The downsides of fg travel trailers and camping...

[Mike Magee]

Not everyone has tables or awnings to set up. My setup time is about 5-10 minutes. But I did buy a Clam screen room recently, so if I use that someplace I will have to add another 6-8 minutes to pop it up and stake it down.

Which reminds me of another negative: trailer owners never stop spending money accessorizing their rigs! There's always one more handy thing to tempt us...

[Perry J]

I can't think of anything I dislike about camping in an Egg, it's the greatest way to camp there is.
I've had Class A's and B's, a fifth wheel, a tent trailer, stickies and several Eggs.


I guess if he considers a negative looking up and seeing a small bear watching you read after putting the kids to bed, looking up and seeing millions of stars in the night sky, not hearing anything but nature, seeing the delight of your kids or grand kids when they see a chipmunk, squirrel, deer, fawn, bear or even a new to them bird he may be a lost cause.


I'm an old guy and can tell you the peace, quit, memories and even the taste of an burned marshmallow or hot dog far outweigh any miniscule inconveniences he may suffer.


Good luck,
John

[Kardon]

I was a camper all of my life. My first vacation was to Yosemite when I was four months old. Every year there were week or two vacations where we loaded up the car with camping gear for six (the trunk, top rack and every available corner of whichever old car my dad drove in the 50s and 60s). Every evening we would unload everything exept that when we reached our destination (Yellowstone, Lassen, Yosemite, Humbug) and every other state and national park in the west) we would stay for a week or so. Hikes every day, campfires, bears, coons etc., etc., etc. I love camping. In fact in 1967 my dad had a three month vacation and the five of us who were still at home traveled from San Francisco across the country to the Montreal Worlds fair (where we camped for a week right in the middle of Montreal) and then to NYC, Washington D.C., and other places on a slow trip home, only staying in motels when necessary.

Okay, I'm older now and a bed is nice. My husband had never camped except for the army so when I married him at 51, it was new to him. He loves it too. We bought the scamp in 2012 and it was one of the best things we ever did. Camping, but with a bed and shower. And setup and breakdown is so quick and easy. We do have a screenhouse that we use as a dining room if were going to be somewhere for more than a day, Towing is easy and boy, do you meet people!!!

[redbarron55]

I have had VW Westfalia campers and we used them a lot when we were younger. The kids got older and had other things to do and wanted to take friends with them and it got a little small with non family members.
We had a pop up for a brief while and a trip to Disney World camping in their park was fun, but wet canvas was a problem. It was an older camper and we sold it down the river.
Next were a few class As one a Winnebago 29 footer old at the time and we traveled about as far as Winnipeg and down to Florida and by the time we had terutned home I had basically overhauled it on the road.
Next wad a converted (and reconverted) FMC that served as temporary dwelling for a year at a jobsite. Little traveling, but a lot of use.
Noe I have a Scamp that I am restoring and reworking for (hopefully) comfortable, easy and inexpensive to tow, mobile small hotel room.
We plan to keep it packed and ready (More or less) so we can go at a moments notice like we did with the VW campers years ago.
New cabinets and twin beds so we don't have to crawl over one another in the middle of the night. Abbreviated kitchen and modified front bath for more head room and room in general. Larger 12 / 120 volt refrigerator with slightly noisy swing compressor. Good air conditioning and heat pump (mini-split for quieter operation).
We hope to optimize the trailer to meet our needs to be able to leave on a fairly long trip and camp in comfort, efficiency, and economy to visit children and grandchildren and tour the country.
Since I have done all of the rebuild work if something needs to be changed to meet those requirements the it should be doable.

[Imo.]

The down side? Too many secondary roads in the various states that are like siren calls....they add 1000's of miles to my trips. I'm in early 70's and figure I won't be around long enough to travel all of them, but I keep trying.

[rbryan]

I'm liking this thread. Of course, if you have an RV and you camp, you've already calculated that the upside far outweighs the downside.

I agree with Donna. The big downside is coming home. It gets in your blood, and you just want to explore more.


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[emers382]

Robert, yes you must have found it hard arriving home after that great trip from BC with your new Escape!

My first camping experience was at age 14 at Killbear in ON stayed a month with folks then aunt uncle and cousin. I remember it was $1 a night, no power and no water at site. Our family of five plus dog slept in a heavy canvas 9 by 9 tent with centre pole.

My wife grew up with a cottage so camping not in her blood but we got first a pop up then a 13 foot sticky and our family of five were happy exploring in that from MB to NB and a lot in ON.

Now we have a big in comparison Escape 5.0 and in retirement just beginning to explore and attend rallies. Thus far for us no downsides!

Adrian


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[Carol and Mike]

Great discussion. I need to get a trailer!!

[honda03842]

Ir's readily apparent that we do love our trailers and the adventure of travel. What ever the annoyances of trailer travel, they pale beside the adventure. As you continue to read you'll note that there are many different travel styles.

For example my young niece bought a rail pass and traveled with a friend all across Europe; her mother traveled with a tour group with a more restricted itinerary.. both enjoyed themselves.

There is nothing in trailer travel that is difficult and all the annoyances are less than those of a large home, a garden or life at work.

The road is the opportunity to break from everyday life, to break the regular activities of a decade, or two or three. To do something different, to transport yourself to a new opportunity, a fresh start away from established routine.

Ginny and I had a wonderful pre-RV life, great jobs, homes, really nice families, many friends, yet the chance to leave it mostly behind for something new, to extend our life with dramatic change, has propelled us to a closer relationship, improved our health and continually makes us 'memory smile'.

