So long seasonal camping...and living large

[Kittykath]

What a change! After year 5 of more campground drama and politics, we've decided to uproot, sell our huge 5th wheel and downsize to a smaller, manageable travel trailer and go see some things. Although convenient, we're now realizing how much we've missed out on by sitting in the same place year after year. By downsizing the space, we're forced to camp a little more simply too. About 1/2 the stuff is going back in the new one.

We pick up our new SolAire 251RBSS tonight, and I'm so excited I can't think straight. We're planning trips around and beyond our great state, something completely new for us.

Have you also made an extreme change to your camping style?

[B_O__Plenty]

Drama and politics for sure. After about a month it's time to move and leave all that behind. That's why it has wheels.

B.O.

[davosfam]

After years of scrambling to make reservations 9 months in advance, we purchased a lot in a private campground. We upgraded from a 23' TT to a 36' FW, two quads and a golf cart. We love our campground but the politics can be a turnoff. We opt to stay out of all that and enjoy our lot and friends.

I keep thinking that maybe in 5-10 years, it would be nice to buy a smaller TT again and do some traveling. Also think it would be nice to road trip across the US and stay in hotels.

[drenjoey]

colliehauler wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
Wise decision. We never could understand how folks can return to the same place year after year.

Enjoy exploring and really seeing things!

Because they like it.

I have a seasonal that I love. I plan on keeping it many more years.

Just because I have a seasonal doesn't mean I can't explore the country. My large TT stays there year round but I have another TT to take trips in. I plan on Florida this winter and Alaska next summer. I like the owners of the campground and my neighbors at the seasonal site and look forward to seeing them each year.

People going back to the same place year after year ! Is a house the same thing !!

We're in the process of moving from our house, selling our Hybrid TT, buying a Cedar Creek Cottage 40cck and becoming seasonal. We love the camping life and decided it will be our way of living for 6 months out of the year.
Winter comes and we'll rent a condo overlooking the ocean here in Maine.
However, that won't stop us from travelling and visiting our great country. We always loved those B&B and plan on doing so when we travel.

[campigloo]

We went around the whole circle. We both started young with parents in small trailers of various types. Got on our own and did tents, campers shells, pups, and more tents. Found an unbelievable deal on a camp in the Atchafalaya Basin and kept it for about 4 years. Uploaded the camp, got another, somewhat larger TT and loved the mobility. There is maintenance to do on the now large trailer, but I'm yet to have to make special trips just to mow the grass. BIGGGG plus.

[NMDriver]

We also went the other way.

Started with a van, then added a hybrid trailer, then a hard side trailer, motorhome, truck camper, and then a 30ft 5er.

We went pretty much all over, north to alaska, south to Baja, east to the Keys and west to CA. Now we have 4 acres with a cabin and pad for the 5er up in the hills for summer time and a stick house in the desert for winters.

I go on fishing trips with the truck, boat and tent but generally to the same lakes each summer.

After 50 years of travel, both domestic and international, staying in the same place took some getting use to. The dog is old and we have stopped traveling for his sake this last year or so. Hopefully he has a couple of years left.

We will go back to international travel if the dog dies before I do 🙂

[lfcjasp]

We get tempted to go seasonal when we see the cool and sometimes beautiful set-ups some folks do. But we bought a camper to TRAVEL not to sit in one spot...and besides we're still exploring places and don't want to get stuck in one place and then want to go somewhere else before the lease is up.

But our extreme change was going from the A tent we use for reenacting to the motorhome...that MH is really luxurious to us!

[colliehauler]

2gypsies wrote:
Wise decision. We never could understand how folks can return to the same place year after year.

Enjoy exploring and really seeing things!

Because they like it.

I have a seasonal that I love. I plan on keeping it many more years.

Just because I have a seasonal doesn't mean I can't explore the country. My large TT stays there year round but I have another TT to take trips in. I plan on Florida this winter and Alaska next summer. I like the owners of the campground and my neighbors at the seasonal site and look forward to seeing them each year.

[NYCgrrl]

Kittykath wrote:

Have you also made an extreme change to your camping style?

Several down through the years. I went from bicycle camping with a pup tent (poles optional for weight consideration) to a tent for 4 traveling via public transportation to "glamping" with a rental vehicle with various change ups in between. Next will be a 17' TT to tour the continent and we'll even buy a car, LOL.

[Parrothead_Mike]

I think one of the problems we are seeing is that RV manufacturers rarely make a higher quality small 5th wheel. We had a 2001 Cardinal with the overall length of 28'. They don't make them that small anymore. We took the smaller 5th wheel all over the place. I could even turn it around on a 2-lane highway using the shoulders. Now we have a larger unit, which we like, but it's already too large for some campgrounds. Smaller can often be better.

[magnusfide]

coolmom42 wrote:
Good for you! Too much to see in this great country to sit in one spot!

Double ditto.
We traded in our trailer for a 26 ft motorhome. We throw our clothes in and leave in less than ten minutes. Great way to travel and see the country.

[jamesu]

After TT'ing for the past 15 years the activity that I still consider a luxury: doing the dinner dishes in my TT kitchen sink. All you former tent campers remember the old drill: walk over and get water from the campground spigot, fire up the Coleman stove for hot water, wash dishes on the campsite table and rinse them as best you could with clean water that quickly became soapy...and hopefully you weren't doing this in the rain. I don't miss tent camping one bit . Love my TT kitchen with its hot and cold running water.

[2gypsies1]

Wise decision. We never could understand how folks can return to the same place year after year.

Enjoy exploring and really seeing things!

[fitznj]

One of the biggest reason for buying a TT was so that we could see this amazing country. So far we have traveled up and down the east coast but now that I am retired, we will be taking trips west-wards.

Enjoy your "change" - you can spend a lifetime travelling and not see everything.

Gerry

[Cloud_Dancer]

In some ways, we're all the same.
But,....we're all different. I only wish I had been born a minimalist. Truthfully, it would've saved me a lot of headaches.
Congratulations