Camping or RVing?

[Chuck]

Please respond to my essay on RV Travel (August 16, 2008) issue in which I ask if what we RVers do is "camping" or "RVing."
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[gasbag]

We are RVing. Traveling in a box that has a stove, a furnace, A/C, a bed, a refrigerator, enough storage for several weeks of food, a couch and a chair; sometimes more, up to 2 dozen interior lights, a stereo with surround sound and a 16 CD changer, a TV satellite dish, a dining table, a full bathroom, a carpeted floor, a shower, usually a microwave and one or more televisions is not camping. Never has been. Never will be. I am also I am sure I missed a few items.

Another thought: since when did camping cost almost as much as our home? Our present RV cost 8 times what our home did 20 years ago. Ain't camping.

I camped in the Boy Scouts. I camped in the Army. Been there, done that. Never again.

As far as that URL you posted is concerned, all I got was a bunch of books for sale. Hmmm.

[Adrienne]

Um, Gasbag?
The reason the URL doesn't work is because today is August 14 and the newsletter article won't be posted until Saturday, August 16.
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Adrienne Kristine
Forum Administrator
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[Bo Walker]

I always thought RV stood for recreational vehicle. I'm like gasbag. I don't want to camp. It's just too much trouble and too much work. So I reckon we are recreational vehicling.
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Bo & Jan RVing for fun

[TannerBee]

When I want the fresh, outdoor camping experience, I leave the window open about one inch.
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Floyd and Tanner
Coachmen Santara 35
Rock Hill SC

Time is either spent or invested.

[Bo Walker]

Yes TannerBee. We open a window in cold weather simply to enjoy the sound of a flowing stream churning, bouncing and running by the end of the MH. It is quite relaxing. We love it and those times makes RVing even more desirable and enjoyable.
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Bo & Jan RVing for fun

[tantamount]

[stevebxl]

We are NOT camping in a 40' MH, that's for sure. It's a way for us to see the country in comfort after working for 35 years to be able to afford our home on wheels with the LCD TVs, king-size bed, 1 1/2 baths, microwave, etc. Our kids are grown and gone, and the house has been sold and is gone. Hmmm... I think I need a BIGGER RV!
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Steve & Kathy B.
Fulltime RV'ing

[Old Bob]

My wife and I are both retired, and we use camping as a means to see the country. We have a 17' Casita Spirit Deluxe travel trailer we purchased new in 2006. Our first trip around the US with the Casita covered 16,375 miles and took us 5 months and 4 days before we returned home to Florida. As of the present, we have traveled over 30,000 miles with the Casita visiting many national parks and scenic areas while living in the trailer. We usually take one long trip for 3 months or more each year and several shorter trips of a week or two in duration. If I owned a 40-foot motorhome, we would still live outside most of the time just sleeping or spending bad weather inside.
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Bob & Betty

[kamperman45]

I'm like Gasbag. I camped in the back yard first then an uncle carried three of us camping one night. It rained and we were in blankets on the ground so we came home at 3 am soaked, but I was ready to go again anytime and anywhere. I joined the Boy Scouts and camping out was my favorite thing. Meetings were okay, but sleeping out in the woods in a tent with a campfire was TOPS!

Then the Army in basic and AIT. I was in the Army Reserves in Field Artillery for 12 of my 21 years and FA goes to the field.

Our family camped. My wife was a Girl Scout leader for both daughters and I went from Tiger Cubs to Boy Scouts with my son - 11 years and we camped at least 25 days every year. One year as a BS leader, I camped out in a tent over 120 days with my troop (I was the Scoutmaster), Scout Leader Training, Wood Badge, Summer Camp (I was the Program Director) and National Jamboree as an Asst Scoutmaster.

Our family went from a LARGE tent to a big popup (Coleman Williamsburg) then a 26-foot TT. We had started RVing and we and the kids enjoyed it very much.

