springing to cheerful life as the rain tapered off. Cocoa in hand I stood around my fire in triumph over the elements and smugness reigned.

Then the door opened and one man stepped out. Fortyish, clean shaven, country club attire, cigar in his left hand and a martini in his right. At least I assumed it was a martini. It was 5:30 pm, so it should be a martini.

He sauntered over to my fire, a little unsure of the etiquette. Or perhaps just unsure of me. We exchanged greetings and stories. He was a fairly high level executive with a Boston-based company just finishing up a 6 month temporary assignment with an Arizona-based subsidiary. He had decided to rent a motorhome and fly his wife and daughter out for a tour of Arizona before returning to Boston. This was their first night out. Probably their first night camping anywhere.

We chatted amiably for 30 minutes or so while he finished his cigar, I wished him a pleasant trip, we shook hands and parted. That was it. No dinner. I never saw his family. The machine slipped out quietly through the fog as bacon sizzled in the morning.

Camping is an amazing equalizer. And the maples were especially beautiful in the lingering mist.

[Paul O.]

A great little story. It made me look for this:
Remember Lincoln’s saying that “folks are usually about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

[Chitown Naomi]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

I was tent camping in Oak Creek Canyon near Sedona many years ago. It was early October and I was looking forward to a fall hike on the West Fork Trail- one of the few places in Arizona where you can see maple trees in color.



To my disappointment, an early winter storm moved in, bringing rain, hail, fog and wind. For a damp and cheerless hour I wrestled with a tent, canopy, and assorted paraphernalia in the early darkness.



In the midst a motorhome pulled in next door. I heard the jacks deploy, a genny sputtered to life, lights came on, and soon I could see a TV screen flickering in the closed blinds. No humans, just a large machine.



My feelings were a bit complicated in that hour. Resentment, superiority, a faint hope I might be invited inside for dinner.



At last my camp was complete, a dry bed waited, water sat steaming on the stove, and dry firewood, carefully protected, was springing to cheerful life as the rain tapered off. Cocoa in hand I stood around my fire in triumph over the elements and smugness reigned.



Then the door opened and one man stepped out. Fortyish, clean shaven, Eddie Bauer attire, cigar in his left hand and a martini in his right. At least I assumed it was a martini. It was 5:30 pm, so it should be a martini.



He sauntered over to my fire, a little unsure of the etiquette. Or perhaps just unsure of me. We exchanged greetings and stories. He was a fairly high level executive with a Boston-based company just finishing up a 6 month temporary assignment with an Arizona-based subsidiary. He had decided to rent a motorhome and fly his wife and daughter out for a tour of Arizona before returning to Boston. This was their first night out. Probably their first night camping anywhere.



We chatted amiably for 30 minutes or so while he finished his cigar, I wished him a pleasant trip, we shook hands and parted. That was it. No dinner. I never saw his family. The machine slipped out quietly through the fog as bacon sizzled in the morning.



Camping is an amazing equalizer. And the maples were especially beautiful in the lingering fog.

Beautifully written.


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[flowman]

Thanks Jon, loved it, especially these two paragraphs:

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

...
My feelings were a bit complicated in that hour. Resentment, superiority, a faint hope I might be invited inside for dinner.

At last my camp was complete, a dry bed waited, water sat steaming on the stove, and dry firewood, carefully protected, was springing to cheerful life as the rain tapered off. Cocoa in hand I stood around my fire in triumph over the elements and smugness reigned.
...

[emij]

Originally Posted by Chitown Naomi

Beautifully written.


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

Agreed! Loved reading this!

[Jimp]

Amen , Been there , done that . Well written.

[Glenn Baglo]

Wonderful piece of writing.

[mbbear]

Originally Posted by emij

Agreed! Loved reading this!

I loved it as well. I could imagine you story as if I was there. I love the forum and appreciate it, but I wish that we had 'like' buttons 😬

[Jon in AZ]

Thanks, everybody. It is one of my favorite places and memories. The contrasts were striking, yet our lives intersected briefly because we were both seeking to enjoy the beautiful places of this world.

I am grateful the company that rented the motorhome had a no smoking policy.

[Harvey]

Jon, you have a great attitude, which compares favorably to most of the folks we've met & interacted with over the past 50 or more years. Even the occupants of most of the behemoth motor homes turned out to be 'nice folks' after a few minutes of conversation. My wife is originally from Kykotsmovi, AZ (used to be called New Oraibi) on the Hopi Reservation. Maybe we'll share a campground sometime during one of our trips to the Southwest...