Do you ever say "I would have done this if I had only known?"

We discovered we did know. It's sort of like being an addict, to escape the addiction some time you need to leave your old environment. I'm probably failing with this thought... Really there's more to life than you've experienced by staying in the same place.

Of course wishing you well.

[padlin00]

Did not read all the replies.

Downside of...
FG trailers...
Get small when you get multiple days of rain.
Uncomfortable seating.

Camping...
Damp.
Cold.
Inconsiderate neighbors.
Smoke.
Bugs.

[Kardon]

Upside of...
FG trailers...
A roof over your head when you get multiple days of rain.
An inside table and seating.

Camping...
Living in the great outdoors, being creative when necessary, being prepared for any weather and ready to experience whatever comes along. Wildlife at your doorstep and amazing scenery, I've camped in the snow and rain, in the heat and (the hardest one) in windstorms and always had a good time.

[Kardon]

Oh and my husband mentioned one more advantage to the FG trailer. Cleanliness. The hotel-motels have had a lot of problems with bedbugs and the last time we had to stay in motels regularly, he worried about how well the rooms were cleaned between guests and what previous guests might be leaving behind. I think that was a big selling point for the trailer with him (though he wasn't too hard to convince).

[SoloMatt]

Originally Posted by padlin00

Did not read all the replies.

Downside of...
FG trailers...
Get small when you get multiple days of rain.
Uncomfortable seating.

Camping...
Damp.
Cold.
Inconsiderate neighbors.
Smoke.
Bugs.

Sounds like.someone needs to do a lot more desert boondocking!

[padlin00]

Originally Posted by SoloMatt

Sounds like.someone needs to do a lot more desert boondocking!

The only desert around here is in ME, and yes, they have a campground, and it rains a lot. The rest are 2500 miles away. Headed to Utah for 8 weeks come Sept....

Must be some kind of bugs that bother you in the desert, got horse flies?, how about ticks, or noseeums?

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by padlin00

Did not read all the replies.

Downside of...
FG trailers...
Get small when you get multiple days of rain.
Uncomfortable seating.

Camping...
Damp.
Cold.
Inconsiderate neighbors.
Smoke.
Bugs.

For us damp, cold, bugs are choices. We have heat for the first two and avoid traveling to buggy places. In 15 years of travel mosquitoes have only been a problem two or three times. Generally we travel to places in the non-bug season, like NL in the spring. We find winter time in FL to be bug free, at least where we are.

Inconsiderate neighbors are extremely rare, neither Ginny or I can think of a time we had inconsiderate neighbors, followed by Ginny saying we're very easy going. Of course we don't travel in the summer very often, reducing the type and number of campers we see.

I suppose our feeling about smoke falls into the same category. People like campfires and smoke knows no boundaries. We survive it because sometimes we're sitting around a fire as well.

I agree that inside seating can be uncomfortable for long stretches. Generally lying on the couch, my normal position, is comfortable. To improve upright sitting, Ginny has made an extra cushion for the dinette. I believe seating is a general flaw in fiberglass trailers.

On multiple rainy days we either find things to do in the trailer, read, movie, internet or we find an indoor attraction. Some locations can be interesting in wet weather.. our Seattle family, where it is often wet, treat rain like easterners treat Sun, just part of the environment.

Ginny and I have spent 310 consecutive days in our Scamp, and never complained about the size or accommodations, it's just where we are at the time. Usually by 9 PM we're tired from our day that generally starts at 6 AM, we fall asleep thinking about the wonders of the day.. each day bringing something new.

I think part of the the RV life is attitude, a fiberglass trailer is a good way to get away, to enjoy a new and different view. It is not the focus of the trip but a means to make the trip. We love our Scamp and find it adequate for our travels. It actually works very well for us, taking us everywhere we can think to go. It's a little place where we can happily share a special form of living.

It's not for everyone.. part of the reason for bigger RVs, really fancy RV Resorts that provide programmed entertainment, for cruises and tours, even group RV tours. Not every couple wants to be alone together, rain or shine.

I'm wandering. I know our travels are different than most on this forum. All I know is that after 15 years I can not think of a single thing I've done (other than children) that's given me more fun.

As I write this I think of the rugged coast of Newfoundland, walking cliffed shores with soaring birds, alone on sandy beaches, camped above a stormy crashing shore,... if I were to never return these images will be with me for ever, the miracle is there are more places like this than you can ever visit...

[padlin00]

I agree the upsides far out number the downs, or I wouldn't do it. Still the question was for the down.

[honda03842]

Bob and Deb,

It is hard to answer. I love our travel so much I have a hard time answering the question. I deleted last night's response to it.

[padlin00]

I must say Norm, on our long trips we have a ball and enjoy every minute. New sights, meeting new folks, it's all good. Having done a couple local weekenders this spring, not so much. Bugs, smoke, rain, etc. Have to go when DW can get away, at least for another year.

[Dennis mn]

I had friends that rented an RV before purchasing as a trial run to see if it was something they enjoyed.

[Denece]

It is horrible. We drive 90 minutes to the nearest beach. We spend an arduous 10-15 minutes setting up the trailer. We pull out the lawn chairs and awning. Ugh! We pull out a couple of cold beers to refresh ourselves from our labors. We struggle to find something to do for however long we are staying. We spend another awful 15 minutes packing up. We go home.


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