We sold the TT and eventually started camping again in tents for a few years. 5 years ago, the wife and I bought a small used PUP and traded it for a 20' Jayco TT 2 years ago. This year we bought a lot at a lakeside CG and traded for a 29-foot TT with a slide out living/dining room. We are RVers and will be from now on.

Did camping and loved it but RVing is so much fun at our age, and the 2 dogs we have like it better too. So Happy RVing to all.
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Just me, DW and 2 pups in a 2008 Jayco 29RLS enjoying RVing every chance we can.

[MoHoMac]

Camping or RVing.
RVing without a doubt.
I use the RV once a year ....... for 6 months.
Then put in the back and clean it for next year.
NO MORE SNOW.
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Mac

[fransiea]

Full-timer, kind of did not want to full time in a tent.
35-foot Alfa fiver, 3 huge slides.
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Frans
Alfa Gold Fiver 35Ft

[constablebill]

Having survived growing up in a family that considered stuffing 9 people into a Volkswagen bus and an Apache pop-up trailer for 2 weeks a year at various state parks where the facilities were euphemistically referred to as "unflushables " as a vacation, I consider myself the ultimate anti-camper. I agree with other posters that nature is best viewed through UV filtering window glass in an air-conditioned room from a comfy chair. So why do I now have a 32' Class A motorhome? Why do we spend as much time as busy schedules permit visiting RV parks and campgrounds?

With three children aged 14 down to 8, it is a matter of convenience, expediency, and economics. With our 1986 Gulfstream packed and ready to go with food, basic clothing, and toilet paper, we can leave on a Friday and spend the entire weekend exploring anything that strikes our fancy. When we arrive at a destination, "unpacking" consists of leveling the rig, unrolling the awning, and hooking up the W,E,S connections.

Even at sub-10 MPG, it is STILL cheaper than airfare, rental car, hotel, etc., for a weekend or a week. Not to mention that the only reason I take my shoes off before boarding the RV is to avoid getting the carpet dirty. We use our RV as a base of operations to visit interesting sites while still coming "home" each evening.

Yes, we do start a campfire and roast marshmallows. Yes, we do hike. Yes, we do marvel at the sight of local fauna walking through our camp. What we ALSO enjoy are fully-cooked meals, the ability to check email, watch movies, and bathe.

The much touted benefits of a camping experience are still ours to take: We spend time together (a 32-foot Class A with 5 people aboard is not really conducive to privacy!), we meet many wonderful and fascinating folks (striking up a conversation with a neighbor at a campsite is much easier and less creepy than knocking on doors in a hotel ), and nature is much more abundant than at your average Holiday Inn.

And the conclusion of each trip is a leisurely drive home, stopping to see anything that strikes our fancy - be it yard sale or family-style restaurant. Having a TV, bed, and bathroom on board significantly attenuates the mantras, "Are we there yet?", "I'm bored!", and "I need to go potty!"

We do not think of our sojourns as camping or RVing. We are vacationing in a manner that is best suited to our income level, time constraints, and personal preferences. Our motorhome is nothing more than the most expedient vehicle (pun definitely intended) for granting us this ability.
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"A thousand years ago I used to look up at the moon and dream about being an astronaut. I just didn't have the grades, or the physical endurance, plus I threw up a lot, and nobody liked spending a week with me." - Phillip J. Fry

[Anderson]

We are living in our RV, not "camping" with it. We are full-timers.

[melissabrvs]

We're definitely RVers! We love having our one and only "home" with us, with all its conveniences, wherever we go. And we love having the scenery changing every week or so.

Neither my husband nor I ever camped much as kids. It wasn't a family thing to do -- more with the Scouts for him, I guess, and a church ranch I worked at for three summers.

The things we liked about those experiences (fresh air, nature sounds, peaceful communion with people, wildlife and our Creator) are things we can still experience today. We have the comforts we enjoy and only have the occasional spider inside! The dogs get us out walking a bit. However, I do have to drag my DH out of the rig almost every night to take a moment to look at the stars instead of the computer!

MelissaBRVs