We also started out in a tent 15 years ago. When we had our first child in 1999, we moved to a small TT and have slowly worked our way up. Having kids, the 5th wheel with bunks offers the most room and I can drive the tow vehicle as a daily driver. When we retire and travel without kids, we will pursue the thought of a Class A.
QUOTE(ddbradley952 @ Dec 16 2007, 04:53 PM) [snapback]9514[/snapback] QUOTE(HappiestCamper @ Dec 16 2007, 02:03 PM) [snapback]9509[/snapback] QUOTE(ddbradley952 @ Dec 16 2007, 01:53 AM) [snapback]9495[/snapback] That's why i bought my camper. hotel rooms are very unsanitary. Disghusting to me. How sanitary is the hat in your avatar It's the same as your pie hole bud... Wanna come over here and say that? Where ya at? Only if I get to buy the first round of drinks Merry Christmas!
Back in the early 60's we started out with a tent. I had camped since the late 30's (as a child). My wife had never heard of camping. Took our oldest daughter camping in the tent when she was 3 months old. From the tent we graduated to a used Apache tent trailer. Traded that in for a used StarCraft Tent trailer. Then in 74 bought a 71 TT, 19' Fan which we used to 83, Then jumped to the motorized area. Bought a 18' MH on a Toyota chasis. That was a real wreck but think we had more fun with that then any camper before or since. Traded that in on a Midas class C, 23 ft. From there in 91 bought a new 25' Class A. (first new camper we ever bought and the biggest piece of junk we ever owned) Quickly traded that for a 96 Winnebago Adventurer and then traded that for a 99 Itasca Sunflyer and then moved up to the DP class with a 01 HR Endeavor. Now we've started going the downsizing route. Sold the Endeavor this past fall and bought a 35' TT which we intend to take to Fla and leave there in a RV park. For "camping" we bought a 22' Class B+ which is lots easier to drive and plenty big enough for the two of us now that our kids are on their own and have their own camping equipment.
QUOTE(Reno @ Dec 18 2007, 07:46 PM) [snapback]9550[/snapback] Back in the early 60's we started out with a tent. I had camped since the late 30's (as a child). My wife had never heard of camping. Took our oldest daughter camping in the tent when she was 3 months old. From the tent we graduated to a used Apache tent trailer. Traded that in for a used StarCraft Tent trailer. Then in 74 bought a 71 TT, 19' Fan which we used to 83, Then jumped to the motorized area. Bought a 18' MH on a Toyota chasis. That was a real wreck but think we had more fun with that then any camper before or since. Traded that in on a Midas class C, 23 ft. From there in 91 bought a new 25' Class A. (first new camper we ever bought and the biggest piece of junk we ever owned) Quickly traded that for a 96 Winnebago Adventurer and then traded that for a 99 Itasca Sunflyer and then moved up to the DP class with a 01 HR Endeavor. Now we've started going the downsizing route. Sold the Endeavor this past fall and bought a 35' TT which we intend to take to Fla and leave there in a RV park. For "camping" we bought a 22' Class B+ which is lots easier to drive and plenty big enough for the two of us now that our kids are on their own and have their own camping equipment. Lordy, you have run the gamut of different vehicles! So I guess that makes you an expert on types of vehicles! I still like my Class C, although my family did tent camping when I was a child. JJ
QUOTE(Reno @ Dec 18 2007, 09:46 PM) [snapback]9550[/snapback] Back in the early 60's we started out with a tent. I had camped since the late 30's (as a child). My wife had never heard of camping. Took our oldest daughter camping in the tent when she was 3 months old. From the tent we graduated to a used Apache tent trailer. Traded that in for a used StarCraft Tent trailer. Then in 74 bought a 71 TT, 19' Fan which we used to 83, Then jumped to the motorized area. Bought a 18' MH on a Toyota chasis. That was a real wreck but think we had more fun with that then any camper before or since. Traded that in on a Midas class C, 23 ft. From there in 91 bought a new 25' Class A. (first new camper we ever bought and the biggest piece of junk we ever owned) Quickly traded that for a 96 Winnebago Adventurer and then traded that for a 99 Itasca Sunflyer and then moved up to the DP class with a 01 HR Endeavor. Now we've started going the downsizing route. Sold the Endeavor this past fall and bought a 35' TT which we intend to take to Fla and leave there in a RV park. For "camping" we bought a 22' Class B+ which is lots easier to drive and plenty big enough for the two of us now that our kids are on their own and have their own camping equipment. Gosh I'm exhausted just reading this.... is this what I have to look forward to?! 1 camping trip in a tent as an adult with kids and I said never again. Bought a 2003 used pop up the following spring, and 3 summers later we are ready to upgrade....get it? Planning on hitting the rv show in Chicago this month to look at prospective units. Likely to be a 25-28 ft TT. My friend Cyndi (they still tent it) calls this "parking in the woods". That's fine with me...
