Number of Years Camping/RVing......

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by notanlines

Boy Scout camping in the early 60's, pop-up trailer in late 60's from Special Services, tent and van camping and deer hunting in early 70's, tent camping with the kids all through the 80's and early 90's along with one 26' trailer. Kids left home and we continued with a Hi-Lo and then to the 5'ver. How about all those good times that the youth of today will be talking about when someone asks what they did for family activity and they give them a play by play account of their sister's volleyball game and how the family enjoyed it. And they had to stay home the whole week-end because the game was Saturday afternoon. I have probably opened up a can of worms.....

Same can of worms I try to undo every time I can get the grandgirls to listen or go with me. That's the purpose of our trip to CO in June. I've still got pictures of the first time the girls went out on our boat and caught a fish along with the first time they went trout fishing with me in CO. That picture is still on the front of my fridge...and it's still on theirs as well I remember those things vividly, I can't remember smart phone games, facebook, twitter etc. etc. Just "real" things.

[ctbruce]

I'm a late bloomer too, with no regrets and I don't do anything half-way. This will be our 3rd season camping, stayed out 46 nights each of the first 2 years. Roughing it to us was having to stay at Motel 6. The DW grew up camping with a Boy Scout dad and brother and hates campfires. I just never camped except for maybe 3-4 times in high school. DW retired and we were wanting to get a place on a lake but being saddled down to one location didn't appeal to us. Some friends were campers, they took us under their wing to get us going and haven't stopped since.

We went to Mount Rushmore/SD last year and Yellowstone. Arkansas and Oklahoma the year before that. This year we will go to Wisconsin and Michigan and Arizona early next year. I know its a good thing when DW calls me at work and says, "guess what I did? I made reservations for us at that campground we have been talking about!" Now that is a good life.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by ctbruce

I'm a late bloomer too, with no regrets and I don't do anything half-way. This will be our 3rd season camping, stayed out 46 nights each of the first 2 years. Roughing it to us was having to stay at Motel 6. The DW grew up camping with a Boy Scout dad and brother and hates campfires. I just never camped except for maybe 3-4 times in high school. DW retired and we were wanting to get a place on a lake but being saddled down to one location didn't appeal to us. Some friends were campers, they took us under their wing to get us going and haven't stopped since.

We went to Mount Rushmore/SD last year and Yellowstone. Arkansas and Oklahoma the year before that. This year we will go to Wisconsin and Michigan and Arizona early next year. I know its a good thing when DW calls me at work and says, "guess what I did? I made reservations for us at that campground we have been talking about!" Now that is a good life.

There's one thing wrong with your post....calls you at WORK?? You need to work on fixing that.....

[ctbruce]

Originally Posted by sourdough

There's one thing wrong with your post....calls you at WORK?? You need to work on fixing that.....

I agree but since I love what I do haven't had to work for years and it keeps both of us in insurance. It's getting closer...every day....

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

[vampress_me]

I guess technically my first time camping was when I was about a year old. I have been told our family went camping with friends in their pop-up. Mom put me in the camper for a nap one afternoon. A little while later everyone came running when I started screaming and the next door neighbor yelled out "hey lady, your kid just rolled into our campsite". A few of the snaps on the canvas were broken and I rolled off the bed and down the hill. After that, it took another 19 years before I camped again. My parents (mom, I think) prefer camping in hotels.

Hubby grew up camping, so got me into tent camping in college in WY. He was very patient, even to packing up at midnight once in the middle of a thunderstorm since I couldn't take that in a tent. Then, jobs got in the way, and then children. In 2014 he decided he wanted to fly fish more than he was able, and figured the only way to do that was to get us camping again. And, so not to repeat the thunderstorm fiasco, decided we needed a camper. We found one we love, and that's that. In 2015 we took it for a week in NY state and two weeks later left for MT and WY and spent a couple weeks that way. 2016 the big trip was again west: Glacier, Missoula, Yellowstone, and the Big Horns. And we spend as many weekends as possible in the southeastern corner of MN.

