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

[xrated]

Since the thread about "Age of Members" was pretty interesting, I thought I'd start one about how many years everyone had been camping/RVing.

Since I started the thread, I'll start it off. I started camping in 1976, that was my first year of deer hunting. Back then of course, my camping consisted of a tent, sleeping bag, a cot, And just the bare minimum for living in the woods for three our for days. I also tent camped in the springtime for Turkey season, but not as often as the fall for deer hunting. Temperature extremes ranged from 90+ in the spring to one weekend for a December deer hunt that was 15 degrees in the morning....and yes, we were in tents. Fast forward to this past Oct. when I bought my very first ever camping type trailer, Toy Hauler. A couple of weekends ago, we went out for the very first time and experienced it. I have to say, it beats the h€// out of tent camping for me/us.

So, I'm pretty much a total rookie in one respect, but have many years of towing trailers (all of them smaller than my T.H.), and camping a bit.

So, how about the rest of y'all.......how many years have you been doing the camping/RV thing?

[bsmith0404]

Started camping when I was a kid (1973), we went to Canada several times each year on fishing trips, also did hunting trips to SD and WY. Those were all in a truck camper. When I ventured out on my own it was tent camping, hit negative digits in a text during hunting trips, that really sucks when you wake up in the middle of the night and have to go to the bathroom.

Purchased out first 5er in 2009 and now on our 3rd.

[Javi]

If you include tent camping, I've been camping since 1949 or so with the folks... on my on since I got my driver's license in 1963... us kids would be hunting or fishing nearly every weekend and that usually involved camping on some river or lake bank.

After high school I'd drive up to Colorado, Wyoming or Montana for a week or two and pack back into the wilderness to hunt or fish...

[chuckster57]

As a kid I camped with family in a tent, a camper and then a trailer starting in about 1965. With MY family I started with a tent around 1982, went to slide in camper in 1985 and first fiver in 1989.

[SummitPond]

I guess I started camping when I was a boy scout (this would be the early 1960s). The DW's idea of camping (before we married) was a Holiday Inn.

My family (of 6 plus the ever-present pet) eventually got involved in camping. We started out with a U-Haul pseudo-pop-up rental (basically a wooden box on a trailer frame with two large panels that folded out for the beds, covered by a canvas tent, and that was it!). A memorable occasion was when my youngest sister (5-6 years old at the time) slipped out between the canvas and the plywood and ended up on the ground outside. She walked around to the wrong side of the camper - no door. She sat down and whimpered all night. My father's comment was "Who would let their kid cry all night." Was he surprised the next morning.

The family eventually got a proper Starcraft pop-up, then an 18 foot Shasta, a 31 foot Holiday Rambler, and (by now I'm off to college so I don't get to experience this one) a (30 foot?) Winnebago motorhome.

When I got married we had a 1974 VW Kombi camper, complete with air conditioning (if it was cold outside) and heated water (if it was hot outside); we took it on a trip around the country, from FL to CA and up through parts of Canada, down through ME and back to FL just before I entered graduate school. We moved to New Orleans in the late 70s and had no garage. Street parking was not kind to our camper (lost the driver side mirror and rear bumper from people who didn't know how to drive). We eventually gave the VW to my folks, who had since sold the Winnebago but still had the itch to camp.

We started tenting, but after several years the DW determined she was not overly fond of that mode of camping, so we abstained from living in the great outdoors for some 20+ years. Two years ago, with retirement upon us, we decided to get back to camping. The DW wanted proper conditioned air, her own bathroom and kitchen. I wanted to be "free" of having to take our living accommodations everywhere we went, as we had to do with the VW. Thus the trailer instead of a motorhome. It's small, but big enough for us and the cat. Living in FL we get to use the trailer year round, and as further encouragement, we joined a square dance camping club; the have monthly camp outs.

So, while we've been camping for a while, I wouldn't exactly call us "experts", which is one of the many reasons this forum is so useful.

[canesfan]

I started backpacking in high school. My dad always had some sort of camper and was always dragging us around the country starting when I was around 8. I didn't really appreciate it then though. First "camping" trip was to Dover, DE for a NASCAR race. Borrowed the fathers Mazda pickup, threw some sleeping bags, a grill, cooler, misc stuff in the back, grabbed the girlfriend and went for the weekend. Upgraded to a cargo van so we had a roof a little while after that. After kids came along we didn't go camping for awhile, but finally got the itch and rented a Class C a couple times to see if it would work out. Made the mistake of taking the DW to an RV show. Well, I needed a new "car" at the time anyway, so why not a truck and new TT to go with it? That was 20 years ago or something? Can't keep up. Anyway, a couple TTs and I think 3 fivers later and here we are, camping and roughing it.