Dad was a career Army officer with a large family (his and his siblings). Mom came from a large family too. Whenever vacations rolled around we would load up the station wagon (family of 9 and all our stuff) and head to Utah to visit. We seldom stayed at motels. Instead we pulled off the highway (not many freeways/interstates back then) at an exit somewhere in BFE, crawled into the mummy bags and crashed. I can remember burning out flashlight batteries thinking the light from the flashlight would generate heat. When we reached Utah, it was more of the same only in the back yards of our cousins’ houses. Heck sometimes we would even go out into the woods. From there it was scouting and then the Army. While in the Army I camped out for 2 years in a place called Vietnam. When I got out of the Army I swore the closest thing to camping I would do was stay at a Motel 6. Christmas ’71, my Dad reserves a 24’ Class C we load up the family living in the Salt Lake Area (7 of us) to go visit our sister in Georgia. I don’t even know if they had RV Parks back then, wouldn’t have made any difference anyway we never stopped for anything but gas and food. My younger sister had a broken leg and took up one entire dinette bench. That left very little space for the rest of us. While I thought the concept was neat, I preferred the creature comforts offered by Motel 6. Got married, had some kids, money was tight, bought a big tent, used it for a couple of years, stickers kept puncturing our air mattresses, decided we liked Motel 6 better. Bought a Class B conversion van in 1975. Used it for camping on one roundtrip cross-country trip and a couple of weekends along the California coast. It was too small for the 5 of us and our dog, had no TV, soooo back to Motel 6. Had a brain fart in 1979 and joined the Army National Guard and later transferred to the Reserves. More weekend camping and at least 2 weeks of it each year. Some of the guys in our battalion suggested getting our families together for weekend camping trips. Did that, but found we had become really fond of Motel 6. Retired from a job in May 2000 that over the course of my career provided wonderful international travel opportunities (business and personal) with a chance to stay in some real world class Motel 6s. No more camping for us! Got mobilized 2 days after 9/11 and got to spend the fall, winter, and spring in raining, snowy, muddy, cold Kosovo. Motel 6 would have been paradise! Fall of 2005, DD comes home with a "cute" little puppy. Said she was going to crate train it and keep it in the crate whenever she worked. She often leaves for work at 5:00 A.M. and doesn't get home until 10:00 P.M. or later. DW (and me too) said we would watch the pooch when she had to work those long days. You guessed it...it is "her" dog, but lives with us. January 2006, I'm at JAX waiting to catch a flight. DW calls and tells me all about this "loveable" puppy cocker she had to have. The perfect companion for DD's pooch. When I got home 3 weeks later, I find the cocker is indeed loveable and cute. We had planned taking a cross-country trip in the spring of 2006 to visit family, friends, attend a convention, and re-visit the Southwest and West. Still had to make the trip, but now were dog slaves...something we swore we would never become. We talked about paying the extra hotel/motel charge for pets in the room, but decided it would be very pricey...as would kenneling them for 2 months. (Also questioned just how clean rooms rented to pet owners were?!?) Oh, what to do??? Hey there is an RV show lets go look. Walked our butts off, heads were spinning, but we found something that our SportsTrac would tow. Left April 1, 2006 for a 60-day cross-country trip. Day 2 we realized we were hooked on RVing. Discovered the dogs love it too! When we bring the TT home to provision it and prepare for a road trip they go nuts! The jump inside the TT and won't come out. Have recently upgraded from the SportsTrac to a big TRUCK (Dodge Ram 3500 6.7-liter turbo diesel---DW, who does most of the driving, said we needed a bigger truck!) In Nov we bought a new 5er with 4 slides, a 36’ Montana. Why a 5er? Utility of space and less expensive than a big Class A. I have to agree with those who own Class A’s that it would be nice to pull into a site, push a few buttons and be level and stabilized without leaving the rig. But, a lot of campgrounds have narrow roads requiring the Class A’s to drop their Toads before they enter, so I guess often times it’s a wash. We love the spaciousness and easy towing. Next trip??? April 1st to and up the West Coast into Canada and home, expect to be gone 70 to 80 days. Oh, we named the 5er K9HAUS.
