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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To us not having a fire is not camping! It is the fun part of the night for us and a lot better then staring at a TV screen or even smaller cell-phone.
A fire beats staring at a smart phone and/or a stupid TV every time
Einar, I completely agree with you.
We love to read and try to be in bed around 22:00 or about dusk/dark so having to set around a camp fire waiting for it to burn down and then putting it out just doesn’t fit our life style. When we are with the siblings then things change and we break all of our habits and enjoy the family time.
Whether we enjoy a wood camp fire depends on the time of year we are camping. While snowbirds we don’t have a fire but while weekend camping with friends in state parks during the rest of the years we enjoy sitting around the fire almost every night.
Half of our annual RV trips occur in parks that do not allow wood fires, so we use a wax based “campfire in a can” if permitted. Otherwise, if the park allows wood fires we always have one.
We camp with our son and his wife quite often, and he’s just as adamant about campfires as we are.
Always cognizant of our smoke and noise concerning our neighbors.
Starting a campfire in a crowded campground is very inconsiderate too your downwind neighbors. Boondocking – no problem.
Used to have nightly campfire when camping when growing up, but parks are so crowded now that it seems to be unacceptable to nearby campers. So we sit out and watch the sunset and maybe watch the moon and/or stars awhile and listen to the “night sounds” before going inside.
HOWEVER, if nearby neighbors have a fire going then we feel free to do the same.
We never have a campfire, and can’t stand the smoke of those parked nearby. I guess that’s partly because I don’t consider what we do as “camping”, but more like just traveling around the country in our RV home.
My propane campfire has no smoke and is safer than wood with no sparks flying. Only way to go!
We have an propane powered, “Outland Firebowl”. I use it regularly.
Love having a fire! It is THE best thing about camping to me. However, we usually are camping at our own recreational property without neighbors. Fire goes from morning til nighttime.
Should we be camping elsewhere, having a fire is always dependent on what the situation is—are the neighbors close? is it windy? are fires even allowed? Each time, we consider these things before automatically lighting.
But….should we opt for a fire, we keep it small and as smoke-free as possible.
I guess you might say I am borderline asthmatic; burning wood, especially uncured or wet wood, makes me cough and can ruin my life for over 24 hours; you will never see me at a “campfire”. If the smoke is bad where I’m camping I will either spend my time trapped indoors with the A/C on, if that alleviates the problem,or if it’s really bad, I will pack up and move. People do not realize or care how rude smokey “campfires” can be. The funny thing is that once the smokey fires have been started I rarely see them outside enjoying their mess.
We regularly have a camp fire if allowed. Most of the time I start with a charcoal fire in the fire ring that we use to cook our dinner. (much better flavor than a gas grill) then I simply throw on two pieces of dried firewood and enjoy the dancing flames as the evening closes. Occasionally using the final coals for marshmallows and smores for dessert. We still use the RV for camping as we are both still employed and enjoy the time away. At our landlocked home we grill over charcoal regularly and on the few cold Florida nights we do use wood in our fireplace. I am sure that if we spent a majority of our time in an RV that we would do differently.
I’m really torn on this subject. We are not yet in the RV, but 3-6 months from full-timing. We are working hard to remember the adage “you’re not on vacation” (as we will be working on the road). We’ve seen this “no campfires” mantra in many articles and YouTube videos. We are so very much looking forward, however, to having a campfire. Definitely not every night, since we aren’t on vacation, but I chose 3 to 10 out of the 100 nights poll as I suspect we will definitely do so. I would likely suggest, however, that RV campgrounds should REMOVE firepits and probably place a ban on campfires. (An apartment compex probably wouldn’t allow wood fires!) State and National parks, probably not. After all, that is more “camping”, generally, than “RV’ing”, I would suspect.
I will add, though, that a propane fire is absolutely NOTHING like a good smoky, wood-burning-smelling campfire. Just not the same. I have owned propane firepits (and will likely have one with the RV), and they are nice enough, but not quite the same.
Just my two cents.
I agree with you in that propane fires are just not the same !!!!
I don’t want to add to the air pollution the world is suffering from now so I never have a fire unless the grandkids are along. Then I use the Duraflame type logs that burn cleaner and don’t pollute very much, if at all.
