Burnout?

[Onthrvr]

Can I recover? I've had a wonderful summer. Traveling the Midwest and staying at least a week in each location. But, I'm done!!! Or I think I'm done.

I wonder if I should sell my camper while it's still less than a year old or keep it hoping I want to get back in it. Right now, no way. I'm tall and my scamp 16 just grazed my head.

What have others done to recover? How will I know?

[madjack]

Originally Posted by Onthrvr

Can I recover? I've had a wonderful summer. Traveling the Midwest and staying at least a week in each location. But, I'm done!!! Or I think I'm done.

I wonder if I should sell my camper while it's still less than a year old or keep it hoping I want to get back in it. Right now, no way. I'm tall and my scamp 16 just grazed my head.

What have others done to recover? How will I know?

Sit down, have a stiff drink (r2), get out the old atlas and LOOK...there is PNW, the Rockies, north to south, all over NM, the Grand Canyon, the Redwoods, the great pine thicket of Tx, the Ozarks, the Ouachitas, Big Bend/Davis Mts, I could go on and on BUT, I would fill pages of places to go...were none of the places you visited worth a second look...how about the quick outing near home...I have driven over 2million miles in 18 wheelers, covered the whole country more than a few times and I am still ready for the next adventure.........
madjack

[Jon Vermilye]

After 5 years & almost 100,000 miles, I did sell my Escape 17B, but only to buy a new Escape 21. As Jack noted, there is lots to see. I've often visited locations that I previously explored & discovered I had missed quite a bit.

If you need more height, there are lots of fiberglass trailers available that could be an upgrade. Of course, you need to make the decision, but I'd put it off for a bit just to see if the wanderlust returns...

[rbryan]

Yep, there could be a secret combination of wanderlust =/> taller trailer.

[EricAllyn]

Sounds a little like you went a bit over what you enjoyed. Maybe smaller trips, less travel will give some of the joy back. I don't think selling now would be that much different from selling in a year, or even two. It will hold its value well, and the new/used hit on price is already taken, so I would wait a bit IMHO

[thrifty bill]

The three week trip we took in our Casita told us the same thing. So we sold it and bought an Escape 19.

Myself if I were you I'd sell, figure out what camper fits you the best, and move on. No reason to keep a camper that doesn't meet your needs. Better to let it go. Do you have storage and are you ready for winter? If not that is another reason to move on now.

I would post a new thread on interior height by brand. It's not a problem for me but it's a problem others have faced and solved.

Long trips really test a camper. Small issues can become major irritants. I didn't buy a camper for just short trips. So having one that fits us, me, my wife and our dog, in good weather and bad, is important.

Met a couple that have been full timing for two years in a Trillium 1300. I couldn't do it, but good for them. It's all about what works for them or you. No need to feel any pressure either way.

[rbryan]

It's a good point Bill. We love our Escape 19, but to be honest, if we decided to full time, we would probably go with a 5.0TA instead. That little extra bit of living space when it's cold out would come in handy. It's all about what you're comfortable with. We have a sweet friend, a widow, who full times in a 13 foot Casita and does very well.

[Byron Kinnaman]

To each their own. If you don't enjoy the traveling then don't do it. You're not alone. It becomes obvious that there's lots of people that don't enjoy it when you by open air storage lots and there's hundreds of RV that sit for years.

There's others of us that can't get enough.

It's your life and don't let others tell you how to run your life.

As for your trailer, I suggest you give it a few months then decide what you want to do.

[thrifty bill]

Great point. Figure out if it's the Scamp's lack of headroom or the floor plan or just camping in general. It's OK to not enjoy camping.

When we were working for a living, we just weekend camped, longest was probably four days. And we had a mid-sized fifth wheel. After we retired, we got back into camping with a Casita. The main reason we went with an egg is we didn't want to go through the whole TV upgrade cycle. With the fifth wheel we ended up with a one ton dually. Great TV, lousy daily driver. So we picked a trailer our F150 could easily tow.

Longer several weeks long trips, plus a trailer with less than half the space = did not work. We were fine with being on the road for a longer trip, but the lack of a big enough table and no storage did us in. So we moved up a little, still a lot smaller than the old fifth wheel but it is working well. Our last month long trip was a success.

Had we just been doing one week trips (or shorter), the Casita would have been fine.

[Jon in AZ]

I agree with Eric. Some people are wired to spend long weeks in the close confines of an RV. Others are not. We are not, but long trips are not the only way to enjoy using a camper.

For us, 5 days is about our limit. In a good year we take 4-5 shorter trips of 3-5 days. When we're out longer than that, we break it up by spending a few days with family or (confession here...) in a hotel.