Started out with VW Westys-three of 'em. Graduated to a Toyota Dolphin, then went fulltime with a 24' TT. Traded in that for a 33' class A, loved the room, hated parking it, and trying to get into gas statiosn to buy gas. The dipwad designer put the gas fill behind the license plate, which meant that by the time I got the tail end to the pump, I had the cashier in the store pushed up against the wall! ;-) So now I've downsized to a 29' B+ with three slides-ahhhh, just right! I do miss the storage of the A, but I'm adjusting. My cats like the B better too!
After a few years of tent camping, I bought a small 5er. A few months later, I got a larger 5er. I enjoyed it, but much of the time my mom would travel with me. As she got older, it became more and more difficult for her to climb in and out of the truck and 5er. Since I really wanted to be able to take her more places in her later years, I decided to go for a motor home. Space was important since I like "stuff". I went to a dealer and told him that I had never driven a motor home, but was thinking about buying one. He said to get in and do a test drive--I did--and I ordered a new one---a 40' diesel pusher. Keep in mind that I was a single female, either traveling alone or with my aging mom (which was sometimes more challenging than being alone ) A few years later, I traded it in for another 40' diesel pusher. Everybody has their own needs and wants--and what is good for you is not necessarily good for me. I had no problem driving it and towing a car. But, not everybody wants to deal with a large rig, especially single women. But, there is nothing difficult about it. Just learn your rig and learn to handle it. I am no longer traveling alone and still in a 40' diesel pusher, and just don't see how I would ever get all my "stuff" in anything smaller.
QUOTE(Jurhee @ Feb 25 2008, 04:19 AM) [snapback]10399[/snapback] Everybody has their own needs and wants--and what is good for you is not necessarily good for me. I had no problem driving it and towing a car. But, not everybody wants to deal with a large rig, especially single women. But, there is nothing difficult about it. Just learn your rig and learn to handle it. I am no longer traveling alone and still in a 40' diesel pusher, and just don't see how I would ever get all my "stuff" in anything smaller. Lordy, I admire solo women who drive these big rigs AND pull a car! I'm chicken! A 30 foot Class C (with an overhead bed my cat loves) and a small Electric Bike are all I can handle! JJ
Well, my family and I aren't much of RV'ers... yet. Growing up we camped everywhere. Never a hotel. As a kid, I remember we started with just my father pickup truck. And old chevy with the bed cap. My father build a simple bunk for me and my sister out of plywood and 2x4's, he and my mother would sleep on the bed of the truck. We did this as the family grew, until there were 4 of us kids, and my father realized this would no longer work. So we graduated to a tent from my grandparents. We used this for several more years, when my father finally bought a used pop-up. This worked for several years, and several rebuilds lol. We replaced it after the crank wore out one too many times, and broke during set up for a week-long camping trip. Of course, it was another popup. lol Now i have my own family, and we've been using a tent. Because of my work schedule and trips (I'm military) we haven't gone camping in a while. We now have 5 children of our own, so we do plan on buying a popup for now. This way we won't have any trouble pulling it with the mini-van. I'm not sure our van would handle anything bigger. We will be looking for one a few years old. I'm not big on bells and whistles, water, elec is all I need lol. Any ideas for which brand to start out on? I need one that sleeps at least 7, preferably just a few years old. I just joined and love this site. Hopefully, we'll be visiting many of the campgrounds here and maybe even run into a few of you out there!
grim509, Just wanted to say "Welcome" to the forum. I'm very sure that someone will have an opinion on the pop-up inquiry. Sorry, can't help you on this one as somehow we missed the "pop-up" camping category. Personally want to say, thank you for your military service for our United States of America. Blessings to you and your family.