[66joej]

We started camping in 1968. Girls were 2-4-6. First one was a soft top tent trailer. Since then rigs have been all over the map. 2 - hardtop tent trailers, 5 -
travel trailers, 3 - camperized vans, 2 - motorhomes, 3 - 5ers. Current RV is a TT. Most enjoyable was when the kids were with us ( about the first 15 years) Lots of water under the bridge since those early days.

[jmak]

Wow, I am a late bloomer I guess. 2016 I dove into camping with the purchase of our Keystone Cougar TT. Before that I can count on one two hands the amount of times I have been camping.

[heiserk0410]

My parents took my sister and I camping from a very young age. Probably 5 years old or so. We started off in tents (which I hated because when it rained we always would spend 1/2 the day at the laundry mat), then they bought a pickup camper. When my wife and I got married in 1994, our first vacation together was tent camping up at Pikes Peak in Colorado. Wind was so strong at night we ended up throwing the air mattress in the bed of my pickup which had a fiberglass topper. Worked out pretty well. Since then we had a pickup camper for a couple years when our boys were young. Once they were out of daycare, we purchased our first T.T. Now the boy are teenagers (one a sophomore in high school and the other in college) and they don't go with us as much as they used to. So about 4 years ago we bought our first 5'er and we just sold it and should be taking possession of our new Keystone Laredo within the next week or 2. Can't wait! So all in all, we've been at it for a long time. :-)

[xrated]

Wow, some of you guys have been at it for a long time. I'm definitely a late bloomer when it comes to RV camping, but I think I'm really going to enjoy it.....especially combining it with taking our motorcycles with us. I've been riding since 1971 and that is my true passion.

[Ken / Claudia]

I was camping before 1 year old. As the story goes. We were deer hunting in eastern Oregon and camping in a tent. One of the nights a cougar came thru the camp site but did not harm anyone. Dad awoke to noise but, did not go outside the tent. His friend was sleeping in his car and that morning told my parents it was a cougar. We tent camped until I was high school age. We got a pop up trailer and used that for many years. I took it and Dads land cruiser deer hunting with friends several times. When younger I backpacked a lot and took motorcycles out and camped with them. At 60 years old, no more sleeping on the ground. I have owned 9 rvs of one type or another since about 1990. The latest TT is the only rv I have purchased new.

[Tbos]

Started camping in the mid to late 60s in the Boy Scouts. Tents and backpacks of course. My folks took us with them in the early 70s when they bought the tent camper. After one or 2 nights they kicked my brother and I out to the van. We really didn't mind except there was no heat. When the folks moved to the class Cs they moved us to a big cabin tent. I moved out in the mid 70s and tent camped off and on until May 2013 when we bought our first TT. A Passport 238ML. Needed more space and I wanted a couch or somewhere other than the dinette or bed to sit so we upgraded to our current Passport 2810BHS in Oct 2015. My intention is to keep camping until the good Lord decides it's time to call me home.


2016 Passport GT 2810BHS, 2016 F350 CC DRW

[fatcatzzz]

Well they tell me that when I was less than a year old when Mom and Dad took my brother a I trout fishing (Dad loved to trout fish) in 1951. Been camping ever since. Backpacking Pacific Crest Trail and tent camping all over the west. First RV was a 1981 Nomad 21' TT. Boy how things have changed.

[Mandolin]

Camping with the family since I was an infant - generally with my father's relatives, so it would be a large camp, maybe 7-8 adults and 15-16 kids. Chaotic and fun.

Backpacking and camping in my late late teens, a camping hiatus for university + grad school, some tent camping after with our own very small child, then my father bought us a tent trailer when my son was, I dunno, about 5. We stuck with that for probably 20 years, then bought a 16' trailer, kept that maybe 8 years, then bought our current trailer (21' box, 26' overall).

It is nice having our own space that is set up so that all we need to do is throw our clothes and fresh food in and we are off, but the problem is that neither of us enjoys towing or driving a big truck around. Neither of us enjoys RV parks, either, and the state and national parks are so crowded and have to be scheduled so far out in advance that it pretty much kills off the old spontaneity of get-up-and-go.

This is likely our last trailer and then who knows? A lot of the state parks hereabout have yurts or cabins and that - plus hotels and rental vacation houses - might be the way we go.

[sourdough]

I guess the first time I remember camping was when I was about 5 years old with my parents on a trip to UT from NM in a '52 Chevy pickup with homemade metal frame and tarp. Torn tarp, getting lost in the mountains, generator dying causing no battery....not fun.