As we aged into our mid-sixties, my wife became allergic to the smoke from a wood fire, the type of wood used notwithstanding. As an alternative, I bought a “Fire Dancer” portable propane fire pit. Now we have the warmth and ambiance of a fire without the smoke and other wood fire issues. When camping with others, who desire to have a fire, I always volunteer to break out our propane pit, including the the propane on my “nickel.” No one has turned me down yet!
When we have a campground that allows wood fires – almost every night. There are so many now that don’t allow wood fires that we bought a propane fire-pit and we have used it about 6 times in the last 80 days in Florida.
None. We’re not fans of smoke, in the van or in our clothes.
Probably half of the time but most commercial parks don’t allow them. We like them tho and as we boondock more that will be another benefit.
I have a propane fire pit. No smoke, no ashes, leave the site nice and clean.
We have our ‘forever’ campfire.
This started with the first campfire we had with our RV.
(As an aside, before retiring, like a good Boy Scout, we douse the fire with water to ensure it is completely out. Always. No exceptions. Even if we will have a campfire the next day.)
The day that we are leaving, I take any remaining coals and store them for the next camping trip.
These become part of the fuel for the new campfire.
So, every campfire we have, is made from the previous campfire.
The forever campfire.
Kinda like making sourdough bread . . .
Allergic to smoke. Hate it when a pall settles over a campground from many smoky fires.
Some of us are very sensitive, even allergic, to things in wood smoke. And often we find people burn more than just wood (leaves, plastic, etc). Or the wood doesn’t burn, it just smolders. Nasty! The ones that get me are the people who MUST have a fire when it’s 100 degrees outside. Seems a waste of wood. And good air. I came out here to get fresh air, not to smell bad smoke smells. Use clean dry wood only, or please don’t make people with asthma or COPD sick. Oh, and don’t burn on a windy night when the smoke blows everywhere and doesn’t stay in your space. Thanks from those of us who silently suffer.
Would love to have frequent wood campfires but nearly all the campgrounds/rv parks we have been to do not allow wood campfires.
Well my first 45 years of camping consisted exclusively of dry camping pretty much once a month! I belong to a 4 wheel drive club & we not only have a campfire every night we all use it to cook with first. We all boondocked it & sometimes we traveled 3 or 4 miles down a washed out road to make camp! Since I got my diesel pusher 4 years ago we started to do some traveling, our first trip was to Seattle to visit a friend, it was really difficult to get reservations anywhere near our destination & having a cam[fire was out of the question as the spots barley had enough room for our RV, let alone having a fire inbetween them! Our 2 month trip to Alaska was about the same very crowed RV parks, but on the way back through Canada most of the parks were free & with free wood & we had camp fires every night!
We use a woodstove at home as much as possible for heat, so I mess with wood a lot, maybe that’s why the urge to have a campfire is not real big. Only a few times. I have some firewood in the MH that’s been in there a couple years.
Plus the fact that most trips are in warm weather. Seems weird to turn off the roof air at sunset and sit in front of hot fire. And the no-fire rules…
That’s all going to change later this year. Retirement! Might be out in cooler weather and also on a slower schedule!
It’s interesting that you ask this question. I can recall that when my wife and I first started out camping in a tent, we enjoyed having a small campfire almost every night. Over the years this ritual seems to have become less important. Perhaps this is due to the fact that we soon graduated to a tent trailer and eventually to a travel trailer where we can be indoors.
The other factor that has put a crimp on the wood fire is that we aren’t as tolerant of the smoke and the resort we are member’s of took all the fire pits away because of fire bans a couple of years ago and never replaced them.
We do, however, have a propane fire pit that we use on occasion and we are allowed to have wood fires IF we bring our own fire pit. We don’t have the space to store one so we use the one we have.
Funny how they are becoming more popular. Greener could possibly be the reason.
Wayne
Almost every night and a lot of times we use one during the day for cooking supper. Always enjoy the final hours sitting around the campfire with family and friends. With the Ash borer, it is getting more expensive to purchase wood locally, but still find it worth the time and expense.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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).
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.
We use a propane campfire.
Propane fire pit most nights.
At least 80% of the time
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.
Propane fire pit most nights.
I can’t start one so I don’t have one. Even lighter fluid does not work.
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..
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.
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!
Love my small campfire, but depends on location and weather
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.
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….
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.