A bigger trailer is not the answer for us, although it works for others. For me bigger just means more work to store, clean, maintain, and tow.

That said, we enjoy using our camper, and if we go too long between trips, even my wife begins asking when we're going out again. Camping is a different kind of travel experience than staying in hotels. Some places are best enjoyed in a camper. It doesn't have to be either/or.

There does come a point at which you use an RV so infrequently it's not worth the trouble and expense to store and maintain it. That's something you'll have to consider as you make your decision.

But for now I would keep the trailer a bit longer. You may find the itch to camp returns. How about a winter getaway to the Gulf Coast?

[ChrisDunbar]

What did you want to get out of the trailer when you first bought it? Maybe you need to get back to that.

Or maybe you had ideas of how camping "should" be that don't actually align with your ideals.

I'd make a list of things you liked and disliked. As well as places you would like to go as well as places you went that you wouldn't return to and why.

[ZachO]

If nothing else, give yourself a few months to think about it. Sell it in the spring. You'll probably get more interest then anyway.

It's hard to be tall in a trailer.

There's a chance it's just not for you. There's also a chance you just overdid it. Give yourself some time to reflect.

My best advice, if you go on more trips, is to get out of the trailer as much as possible. It's a small space and it's easy to get sick of it.

But I think a lot of us love being in that tiny space when we are in there. It's just pretty fun. If you don't get that enjoyment...then maybe the little fiberglass trailers aren't for you. Or maybe you'd be better off just traveling a different way. Car and tent. Car and hotel rooms/cabins.

[Donna D.]

There are a lot of things in life that we THINK we would enjoy and jump in with both feet. For one reason or another... doubts creep in. Something that was said to me, when I thought about quitting a "thing" I was doing... Before you quit, remember why you started.

Occasionally we just need to adjust a few conditions to get back the excitement. For you, I'm not certain what that would be. Maybe less time at once, and more short trips but frequent?

[honda03842]

Year 17 and no burnout. Our trailer, and we love it is way down the list of importance in our travels. The primary things I like about travel are the absolute freedom and the simulation of exploration. In 17 years we've been many places more than once, Port Orford in Oregon 7 times and Newfoundland 8 times. There's always so much new to find, to learn.

Of course our life is not for all. You must find your own way, however it's not related to the height of the ceiling.

[Byron Kinnaman]

I found out a long time ago it wasn't the camping part that was most important, but the traveling. Early on it was by foot. Always some new delight around the bend. Then driving longer distances, and again new delights around each bend even though some of the bends have been traveled many times.
The real delight now when actually camped is the people you meet. Some us return to the same place every year and stay for a month or more. Even with the traveling being an important part of traveling I can imagine getting burned out by changing location every day or every other day. But parking the Scamp and then driving the tow around the area is also great fun. We've seen some wonderful things and visited some great museums in places where you not expect. Visitors centers are another great place to visit. There's always something excite the senses.

[honda03842]

Like Byron, we don't drive everyday. We drive more miles not towing than towing. For example our first stay in Port Orford, Oregon was due to high winds, every other stop were stops of discovery. The amount to see and learn is overwhelming.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by Onthrvr

Can I recover? I've had a wonderful summer. Traveling the Midwest and staying at least a week in each location. But, I'm done!!! Or I think I'm done.

Maybe try crossing the Rockies? I grew up on the west coast, and the western states are really something to see!

And that's not just because this is where I grew up! There's other stuff too!

[floyd]

Only you know if RV travel is something you really like or not.
Don't feel so obligated that you can't quit...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzkvErwCmi0

[floyd]

Hey! I just read the name of the OP!
Bruce... If I'm not mistaken Deb and I met you at Sebring in Feb.
You have a beautiful trailer which would be easy to sell, but it will sell next year just as fast. If you have doubts, keep it until you don't.

[Bobbie Mayer]

Interesting question. I wonder how I'll feel if I take a really long trip- the longest I've done is 10 days- with more distance covered and not going home in between trips. That's my plan, but I'm a little wary of whether or not I'll enjoy it. My parents took their popup truck camper across the country and back, and on "back" my dad was ready to get home, fast!

But I agree- wait and see if you want to go in the spring. Might cost a bit if you are storing the trailer somewhere but prices go up in the spring. Or write a list of what you like and don't like and see if another trailer fits the bill better. Maybe travel is good but not camping- would you prefer the ease of a motel room? Or camping is fun but not driving- trips closer to home might fit that bill. I've camped 15 minutes from home and thoroughly enjoyed it. (Especially since that's the time I forgot my dog's seizure meds and could run home and get them.)