For every 100 nights you spend in your RV, how often do you have a wood campfire? Is it a “must do” activity for you, or something you seldom or even never do?
We’re curious about RVtravel.com readers, if they’re “fire kinda people” or not. Please leave a comment if you’re so inclined.
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I always loved fires but when I realized that so many people have health issues including my husband who has COPD. After watching so many wild fires burn in California we decided it was not worth the risk. You just can’t be too careful.
I have a portable firepit, that we use every week or sometimes every other week, and it depends where we are. If we are not in a fire danger zone or in a park where we have close neighbors, we will bring it out and start a fire. We are usually joined by others who also enjoy an occasional campfire. If at all possible we stay away from being near anyone who objects to an open fire, for whatever reason. WE always use “DRY Hardwood” for the least amount of smoke and ashes. It is really getting irritating and frustrating to find people who come from 1/2 a mile away upwind from us to complain about a fire. These are the same folks who would complain if you hung them with a brand new dermatologist approved rope….
For us the poll could have been better answered by asking how many times in 100 nights in our RV have we wished we’d picked a spot that disallowed campfires. For us the answer would have been 100% of the time.
The reason: Why in this day of environmental sensitivity people still insist on fouling the air they breathe with totally unnecessary carbon spewing campfires, stinking up not only themselves but often everyone around them remains a mystery to us.
Thankfully more and more operators are banning the practice.
Love my small campfire, but depends on location and weather
We’ve lived full time in an RV for over 6 years. We do not usually stay in campgrounds, but volunteer at wildlife refuges for months on end. No campfires are allowed there. We may also stay on Harvest Host properties or in parking lots (Walmart, Cracker Barrel, etc.) while traveling to the next destination. The volunteering is a wonderful way to get free spaces in quiet places!
If it isn’t too windy and the park rules allow picking up branches from the forest floor then yes. But we keep it small. We have been full-time for 8 months and have only had a fire a dozen times.
Too restrictive in most places. Cannot import foreign wood or logs.
Must buy your firewood from them for $$ for 5 logs that last 2 hours.
Nope.
It is never dry either..
I can’t start one so I don’t have one. Even lighter fluid does not work.
Propane fire pit most nights.
Even though we are avid boondockers, in 20 years of rving mostly in Mexico, we’ve only had a fire once. Too much hassle, smoke, and worry about starting a fire. Better to just sit outside under the stars and enjoy our favorite beverage while we chat. Good times.
At least 80% of the time
Propane fire pit most nights.
We use a propane campfire.
Three years of burn bans out west we got a propane fire pit. Still try for a wood fire. Now with all the restrictions on firewood we’ll probably just use the propane fire pit.
This poll was kinda absurdly biased… for every HUNDRED nights in my RV, I probably have a fire NINETY if the weather permits. Remove nights that are raining or howling too hard, and I’m still 3/4… Fires in light rain or breezes are still good fires.
I like fires. Lots of fires. 😀
(Contrary to the probable intention of casting fire-people as evil trolls ruining a cramped RV-park… I don’t go there. If I can throw a large rock and hit your RV, you’re too close).
Wood campfires are bad for everyone’s health. We do propane fires every night camping using portable propane fire pits.. no smoke, no restrictions, no wood needed just propane.
Unlike people who started out tent camping, I played on sailboats most of my adult life. I never got into the campfire habit, since sailors don’t generally build camp fires in the cockpit when on anchor.
Have been camping a long weekend every month for the past seven years now & have almost always had a great wood fire 60-70% of the time at night on someone’s site in our group. DH finally has gotten tired of hauling wood & feels like his lungs are taking a beating (he always just about sits on top of the firepit) so he ordered a propane firepit. Have used that the past 2 outings & can say I just LOVE firing that thing up on the cold mornings to drink our coffee by. Went thru 40-50 pounds of propane on this last trip but very worth it.
I cut a crapload of wood for heating, so cutting/hauling firewood hasn’t bothered me… paying for LP seems wasteful, and it’s not the SAME sort of crackling-good fire. That said, having generous experience with building and running a fire, I don’t usually breathe much smoke around my campfire — just sit upwind a few feet away to compensate for wind buffeting…
Having a campfire is getting to be inconvenient and expensive.
You can’t bring wood across state lines. The five or six pieces of wood you buy in a bundle at the camp store are either green or light wood that burns in no time requiring additional purchases.
Normally I will ride around the area outside the campground and buy wood from someone selling at the curb.
Gosh, to me it isn’t camping without a campfire. It’s my favorite part of camping.
It is my husband’s favorite also. We did buy a propane one for when wood fires are not allowed.