The Future Of "camping"

QUOTE(kcmoedoe @ Sep 1 2013, 09:46 PM) [snapback]34624[/snapback]

Oh well, guess RVing isn't for you. Kind of like I wouldn't spend 6 seconds of my life watching soccer, but would spend tens of thousands for a seat at the Super Bowl should my favorite team be a participant. On the flip side there is some silly Brit who would toss a Super Bowl ticket in the trash, but would do anything to get into a Premier Finals game (if that is what they call the superbowl of English Soccer). Hey you gave it try, wasn't for you, time to move on. Good luck with whatever your future entertainment endeavors are.



You missed the point, and since you would spend 'thousands' for a football game it is obvious you would.

Let me ask you, you already would spend thousands for a game, would you still go if they stopped you from bring drinks in with you and make you pay an arm and a leg for theirs (oh wait they do that), what if the stopped your wife from bringing her purse (they do that too), what if they basically stripped searched you, (hmm, they do that too) what if they decided to do away with the seats and make everyone stand because they would make more money. What if there were so many people you couldn't see the game? Would you still go?

You are absolutely right, RV'ing is not for me. Camping is. The problem is RV'ers have taken over the activity of camping and left those who enjoyed that activity with nothing left. Funny thing is the only reason RV'ers can do what they do is because of money. It is not about their ability to actually ENJOY the outdoors. More than likely if the money was taken away the RV parks would be empty, and the true campers would come back.

Anyway, I went this past holiday weekend on purpose. I wanted to see the worst case scenario. That was disturbing. All those people jammed on top of each other and they called that fun?

I wish that there could be a clear distinction between a real 'campground' and an RV Park. I suppose though, not many RV'rs would show up if the advertised for the best RV Parking Lot around, as apposed to trying to pretend it is a campground.

Maybe one day RV'ers will realize they can't see the football game anymore and leave the area to those who would truly enjoy the stadium empty.

 

QUOTE(cwcsmc @ Sep 2 2013, 01:11 PM) [snapback]34636[/snapback]

The problem is RV'ers have taken over the activity of camping and left those who enjoyed that activity with nothing left. Funny thing is the only reason RV'ers can do what they do is because of money. It is not about their ability to actually ENJOY the outdoors. More than likely if the money was taken away the RV parks would be empty, and the true campers would come back.



I'm sorry you have such a judgmental view of people that you lump all RVers into one category. I can assure you that many of us enjoy being outdoors even though we may choose to cook and sleep in our RVs. IMHO it's not about money, we've been RVing since we bought our first popup when our kids were young. Believe me that wasn't a luxurious unit and didn't cost anywhere close to what the van did that was pulling it. Some of us simply make choices that are different than yours are; that's what living in a democracy is all about.

 

QUOTE(docj @ Sep 2 2013, 12:28 PM) [snapback]34638[/snapback]

I'm sorry you have such a judgmental view of people that you lump all RVers into one category. I can assure you that many of us enjoy being outdoors even though we may choose to cook and sleep in our RVs. IMHO it's not about money, we've been RVing since we bought our first popup when our kids were young. Believe me that wasn't a luxurious unit and didn't cost anywhere close to what the van did that was pulling it. Some of us simply make choices that are different than yours are; that's what living in a democracy is all about.



How many tents could be pitched in the space one bus takes up?

Point I am trying to make here is that there should be a distinction between what a true campground use to be and what it is now, an RV parking lot. If you have moved up and like were you are so be it, but consider were you came from and the families that are now trying to start where you did and can't because that bus has parked in the spot they could have used to see the outdoors. And that one bus is not the problem, it's the thousands of them.

If I could say anything to the people on this forum, remember your past and give others a chance. If you like the comforts of home, stay home. If you like the fresh air of nature, (what's left of it) and ruggedness of being in it, consider downsizing so others can fit in. Remember you're suppose to be camping. The word camping has lost its meaning. That is a shame.

 

cwcsmc, there are a lot of campgrounds primarily geared towards tents, and many (if not most) "RV" campgrounds have tenting areas. If you are visiting RV Resort type "campgrounds", then you most certainly will not see a lot of tents.