[66joej]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Sorry for the long story but I'm desperately looking for a way to delay going out and cleaning the yard

I think you should write a book,

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by 66joej

I think you should write a book,

I almost did!!

[DAN d]

started in 1970 1st fith wheel was a 27'' sandpiper wow how big four more 5vers they got bigger now we are getting smaller lots of fun enjoy every one

[byrdr1]

WOW,
grew up as an ARMY brat. If you are military you know every base has a type of recreation area near a lake or something like that. So we always camped in tents, back of cars etc. My dad served two tours and so we never did anything those two years but the rest of the time every other or every 3rd weekend we were camping out somewhere. My best memories are of us in Ft Gordon GA. we had a boat and a slide in camper in the back of a 1966 DATSUN pickup truck and pulled the boat behind it. Clark Hill Reservoir. a different name now. Back to the original question:
We tent camped at NASCAR races for the last 25 years. ONCE the tent got old we bought a POPUP and it was still just a guys thing. the wife had never camped at all.
SO I got her to go by doing everything. I mean everything connected to the camping trips. That was around 17-19 years ago. NOW 4 campers later we camp as a family and my kids love it. MY oldest and her family have their on 5er now. My youngest tents when she gets a chance and the middle, he and his girlfriend come along when he's not working at the fire department.
So I have camped most of my life off and on and as a family unit for around close to 20 years now.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
randy

[B-O-B'03]

I remember camping with my parents and their brothers/sisters/kids when I was little, by the time I was 7, I had my own, canvas, pup-tent.
We moved to the states, when I was 9 and the parents bought a 24' Winnebago, we went all over in that.
Out of high school I bought a full-size Dodge van that I customized and camped in, totaled that one, bought another one, customized it, camped in it, with the DW and kids as they came along.
As the kids got older we graduated to a 2 room cabin tent and camped across the south west in it... I got to where I could set it up, in the dark, by myself, in about 15 minutes... while the DW was in the heated van asking if it was ready yet.
We bought a starcraft popup in 1995 and drug the wheels off of it, until the "kids" had lost interest in camping with the folks.
Took an 8 or so year hiatus and bought the current trailer in Feb of 2015.

I guess I have been camping, in one form or another for almost 60 years.

-Brian

[CrazyCain]

Started camping when i was around 8y/o in 1966..with my mom,dad 2 brothers and a sister. with an old pop up that Dad pulled with a Chevolet station wagon..Got into Boy Scouts and did the tent thing. When i met the DW and got married, bought a tent we used for a few years then we bought a Starcraft Pup. Then went to a conversion van, tried that for 3 years or so, went back to pop up and then last year bought our 1st TT.. ALl great times for the last 50 years or so..
:marshmallow :

[Ken / Claudia]

This is the most fun to read thread I have read on this forum. Come on folks who have not added anything. Post your story.

[busterbrown]

My earliest memories of camping begin on the western shores of Michigan many moons ago. My parents loaded all of us kids in the "family truckster" and headed westward during the warm summer months. Accommodations included lavish nylon tents, weathered canopies, and plastic ground tarps. Dad fired up the Coleman mantle lantern at sunset while Mom tended to dinner preparations on the propane stove. Memories of searching for campfire kindle and exploring the adjacent woods are vivid still today.

After college, life became busy and camping fell by the wayside. An occasional white water rafting trip and backpacking adventure barely satisfied my outdoor desires.

Fast forward another decade into 2012 and the story continues with my DW and first DS. The DS was 18 months old and us new "parents" decided it was time to re-live a pastime of tent camping and all the enjoymemt it brings.

The maiden trip with our toddler son included a 6x10 enclosed utililty trailer and all the outdoor "tent-camping" essentials. The weather predicted was fair with just a slight chance of showers. We assumed the tent would keep us dry in the likelyhood of rain. Boy, we couldn't have been more wrong.

On the first night, with the pack n play setup in the tent, the DS fell fast asleep. An hour or so after enjoying the campfire, the DW and I retired inside the tent as well. Not 5 minutes after getting comfortable on the air mattress, the drizzle began. 10 minutes after that, the drizzle became a steady rain. The tent was holding strong though.