Went with the boy scouts on several trips and had a lot of fun. Then the parents took us camping again (they didn't go much) to the mountains. The first night I spent outside the tent in a sleeping bag (I was maybe 10-12). When we awoke there were 3 brown bears on a picnic table about 75-80 yards from us. That evening we had supper and went to bed. In the middle of the night I woke my dad up and said I heard something outside the tent; he said "go to sleep". The breathing became heavier and I told him again with the same response. In a few minutes there was the sound of ripping tarp material....a lot. I was on the ground with my dad and my sister was up against the tent wall on a cot. I looked up and the side of the tent opened up and there was a large bear coming down with the side of the tent onto the side of my sister's cot. Obviously the girls were screaming while me and dad yelled at the bear. It did go away. My dad made the rookie mistake of leaving the Coleman stove out with a skillet full of grease and a trash bag with all the leftovers etc. The bear took a LONG time to eat the grease, tear up the trash and go thru the ice chest.

Fast forward to after I was married (1967); we tent camped for years, then had 3 different slide in cabover campers. Went back to tent camping in the early 80's. In '84 took a trip to Yellowstone tent camping from the trunk of the car. Stayed in a campground either just outside, or just inside, Yellowstone (Jenny Lake??). Put up the tent, had a great evening, locked everything up in the car. In the middle of the night we heard screeching sounds of all kinds; banging and then people yelling and screaming. It went quiet for a bit then we heard the sounds of someone just throwing things into the bed of a truck, engine cranked and they were gone. In the morning we walked down to see what happened. There were remnants of a Coleman ice chest, the ones with the metal top and sides SHREDDED! There was a lot of other debris strung around. The guy that was in the campsite next to them said a grizzly had come in and found their foodstuffs and had a time. The folks just ripped up their gear and threw it in their truck and left in the middle of the night.

We completed that trip and when I got back I bought my first TT in '85. We figured we needed something a little stronger to fend off the bears in the future Tried a pop up for a few years. Felt more "outdoorsy" but we still liked the regular TT better so went back to them with the exception of about 8 years when we didn't have anything (TT) and reverted to a tent (we had bought a summer home in the mountains so that cut way back on going camping). We still have the summer home but I guess it's sort of old news now and we want to go other places so we're back to TTs again.

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

[zuley]

My wife and I were boaters for a number of years starting in the early 90's. The boat was our cottage on the water. As the kids got older they balked at coming with us every weekend. Zodiacs and Sea Doos kept them interested for a few years but remembering what I was like there was no chance I was leaving a 15 and a 16 year old at home by themselves every weekend. The final straw was the $700 fuel bill to head to our usual week end haunt and back again. Sold the boat and did yard work for a few years. Friends invited us to go camping with them one summer to the same place we had been going for years with the boat. Started out with a tent and a bunch of our left over boating gear. Next came the Coleman pop up for a couple of years. Next was a high wall pop up that was going to last us forever. While attending a show with friends we spied the Passport. Happy wife, happy life. This will be our 5th summer with the TT. We on average camp 42 days per season. This past weekend we were with friends who have just purchased a diesel pusher. It was suggested we should do the same. I'm saying no way. We'll see what the future brings.

[fourfourto]

I guess I wasn't even 1 the summer of 1962 but was told we camped in tents seen some video 8mm with stupid music , they got put on vhs then disk now on pc.

Moved to a trailer soon after , I went from ny to ca and back in 1969.

Was in NHCA as far back as I remember
Seagulls chapter LI ny camped every other weekend. I stopped when I got my licence in 78, 16 I stayed home

Tented at smith point beach a lot in HS .

For the last 10 years been using the trailer as mobile hotel room been all over several times a year
Just went camping at the beach easter weekend.

[gearhead]

Sleeping on army surplus cots with a "skeeter bar" next to the lake while trot lining at about 8 years old. First rv trip was with my uncle and cousins in his rv....a converted bread truck step van, about 1963, to Arkansas. Wife and I tent camped some in the 70's. Then we bought a 8ft cab over from a co-worker in the early 80's. Went all over in it......Arkansas, Yellowstone, Colorado elk hunting. Kids came along and we bought a new 1987 travel master class c. Kept it for 6-8 years until the kids got busy with school activities on weekends and summers. Didn't camp anymore until we retired in 2008? Too busy at work....basically on call whenever anything broke. Bought a lightly used GMC 2500 then the Cougar XLite 28SGS. Then the f350 diesel, then the Montana HC, then discovered I was overloaded and bought the Ram, then the cab over. We like to go to NASACAR races and do some genealogy in the Carolina's & Virginia. I do some trout fishing when i can. We are way overdue for the west.

[GlenY]

first camping trip April 1963 that was a tent we have had pop up travel trailer now on our 3rd 5th wheel

[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.....