Using not only this site, but also Open Roads Forum, do some research and ask about campgrounds that cater to your specific needs and wants. Those campgrounds are out there, probably a lot closer to you than you think. And usually campgrounds geared towards tenting are a heck of a lot less expensive then RV campgrounds.

If you don't want to "camp" in an RV or fifth wheel or travel trailer or hybrid or popup or truck camper, then, well, don't! Feel free to use a tent, even in a "RV" campground. I have never seen an RV'er "back over" a tent intentionally, and no people I know who own a camper would even think of doing that.

If you are setting up at a campground with your tent and need help, forgot something, or whatever, feel free to ask me or anyone in my family (or friends), we will certainly be happy to help you out.

 

cwcsmc I understand you like camping your way but you seem to be condemning those of us that don't want to spend our time away from home in our own way. Telling us that if we don't came your way we should stay home is rude and judgmental. We are just as entitled to our version of camping as you are. You come across as someone that thinks there are two sides to every story....your side and the wrong side.

 

cwcsmc, I think most of us understand your point, but if you have not received much sympathy here, remember that it is called RVPARKreviews. As Tom said you need to seek out websites and forums that cater more to the tent camper. As a suggestion you might try hikercentral.com. I think they are geared a bit more to rustic/tent camping. Woodall Directory claims you can use it to locate tent campgrounds. Their website says: “Woodalls.com also has an easy-to-use search tool that lets you search for tent campgrounds by state or province, city or even by a specific campground. You can also search to ensure you find tent campgrounds that have the amenities you need. You can even search for campgrounds that allow both tenting and RVing.”

Other sources to check out would be state and national parks. Many of these have backcountry areas that RVs cannot get to.

Also with just a simple search for” tent campgrounds” I found this forum.

http://www.campingforums.com/forum/showthr...nly-Campgrounds

I did not read it much, but it looks like it has a possibility of helping you.

Whatever you do, I wish you luck finding places that are not all taken up by RVs.

And finally to answer your question about how many tents could be pitched in the space one bus takes up? Well, you could probably put quite a few tents in the same space, but I would not want to be jammed in like that, especially in a tent where you really could hear everything your neighbors are doing—sound familiar?

 

First of all, I'm an ardent RV'er, often spending weeks and months on the road, staying in designated RV parks and campgrounds. On occasion though, I take a trip back to my more youthful style of camping, carrying everything I need on my back into a remote wooded area and making my own little "campground", just as I did 50 years or so ago. I've just returned from one such three day sojourn into the Adirondack Mountains with my two daughters and a couple of their friends, and we all had a great time. There are plenty of state operated campgrounds in the Adirondack State Park that cater mainly to tenters and smaller pop-up or teardrop or 'A' frame style trailers, but those tend to be too crowded and organized for my tent camping tastes. Now I'm back in our motorhome, and will be quite content to travel on to the next stop when we decide to move on. As has been said here many times, "Different strokes for different folks.", and sometimes even for the same folks. Life is constantly changing around us, and the best we can do is learn to deal with it, either bending the changes to our own way of life or adjusting our lives to accommodate those changes we can't bend. My wife and I adopted the motto "Stay flexible" years ago.

 

Just thought of Corps of Engineer parks. Many of them have tent only areas. Our website lists hundreds of them.

 

http://www.tentcampingpass.com/index.aspx

 

If I slept on the ground like I used to when we took our daughter camping in a tent, I would spend the rest of the day at the chiropractor. The older you get, the harder it becomes. I have spent many a night on the Appalachian trail, but unfortunately that type of thing is just physically out of reach for me. You would have me stay at home, but we enjoy traveling and go up to 3 months at a time. RV is the best way to accomplish this. It's a lot of fun. There are still numerous place to tent camp and in all likelihood, more now that when we did it. You won't find them here, but you can easily find them.

 

This will be my last post here. I did not come here for sympathy. I came here because what I saw this past weekend was absurd. Campers, sorry RV'rs jam packed on each other which was pathetic. I am here because what you call RV'ing is NOT camping. It is RV'ing. To pretend otherwise is a lie and a disservice to the word 'camping'. It is a shame that one more old way of life is going away because of money and greed.