Another 10 minutes goes by and the thunder begins. Five minutes later, the steady rain becomes a downpour. The wind is now relentless and pushing in on the entry side of the tent. The DS is awake and crying at this point. The dog is barking. The floor of the tent is becoming a river. The DW is screaming at me over the shockwaves of thunder, exclaiming that the camping trip was my idea and that we needed to leave now. In defense of "our" decision, I refuted back that it was mutually agreed upon to come. Tempers were flairing, kid was crying, and everything we brought with us was sopping wet.

As the wife was upset and frantically packing up our possessions inside the tent, I began looking outside at a group of RVs parked nearby. In one of the coaches, I took notice of 2 heads looking out the window at us. I could only imagine what dad was telling mom as they sipped on nighttime toddies: "Goofballs decided to rough it in the rain, in a tent, with the baby, and with the dog".

Suffice it to say, July 2012 was the last time we camped until last year, March 29th 2016, the day I surprised the DW (for our anniversary) with the gift we all know as an RV.

And the new "glamping" decade of memories have begun.

[Richard Noble]

Started in mid-'50's in the Boy Scouts. When I had boys of Scout age I became a Scout Master and really got into backpacking with them. Found an old home-made crank-up camper and got the then wife and daughter into it. Enter second (and last) wife (1988) and she had a 12 1/2 ft cab-over camper on a 1966 Ford 250. I converted that Ford to DRW because that camper was way heavy. We have since had 4 fifth wheelers and are looking at a new one. Since retirement (2000) we have spent about 6 months/year in them; three Fords and now a 2007 Chevy Duramax DWR four door. I blew the trannys out of all three Fords. Love that Chevy!

[Kemp716]

I’ve been told that my first camping trip was when I was about six months old. My father had a 60’s something Chevy with a camper shell. My dad did a lot of sailing so most of our camping was done at lakes all over California. Over the years my parents had several cabover campers, popups, and VW vans.

In high school, I started tent camping with my friends. We did a lot of fishing and sailing, and eventually acquired and old Star Craft tent trailer. Since then, my camping and Rv’s has ebbed and flowed. The only type of RV I haven’t owned or extensively experienced is a toy hauler. Most recently, I purchased my first Keystone TT and have passed along the camping bug to my children. I really enjoyed most of my past rigs, but I believe the Passport TT I just bought will best fit the needs of my family and be great for the places where we camp most often.

[EagleandFox]

I don't quite remember what prompted us to buy our first camper in 2002 - maybe it was listening to the adventures of friends? My hubby camped off and on in tents for years, me - only once with him, that was enough for me - our food was tied up high in trees away from our site so as not to attract bears Our first camper was a 24' Sportsmen trailer with a rear slide out for our bed (we had to climb over the dinette to get into our bed) and the front 6' was a huge bunkroom with 4 bunks! I loved it for the kids - no issue with room for friends to come along! We upgraded to a 24' 5th wheel in 2005, and have had that since this February, when we upgraded to the 2017 Hideout 299RLDS. No kids along with us anymore, but hopefully they will join us on the occasional outing!

[Desert185]

The Boys Scouts introduced me to camping during the 50's. We were living in the SF Bay Area and had uncles and cousins living in the rural central valley. I always liked the country.

Viet Nam and the Army caused me to "camp" in Southeast Asia for about 18 months during the 60's. That experience ended any desire to camp for almost 15 years.

Having a son and a stepdaughter during the late 70's there was an expressed desire to go family camping so I bought a popup tent camper to tow behind the K10 (that I still have). The initial campout resulted in mixed success. I was actually thinking perimeter and the best defensive position, the wife at the time hated it, my son had me kill a rattler and the stepdaughter thought she was going to die when a bug nipped her foot. The tent camper sat for a few months, then was sold. The son and I did enjoy the experience, though.

Fast forward to the 80's, new wife, same son, we bought a motorhome and enjoyed that with a front bumper mount for the son's Yamaha YZ80.

1990's: The next iteration was a popup Four Wheel camper on a Dodge 2500 4WD diesel. This allowed getting a bit farther into the backcountry (without any lingering thoughts of perimeters and defensive positions, I might add).