I know all about the limited camp areas for tents. I will pursue those. It is sad though when you put in the word 'camping' the most responses return RV type.

Good luck to all of you. When diesel reaches 8.00 a gallon, I'll still be out there.

Funny how in the "PET PEEVE" thread you guys can complain about the other guy and what he likes to do that offends you, but yet have a problem when it turns out you are the other guy.

 

Wow. Well, I'll be polite anyways - good luck in the future.

 

QUOTE(cwcsmc @ Sep 2 2013, 05:23 PM) [snapback]34653[/snapback]

This will be my last post here. I did not come here for sympathy. I came here because what I saw this past weekend was absurd. Campers, sorry RV'rs jam packed on each other which was pathetic. I am here because what you call RV'ing is NOT camping. It is RV'ing. To pretend otherwise is a lie and a disservice to the word 'camping'. It is a shame that one more old way of life is going away because of money and greed.

I know all about the limited camp areas for tents. I will pursue those. It is sad though when you put in the word 'camping' the most responses return RV type.

Good luck to all of you. When diesel reaches 8.00 a gallon, I'll still be out there.

Funny how in the "PET PEEVE" thread you guys can complain about the other guy and what he likes to do that offends you, but yet have a problem when it turns out you are the other guy.


WOW!! Kind of bitter, to say the least. Too bad you don't like my kind of camping. And guess what else, I'll still be out there when fuel hits $8.00 a gallon, because everything else will also have gone up including my stack of money. You call it greed, I call it hard work and success. If the economy has left you behind, maybe you should start trying to catch up, instead if sitting around moaning about how things aren't the way you want them.

 

I find it sad when the concept of "tolerance for others" becomes "your way of life threatens mine; you better change your ways." I can think of a number of current "ways of life" that are discussed using language similar to that, but to keep this non-political, I'll just just leave it as "you RVers threaten us campers, so you'd better stop RVing." That's not my idea of what tolerance is.

 

I find the comments posted by cwcsmc to be quite strange because I can not figure out what caused the outburst. Seemed like a pretty boring topic until that post.

 

QUOTE(laringrp @ Sep 2 2013, 10:55 PM) [snapback]34660[/snapback]

I find the comments posted by cwcsmc to be quite strange because I can not figure out what caused the outburst.


Envy, perhaps? Sour grapes? The "I-can't-afford-it-so-I'll-criticize-it" syndrome? Aesop had it figured out pretty well.......

He's a "troll" - they're people who go to boards dedicated to a certain interest or pursuit and then proceed to deliberately pick a fight. It's pretty obvious that 99% of the posters here do their "camping" in some sort of RV, thus the name "RV park reviews".

And RVers deliberately backing over tents....oh, please.....that's so lame. Besides, who would want to damage their $100,000 Class A backing over his $65 tent?

 

Camping is alive and well. We keep a tent and extra portable stove, some tarp, etc. on board. Sometimes we leave the RV at a monthly site and take a weekend with the tent for "old fashioned" camping in the true boondocks because our tt doesn't function so well all alone without power and such. Some places simply demand the quiet commune with nature, so we find tent-only sites. We don't call our full time lifestyle camping, but we go camping when we ditch our "house" at a "campground" and find a spot that would be inaccessible with a vehicle.

I second the pp that mentioned the hellacious holiday weekends. Grrrroan!! if we ever have to deal with another circus like that at an RV park.

 

Those "hellacious holiday weekends" are all about what you are ready for and expect. My family has had a great time on Memorial Day weekends and especially Halloween weekends. We go to campgrounds (YES, I said CAMPgrounds!) expecting the crowd, noise, kids, night time activities and have a ball because of that.

If you don't want that experience, certainly keep that in mind when choosing dates and campgrounds.

Now that the kids are older teenagers and camping with us less, I look for quiet, no hookup rustic style campgrounds.

QUOTE(ThreeTravellingBlondes @ Sep 3 2013, 12:00 AM) [snapback]34664[/snapback]

I second the pp that mentioned the hellacious holiday weekends. Grrrroan!! if we ever have to deal with another circus like that at an RV park.



Just to clarify, I agree with you... now that our kids are older.