We found ourselves spending summers in Alaska and found ourselves driving a used, killer deal motorhome to AK to use as a summer home. It was fun, but since I fly we decided to sell the motorhome, buy a plane and a cabin off the road system. This allowed us to explore AK and parts of Canada camping with the plane. This eventually progressed to flying/camping the Idaho backcountry, which continues to be my favorite camping to date.

In 1999, I bought a BMW GS and camped AK with the wife both in a tent and the occasional tempting lodge in the middle of nowhere. Had the son fly to AK so the two of us could ride/camp with two bikes down the AK Hwy towards the end of summer. That was a great father/son trip. So much so that we're considering another on motorcycles.

2014: We bought the 326SRX toyhauler, primarily for boondocking with an ATV. Its comfortable and allows us to explore the big empty of NV, it's ghost towns, abandoned mines and other interesting attractions.

I will always be indebted to the Boy Scouts for their introduction to camping and the principles and skills I learned as a kid stuck in suburbia too close to the city.

[GMcKenzie]

While I don't remember this, apparently my parents went tenting in June, 1965, and got flooded out. My diapers went floating downstream. Last time they tented as Mom put her foot down about a trailer and Dad got one a couple weeks later. So I've been in a trailer since I was ~ 4 months old.

[buzzcop63]

Back when tent's were made of "drilled cotton", they stunk, were stiff and small and the cot's were flimsy and the sleeping bag would get too hot or too cold and I would get tangled up with my leg's as I turned a lot and then their is the run to the out house at 3 am which stank. Those are my earliest memories and I would guess it would be around the early 50's. I do remember great times during the day running and playing on the trails through the woods of Eastern Oregon, our coast and in the Cascades. Then dad bought a 16' or so Travel Trailer which he towed with a 51 Ford, I remember the trailer had an ice box, light was from a double filament pressurized light and my brother of 6 years older would sleep on the folded down kitchen table and mom and dad had the bed in the back. I thought it was pure luxury!

Late 50's and the Travel Trailer got sold and no camping for a several years and then Mom and Pop started making money in a new business venture and got into boating. During the summer of my freshman year in High school we spent every weekend out on the river camping in a 25" Chris Craft, then a 28' Tolleycraft and finally a 34' houseboat with a big V-8 engine. That camping went on through collage and after wife and I married way back in 1967. Parents sold off the boat in the 70's. I got into motorcycles in 1970 and went back to sleeping bags tossed on the ground in some far off part of Oregon and eventually graduated up to a pup tent. Their were times when the bugs were big enough that the only way to get away from them was to zip up the sleeping bag and hope you still got enough air to last the night! But as I got older and the bike trips got longer the call of the Motel took over and so camping was put aside again until 2012 when wife and I purchased our 27' Cougar. Now in retirement we go out an average of 44 nights during Oregon's summer months and absolutely love it. Our state is beautiful and the county and state parks are great destinations camping spots.

[Mhoward324]

I began camping when I was in my single digits. My parents would team up with uncles, aunts, and cousins and every year we would do a two week tent camping trip to Cedar Point County Park in Eastern, LI. That was about 40 years ago and the camping trips stopped after we moved out of NYC and did not start up again until 2008 when we bought our first camper, a Keystone Passport 245RB. From there we moved up to a larger Jayco Jay Flight 325BHDS and this year we bought our first 5er, a Laredo 325RL.

Most of our trips are in Northern NY with weekend trips to the local state parks (Cedar Point State Park, Wellesley Island State Park, Coles Creek State Park, and Robert Moses State Park) along the St Lawrence River. We do take two, week long trips a year and this year those are in Watkins Glen starting this Friday and in September to Maine at the Moorings Oceanfront RV Resort.

We've been out once in the Laredo on what was our shakedown trip. Discovered issues with the water pump and diverter valve which has since been resolved and looking forward to getting on the road Friday!!

We schedule at least one weekend trip a month between May and October, but usually get two weekends a month in. This year we have 8 trips scheduled and still looking to get more in if we can!